Brian Griffin

Americana/Rock Session Drummer/Percussionist

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64 Reviews (51 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.

Contact me through the green button above and let's get to work.

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
  • James Mastro
  • James Mastro
  • Lana Del Rey
  • Lana Del Rey
  • Richard Marx

64 Reviews - 10 Repeat Clients

Endorse Brian Griffin
  1. Review by Scott B.
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    2024 off to a good start with more fantastic drum tracks from Brian! A pleasure to work with as always!

  2. Review by Joel Willson
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    Great to work with! Fast turnaround. Excellent arrangements.

  3. Review by Gaz/Feralman E.
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    Awesome as usual!!

  4. Review by Gaz/Feralman E.
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    Really cool drums and percussion and super quick turnaround, again. Brian is awesome. I will keep coming back.

  5. Review by Scott B.
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    Another round of stellar drum tracks from Brian! Friendly, collaborative, efficient and excellent.

  6. 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!

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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

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

  11. 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.

  12. 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!

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

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

  17. 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.

  18. 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!

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

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

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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"Pretty When You Cry" by Lana Del Rey

I was the drummer in this production


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    "Pretty When You Cry" by Lana Del Rey
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    "Honey" by Austin Plaine
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    "Mainstream Kid" by Brandi Carlile
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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