Rising Stars: Meet Matthew Sukert of Midcity/West LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Sukert

Hi Matthew, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Hi, my name is Matt Sukert, and I am a professional music director, session and touring drummer. I started my journey as a drummer when I started taking drum lessons as an 8th birthday present. I am from Randolph, Nj and all throughout my childhood I played the drums and took lessons. Nobody in my immediate family are musicians, but I am lucky enough to have incredibly supportive parents. Growing up, there was not a large music scene in Randolph and I was too young to perform in NYC, the closest city. Instead, I did everything you can do within the public school system that involves percussion along with my private drum set lessons. I was in the wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, percussion ensemble, and marching band. I was a tenor drum section leader my senior year and composed the cadence the marching band played when marching into and out of the school’s football stadium and competitions. I also was selected to record audition tapes that got me accepted into honors region wind ensemble, honors region percussion ensemble, and honors region orchestra. I was also selected by the music faculty to record audition tapes that got our high school, Randolph High School’s, percussion ensemble to be the New Jersey representative at the National Percussion Ensemble festival in Indianapolis. I specialized in Traps percussion, which encompasses the snare drum, bass drum, and all other auxiliary percussion instruments like cymbals, triangle, shakers, concert toms, etc. This was from 2011-2018.

I have always been very lucky and grateful to have incredibly supportive private drum lesson instructors. In NJ I took lessons from the age of 8-14 with Scott Miller, a local teacher who really opened my eyes and helped me develop a great baseline knowledge of the instrument. These lessons were every week at a local mom and pop music store called The Music Den. From the ages of 12-14, The Music Den held drum solo competitions in which I enrolled and won. This led me to find the Guitar Center Drum Off, and after watching videos of the winning performances over the years on YouTube, I was hooked. I was particularly interested in the winner of the 2011 Guitar Center Drum- Off, JP Bouvet. In the summer of 2013, I found out that JP would be doing a drum clinic with two other incredible drummers, Matt Halpern and Mike Johnston, called the Common Thread Clinic Tour at The Manhattan Sam Ash music store. My Dad agreed to take me, and after watching an amazing clinic, I went up to JP to ask him for a picture and subsequently gathered the courage to ask him for a lesson. He agreed and gave me his email, and the next thing I knew I had another great mentor who for the next few years would have me commute to his studio and take 2 hour lessons. This is where I recorded drums for the first time and really started to expand my ability and obsession with the instrument. When I became eligible at 16 in 2016 to participate in the Guitar Center Drum Off, I made it to the store finals, beating out many older competitors.

When I was 15 I started to take lessons in North Jersey closer to home with renown educator Joe Bergamini. Joe is a monster drummer and very well respected in the industry. Not only has Joe worked on Broadway (Hamilton, Beautiful, Jersey Boys, etc.) He was Neil Peart’s (Rush) auto-biographer and a successful author of many drum books published through Hudson Music. Joe was the first person to really expand my knowledge and help me grow my abilities on the drum set to an advanced level, and introduced me to what a career as a professional drummer would look like. Joe also taught famed drummer Mark Giuliana (David Bowie, St. Vincent) and invited me to Mark’s book release event at The Cutting Room in NYC. As a 16 year old I got to meet so many of my drum heroes at this event. These include Jojo Mayer (Nerve), Mark Giuliana, Carter McClean (The Lion King) and Anton Fig (David Letterman). Joe was very nice to me and intriduced me to all of his peers and had me totally starstruck. I studied with him until moving to Los Angeles when I was 18 for college and I still reference the materials we used when practicing today.

During my senior year of high school I auditioned and was accepted into the University of Southern California’s Popular Music Program; the contemporary music program in the Thornton School of Music. This floored me as it validated all of my work and my passion, and moving to LA became my ticket to drumming professionally. I moved to Los Angeles when I was 18 in August of 2018, and began my studies as a drum set major, and shortly picked up a business administration minor after my sophomore year. Throughout college I was fortunate to garner even more amazing mentors, taking lessons with Will Kennedy (The Yellow Jackets, Herbie Hancock, Chaka Khan) Peter Erskine (Weather Report), Aaron Serfaty (Arturo Sandoval), Sean Holt (Santana, John Legend), Doug Petty (Tears for Fears, Danny Elfman), Tim Kobza (Sara Bareilles), Chris Sampson, and Patrice Rushen. It was through them that I really learned how to be a great session player and live performer, learning how to work and perform with bands. This is what laid the foundation for my career as a professional musician and I started to take gigs and sessions with my peers and independent artists my second semester of my freshman year at USC. Throughout my four years at USC I really developed my network and have made a nice life for myself as a musician in multiple different LA music scenes. I met managers, producers, musicians, artists, music directors, and people in all arts disciplines like video directors and dancers through USC that I still work with to this day. I graduated in 2022 and have stayed out in LA pursuing work as a music director and producer ever since.

