Gary James' Interview With
Touring And Recording Drummer
David Northrup



He's a Central New York guy who has made quite a name for himself as a touring and recording drummer. Originally from Chittenango, New York, he pulled up stakes and moved down to Florida and later Nashville where things really started happening for him. He's worked with Les Dudek, Rick Derringer, Boz Scaggs, and Country artists like Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker and The Oak Ridge Boys.

His name is David Northrup, and we spoke with him about the life of a touring, recording drummer.

Q - David, I've noticed that while there are online video interviews with you, there are hardly any print interviews.

A - No. And you know what? It's too bad. I think it's because all the podcasts that take place now and the magazine print is not what it used to be. Fortunately in 2008 I did have a really nice interview in Modern Drummer which to me was a big deal and it's still a big deal. I still like magazines. I still like print. I like that sort of stuff. I still buy CDs. I like the old stuff. I like flipping through the pages. I'm old school.

Q - The podcasts will probably run their course just like everything else until the next big thing comes along, which once again could be magazines and newspapers.

A - Let's hope so. It's starting to make a little bit of a comeback. I hope it does come back.

Q - At the present time are you in the studio or are you getting ready to go out on the road?

A - Well, I have a home studio. I converted my garage into a facility where I can track drums. I have several drum sets set up to do that and I also teach. I do online teaching. I also do one on one teaching. Currently I am the bandleader for a Country artist named Joe Nichols. I am in my fourth year working with Joe. So, we've done a number of tour dates this year. This weekend we have a show opening for Hank Williams Jr. June, July and August are very busy. Summer months are when we kick in and do quite a few shows. So, the long and short of it is, to answer your question, I do both.

Q - How have you been able to get to work with all the name artists you've worked with? Is it word of mouth? Referral? You don't have an agent do you?

A - No. I'm just really blessed. I got my first big break in 2001, working with Travis Tritt. That was a gig that lasted nine years. During that time while I was playing with Travis there were months where he took off and I guess because of the credibility of working with Travis other doors opened up to go out and play with other artists for short periods of time. I worked with Joe Diffie for a few months while Travis had time off and Tanya Tucker and Lee Greenwood. I think having a good track record and having credibility playing with some well-known artists definitely has been a bonus and an important factor in at least being considered for other gigs. It definitely gets my foot in the door for auditions and sometimes because of my resume I don't even have to audition, which is a nice thing. Not all the time. I've had instances where jobs were just offered to me because of my reputation.

Q - You worked with Rick Derringer.

A - Man that was fun! That was in 2019. I had played with Les Dudek, a Rock guitar player from years ago, and Les and I re-connected after I got off the road with Boz Scaggs in 2017. Les and I reconnected in 2018. In did some shows with him and it just so happened that Les Dudek's manager knew that Rick was looking for a drummer and they recommended me. So, in 2019 I did some tour dates with Rick Derringer, which was a real treat. He was amazing. We did some Rock 'n' Roll shows. We opened for Steely Dan. We did some shows with Alan Parsons Project. We did a bunch of neat stuff.

Q - You took drum lessons from Frank Briggs who used to be in the Syracuse, New York group 805.

A - I did.

Q - 805 had a deal on RCA Records, but nothing much happened for them. You say Frank Briggs was a "phenomenal drummer." Is it just the luck of the draw then that some people get an opportunity and others don't? If he was phenomenal, shouldn't he have gotten a big break?

A - Well, that's an interesting perspective to look at it that way. I think Frank was very happy teaching. He did some road work. He did some touring with Atlantic Starr when he moved to L.A., which was a very Big R&B Pop group. He did some other high profile things and did some session work out in L.A. I think he got to the point where he was very pleased. He was an author. He's written several books. Roadwork and touring isn't for everyone. I believe he just got to the point where he was really satisfied and enjoyed teaching and being an author. He had a very successful online service for many years and I believe he still has that up. I guess it really depends on the person and what their goal and motivation is. I love playing live. I like being on a tour bus. I don't hate it. I've been doing it long enough where it's just part of the way of my life. It's kind of what I do. I like the balance of being in the studio as well. Some people just don't like that travel. Riding on a tour bus in a little coffin bed is not for everybody.

