Todd
just completed the second and final pressing for "Last Flight
Home" limited edition vinyl! Each vinyl is signed and numbered
by Todd.
You can choose these collectible vinyls in three categories:
numbered 1-10, 11-20, and 21-200. That's all that is availabe
and they will go quickly!
Click here to jump to the "Last
Flight Home" page to purchase!
Available Now!
Collectible Signed Sticks & Drum Heads
Todd is making available signed drumheads that were used
to record what will be the next Styx record (hopefully out in
2021). A very limited number of heads and sticks are on sale
NOW!
There were two head changes during the Styx sessions. The second
batch stayed on the kit for months after the Styx sessions and
these were also used for the Modern Drummer
Festival/Neil Peart Tribute, Drumhead Live and many other
sessions. Own a piece of Styx memorabilia! There is a finite
amount of heads available (cannot be personalized).
The 2020 Drumhead Live event took place November 21 & 22! This
epic streaming event featured performances by Todd and some
of the greatest drummers in the world, including: Steve Gadd,
Virgil Donati, Peter Erskine, Brian Frasier-Moore, Gary Husband,
Simon Phillips, Steve Michaud, and many more!
The seven camera high definition production is now available
live and on-demand. Passes cost $20 for a single day or $30 for
both days.
Paying homage to Todd’s
deep well of musical influences, Last Flight Home is Todd's
first solo album; a melodic and deeply personal expression of
the human experience. Each of the 10 compositions are finely
crafted and feature Todd’s vocals and deep pocket drumming.
The album is available on CD and High Resolution audio files.
Two posters and signed drum heads from the sessions are also
available!
Winter and Spring live Masterclasses in Tulsa, Montreal,
Houston, Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus—all
information to reserve your spot is on each corresponding flyer!
See you there!
Vote for Todd in the 2019 Modern Drummer
Readers Poll
Todd has been nominated in two categories for the Modern
Drummer magazine annual Readers Poll. In addition to the
category of “Best Classic Rock Drummer,” the publication has
nominated Todd for permanent enshrinement in the magazine’s
“Hall of Fame.” This distinction would put Todd among many of
the greatest drummers of all-time.
From Todd: “I’m honored to be mentioned with these incredible
legends. It’s amazing and I’m deeply humbled!”
Let’s help get out the vote! Click
here to fill out the ballot!
Todd to Appear on the Seth Meyers
Show!
Tune in December 10-13, 2018!
Summer Clinics and Drum Fantasy Camp!
Join Todd for some great educational
opportunities!
August 2018 Drum Clinics!
Check out these great clinic opportunities coming up in April,
2018, courtesy of Sabian, Remo, ProMark, and Pearl!
Modern Drummer 2018 Readers
Poll!
Thank you to all who voted for me to receive these honors! And
thanks to Modern Drummer magazine. With a heart full of
gratitude, gratefulness and resolve to work even harder...
The Mission: New Release from
Styx!
"The Mission," the long-awaited new Styx record, is out on June
16th! Get a copy
here. Read about it
here!
Beneath the Surface Interview
Todd was recently featured in a Not So Modern Drummer article.
Todd was deeply touched that David Barsalou (the interviewer)
hunted down quotes from Steve Smith and two of Todd’s Berklee
teachers, Ian Froman and Skip Hadden.
Falling Wallendas CDs from the
'90s Released on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify
The two records I played on from the mid 90s by The Falling
Wallendas are finally available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.
Allow me to tell a (long) short story about this wonderful,
unique, and ultimately luckless band that made two great records
which went against the grain during the time when Nirvana and
Pearl Jam were kings.
Scott Bennett, the ridiculously talented multi-instrumentalist,
singer and writer was doing tons of recording sessions with me
in the early 90s. He had worked with Allen Keller (another
amazing talent) years before. Long story short, I was recruited
to be the drummer in their joint writing venture and then Arch
Alcantara came on board as guitarist. We were soon a real band
and started playing a bunch of shows as we worked on our first
(self titled) record that was to be put out by the new upstart
indie label, IMI records. We worked with Doug McBride at Gravity
studios in Chicago and when the record came out, the Chicago
Tribune gave it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars calling the debut “nothing
short of breath taking” and “great music”. Another description
of the music from someone else was “like a Twinkie with a
formaldehyde center.” Hey, off to a great start! More shows at
places like The Double Door, Metro, The Empty Bottle and then
Milwaukee venues like Brett’s, The Globe and Shank Hall
continued but nothing seemed to be moving us forward.
Arch Alcantara then left the band and Ted Kezio joined us on
guitar bringing another flavor. We went up to Butch Vig’s Smart
Studios in Madison, Wisconsin to cut the 2nd record, “Belittle.”
While the first release had more melodic pop moments (slivers of
XTC and Jellyfish) this new one really took on a life of its
own. Allen Keller’s brilliant dark and twisted (but so smart and
clever) lyrics mixed with Ted’s playing so well—and Ted came
with a large knowledge of jazz so that added a sinister flavor
to this “alternative rock” music. Scott blossomed into one of my
favorite bass players of all time, and my playing had a better
focus.
Drumming side note: I have nostalgia for the first record but
it’s one of those things that I wish I could “do over” with what
I know now. Too many “fusion” origins to some of the ideas and
it’s full of youthful exuberance I suppose. I do quite like it
in retrospect, and it does put a smile on my face. But there was
a maturity on the second record that still pleases me. And a
note to any musicians in bands: It’s a great idea to get the
hell out of your home town and make a record as a band in
another city. Nothing bonds you like this. You’re there for
every note. There’s no going home for a few hours, running
errands—you’re there fully in body and spirit. Making “Belittle”
in Madison with these guys was the only single time in my life
that I had the feeling of, “Oh…this is gonna be big.”
Well, more shows were played, good reviews received and it
seemed like we were treading water playing music that didn’t
seem to be particularly in vogue at the time. We were ahead of
our time (or behind) perhaps. We could really play our
instruments. And it seemed we were on the bill with many bands
who simply…couldn’t. Our business model was also a little out of
whack. We once had a gig in Minneapolis and the weather went
from bad to worse. We decided to fly there at the last minute,
stay at a nice hotel and eat well. We spent $1900 to make 400
bucks. That type of thing can only last so long!
1995 came and went and in early ’96 I was offered the Styx tour
for the summer, an offer I couldn’t refuse. It also meant
leaving a band I loved and believed in, but I also sensed the
writing was on the wall. They carried on and made a great EP
with Bobby MacIntyre on drums. And that was that. Ultimately I
have such amazing memories, had so many laughs, ups and lots of
downs with these guys…but the pleasure and privilege was really
all mine. I’m tremendously proud of the work we did on these two
records. They hold up after all this time. None of us are going
to make any money from these recordings finally being available,
but that’s not the point now. The point is they are indeed
finally available in the digital age and I hope those that are
interested discover it and enjoy it. We made some great music,
and like some great music—you need to hear it a few times for it
to sink in. I hope you’ll agree. I also hope there’s a digital
booklet available for those that like to read the lyrics because
those that do are in for a real treat. And one more thing… we
also played the hell out of this stuff live. What a band it was!
In some alternate universe, The Falling Walledas are a huge,
huge band.
In 2000 a large Falling Wallendas poster was predominately
displayed on the record store counter in the John Cusak/Jack
Black movie “High Fidelity”, which was a nice thing to happen to
the band posthumously. In 2007 we played a reunion show at the
Cat Club in Los Angeles. We hadn’t played a show in well over 10
years. After the last song, Scott Bennett ended the night by
saying into the microphone, “Thank you. We were…The Falling
Wallendas.”