Brian Griffin

Americana/Rock Session Drummer/Percussionist

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59 Reviews (46 Verified)
Brian Griffin on SoundBetter

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.

Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.

Credits

Discogs verified credits for Brian Griffin (4)
  • 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
  • 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
  • Lana Del Rey
  • Lana Del Rey
  • Richard Marx

59 Reviews - 10 Repeat Clients

Endorse Brian Griffin
  1. Review by Scott B.
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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!

  2. Review by nishioka h.
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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.

  3. Review by Scott B.
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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.

  4. Review by Gaz/Feralman E.
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    Top class pro here. Brian is the real deal. We’ve done a couple of songs and I’m coming back for more. I thoroughly recommend. Plus, he’s a cool guy

  5. Review by felix s.
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    Brian always delivers the best sounding drums!

  6. Review by Jacob V.
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    Great communication, awesome playing and turned around multiple takes for easy editing in less that 24 hours.

  7. Review by Scott B.
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    When I sent Brian the song he was on tour in Asia. He recorded the drums immediately upon returning and nailed it as always!

  8. Review by Scott B.
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    Five stars! Brian knocked this one out in a timely fashion and nailed the groove! It is a pleasure working with Brian - it takes the drums tracks to a professional level - easy to work with and excellent quality.

  9. Review by Scott B.
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    Once again Brian nailed it. I had a certain flavor for the drums in mind and Brian nailed it right off the bat. He was willing to take the time to speak with me and provided tracks which were prompt, highly skilled and distinguished parts of the songs building up to to the ending.

  10. Review by PJ C.
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    by PJ C.
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    Drums and latin percussion with next day service! What's not to love? Brian did a great job serving the song, handling requests for small changes, and he came up with some great sounding parts. Would happily work with him again. Solid efficient and professional.

  11. Review by felix s.
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    Always deliver the best sounding drum. Definitely will work with Brian again and again.

  12. Review by Scott B.
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    Another successful project with Brian! He is talented, easy to work with, down to earth and gets the job done in a timely fashion without any sacrifice in quality.

  13. Review by Scott B.
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    Once again Brian laid down some fantastic drum tracks. He also took the time to give me some recording tips and always has insight into the music industry in which he is highly successful. It is an honor to work with Brian and I highly recommend him!

  14. Review by Kristian R.
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    Working with Brian is amazing. Great musical feel and top professional!

  15. Review by Kristian R.
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    It was great working with Brian! Immediate delivery and great quality. A true pro!

  16. Review by Link
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    by Link
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    Great working with Brian! Very quick turnaround, excellent communication and totally expressive, pro tracks. Looking forward to next time!

  17. Review by Ken Stringer
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    I had a great experience working with Brian. He is very professional, and provides very high quality work. Communication with him was great, and he very quickly worked out a drum arrangement for my song that I am extremely happy with. I highly recommend Brian, and I look forward to working with him again.

  18. Review by Ethan M.
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    Brian was very quick and detailed with his communication. He created the perfect atmosphere and soundscape for the project. Much appreciated!

  19. Review by Scott B.
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    Another successful collaboration with Brian! I had started recording drums myself, but it just lacked that professional sound. I was happy to pass the job off to Brian and he didn’t disappoint. He also had valuable songwriting tips and provided excellent feedback along with laying down great tracks!

  20. Review by Bruno M.
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    Couldn't be happier with the result of working with Brian. He really 'got' the project and provided a drum track with beautiful subtleties and even added a few things that were icing on the cake. Highly recommend!

Interview with Brian Griffin

  1. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  2. A: Whatever sounds great!

  3. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  4. A: Sensitivity warmth groove dynamics. Song-specific / unique sonic palate.

  5. Q: What's your typical work process?

  6. 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.

  7. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  8. 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.

  9. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  10. A: T Bone Burnett, Jim Keltner, Jay Bellerose, Victor Indrizzo, Shawn Pelton, Buddy Miller, John Leventhal, Tchad Blake, James Gadson and many others

  11. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  12. A: Live drum and percussion tracks for artists’ songs as well as soundtrack music for film and TV

  13. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  14. A: Songwriter music.

  15. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  16. A: Listening.

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I was the drummer in this production


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Terms Of Service

Turn around time 7 days max. 1 revision allowed.

GenresSounds Like
  • Jim Keltner
  • Jay Bellerose
  • Kenny Aronoff
Gear Highlights
  • Ludwig Gretsch Rogers drums. Neve/Vintech
  • API Preamps. AEA AKG Beyerdynamic &SHURE Microphones. Istanbul AGOP
  • Zildjian CYmbals. Various handmade and world percussion.
More Photos