My guest on this episode of the podcast is Mat Hector, on Instagram @mat.hits.stuff and Twitter as @mathectordrums, who is currently the drummer for Iggy Pop, or as some call him, the ‘Godfather of Punk’.
Mat has been working with Iggy for over four years now and continues to successfully travel the World playing with him and the band to sell-out crowds. Prior to getting involved with Iggy, Mat worked with Thomas Dolby, the popular singer and producer who is credited with two hit singles. As well as numerous US and World tours Mat also played on his last studio album ‘A Map of the Floating City’ and continues to work with Thomas.
Further still Mat plays live with the part rock show, part immersive cinema experience Gutterdammerung where he and the rest of the band accompany a silent film featuring some of the biggest rock names on the planet such as Grace Jones, Henry Rollins, Slayer’s Tom Araya, Justice and Slash. On their website it says ‘Think of a deafening rock ‘n’ roll version of Secret Cinema taking place in hell and you might just begin to have an idea of what Gutterdammerung is.’, so it’s pretty heavy and needless to say it is extremely popular among rock fans.
Mat has most recently also been involved with David Bowie’s legendary pianist Mike Garson as part of his Aladdin Sane tour playing David Bowie’s music up and down the country.
In this episode we cover topics including:
-
Mat’s view on work ethic and focus
-
The key attributes for becoming a successful drummer
-
Your attitude on a big gig
-
Health, fitness and life balance
-
And much more.
Selected Links From The Episode:
Show Notes:
00:00 – Mat’s background and youth
04:30 – Getting gigs
05:00 – Key attributes for expanding your network
07:30 – Work ethics and focus
08:20 – Talent vs. work ethic
09:30 – The basic key attributes for being a successful drummer
11:30 – Personality vs. playing
12:15 – How to be easy to work with
13:50 – Why the top professionals get called again and again
14:30 - Employable attributes
16:00 – Prepping for the Iggy Pop tour
17:30 – Social media and real life
18:20 – How Mat’s playing has developed since the start of the Iggy Pop gig
20:00 – Having energy on stage
20:40 – Playing on big stages
23:30 – Your reputation
25:30 – Different drum sounds
27:15 – Mat’s current set up
28:30 – Doing your best on a gig
31:00 – What Mat did between getting the call and doing his first gig with Iggy
33:00 – Taking Opportunities
34:25 – Mat’s idea for what drum clinics are missing
35:20 – Who will employ a drummer
37:00 – Gutterdammerung
42:40 – Mat’s live set up with Iggy including electronics
46:00 – Health, fitness and life balance
49:00 – Work ethic and mindset
51:30 – The path to working on the live scene
52:30 – Music College today
54:00 – Mat’s first big break with Thomas Dolby
55:30 – Function bands
56:30 – How to NAIL IT!
57:20 – Crucial advice for any musician
People Mentioned:
