Greetings, Modern Drummer readers in Internet land! Andy Kravitz here, checking in to fill you in on what I’ve done and been doing. I’m originally from Philadelphia, PA, and I’m a drummer/percussionist, producer, engineer, and writer. I’ve worked on over a thousand records since I started professionally at the age of fifteen–including playing drums on records and remixes for the likes of Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, Joan Osborne, Dishwalla, Los Lobos, Simon Townshend, Desmond Child, Sting, Julianna Hatfield, Sophie B. Hawkins, John Bon Jovi, John Lennon, They Might Be Giants, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, and Billy Idol, to name a few.

One of my most treasured experiences in music was working with legendary musician and bluesman Taj Mahal. We were recording in a studio in LA, when Beatles drummer Ringo Starr showed up and hung out for a few hours. We talked about The Beatles and calfskin heads–we also spoke about John Lennon, and of course Taj Mahal! As we were listening to playbacks of the Taj record, Ringo came over and put his hand around my shoulder and said, “You play great!” I was over the moon to say the least! What sweetheart of a guy. Thanks, Ringo!

I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to make music with so many talented and gifted musicians! I’ve also worked as a staff producer, musician, and writer, and in A&R for Sony Records/Ruff House, where I helped move over 100,000,000 million units through Sony Music Distribution. Advertisement

Some artists and bands I’ve very recently worked with–either drumming, mixing, engineering, or doing production and writing–include Robbie Krieger of The Doors, Taj Mahal, Soloman Burke, Etta James, Chaka Kahn, Mark Broussard, Richie Sambora, and The Andy Kravitz Project (Bucket Head). I’ve never felt more alive than when I’m playing music! Music is the closest thing to magic I’ve ever found, and music is a language all its own.

Cheers,

Andy

For more on Andy Kravitz, go to www.myspace.com/andykravitz.