Rob Perkins

Rob Perkins is the rhythm maestro of the Bublé band. Rob plays the drums so hard, fast and furiously, you can feel your heart pounding with every beat, as the energy mounts, reverberates around the theatre and strikes at your very core. From high energy performances in "Smile", "Moondance" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", to the gentle and delicate brushwork in Michael's slow tempo songs, Rob subtlely adds volumes to classics such as "Try A  Little Tenderness", "You Don't Know Me" and "You And I".

Rob hails from an impressive academic background. An honors graduate of the prestigious Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz, where he was in the same class (Third Class 1999-2001) as fellow Bublé band member, Bryan Lipps, and former band member, Jason Goldman Rob also has a Masters Degree in Music from The University of Southern California.

Now a professional drummer and percussionist with a jazz and a pop/rock pedigree, Rob has played with artistes as diverse as The Clayton Brothers, Tierney Sutton, Ingrid Jensen, Vanessa Rubin, Bobby Watson, Chris Pierce, Charlie Hunter, Andy Guthrie, Leon Parker, Larry Williams, Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall and Dr. Dre.

Apart from playing with the Bublé band, Rob is perhaps best known as a member of the Benny Lackner Trio, together with Benny Lackner himself (on piano, fender rhodes, nord electro, nordlead 2 and honer pianet) and Derek Nievergelt (bass). The Benny Lackner Trio's debut CD, "Not The Same" was released in November, 2004 and their second album, "Sign Of The Times" has just been released (April 1st, 2006).

Upcoming performances

Rob Perkins is currently touring with Michael Bublé.

Please see the main Events Diary page for details.

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Part 1 - Munich, Olympiahalle - Wednesday, 24th May, 2006

Vera:     What’s your date of birth and place of birth?
Rob P:   January 17th, 1975 in Dayton, Ohio.

Vera:     Where do you live now?
Rob P:   I live in New York.

Vera:     When did you start playing the drums?
Rob P:   At the age of 10, I started studying the drums.

Vera:     Studying the drums?
Rob P:   Yeah, I was messing around sort of out of boredom but at the age of 10 in
             the 5th Grade I started studying.

Vera:     So at home did you annoy the hell out of your neighbours when you were
             practicing?
Rob P:   My neighbours were really tolerant and very very supportive totally
             including in the summertime I would set up my drums outdoors on the deck
             in the backyard and play there and they were supportive of that.

Vera:     Do you play any other instruments?
Rob P:   I play enough piano to get around. I can write and compose and arrange.

Vera:     So you could Alan Chang a run for his money?
Rob P:   Not at all. It’d never have the guts to play with a band but do enough to
             get done what I need to do.

Vera:     I hear you’re a percussionist as well?
Rob P:   Well, through high school I studied orchestral percussion. Then getting into
             University and very much needing to make rent I didn’t really have the time
             to focus on that as much as I would have liked to but I do play a bunch of
             hand percussion and Latin percussion – most of the things that are
             associated with popular and commercial music.

Vera:     OK, so during Michael’s show what sort of percussion instruments do you
             play or is it purely the drums?
Rob P:   Attached to the drum set I’ve got a couple of cowbells here and there and
             I’ve got a set of shakers that, if I can manage to get to them, I sneak them
             in every now and then, but there’s a little bit of auxiliary percussion
             involved in the show.

Vera:     What made you decide to become a professional drummer? Was there a
             defining moment which made you choose this career?
Rob P:   You know … it wasn’t a decision that was ever made. It was just something
             that I knew.

Vera:     Just a natural progression?
Rob P:   Yeh. It wasn’t a decision that I actively made. Just … I was, I am, and
             always have been a drummer, and was always gonna be.

Vera:     So who has been your greatest influence or inspiration?
Rob P:   Musically?

Vera:     Musically and personally?
Rob P:   I guess we’ll start musically … I am currently studying with a wonderful
             educator named Michael Carvin. Many of my favourite drummers studied
             with him and I’m very fortunate to be studying with him now. And I’m a
             huge, huge Stevie Wonder fan. Stevie is an excellent drummer and a lot of
             people don’t know it’s actually Stevie playing drums on a lot of his tracks. I
             guess you could say Stevie has made the world dance to his music and with
             any luck, I can make just as many people dance as a drummer.

Vera:     If you could play with any band or artist who would that be? Or have you
             already done that in your career?
Rob P:   You know, the things that I’m involved in right now, I’m very excited about.
             I have a trio that I play in with a piano player, Benny Lackner. We go by the
             name of the Benny Lackner Trio and that’s made with two of my best
             friends in the world [Benny Lackner, piano and Derek Nievergelt, bass]. And
             I absolutely love the music that we make and I also play with an artist out
             of Los Angeles, Chris Pierce, and Chris is a fast-rising star in the popular
             music world and I absolutely love working with him. I love working with
             Michael. I’d love to work with someone like Joni Mitchell. I’d love to work
             with someone like Meshell Ndegeocello, Ben Harper, or with Stevie Wonder.