Since Moving to LA in 2018, I have worked on numerous projects as a session and touring drummer. In the beginning it was a lot of small independent artists, but as time has passed my resume has grown. In the session world, I have worked for artists such as Ashes to Amber, Aidan Laprete, Sophia Dion, San Andrea, Jackson Sage, Iditza, Ella Collier, Jason Iyama etc. I have also done a few sessions with producer Gray Toomey for the artist D4VD. I have had the opportunity to be called into sessions and work with producers/engineers Brian Malouf (Michael Jackson) and Vic Wainstein (Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator, Mac Miller) as a drummer with some larger artists that I am not at the current time able to dispose due to NDA’s I have signed as the music is still being produced.

On the Music Direction and touring side of the industry, I have played the LA club circuit (The Viper Room, The Whisky a Go Go, The Echo, El Cid, The Moroccan Lounge, The Hotel Cafe, Good Times at Davey Waynes, The Pig n Whistle, Madame Siam etc.) numerous times with various artists. These include Ashes to Amber, Guspy, Aidan Laprete, Chosen Jacobs, Sophia Dion, Jackson Sage, San Andrea, Karina Rae, Garrett Zoukis, etc. While In school, I played the Deer Valley Summer Concert Series in Park City, Utah with songwriter Sophia Dion in 2019 and 2022. I have also played at Brick and Mortar in San Francisco with Karina Rae in 2022. Post grad, I continue to play local shows and I have also toured the country with post-wave band Ashes to Amber and Dark Wave artist Indie Anthony, both on The Cowboy Killers Tour in Winter of 2023. I played Austin City Limits in 2023 with Delacey, and did a 10 week residency through Marvel at BLVD World in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Winter of 2022. While in Saudi Arabia I also had the opportunity to perform at the Saudi Royal Family’s country club to celebrate one of the Princess’s baby showers. I have also worked with the Grammy Foundation as the house drummer for the 2024 Grammy Camp Summer Sessions program at the Grammy Museum in DTLA. Further, I have toured with Aidan Laprete, opening for the midwest leg of Matisyahu’s 2022 Summer tour. I am about to embark on the Ashes to Amber American Junkie Tour in fall of 2024, working as both drummer and music director.

I also have been fortunate enough to be called to drum in a slew of music videos, most notably with director and friend from USC, Elan Bia. With Elan’s first production company No Soap I was drumming in the music video for “Seasons”- Prentiss feat. Lil Aaron, my first Vevo release. I am also drumming in the music video for the song “Damn!”- Zack Bia feat. Teezo Touchdown, through Elan’s most recent production company, Dogma. I am in the video for and recorded drums on the song “Dreams” by my talented friend and guitarist Jason Iyama. I have also worked with Island Records recording artist Diego Gonzalez, filming a 3 song live set of his original music in DTLA. I have done multiple 3 song live sets for Ashes to Amber. One with Jam in The Van, and another with the company SauceOnly. All of these can be found on YouTube.

Now at 24, when I am in LA and not touring, I record drums at my studio in West LA, as well as teach private lessons to a hand full of students weekly, and play drums for On The Beat music agency. I have also held a couple residencies at local clubs like Thai Angel in Korea town with composer and arranger Benny Lipson. More recently I am working on producing music and progressing my drum programming, playback, and live show arrangement skills in order to add more value to any room I am a part of.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would say smooth, but by no means easy. When people tell you that the music industry is the hardest industry to succeed in, they aren’t kidding. As time progresses, I have realized that they aren’t saying that as a diss to your ability or personality either. It’s quite literally a game of tonnage. Not only do you have to be an immaculate player, but you have to be kind and work hard and constantly put yourself out there in order to grow your network. The bigger the network, the greater the opportunities and that just simply takes hard work and time. And even with a large network there still is a little bit of luck involved. Running into someone who can give you your next big gig, having schedules align, being at the right place right time etc. And now with social media being such a big factor in brand visibility, the independent musician such as myself has not only got to focus on their musical ability, but their ability to brand themselves and reach the right audiences. I am always asking myself how can I bring value to rooms and how can I let potential collaborators know that they can benefit from working with me and that they need me there without coming off as desperate or annoying. You have to be your own manager, accountant, publicist, and most importantly supporter and friend. It is always important to believe in yourself, while also being honest about what’s working for you and what isn’t and knowing how to pivot your approach in all of these departments to further your career.

