Drummer
Mark Letalien
Hello and welcome to my site! Thanks for stopping by. I have been playing the drums for 30+ years and still grateful for being able to do so. Even after all these years, I strive to get better, and really enjoy the journey! For more information about my musical past and present, please go to the About section below. Cheers!
-Mark Letalien
About
As I mentioned above, I have been hitting skins with sticks for a long time. During that time, I have had the pleasure of playing thousands of gigs in multiple styles and in multiple locations, from house gigs in Florida, casinos in Arizona, theatres in London, festivals in Oregon, hundreds of weddings, club dates, etc etc etc. I have played in front of 50,000 people and five people, and all points in between. Playing in such a variety of situations has allowed me to quickly adapt to a wide variety of musical scenarios.
I have had the great pleasure and honor to study with some fantastic players and instructors. A few of those include my first teacher, a wonderful man by the name of Barry Nelson. He was an excellent role model and mentor. While in my late teens, I moved to Los Angeles and attended Percussion Institute of Technology (P.I.T). The staff there was second to none, and I was able to learn from so many great players, including Joe Porcaro, Ralph Humphrey, Doane Perry, Steve Houghton, and so many others.
After attending P.I.T., I continued to seek out teachers, and have taken private lessons from Jim Chapin, Peter Erskine, Gordy Knudsen (Steve Miller Band), and Bruce Becker (long time student protege of Freddy Gruber), to name a few. I have a somewhat ridiculous amount of instructional books and DVDs that I use for inspiration. Some of my favorite drum instruction authors (and players!) are David Garibaldi, John Riley, Royal Hartigan, Benny Greb, Zoro, Tommy Igoe, Horatio Hernandez, Gary Chafee, etc. So many great ones! Point being is no matter how long you have played an instrument, you can (and should) strive to improve.
Some of the more noteable acts I have played with over the years include Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance, Shelby Lynne, and Bob Marley guitarist Junior Marvin. Other acts I play with and/or have played with include Abbey Road Live, Gimme Springsteen, Cosmic Charlie, Sweetwater Junction, Silverton, and many others.
I still perform regularly, and am always on the lookout for like-minded players that inspire me to grow as a player and a person. Still enjoying the journey!
Media
I have included several different instructional and live performance videos taken from the last several years. To check out more of my instructional videos, you can access my Youtube channel here. Thanks for watching and listening!
Rants and Raves (and other stuff)
..And Speaking of Max….
I have been on a Bruce Springsteen and the E. Street Band/Max Weinberg kick as of late. In watching some of there live videos, I am really amazed at HOW DAMN GOOD Max STILL IS at 70+ years. He is playing stadiums and arenas for three hours (or more) at every gig, and...
Hand technique: It never ends!
Recently purchased Steve Smith’s “Pathways of Motion” drum instructional book/DVD, as I am trying to improve my overall hand technique, specifically my left (weak) hand. Purchasing that book led me to (re) looking at some of Bruce Becker‘s instructional videos. Need...
So Max Weinberg didn’t play drums on the song “Born to Run”??
Apparently, I am the last to know! Recently spent some time learning the drum parts to the title track off of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”, and in the process learned that it was NOT Max that played on that track, but instead Ernest “Boom” Carter! It is a...
Contact Me!
Interested in lessons, need a drummer, or just want to say hello, this is the place to do it!