BY PHIL HOOD
Nick D’Virgilio is a name you should know for several reasons beyond being the current face of those Sweetwater drum videos. For one, you might know him because he subbed for a guy named Phil Collins on Genesis’ 1997 album Calling All Stations. He’s also done session work with many artists, including Tears For Fears. He was a founder of progressive stalwarts Spock’s Beard, and is a member of England’s Big Big Train. And, he’s the unofficial librarian of the works of legendary musician and engineer Kevin Gilbert (Toy Matinee, Sheryl Crow), who took D’Virgilio under his wing at an important point in his career.
Today, D’Virgilio is ubiquitous as the face of drum videos from Sweetwater Music, the gargantuan music store and online retailer based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He’s also the studio drummer at Sweetwater Studios, the high-end facility that regularly hosts sessions with top musicians from all genres. On the day of our interview he stood me up for about half an hour because apparently the legendary producer Bob Clearmountain had recorded a session there the day before, and they were having a final chat with him the morning after. In other words, I got bumped—but it was for a good cause. I interviewed D’Virgilio about his life in the music products industry as a musician who interacts with customers, manufacturers, and other musicians from both sides of the glass.
I hear “progressive” in all the groups you’ve worked with: Genesis, Tears For Fears, Spock’s Beard, your solo work, and of course, the music of Kevin Gilbert. All of these have that prog aspect whether they veer toward pop or metal or heavy rock.
Maybe that is my sweet spot, but really, I try to be as versatile as I possibly can. I really grew up on funk and R&B. For instance, we just did this record with [vocalist] Marcus Scott of Tower Of Power singing live with a band in the studio. Walfredo Reyes, Jr. is playing percussion, Michael Omartian on keys. It’s totally different, funk and Motown.
Growing up I was a huge Phil Collins fan, and he really brought that R&B sound to Genesis. It was progressive music but R&B was in there too. So I listened to all of it and tried to play all of it. I was in a Latin band, metal band, rock band, I tried to play some big band too, all because I needed to hustle.
What’s your daily job like at Sweetwater?
Officially, I’m the house drummer in our studio and web content provider. But my daily job is an amalgamation of a lot of things. One day I could be making a video where I demo products or do an interview or a vocal session.
My friend Mark Hornsby brought me in to Sweetwater. It was a studio before, with regional people recording—jingle work, and so forth—but Chuck [Surack, Sweetwater founder] wanted a bigger thing. Chuck’s idea was to make a real high-end studio. And Mark’s vision was “Muscle Shoals,” with a dedicated team of engineers, producers, and players. Every day is different here.
I have pretty special job here. It’s always based around music. Like yesterday, this Bob Clearmountain session came through and I got to participate just because I was here.
What do you learn from all the drum videos you produce and the reaction of Sweetwater customers and viewers to that?
When you put yourself out there like that it’s part of the territory that you get positive and negative feedback. But a lot of people tell me “I bought this piece of gear when I saw your video.” The internet is jam-packed with videos on gear, playing videos—there’s amazing musicians. I try to make it more fun.
I know this: our drum business at Sweetwater has exploded. So I hope I’m part of that. The assortment of drums here is ridiculous. One thing I really learned being here is that all these companies make good gear. Even the beginner stuff can be very good. What you have to do is be able to tell people the features and the nuances of each piece of gear so they can make a choice on their own.
Do you run into misconceptions about gear?
Not really. Unless they’re super-beginners, or parents buying for their kids that know nothing about gear, and they come to us for that education. You know as musicians we get into comfort zones with products, but there’s a “thousand ways to skin a cat,” as the saying goes. There’s not just one way to tune a snare drum or tom. Some people might think my way is just wrong. Some will think it’s the best information ever. You do the best you possibly can.
Tell me about the playing you’re doing now.
My band in the UK, Big Big Train, is doing really well. Our latest record was #35 in the Top 100 and #2 in vinyl sales. We have a tour coming in October playing 1,000- to 1,500-seaters. We should be booked for 2020 in the US and may be going to Japan. It’s doing really well and I love the music. They’re killer musicians.
How do you record those situations?
All the drums and vocals are recorded at Sweetwater, and most vocal parts. It’s one less plane flight. We’ve learned to work remotely. Everyone in the band is from the UK and one is from Sweden. Before that I would be recording in the UK but this is the most success we’ve ever had and it’s all done remotely.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iBJSp0g1ws&w=560&h=315]
Above, Nick rehearsing for Big Big Train sessions in 2014.
And, I also hear you are working on a solo record?
This is something I’m really excited about. All the drum vendors are sponsoring this record and we’re using a different kit on every song. I’m fully documenting the process, going through each tune, the drumhead combos, the kit, the cymbals and why they were chosen for that song. One reason we’re doing this is because it’s Sweetwater and we can. Who does such a thing? So I’m playing with all these amazing kits. The record includes Jordan Rudess, Tony Levin, and Paul Gilbert.
Tony Levin makes anything sound incredible.
Oh my gosh he sent me some bass parts. There’s one song where I play everything and I sent him the demo. He wrote me back and said “I can’t do any better.” So what he did is I play bass on the intro and main verse and then he plays stick fretless on the main song. But what he added to the song is just unbelievably fantastic. It’s called Invisible. It’s a concept record and we hope to have it out in October. I think it will be a unique thing that no one else has done.
In 2014 you went on the road with Cirque du Soleil. How was that different from band tours?
If you go on tour with your band it’s the same thing every night and it lasts a few months. But Cirque is Broadway—10 shows a week with slight variation. At the beginning it wasn’t great, but as time went on, I learned to like it. Cirque du Soleil is an amazing company. Sometimes the music can be pretty mellow, depending on the show, but one of the composers was a drummer and knew some bands I had played in. The show was drum heavy and I got to play hard. I played percussion, and guitar on one song. No one noticed if I changed it a little from night to night. I could shift it up more than, say, a keyboard player could.
Were you on the road with the kids?
We all left and joined the circus. We’d live in one place for up to three months and had schooling for the kids of performers. There were 11 kids and four teachers. It was an amazing experience for me and my family. My kids got to go to school in Royal Albert Hall. That was their school’s house! They got to travel the world at a young age and got a little street smarts as they were going into more adult years.
You are the keeper of the flame of the amazing Kevin Gilbert. Is there any more new music coming there?
I hope to do whatever I can whenever I can. He was a very special guy to me. I got my break in this business because of meeting Kevin. Before I was just a hustling working drummer, and Spock’s Beard had started by that point. But when I met Kevin I jumped a level of, you know, people doing bigger things. He took me under his wing, gave me the keys to his studio. I only knew him for a short period of time because he passed away early. When Brian McLeod got the Tears For Fears gig he said I should go to the Genesis office and see someone about getting an audition. He wrote a letter to their management because he thought they were getting together. And, I loved his music. He was stupid good.
We’ve released a lot of music by now so there’s not much new to release. We might try to perform The Shaming Of The True [a posthumous Gilbert album release by D’Virgilio]. They’ve been trying to turn that in to a Broadway show for many years—talk about a huge undertaking. I hope it never fades away. I’m doing a show this weekend at the New Jersey Prog House. I’m playing acoustic tunes and couple of Kevin’s, like “Ballad of Jenny Ledge,” an homage to the guy I had great respect for.
What’s something people don’t know about Nick D’Virgilio?
At five o’clock after work I have to clean a horse barn and pick up horse crap. Regular life goes on outside of music all the time for me. It’s usually wearing mud boots and walking in horse shit for me.