282 - Taku Hirano: Hard work pays off - Drummer's Resource: Conversations with the world's greatest drummers and music industry pros.
July 3, 2017

282 – Taku Hirano: Hard work pays off

Osaka Japan born, Fresno, CA raised Taku Hirano is highly regarded as one of the greatest percussionists in the world. Judging by his resume and the demand for his talents, there is plenty of evidence to back us those sentiments.

He has toured the world with Fleetwood Mac, Whitney Houston, John Mayer, Bette Midler, Stevie Nicks, Lionel Richie, Isaac Hayes, Japanese pop superstar Utada Hikaru, as a soloist on Japanese and Indian percussion with Academy Award-winning Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire), and as a featured soloist on the #7 top-grossing concert tour of all time, Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson: THE IMMORTAL World Tour.

Other notable live performances include: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Annie Lennox, Ed Sheeran, Smokey Robinson, Willie Nelson, Mary J. Blige, Ariana Grande, John Legend, LeAnn Rimes, Sheryl Crow, Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs and a long list of others.

Taku Hirano talks about:

  • His obsession with playing at a young age
  • Studying in China why he was living there
  • His time at Berklee and being the first graduate with a percussion degree
  • How he got his first “big gigs”
  • The secret to getting gigs and more importantly, keeping them
  • Why you have to do your homework
  • Notable performances
  • Advice for drummers / percussionists when playing together
  • Much more

Resources / Links / People mentioned:

Taku Hirano plays:

  • Meinl Percussion
  • Regal Tip Drumsticks
  • Mike Balter Mallets
  • Remo Drumheads
  • Roland Electronics
  • Zildjian Cymbals
  • AKG Microphones
  • Prologix Practice Pads
  • JH Audio

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