Q - When you were growing up you saw the big groups passing through and probably thought, "That's my dream!"

A - Absolutely.

Q - You had no idea what it encompassed.

A - I remember the very first Rock concert I saw was at the Landmark Theatre. My Uncle took me to see David Gilmour. I remember seeing that concert. Everything changed for me that night. I saw what I dreamt would be something I could do someday. Back then it seemed very improbable and almost impossible. But, for whatever reason I circled back around it and pursued music. Interestingly enough the first time I played with Travis Tritt in Syracuse was 2001 and we played the Landmark Theatre, which was pretty wild, the place I saw my first Rock concert where everything kind of clicked. Everything came full circle.

Q - Speaking of drummers, did you ever get to see Dave Hanlon play?

A - Absolutely. I love Dave Hanlon. Man, I used to follow Dave Hanlon. He used to play with his band down at Sakura's Jazz Club downtown (Syracuse). I want to say it was in the Lincoln Building. When I go home I try to see him. I still stay in touch with him. I used to follow him around all the time. I loved his playing and he was so kind to me as a young guy. I wasn't even old enough to get into the club. That guy that owned Sakura's would let me hang out as long as I stayed close to the sushi bar so he knew I wasn't drinking. After hours it was 21 and up. Dave was and still is a dynamite player. A big influence.

Q - I saw Dave Hanlon when he was in a three piece band along with Mark Doyle and Rick Cua.

A - I must say I loved your interview with Rick (Cua).

Q - Thank you. He's done well, hasn't he?

A - Oh, he's a great guy. He and I connected down here (Nashville). I didn't know him when I lived in Syracuse, but we got to know each other a few years back. We connected and have done a few sessions together. A beautiful guy. Love that guy.

Q - Did you know that Dave Hanlon got to hang out with Ed Shaugnessy of The Tonite Show Band when he lived in L.A.?

A - In never knew that. I always had a high regard and a high respect for him. A really good man and a great musician.

Q - When you lived in Chittenango, New York in the late 1980s you were part of a group called Mirage. Where did that group play? Did you for example play the Brookside or The Lost Horizon?

A - Mirage played up at Syracuse University quite a bit. I was actually a high school Senior and all the guys in Mirage were attending S.U. So, my Senior year we played at my high school in Chittenango, Chittenango High School. Then we would play Sutter's Mill, The Lost Horizon and we also played a lot of fraternities, frat parties. So, that was a real cool opportunity for me musically speaking, growth-wise as a young guy. I was always playing with older players and they were all very good players. I had a lot of good fun playing with those guys.

Q - Was that a Top 40 Dance band?

A - It was Classic Rock. We did Rush, some Van Halen. We did Beatles. We did some Aerosmith.

Q - In 1990 you moved to Florida and started playing with Dennis Lee. You were playing what, six nights a week, five sets a night? You said the money was pretty good.

A - Yeah. Dennis actually toured around the country. He played fairs and festivals. He still does this. He's an entertainer, a comedian, and a singer. We would play fairs and festivals all over the country and up in Canada. I would do that about six months of the year and I would save money so when we came back to Florida I had enough money saved to where I just locked myself in my house and practiced. I studied. There were some great drummers down in Florida that I took lessons with, a guy named Dave Reinhardt and another great drummer named Kenny Suarez. And I also played a lot around town in Tampa and Orlando. I eventually ran into Les Dudek, who I did some recording with and played some live shows with him when I wasn't working with Dennis Lee.

Q - Wasn't it expensive to move from Florida to Tennessee? And how long before you started playing?

