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You can read this and dozens of other stories at www.NotSoModernDrummer.com.The story below was written by David Barsalou for Not So Modern Drummer on March 31, 2023:
Brian Dunne has played on thousands of gigs since his high school days – yet, Brian’s greatest notoriety comes from his longtime affiliation with the hit television series, ‘Live At Daryl’s House’ which is presently recording a brand new season – Brian is once again playing with some of finest musicians on the planet. He credits his success to networking and lots of luck with each new gig leading to something else.
“Don’t go into hiding – keep reminding people that you’re available. Be a part of as many musical cliques as possible”. This networking led to five and a half years with the Average White Band. Afterwards, a recommendation from bassist T-Bone Wolk gave rise to his long-time affiliation with Daryl Hall; John Oates. No matter the musical setting – Brian latches onto a groove like a pit bull and never let’s go.
Having grown up in a musical family… There was always a set of drums in the house. By second grade Brian began to take the drums seriously… Learning to play and read music from his brother Kevin. By sixth grade he started formal training with Jazz drummer Al Miller who was helping Brian to get his hands together. As a freshman at Nassau Community College he began studying with Ron Gould, the Principal Percussionist with the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Brian credits his time with Ron as an awakening to the endless possibilities of interpreting music. Two years later he transferred to Long Island University earning a degree in music education with a K-12 certification. At the time he was taking lessons with Frank Cassara – The percussionist with The Philip Glass Ensemble.
One of the first things many drummers notice about Brian is his use of traditional grip. He’s been playing that way since the very beginning and is completely comfortable with it. “Stylistically, it’s the way I learned… Muscle memory just takes over.” His grooves, feel, and timing are unmistakable… He is the consummate professional…. At a recent Hall & Oates performance he once again demonstrated his total mastery of those important concepts.
Throughout his career having the ability to read was his greatest asset. “Reading is a huge ally for me”. Brian is also a proponent of ‘using your ears’ – Learning by repeated listening instead of always being dependent on charts. His ability to master everything in a short period of time made him the perfect choice for ‘Live From Daryl’s House’. A last minute fill-in gig with Alejandro Sanz had Brian learning 23 songs in less than 24 hours. With no rehearsal… He wrote out notes and charts for he over two-hour concert. An added challenge… The performance was entirely in Spanish.
Every week, Brian and his fellow band members are given a new set of tunes to learn for the Daryl’s house taping… “Together, we talk it out then do a quick run through which is usually about 85% there on the first take… This is what happens when playing lots of different music at an extremely high level.” Some of Brian’s favorite episodes include those featuring – Billy Gibbons, Cee Lo Green, Grace Potter, Sammy Hagar, Booker T. Jones, The O’Jays, Rob Thomas, Gavin DeGraw, Wyclef Jean, and Darius Rucker.Brian has also had the good fortune to perform, tour, or record with other name artists including Patti Austin, Chuck Loeb, Bobby Caldwell, Ariana Grande, Special EFX, Jeff Lorber, Michael Franks, Jeff Kashiwa, Gerald Veasley, Bob James, Jay Beckenstein, Dave Samuels, Cory Glover, Kim Waters, Paul Jackson Jr. and Funk Filharmonik. Brian also has his own production facility (Back of the Bus Productions) where he records drum tracks for those in need of Live Drums.
Concerts and Television programs include backing up: Patti Labelle, Chaka Khan, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Bob James, Sting, India Arie, and Jeff Golub. Brian has also played on a number of motion picture film tracks and jingles. For the last five years Brian has provided the pre-recorded music played during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. With Hall & Oates, Brian performed at the Washington, D.C. Governor’s Ball held at the White House in 2015… It was hosted by President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. He also performs regularly on St. Paul Peterson’s weekly ‘Funk Friday’ series. Some of his major influences include: Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Tony Williams, Dave Weckl, Bill Stewart, Jim Keltner, and Max Roach. On an interesting side note, Brian’s wife Fabiana was once employed by Max Roach when he resided at 415 Central Park West.
Brian Dunne is proud of his affiliation with DW Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks, and Evans Drum Heads.
“Love the way he plays. So Solid” – Gary Stevens
“He’s always in the pocket” – Byron David Krone
“Dude is a ‘Groove Machine. I love his playing”. – John Cohan
www.cafepress.com/mistermonkey
The original story can be seen: HERE
About Not So Modern Drummer:The magazine is currently owned by George Lawrence who is a valued and passionate member of our drumming community. He was the drummer for the band Poco for 12 years, teacher at Memphis Drum Shop, recording session player, producer of the Nashville Drum Show and owner/administrator of DrumSellers.com which is Not So Modern Drummer’s buy and sell site. To get an understanding of his contributions you can learn more about him in an excellent Innovative Percussion Artist Feature HERE
The Not So Modern Drummer magazine was first published in 1988 by John Aldridge who created and ran the magazine until he sold it to Bill Ludwig III in 2005. In 2008 George purchased the magazine from Bill and is the editor, publisher, and photographer of the magazine.Consider supporting Not So Modern Drummer: Here
