Musical Biography

Adam Silverman

I have been playing drums for a little over 24 years now. I was raised in a small town called Westminster, MD, which was a rural suburb about 45 minutes away from Baltimore City. It was in that small town that I discovered my love for music at a very young age. I started playing music in elementary school, and continued my education all the way to a BA in Music Performance from McDaniel College in Westminster.

In college I was fortunate to study drums and percussion with Jon Seligman. I spent 4 years at school learning a lot about 4-Way-Coordination, Jazz Studies, Odd-Time Signature grooves, Hand and Feet Chops, African and Indian drumming, as well as many other skills that I still draw from each day that I perform. It was during this time that I developed my practice regiment that still consists of practice for 4-5 hours a day. That discipline is still with me today as I work constantly to become a better drummer and most importantly, a more versatile musician. I received the excellence in music award at the end of my Senior year.

After my education was completed I felt called to move down to Nashville to pursue a career as a full time musician. I moved to town with a band called Even Isaac. We made a pretty hard run at trying to "get signed" and after the end of 3 years I felt called to pursue being an independent player. I broke off on my own and started pursuing opportunities to play with many different acts in the Christian and Country music markets. I also started working on demo recordings for a few producers in town.

In the last few years I have really been blessed to see my career begin to take off. I am full time on the road with 33Miles, plus I do fill in dates and showcases for other artists. That combined with sessions once or twice a week really make for a pretty amazing full time job playing drums.

Current Projects

Touring: Working for a short time in different places; "itinerant laborers"; "the road show"; "touring musician".

Session: A meeting devoted to a particular activity; "filming session"; "gossip session"; "recording session"

Currently I am touring full time with 33Miles out of Nashville playing concerts at churches, concert halls, arenas and festivals of all kinds. Please check their tour schedule to see when we'll be coming to a city near you.

I am also doing fill in dates with artists such as Aaron Shust and other artists out of Nashville. So I am definitely keeping busy this year which is a really good thing in the current state of the industry. I am blessed!

Finally I am starting to do a significant amount of sessions tracking on Pop, Rock, Christian, and Country demos in different studios here in Nashville. I'm starting to do more and more master session work as well. So the recording part of my career is just starting, but I can't wait to see where it leads this year.

33Miles
33Miles Live in Mount Vernon IL

Musical Influences

These are the drummers that I spend most of my time listening to. They are on this list because they inspire me to be a better player. I hope that one day I can incorporate the things I have learned from these masters into my vocabulary so that I'll be able to carry on the gifts they have given me.

  • Jeff Porcaro - I love him for his work with Toto of course. Jeff had the best studio chops I've ever heard and I hope to be just like him in the future. He played on everything back in the day and there was a reason why.
  • Chris McHugh - Another fantastic studio drummer. Rock solid time and amazing drum sounds.
  • Jim Riley - Jim is a rock star, a powerhouse Jazz/Country/Pop musician. The drummer and band leader for Rascal Flatts, and he's also my teacher. It's impossible for me not to sound a little like him... it makes me quite proud :)
  • Tim Alexander - First drummer for Primus. Awesome player. Need I say more?
  • Danny Carey - Drummer for Tool. I've learned most of what I know about odd time from playing through a few of the Tool records. Dannys 5/4 time blows me away.
  • Carter Beauford - Dave Matthews Band linear style of drumming is the bomb. I've been learning from Cater the importance of using both hands as the lead.
  • Teddy Campbell - Super fat feel, amazing Gospel chops. Teddy is the groove master.
  • Matt Chamberlain - Another excellent session musician. His style is just so laid back and very earthy. I love everything he plays on.
  • John Bohnam - You can't be a drummer without Bonham on your list of favorites. Powerhouse rock grooves and really made Zeppelin what it was.
  • Steve Smith - Steve has this amazing cross between being a fusion drummer trapped in Pop music. His work with Journey is so inspiring how he uses his chops but they aren't distracting.
  • Thomas Lang - Thomas's double bass and foot chops blow me away. I am amazing at how he uses those so well in the rock vein of music. I have learned a lot from his DVD's.
  • Dennis Chambers - Last but never least is DC. Dennis is just one of those guys you HAVE to listen to if you are going to be a relevant drummer in this century. He's got chops, groove, soul, and funk in everything he plays. Truly an inspiration to players like myself.

Credits

Here are some acts that I've either toured with, filled in for, done a record with, or some mixture of those things.

Adam Silverman Press Shot