Conversations: Gorden Campbell on a Career as a Session Drummer (Episode 128)

Work begets work.

Gorden Campbell is a drummer to the stars. His credits include Earth, Wind & Fire, George Duke, Ne-Yo, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Gerald Albright and Lalah Hathaway, plus soundtracks like Dreamgirls. He is also a producer, and his album Conversations features heavy hitters like Kamasi Washington, BJ the Chicago Kid and PJ Morton.

In Episode 128 of The Career Musician, Nomad and Gorden talk studio to studio about how a session and touring drummer builds a career that lasts nearly 30 years, and what it takes to step out as a producer and artist. Here is what stood out.

Thrown into the fire at church

Gorden started playing drums at his grandfather's church at about five. His family was full of church musicians, so drummers were never in short supply. Keys players were. One day the adults stopped showing up and told him he had to get on the organ. He knew a couple of chords and had to figure out the pedals on the spot.

From there he did everything music: chorus, glee club, teaching parts to the gospel choir from the piano, marching band, jazz band. He went to Howard University in Washington, D.C. on a marching band scholarship, and the drumline's habit of stroking every double stroke left him with serious chops.

A band brought him to LA

Most players move to Los Angeles hoping to get seen. Gorden arrived with a gig. A vocal group from Howard landed a record deal, and he came out as their drummer. They spent most of a year in LA, doing TV shows and sitting in at clubs at night, and because people knew the band, people knew him.

He still had one semester left. His mom told him to go back and graduate, so he did. Two days after graduation he was back in LA, and a friend from school was leaving Gerald Albright's band. Gorden sent a tape, got hired, and slept on that friend's couch for about four months. Nomad's note for young players: finish school if you are there, because that network is family. You never know who in the hallway is going to be that one.

Always be cool, and never turn your nose up

Gorden said almost every big gig he got, from Earth, Wind & Fire to Jessica Simpson, came from someone seeing him at a club, playing for about a hundred bucks.

"You just never know who's there. So it's always cool to be cool. Don't be fake, but be cool, and just be a regular good person, and it just opens up doors."

Gorden Campbell, 21:44

He never tells people not to call him for the small stuff. He would rather have the choice to say "not today, call me next time." When he can't do something, he sends a younger player he believes in and vouches for them. Nomad broke down what the other person owes you in return: call and say thanks, then go represent that referral properly. As Gorden put it, if the call back starts with "your boy," he knows something went wrong.

That is Everything you do is an audition, on the bandstand and off it.

A handwritten thank-you note

Gorden told a story he heard from a well-known string arranger over lunch. Back in the day, one session bassist made a habit of mailing a note to the artist after every session: thank you for using me on your record. That simple courtesy made all the difference, and people kept calling him back. That bassist was Nathan East.

Nomad added his own story. He once played a charity gig for Nathan, left early for a flight, and a week later got a personalized note in the mail with his payment. The lesson from both of them: be gracious and grateful, and keep it real. A text that says "thanks for the call" is enough.

Versatility kept him working for 30 years

When Gorden arrived, he was a young drummer who could play authentic gospel, jazz from his jazz studies degree, R&B, pop and the hip-hop he grew up on in New York. For a few years he was doing rehearsals all over town, because few drummers with that mix lived in LA yet.

He also learned to show up ready. Crews and production managers saw him cover shows with no rehearsal, charts written on the plane, and they kept calling. When he started with George Duke, they ran maybe two songs in George's home studio, and George said "you got it, see you at the airport."

And when a pop artist took a year off, he went out with a jazz artist or did sessions instead of sitting at home. Different scenes, different people, steady work. That is Diversify or Die in practice, and the result is what Nomad always says: work begets work.

Pick a lane, then make the sacrifice

Gorden passed on a lesson from a legendary drummer: you almost have to decide whether you are a touring drummer or a session drummer, because when you leave town, you go to the back of the line. Perception matters. People assume you are gone, so when he got home he went right back out to the clubs so people knew he was back.

When he wanted to focus on producing, he turned down a big touring offer. The phone went quiet on the other end. He moved into his own studio in 2014, adding about two grand a month to his budget.

"You can't be scared. I mean, you're gonna be a little nervous... but you can't be scared."

Gorden Campbell, 50:41

People still pigeonholed him as a drummer, so he made the album. Conversations grew out of grooves he played on the drums and built songs around, then cast the right players for each track. He got a record deal on the strength of a friend's word before the label heard a note. That is reputation working for you. It is also Make Music Your Business.

The takeaway

Gorden defines success as an ongoing thing: hit a goal, set another, and find peace along the way. His advice for anyone moving to town is direct. Learn your craft and its history, because nobody can take that from you. Be ready to work a regular job while it builds. Have an open mind, be cool, and don't mind sitting in.

"Really learn your craft, man. Nobody can take that from you."

Gorden Campbell, 1:04:12

Find Gorden and his album at linktr.ee/Gorden. And if you want a game plan for landing the next call, grab the free Get the Gig Guide.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

Watch on YouTube or find every episode on the TCM Podcast page.