We were lucky to catch up with Sam Ward recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Sam with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
When referring to my work ethic throughout life in general, I’d say I get my work ethic from my father as well as my mother… my father especially. The same year I was born, he suddenly lost his father and the family business that he had co owned with my grandfather went bankrupt, and my dad suddenly became jobless. Luckily, my mom had very steady, solid paying employment with great benefits. It took my dad No more than 4 years to start a new business in a completely different field, and proceed to turn it into a super successful, constantly growing business that started in our spare bedroom and now has locations all over the world, and their main facility in Peabody, Ma where at least 50 employees work. I’ll always be impressed with his ability to overcome hardship.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
As a magna cum laude graduate of the Berklee College of Music with a bachelor’s degree in drum set performance, I have established myself on both the East and West coast as one of the more versatile drummers on each respective music scenes. I have been playing professionally and teaching since my high school days, and toured the northeast United States and Canada with my former band, Goosepimp Orchestra before I was 21 years old. I spent the few years following my graduation from Berklee in Boston playing with some of the more notable wedding/corporate function bands in the area, including Goodwill and Them Apples, Sweet Tooth and the Sugarbabies, Silver Arrow Band, Cover Story Entertainment, Kahootz, Sweetbeats, Wilson Stevens Band, among others.
During my downtime between gigs with these bands, I continued to tour nationally as the drummer and musical director of my original funk/fusion band, Naughty Octopus, amongst a few other projects including large funk band the New Review, who released one self-titled studio album with myself on drums.. The band released one studio album before disbanding as the members moved to different cities after college.
After having relocated to Los Angeles in the fall of 2017, I was hired as the drummer for original LA based radio punk band, 42 King. We were able to secure independent management/booking, and released about five singles, a few of which got some local radio airplay.
Shortly thereafter, I was hired to be the drummer and official band member of reggae/rock band 4th & Orange, based in Long Beach, CA. The band was signed to Atlantic Records and Latium Entertainment in April of 2019, then Paradigm Talent Agency in August of 2019. The band released one studio album since (one single at a time). We got to enjoy some national touring briefly before the pandemic forced us to cancel everything. We stayed as active as possible during that time doing regular livestream events via Sessions Live, Twitch, Ascension Music Fest, Reggae 360 etc. Additionally, we stayed busy doing interviews, videos, podcasts and writing for a second studio album.
Around the same time 4th & Orange was signing our record deal, I of course was establishing myself as a trusted drummer with Latium Entertainment. One of their artists at the time was Ally Brooke; formerly of Fifth Harmony. I performed with both her and Tyga on the Late Late Show with James Corden in 2019. I also performed and recorded with Long Beach rapper Philieano in 2019 and 2020 as well as Opie Ortiz, frontman of Long Beach Dub Allstars, and former manager of Sublime.
As of late, I have been working with artists such as Molly Moore, Big X, FXNTi, Watson, Badfish, The Hang Dynasty, the Justin Young Band and most recently landed the drum chair for a comeback tour of sorts with Gym Class Heroes. The North American tour started the first weekend of September in Jacksonville, Florida at Jacksonville Taco & Tequila Festival 2023, and ended in Las Vegas with three consecutive dates the weekend of 10/20 – 10/22. 10/20 being at the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino & Resort, and the rest of the weekend being at legendary punk festival ‘When We Were Young’ 2023; in support of bands like Green Day and Blink 182.
Post the tour and some travel with my wife, I have now split myself between the Los Angeles scene and the Las Vegas scene, despite living and being a permanent resident of Las Vegas. My first resident gig in Vegas was with MJ Live; the notorious Michael Jackson tribute that takes place six days a week at the Tropicana Hotel/Casino on the Las Vegas strip. I also continue to teach drums/percussion/audio engineering privately, as well as do regular freelance session/studio work. I am available and able to record remotely, and have been doing quite a lot of virtual studio work since the Covid pandemic. I am also very active on social media as one of the newest and most in demand drummers on the scene. Connect, follow and subscribe on socials via the handle @WardenOnDrums for more news and updates that I just can’t include all of here!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three specific qualities that were most impactful on my music career to date would be 100% putting in hard work to get better at my instrument every single day, not to mention constantly maintaining a presence on social media and reaching out to shows, artists, agencies and more. I have an extremely good work ethic; so much so that it’s actually hard for me to stop working sometimes.
Another quality that has helped my career is my complete and total persistence, motivation and the refusal to quit. I never gave myself a plan B, and I truly believe that when you want to achieve something or you have a dream, you can not make a “plan B”. It’s either plan A, plan A or plan A. No other option. A simple plan B gives you too easy of an out, and that’s not good!
Finally, although it was NOT easy in the beginning, I’ve gradually learned to accept as well as be ok with “No” for an answer. You just can’t win them all!
My SINGLE biggest piece of advice to any aspiring musician these days is to understand that this industry is NOT ANYTHING LIKE IT USED TO BE. You’re either an artist or you’re a session gun; and the reality is that session guns simply do not get paid fairly. You MUST know your value, and be willing to walk away from a cool opportunity if your requirements are not met. Work smart, not hard. Have a weekly if not monthly schedule for yourself as if you’re working for somebody else. Make sure to practice your craft, but also tend to social media and the business side of things too!
What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?
By far, my biggest area of growth in the past 12 months has been in the area of Audio Production and Engineering, as well as dealing with acoustics and recording. I intend to continue building on this skill set, as I ultimately want to build a true studio complex outside of my home where I can collect drums, outboard gear, synths, organs, etc and record remotely for artists.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/wardenondrums
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wardenondrums/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wardenondrums
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ar4M7CtQKfOdSXOS83nPQ
