Zach Danziger Reveals All

I am now, as a result of this single interview, a fan of “I’d Hit That.”

“I’d Hit That” is a podcast that you can download here: I’d Hit That.

I can’t pontificate on the rest of the “I’d Hit That” archive of interviews–which is already substantial–but I can tell you that the interview with Zach was fascinating. I’ve long been a fan of Zach’s playing. He and I crossed paths when we were both at Drummers Collective in the late ’80s and I’ve seen him play many times: with Wayne Krantz, Michel Camillo, Eddie Gomez and Leni Stern. This interview gives you a real sense about who Zach is, what his personality is like, and even, perhaps, how he thinks.

I don’t want to give everything away, but below are a few things that are discussed.

• Zach got his “dream gig” playing with Michel Camillo at age 17. Imagine that. He discusses this and talks about why he quit that band before he even got to record with Michel. Yup. He quit. Before the record was made. Believe me, agree or disagree, he had his reasons, which are fascinating.
• Bugging Dave Weckl as a 14 year old and how nice and encouraging Dave was to him.
• How he approached Owen Biddle–at that time the bassist for the Roots–to play in a highly experimental project and how Owen wound up quitting the Roots to be in Zach’s band, Mr Barrington.
• How he was almost the drummer for Beck at the peak of Beck’s career, and what the audition process was like.

Definitely check this out.

I may even have to dig up some transcriptions I’ve made of Zach playing from some of those shows I mentioned above. Yup, I taped them. I freely admit to my geekiness.