TATE BERKEY
Drummer/Percussionist/Teacher

This is one of my favorite tracks from Toto's debut album that not many people recognize as another example of Porcaro's signature single handed 16th note groove. I love listening to the interplay between David Hungate on bass and Jeff, especially at the end. My assumption is that hits that happen before the end were improvised or not planned out a certain extent. If you listen closely to the recording you can hear where Jeff begins his hi hat jabs, and Hungate follows accordingly. The horn and string arrangements were more than likely written in to follow what they did which wouldn't have been uncommon for how they recorded/produced at that time. Of course, you can't deny that Jeff randomly breaking into a pseudo samba fusion type groove after the ending flourish is the best part of the song! I can imagine the devious grin on his face looking at the rest of the band in the studio as he started playing that groove and as they all joined in. I would love to hear their take on how that went down! I tried my best to match what he did there, but it is surprisingly difficult and shows that Jeff really had some great chops and only utilized them when needed or for fun. GEAR: - Ludwig Drums - Zildjian Cymbals - Remo Drumheads - DW Pedals - Vic Firth Drum Sticks - Shure In-Ear Monitors WEBSITE: https://berkeytate.wixsite.com/tateberkey Thanks to everyone who watches and supports this channel, and if you haven't already, please consider subscribing to keep up with more content like this!

Here's a quick one from last night's show in Clemson, SC with Gabe Stillman. We've been having a ton of fun so far on this run as we head south for a jam packed 2 week tour in Florida! I figured it would be fitting to put up this fun rumba from the great Anson Funderburgh, as he will be joining us for a few special shows in Florida which we are super excited for! Anson is Gabe's producer and will occasionally join the band for shows. Looking forward to our time in Florida very soon! Check out Gabe's website for all our shows and info! Enjoy! https://www.gabestillman.com/ GEAR: - Ludwig Drums - Zildjian Cymbals - Remo Drumheads - Vater Drum Sticks WEBSITE: https://berkeytate.wixsite.com/tateberkey Thanks to everyone who watches and supports this channel, and if you haven't already, please consider subscribing to keep up with more content like this!

I have always loved this classic from the great Christopher Cross. This past summer I got to see him live and he had none other than Keith Carlock on drums (which was half the reason I went in the first place) which made me want to sit down and really dissect the drum part. I had never really heard of Tommy Taylor, but after researching his other work besides Christopher Cross, I found that he has worked with plenty of other great artists including Eric Johnson and David Lee Holt. He lays done a really great and underrated groove that is supported by Lenny Castro on percussion. I love the way he supports the rhyhtmic "kicks" of the songs while keeping the four on the floor solid the entire time. The fills during the ride out couldn't be any more fitting either! Enjoy! GEAR: - Ludwig Drums - Zildjian Cymbals - Remo Drumheads - DW Pedals - Vic Firth Drum Sticks - Shure In-Ear Monitors WEBSITE: https://berkeytate.wixsite.com/tateberkey Thanks to everyone who watches and supports this channel, and if you haven't already, please consider subscribing to keep up with more content like this!

This tune was a fun challenge to play along with, mainly due to the tempo fluctuations that happen throughout. My speculation is that there was possibly 2 takes cut together somewhere around where Sonny Payne switches from brushes to sticks. The tempo is decently faster at that point in the song, although it does feel kind of gradual. I tried to lock in the best I could, and hopefully my brush playing comes across clear enough! Enjoy! GEAR: - Ludwig Drums - Zildjian Cymbals - Remo Drumheads - DW Pedals - Vic Firth Drum Sticks - Shure In-Ear Monitors WEBSITE: https://berkeytate.wixsite.com/tateberkey Thanks to everyone who watches and supports this channel, and if you haven't already, please consider subscribing to keep up with more content like this!

This is a wedding band classic that we do every now and then when the crowd or couple wants to hear some Springsteen. The form for this tune is pretty complex, and because we only do this song every couple gigs, I keep a chart on hand which you can see me reference a couple times throughout the video. I try to focus on keeping the energy up when preforming this song to keep the band and the audience engaged since it is a pretty lengthy cut. As always, for my live drum videos, the audio is directly from my GoPro that I often use to record at gigs for watching back and self critiquing. Enjoy! GEAR: - Ludwig Drums - Zildjian Cymbals - Remo Drumheads - DW Pedals - Vic Firth Drum Sticks - Shure In-Ear Monitors WEBSITE: https://berkeytate.wixsite.com/tateberkey Thanks to everyone who watches and supports this channel, and if you haven't already, please consider subscribing to keep up with more content like this!

Steely Dan's Royal Scam album highlights everything that is great about Bernard Purdie's drumming. His feel of course can't be denied, but also his creative fills and approach to the construction of a song. There are little intricate things that he changes throughout the song to keep each section interesting and elevated from the previous one, such as his ghost notes and hi hat openings. His fills act like phrases in sentences that connect the dots between each section. I LOVE the fill that he plays before the last chorus coming out of the solo section. The slight pause on beat 3 is like a comma in the middle of the sentence that works so well to not only bridge both phrases but create a lift going into the chorus. This tempo made it a fun challenge to play as well. Enjoy! GEAR: - Ludwig Drums - Zildjian Cymbals - Remo Drumheads - DW Pedals - Vic Firth Drum Sticks - Shure In-Ear Monitors WEBSITE: https://berkeytate.wixsite.com/tateberkey Thanks to everyone who watches and supports this channel, and if you haven't already, please consider subscribing to keep up with more content like this!