407 - Cliff Almond: Manifesting your own sound - Drummer's Resource: Conversations with the world's greatest drummers and music industry pros.
July 2, 2018

407 – Cliff Almond: Manifesting your own sound

San Diego native Cliff Almond grew up in a family full of classical musicians but he decided to take a different route and focus on the drums. From an early age his affinity for the drums yielded hours spent behind the kit playing along with records and learning tunes. These hours paid off, landing him a gig for Michel Camilo at the recommendation of Dave Weckl. From there, Cliff established himself as one of the greatest players in the world,  known for his musicality and physical prowess around the kit.

Cliff Almond talks about:

  • Growing up the son of two classical musicians
  • Chops and musicianship being two separate skills
  • The importance of being curious in music
  • How simplicity in drumming can be extremely challenging
  • An amazing story from 1970’s NYC featuring Charles Mingus
  • Being heavily influenced by Dave Weckl, meeting him and getting the Michel Camilo gig
  • His advice for developing your own sound
  • How honesty and self-awareness are key for goal setting and achievement
  • Why it’s vital to adapt to changes in the music industry
  • Much more

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