The Drum Panel: What is a blue groove?

The Drum Panel: What is a blue groove?

From Drummers on Drumming by Ben Hilzinger

March 11, 2026 · 53 min · Season 3 · Episode 207

About this episode

The episode features a discussion on blue grooves, music education, and the importance of community in music.

Welcome back to Drummers on Drumming...a podcast powered by Big Fat Snare Drum. In this segment of The Drum Panel, I’m joined by Eric Urrea (Marina City) and Matt Starr (Sarah McLachlan) for a conversation that starts in the weeds and slowly turns into therapy. We kick things off with some proper nerd talk about trash can endings, stingers, and the infamous shugidaboom. From there, the conversation opens up into music education, what band programs still get right, and what probably needs to change if we want young musicians to feel like there’s a real place for them. Along the way, we talk about community, ego, self-direction, and why playing with other people is still the part of music you can’t really learn from a screen. Then the back half gets more reflective, as we get into success, creative identity, and the weird pressure of trying to make something that actually feels meaningful. --- Get Your Copy of the Drummers on Drumming Book Today! 🎯 ⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to order now!⁠⁠⁠⁠ Drummers on Drumming (the book) takes you inside the stories, records, and moments that shaped some of the world’s greatest drummers. Built on the Big Fat Five format of digging into top influences, it’s…

People in this episode

Host: Ben Hilzinger

Guests: Eric Urrea, Matt Starr

Topics covered

  • blue groove
  • music education
  • community
  • creative identity
  • collaboration
  • musical success

Keywords

  • blue groove
  • music education
  • community
  • creative identity
  • collaboration
  • musical success
  • drumming

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Big Fat Snare Drum

Books & works: Drummers on Drumming

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