Recording credits include Lana Del Rey, Brandi Carlile, The Black Crowes, Alessia Cara, The Wallflowers, Iggy Pop, Dolly Parton, Dionne Warwick. Los Angeles based session drummer available to help you with your music! Great touch, feel, sounds and ideas.
Hi I'm Brian Griffin and I am a versatile Los Angles-based session drummer. In addition to my NYC background in Jazz, I've toured/performed with Brandi Carlile, The Black Crowes, Richard Marx, David Gray, Patti Smith and many others. I record drum and percussion sessions for profile aritsts as well as television and films scores. Great recording equipment and a wealth of great drums and percussion instruments. Stylistically I have worked in Jazz, Brazilian, Punk, Pop, Americana, Soul, Rock, Blues, Latin, Afrobeat, and many other styles.
Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Credits
- Jamie McLean Band
- Lana Del Rey
- Dionne Warwick
- Richard Marx
- Brandi Carlile
- Dolly Parton
- Iggy Pop
- Alessia Cara
- Rumer
- Orange Is The New Black
- The Lone Bellow
- david gray
- Pink Sweat$
- Austin Plaine
- Sarah Joyce
- Rodney Crowell
- Rachel Eckroth
- Broken Baby
- Jon Solo
- Greg Holden
- Katie Toupin
- Alexia Bomtempo
- Anthony da Costa
- Lucy Wainwright Roche
- Chris Ayer
- Brian Elmquist
- Aaron Lee Tasjan
- Courtney Jaye
- Patti Smith
- Christian Rottner
- Nikki Lane
- Fee Waybill
- The Black Crowes
- Opsvik & Jennings
- Moira Danis
- The Revelations Feat. Tre Williams
- Jamie McLean Band
- Brandi Carlile / The Lone Bellow
- Jack Henderson (6)
- Lana Del Rey
- Lana Del Rey
- Brandi Carlile
- Sandra McCracken
- Dolly Parton
- Carrie Manolakos
- Katie Toupin
- Alessia Cara
- Licity Collins
- Broken Baby
- Dionne Warwick
- Fee Waybill
- Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche
- Michelle Gurevich
- The Wallflowers
- Azure Ray
- Rumer
- The Black Crowes
- Broken Baby
- Richard Marx
- The Black Crowes
- The Black Crowes
- James Mastro
- Lana Del Rey
- Lana Del Rey
- Richard Marx
76 Reviews - 11 Repeat Clients
Endorse Brian Griffin
check_circleVerifiedBrian is a phenomenal drummer!
H's quick delivery was at the highest quality, both in performance and recording.
Top notch- check_circleVerified
Brian is simply THE BEST.
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Brian did an outstanding job for me on this project. Great tone, touch, feel- everything you look for in a pro drummer- and the process was super interactive- he gave me samples of what he had in mind and was pefectly responsive to input. Highly recommended !
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Really, really great experience with Brian. A total pro. Superb communication. Brian quickly understood what I was after and delivered multiple takes to choose from. Great drums sounds that fit the style. Brian was a pleasure to work with. I highly recommend.
check_circleVerifiedBrian is great and fun to work with, nailed the track I sent him and was super quick, with great tones and killer grooves. Highly recommend.
check_circleVerifiedTotal pro and a pleasure, just as all Brian’s reviews express. What made him exceptional from other drummers I’ve hired is him sending me excellent rough mixes of his takes and including me in his creative process to accomplish the very best takes for my song.
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Always brilliant working with Brian.
I have a really open brief and he totally nailed the vibe, as usual.
I really dig working with this guy…he’s excellent - check_circleVerified
Brian is a great drummer and a wonderful communicator. He accurately captured the feel and tone of the drum track that I had in mind and managed to far exceed my expectations in every respect. I highly recommend working with Brian! He will undoubtedly add to your project.
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Perfect!
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Brain was great to work with!
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Pleasure working with Brian. Quick turnaround, great playing and went above and beyond. Highly recommended!
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It was great working with Brian. Very easy to work with. Fantastic groove, feel and ideas. 5 stars!
check_circleVerified2024 off to a good start with more fantastic drum tracks from Brian! A pleasure to work with as always!
check_circleVerifiedGreat to work with! Fast turnaround. Excellent arrangements.
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Awesome as usual!!
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Really cool drums and percussion and super quick turnaround, again. Brian is awesome. I will keep coming back.
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Another round of stellar drum tracks from Brian! Friendly, collaborative, efficient and excellent.
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Another great track by Brian. This one had a sparse reggae feel to it and Brian nailed it promptly and with great touch and style. Five 5️⃣ stars!
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Brian was very kind and polite. He recorded seven different takes, all of which were great.
Please give me another job.
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Once again Brian nailed it. This song was right in his wheelhouse and he crushed it. A pleasure and very easy to work with Brian who is timely, professional, and creates excellent drum tracks.
Interview with Brian Griffin
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Whatever sounds great!
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Sensitivity warmth groove dynamics. Song-specific / unique sonic palate.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: Artist sends me a demo of a song, and if there’s time scheduled together, I will quickly shoot back a rough mp3 while I'm working to see if the artist likes the sounds and approach. Then I record upwards of 3 takes with some variation - quieter louder, more fills etc. I also record some percussion if appropriate- shakers hand drums tambourines etc, and then I upload it all for the client to download. I will allow one revision at this point, but it is rarely needed.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: Various modern and vintage drums of all flavors. Stacks of cymbals. Cases of conventional and exotic percussion. Various ribbon, condenser and Dynamic mics. I typically record through neve-style pres ir API pres into apogee converters.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: T Bone Burnett, Jim Keltner, Jay Bellerose, Victor Indrizzo, Shawn Pelton, Buddy Miller, John Leventhal, Tchad Blake, James Gadson and many others
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Live drum and percussion tracks for artists’ songs as well as soundtrack music for film and TV
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Songwriter music.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Listening.
I was the drummer in this production
- "Pretty When You Cry" by Lana Del Rey
- "Honey" by Austin Plaine
- "Mainstream Kid" by Brandi Carlile
- "Move The River" by The Wallflowers
- Live drum trackContact for pricing
- PercussionContact for pricing
- Programmed drumContact for pricing
Turn around time 7 days max. 1 revision allowed.
- Ludwig Gretsch Rogers drums. Neve/Vintech
- API Preamps. AEA AKG Beyerdynamic &SHURE Microphones. Istanbul AGOP
- Zildjian CYmbals. Various handmade and world percussion.