A - Yeah. I started all over again. I didn't have a lot of money. So, when I first landed here I went out and got a job. I had day jobs. I hadn't had a day job in five, six years. I'd done nothing but play. I did start doing some gigs and doing some sessions, but nothing enough that would sustain me. So, I had to do odd jobs. I loaded fertilizer trucks. I had a courier route. I used to throw newspapers. I did warehouse work. I did some roofing. I did a lot of different stuff. It was a humbling time to say the least.

Q - With some of these jobs weren't you worried about what would happen if you hurt your hands?

A - Absolutely. I walked off the job on several occasions when things were dangerous. I had a roofing job and I had a boss that wanted me to go up to a 3rd story roof and it was a metal roof which had no traction. I said, "I'm not doing it" and he said, "If you're not doing it, I don't need you." I'm like, "Okay." I got in my truck and left. There were a few instances where there were conveyer belts and I had a glove get caught in a conveyer belt while I was loading a fertilizer truck and I went to the supervisor and said, "I gotta go. I can't do this. I could get hurt." So, you take the good with the bad. God was very, and continues to be, very good at protecting me. I'm fortunate in that regard.

Q - You made the right decisions along the way.

A - Yeah.

Q - You were with Travis Tritt when he performed at the Inaugural Ball for President George W. Bush. Did you get to meet President Bush?

A - I didn't. I remember we were performing and I was standing right by the door before we played and Dick Cheney walked in. I could have reached out and shook his hand. I had a chance to glance to my left and there was the Vice-President, which was very interesting.

Q - You told Modern Drummer magazine how hard it is to maintain a family life when you're either out on the road or in the studio. That being said, why did you get married?

A - Man, you know, God put the right woman in my life. I have to say that. I have experienced the success I have experienced because of her belief in me. There were many times I was very frustrated, disappointed, and discouraged. She was always the one that would lift me up and say, "You know what? You've got to just keep trying. Keep knocking on doors." I honestly think that my career would definitely have been different without her in a negative sense. She definitely has been a huge asset, not only to my entire life, but to my career. She's been amazing. That's an interesting question. I fell in love with the right woman. God put the right woman in my life. I'm very blessed.

Q - And so many women would have said "David, there's an opening in the factory here."

A - That's true. There were times where we had discussions when things weren't clicking. Maybe I should go back to college. There were many times my wife would say, "Look, we didn't move here for you to go back to college to do something different. We moved here because here because you had a dream and you just need to keep pushing forward." And, it would have been easier. It would have been totally easier for her if I would have done that, but I wouldn't have been the person that she knew.

Q - When you lived in Syracuse did you ever attend one of the colleges in the area?

A - I did. I went to Cortland State for a year. I really was not sure what I wanted to do. During my Freshman year I continued to play with that band, Mirage, that Syracuse University band. After one year of college I decided not to go back just because I was very unclear on what direction I was supposed to be taking. So, I went to work for my brother. He had an ice-cream comany called Skippy's. He owned that company with another gentleman. So, I worked for him for about a year. After that I found that music was my calling. I was about 21 at the time. So, I kind of got a late start and I had to really just bust my butt.

Q - Did you drive a Skippy's truck?

A - Well, I drove the ice-cream truck around as a summer job. But when I left college and went to work for my brother, he and his partner Mark Harrington started distribution all over the region. So, not only did they have the ice-cream trucks in summer, but they were supplying a lot of the convenience stores with ice-cream. So, my job was to not only go out and drive the distribution trucks, but also to set up new accounts. I did that for about a year and eventually left that job and I got with Penn Advertising I think, the outdoor advertising company. I did that for a few months. I kept jobs for about three months. I was good for about three months and then I would do something else. That job, when I was supposed to be making sales calls, I would go home and practice my drums.

Q - I can see why that job only lasted three months.

A - Yeah. I wasn't making any sales, but I was practicing.

Find David Northrup on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/davidnorthrupdrums/

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