Dana Hammond is all about setting goals and working to accomplish them. Even while working with Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore, and performing and appearing in such high-profile commercials as Faith Hill’s recent Pepsi ad, the drummer was thinking about entering the realm of production. Hammond made the decision to take less road work and stay at home to be a more consistent writer and producer.

As a songwriter and producer, Hammond, along with Warren Campbell, wrote and produced the first single for a new Elektra recording artist, Joonie. You can also hear some of his music in the recent flicks Starsky & Hutch and A Cinderella Story.

“Writing and producing were big desires of mine because I had a dream to do something different,” Hammond says. “Then I had to put myself around guys who were already doing that kind of work. A key guy for me was a friend of mine, drummer Cheron Moore, who introduced me to music supervisors and people working in that arena. I’ve learned a lot. Not only do you have to know how to play and have your musical chops together, you also need to have your business chops together.” Advertisement