More personally, I moved out here when I was 18 with no friends or family in California, having only been here twice, once to San Diego when I was 8 for a family vacation, and the second time for my audition at USC. Navigating finding my people took a lot of time, and I am lucky to have made many friends at USC who are SoCal locals who’s families have become like tertiary families while I am out here. I love them all very much and they have made it easier for me to establish myself as a person and start a life here. Shout out The Toomey’s, The Severino’s, The Acosta’s, The Deguzman’s, the Dion’s, and The Ehlers.

There are also universal struggles every drummer in a large city goes through, such as finding a spot to set up a studio and do work without disturbing the neighbors! Luckily I have always figured out how to meet my needs as a drummer and have rented out various spots to use as my studio.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a music director, touring drummer, and session drummer. I specialize in playing all genres of contemporary music, and am known not only for my stylistic versatility, but also my explosiveness behind the drums. I have also been lauded by collaborators for my ability to get a large tone out of the drums and having my own “sound.” My playing has been described as making the drum set sound very full like a single instrument instead of a bunch of instruments being played simultaneously. I have also been complimented on my musicality and groove; emphasized by the placement of my snare drum on backbeats.

What sets me apart is my knowledge of the instrument, I know what drum or cymbal and what tuning is needed to get the sound desired by the artist from the instrument. I also can read drum notation, treble, bass, and alto clef (thanks music school) and guitar tabs. This has allowed me to be able to chart out difficult parts and understand music composition and arrangement and really analyze and serve the song. From a recording perspective I engineer myself a lot, and with that comes understanding what mics work in different settings and how to run a recording session in a DAW (I use Logic.)

To date I am proud of everything I have touched, but more recently my work as a touring drummer and music director for Ashes to Amber, leading rehearsals and helping the songs translate to the live stage. Come check us out at The Echo September 5, 2024. This is the first stop on The American Junkie Tour.

Further, I am proud of the network I have built and the relationships I have maintained. Anyone can play their instrument, the secret to success is finding the people who will allow you to grow and trust you with their art. On top of performing and working as a hired gun, I also have goals for writing and producing my own music. There is always so much work to be done and I look forward to a long career doing what I love. Please reach out to me on Instagram @themattsukert, for all your drumming/music direction needs! I am always looking to work with new people and trying to grow my career!

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
As I mentioned earlier, I have had a mountain of musical mentors that I still look to today for guidance. That could be in life or if I need help looking over a tour contract or session splits. More importantly though are my parents and family. My family has fostered my love for music and my gift since I was 5, getting me a First Act drum set as a holiday gift. They let me drum all the time and never complained about the noise as a kid and got me lessons when I was 8 because they saw it made me happy to drum! My Mom and Dad have spent thousands of hours taking me to lessons and coming to performances and shows, and the Love we have for each other is something I am so grateful for. They took me to The Cutting Room show I mentioned earlier and have always supported my journey with love and a smile.

My extended family and friends have also been huge supporters. My late Grandpa Jerry was always asking for VHS tapes (it was the early 2000’s) of me playing as a kid and helped really motivate me to keep playing. My Nana Meg and Grandpa Tom are both in the art’s, my grandfather being a retired art teacher and my Nana being a retired general music teacher and private flute teacher. It is always nice to talk to them about music and creativity as they understand the path a little more than most. Shout out my Aunt Bears, Uncle David, Aunt Beth, Uncle Mike, Aunt Kim, Uncle Phil, Aunt Ella, and Uncle Jared for always talking music and taking me to shows, I love you all very much.

Most importantly thanks to everyone that has trusted me with their art and allowed me to be a part of their story, without you I wouldn’t have any of the experiences I have had like getting paid to travel and perform in places such as Saudi Arabia, NYC, LA, SF, SD, Hawaii, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, North Carolina, etc.

Thank you Brandon and Claire, as well as the rest of my extended family.

Pricing:

• Lets work! If you need drums find me on Instagram @themattsukert. I work with all budgets!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://matthewsukertmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themattsukert/

Image Credits
Gaby Deimeke
Aidan Laprete
Logan Perry