Vera:     So have long have you been with the Bubléband?
Rob P:  Since January ’05.

Vera:     And was there an audition process or were you introduced? How did that
             come about?
Rob P:   It was more that I’ve known the guys … I went to college with a lot of the
             guys in the band. Even going back to Bill Wysaske [Michael’s former
             drummer]. He and I were in Los Angeles at the same time while I was in
             University. And I was there at the same time that Jason Goldman [Michael’s
             former alto sax player] was, and Justin Ray and Bryan Lipps, and Alan Chang
             was a little bit younger than us, and we went there … so we just sort of …
             I knew the guys and they knew me.

Vera:     So you knew the guys just socially, or were you at the same University?
Rob P:   … and professionally. We were close friends and when they eventually were
             in need of a drummer they let me know and we were able to work
             something out.

Vera:     If you could play any venue in the world where would that be?
Rob P:  You know, I don’t feel like that venue matters.

Vera:     The world has no boundaries? Is that what you mean?
Rob P:   Or just that I’m just as excited to play in a living room as I am to play in the
             Royal Albert Hall. I’m just as excited to play anywhere where I can get
             access to the instrument and the music. I try not to let the environment
             change how I feel about the way I play.

Vera:     What’s the favourite place you’ve visited on tour – either with Michael or
             with Benny Lackner?
Rob P:   We happen to be in Germany right now and I’m a big fan of Germany. I’ve
             been here several times.

Vera:     Is that through Benny’s influence?
Rob P:   Yes. Benny grew up here. Part of his formative years he spent time in
             Germany. We’ve toured here a bunch of times. I also really love Sydney,
             Australia.

Vera:     Language-wise, do you speak German or any other languages?
Rob P:   I can order in a Mexican restaurant! … I can eat in Spanish. I can deal with
             enough Spanish to get myself fed and around town if I have to.

Vera:     Can you tell me some technical details about the drum kit and the drum
             sticks you use?
Rob P:   I’m a DW Drum endorser and I’m a big, big fan of their drums and they are a
             great company to be involved with. I’m also a Zildjian Cymbals endorser as
             well as a Regal Tip Drum Sticks endorser and all three of those companies
              are very supportive and great to be involved with.

Vera:     Your drum solo at the end of “Smile” is absolutely amazing. Is that your
             favourite part of the concert?
Rob P:   That’s my absolute least favourite part of the concert. I’m not a fan of drum
             solos and I enjoy playing behind and supporting other people. I enjoy
             playing music because I enjoy playing with people and when everybody else
             stops playing, I suddenly … all of my reasons for playing disappear at the
             same time. I do enjoy and appreciate that the solo has become a popular
             part of the show, but that little moment is a little terrifying for me.

Vera:     So did you compose that solo yourself?
Rob P:   Michael came to me at one point and said, “We’re looking for a point in the
             show where we can feature the drums and we want to make it very
             exciting. We want to make it something that the audience will really enjoy”
             and he very much left it up to me to find a point in the show where I
             thought it would be a good idea to do that. So I figured we could do it on
            “Smile” because “Smile” is very fast and exciting and then I put the
             arrangement of the drum solo together and then it sort of worked out. It
             worked out real nicely … Jason Goldman is actually the person who arranged
             “Smile” and Jason and I are very close friends and I was just able to sort of
             understand the way in which he was building within the arrangement and
             able to insert the drum solo in there.

Vera:     So presumably that is also the most technically challenging piece that you
             play throughout the concert?
Rob P:   Yes, absolutely. Actually the hardest part about it is playing “Home”
             immediately after that song. By the time “Smile” is over I have to work very
             hard to slow down my heart rate in order to play “Home” as relaxed as it
             should sound.

Vera:     What’s your academic and professional background, training-wise?
Rob P:   I have a Masters Degree from the University of Southern California as well as
             a Bachelor of Music Degree also from the University of Southern California.
             I’ve studied with many, many teachers, including Michael Carvin, who I
             mentioned before, Billy Higgins, Ndugu Chancler, Terri Lynn Carrington, Jeff
             Hamilton, Joe La Barbera – lots of wonderful teachers outside of just the
             University that helped me get to the point of the journey that I’m on now.

Vera:     Do you have any brothers and sisters and are any of them musicians?
Rob P:   I’m in the middle of three boys. I have a younger brother and an older
             brother – neither of them are musicians.

Vera:     So if you weren’t a musician what do you think you would be doing in your
             career? Or what would you like to do if you weren’t a musician?
Rob P:   You know … I would be involved in some sort of business … I would be
             involved in some form of … making lots of money.

Vera:     It’s obviously difficult to transport your drum kit from one venue to another
            so presumably you can’t … or can you keep part of it with you and
            transport it yourself … or do you just keep hold of your drum sticks and
            that’s it?
Rob P:  Well fortunately we have a really great road crew that takes care of us and
            enables us to just show up and play.

Vera:     Has anything ever happened to your kit in transit?
Rob P:  Yes … and it’s not fun when that happens …

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