Tama: John, how long have you been with Prince?
John: Since September of 2000.
Tama: How did you first find out about the gig with Prince?
John: Prince and Larry Graham saw me playing with Patty Labelle back in the summer of 1999, on the Patti LaBelle and Chaka Kahn tour.
Tama: You used to play with Cameo too. How long did you play the gig with Cameo?
John: I started playing with Cameo, after graduating from Berklee in 1995. I was with Cameo from January of 1995 until January of 1998. In February of 1998, I joined Patti LaBelle's band.
Tama: You recently performed with the Japanese artist, Hikaru Utada. Do you have any plans to play with her again?
John: She has a new album out right now. During her Bohemian Summer 2000 tour, I recorded one track with her. I do keep in contact with Mr.Utada, Hikaru's father. We talk about all the things coming up for Hikaru. I do plan to work with her again in the future, when my schedule allows me to do so.
Tama: What other artists have you performed and or recorded for?
John: I played with Dion Farris for a short length of time. The track I preformed with her is on an album called Love Jones, which is the sound track for that movie. The song is called Hopeless. I've also performed with Keith Sweat, Gerald Levert and, of course, Patti LaBelle and Cameo. I also performed for a short time with Billy Eckstein. With my father being a well-known drummer in South Carolina, it helped me get out there at an early age. He recommended me for some Billy Eckstein shows, and I received a call to do it. I didn't even know what he looked like until I played with him. That was my first big gig.
Tama: What first interested you in Tama drums?
John: My father got me interested in Tama drums when I was eight or nine years old. My father started drumming as a child himself, and drums were his first love. Even though he's a computer engineer, drums will always be his thing. He had a set of Rogers drums and some Ludwig drums sitting around the house. My father would never talk about those drums. He was always talking about Tama drums. He always felt that Tama Drums were the best. For my Christmas present in 1987, he bought me a set of Tama drums. He bought me a five-piece Imperialstar and around the same time, he bought himself a Tama Techstar. I was hearing about Tama drums from him for all those years. I finally got the chance to sit behind them and I've been hooked ever since.
Tama: Can you tell us about your Tama Starclassic drum set?
John: My Tama Starclassic drums are truly one of a kind. I actually hand picked the shells myself from the Tama factory in Nagoya. I had a chance to visit the factory and pick out the shells during a break on the Hikaru Utada 2000 tour.
Tama: What do you like best about your Tama Starclassic drum set?
John: I love everything about my Starclassic set. I love the look and the sound. I love the way my toms sing, and the way the snare cracks.
Tama: What about the hardware?
John: The Iron Cobra hi-hat stand is great. I also love the control the Iron Cobra pedals. They are lightning fast. I was hooked on DW pedals for a long time, but since I started using my Iron Cobra pedals, I've lost track of where my old DW pedals are. That's the truth.
Tama: Are you working on any other side projects at this time?
John: I plan on working on a solo album sometime in the future. I want to do something in the Billy Cobham realm. I'd like to make my mark on the overseas market. I created a big buzz in Japan with Hikaru Utada, so I'd like to continue that in my own way, as a clinician and artist. That is my next focus, besides playing with Prince.