Talking About Gear, Records, and The Soundtrack To The Innermost Galaxy.

Greetings MD people! My name is Tony Lewis and I am a drummer/songwriter from the Bronx, New York, and have been playing now for fifty years. I’ve been fortunate enough to play with artists who perform different styles, such as jazz (Dizzy Gillespie), rock (Sting) and roll (Little Richard), soul (Sam Moore), and hip-hop (Rakim, MC Lyte).

I am a Pearl drums artist and when performing my sound depends on the situation. When performing live I use the Pearl Decade maple series, which are 6-ply maple shells. My kit consists of 10″ and 12″ rack toms, 14″ and 16″ floor toms, and 18″ or 20″ bass drums. I use Evans heads—UV1 for batter toms, and Clear Resonant and EMAD 2 for the bass drum.

While in the studio I use the Pearl Session Select series, which utilizes birch shells. My sizes are 10″ and 12″ rack toms, 14″ and 16″ floor toms, and a 22″ bass drum. I use Evans Clear EC2 for batter toms, Clear Resonant and EMAD 3 for the bass drum along with an Arti Dixson bass drum lift, which helps with its projection. Advertisement

I endorse Paiste cymbals, which I truly dig. I use the Masters series with 18″ and 19″ crashes, and 14″ hi-hats. I switch between the Masters 21″ medium ride, which has a great tone with a nice build up, along with a great bell. I also use a 22″ Dark Dry ride for stick definition and a great bell sound. I also use Vic Firth MJC4 sticks.

My favorite snare is the Pearl S1330B Steel Piccolo. I usually tune it high and it gives a beautiful tone. You can hear these sounds on the following albums I’ve played on: Bob Baldwin Presents Abbey Road and the Beatles (jazz), Shake It by saxophonist Paula Atherton (jazz), and Love Letter by Regina Bonelli (blues).

I am currently playing drums with the heavy metal soul group 24-7 Spyz. We have a new album out called The Soundtrack To The Innermost Galaxy, and are preparing for dates in the fall. Thanks for reading! Advertisement

For more on Tony, go to www.tonylewisdrums.com.