The Drum Panel: His mouth time can finally relax on a bullet train to Iowa

About this episode

This episode features a discussion on the challenges and nuances of live drumming performances with guests Gunnar Olsen and Eric Urrea.

Ben here. On this week’s episode of Drummers on Drumming (powered by Big Fat Snare Drum), we’re back with another round of The Drum Panel. Joining me: Gunnar Olsen: Currently out with Puscifer Eric Urrea: One of my favorite drummers to talk shop with because he somehow makes existential drum conversations feel practical. This episode starts with Gunnar talking about completely losing the plot during a fill in 5… accidentally playing it in 6… then having to find his way back into the song in real time while thousands of people watched. From there, things spiraled beautifully. We talked about: Why messing up live might actually make a show feel more human The weird pressure of trying not to visibly “count” on stage when you’re hearing a click track The difference between “giving” a great show and actually having a great show Whether your real musical voice only shows up when you’re alone The strange mental game of joining an established artist and figuring out how much of “you” should show up in the parts Why some of the best gigs happen when nobody notices the drummer at all --- Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today! 🎯 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to order…

People in this episode

Host: Ben Hilzinger

Guests: Gunnar Olsen, Eric Urrea

Topics covered

• live performance
• drumming techniques
• musical identity
• pressure on stage
• collaboration with artists

Keywords

• drumming
• live performance
• musical identity
• existential conversations
• click track
• great show
• drummer

Sponsors

Big Fat Snare Drum

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Puscifer

More episodes of Drummers on Drumming

• YOU VOTED! Your favorite worst sounding snare drums... · June 10, 2026 · 51 min
• The Drum Panel: Chick Corea's cheap but good advice for playing music in a group PART TWO · June 3, 2026 · 50 min
• The Drum Panel: Check your Self 1 before you wreck your Self 2 · May 27, 2026 · 40 min
• Big Fat Five: Tosh Peterson (Lady Gaga, Alkaline Trio) breaks down the records, mentors, and moments that shaped his drumming voice · May 20, 2026 · 25 min
• The Drum Panel: E-MAN is not a collector ok · May 13, 2026 · 25 min
• The Drum Panel: Jessica screams at Ben to shut up. · April 29, 2026 · 47 min