Today we’d like to introduce you to Cory Ponder.
Hi Cory, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
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I started as a saxophone player. After a rough year in school, my middle school band director offered to let me switch to drums if I brought my grades up. He already knew I was playing drums at home, and that I was a much better drummer than saxophonist. Once the grades came up, I moved from sax to drums in concert band and then auditioned for the junior high stage/jazz band.
Those years changed everything. The director loved jazz and made us listen to Chick Corea, Coltrane, and Miles Davis. I was mostly a rock and blues drummer at the time, but hearing that music was a lightbulb moment. It permanently changed how I play and how I hear.
Marching band pulled me into rudimental drumming, which sharpened my drumset playing and opened the door to music outside pop and rock. I stayed in marching band and jazz band through high school. My junior year I made Southwind Drum and Bugle Corps and marched there for two years. I later marched Carolina Crown in 1997 and the Cavaliers in 1998, and I performed with the JSU indoor drumline in 1996 and 1998. In college I focused on classical and rudimental percussion. Drum set didn’t become my primary instrument again until after school.
Around 1999–2000 I bought my first pro-level kit and started gigging and teaching as much as I could. I played in various groups in my hometown and had a fusion trio that worked the Southeast, mostly out of Charlotte, from 2001 to 2004. After that band ended I took whatever sideman work I could get and kept teaching private students and high school drumlines until a chance opened to move to the Nashville area in 2007.
When I first got to town I did a lot of pop/rock and jazz sideman work. In late 2011 and early 2012 family health issues meant I needed to be home more, so I stepped back from most gigging. I had a small recording setup and did some remote sessions, but I was largely out of the playing scene until 2017.
Since then I’ve been working as a session drummer, live drummer, and studio owner/engineer. I own a studio south of Nashville in Murfreesboro with my wife and our three dogs. These days I’m gigging, running the studio, and taking on as much work as I can handle.
I like moving between styles, both live and in the studio. The newest piece for me has been mixing and engineering. It’s a different kind of challenge than gigging, but the problem-solving feels familiar—same instinct as sitting down at the kit, getting a sound, and building a part that serves the song.
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We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
due to some family heath issues I wasn’t active gigging from late 2011 till 2017
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Love all styles but have mainly focused on jazz and other instrumental music as far as creative ventures go. Spent many years playing drums in CCM styled churches and various side man gigs around town.
I always enjoy the challenge of learning new music, reading charts and finding the right sound for the music/gig
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My earliest teachers in Jr High and High School were my biggest influences. They had high standards that were reflected in their ensembles and individual students.
Most of my learning surrounding song approach and sound came from them. Van Thornton (Jr High), Woody Leonard (HS) and Ricky Savage (HS) made me much of the player I am today.
Besides them the players I listened to growing up – Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, Gary Novak and Steve Smith helped me form my sound as an adult. Modern players like Justin Brown, Ronald Bruner, Marcus Gilmore and many other great young players are carrying the tradition forward.
Pricing:
- $400 per session (3-4hr block) in my studio
- Various for outside sessions
- Album and single mixing vary as well
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Cory_Ponder
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cpdrumming
