As the backbone to New Orleans funk fixture Galactic, drummer Stanton Moore has been an absolute force ever since the band’s formation almost 20 years ago. With a new record out this year, Into The Deep, the band has put out some of their strongest work to date and show no signs of slowing down.

Our Malcolm Finkelstein got to chat with Moore recently about his upcoming Spirit of New Orleans (SONO) Drum Camp, what it’s been like to become an educator and some of his fondest musical memories. Read below for more.

L4LM: How did you develop the idea for the SONO Drum Camp and how did the opportunities present themselves to you to get started with it?

SM: It’s an idea that I’ve had for a while. A lady who books for me, Elizabeth Lang, her husband Thomas Lang, really kind of started doing a lot of camps and showed the drumming community that it was a workable model. So then I had her booking camps for me. I wanted to make mine centered on what I have to offer, which is the whole New Orleans side of things. A lot of drummers usually have some kind of interest in the New Orleans thing. That’s where the roots of a lot of things are. So I wanted to make it unique and really show what I offer.

L4LM: Who have you invited to the camp as special guests in the past and who are they this year?

SM: The first year I had the Soul Rebels as my special guests and they came and did a master class. Everyone got to second line with them afterwards and play with those guys. Last year, I had George Porter, Jr. as my guest. Each year I end the camp with a concert. The camp attendees get to learn through the master class and then have the opportunity to play with them. Whoever my special guests are will do a master class as well as a concert.  This year my special guests are Galactic. So we’ll do a class and then answer some questions, as well as having some people sit in. At the end concert I’ll play one or two tunes and then the campers get to come up and sit in with Galactic. It’s all-open to the public and it’s a lot of fun.


L4LM: What makes the Parlor Studio such a special place for the camp this year?

SM: Well its an amazing studio, and it’s been built meticulously to be a world class studio. In recent years I’ve done it at the Old U.S. Mint, and that’s a great spot because it’s right at the foot of Frenchman Street. I’m about to launch my subscription based drum academy, which is going to provide a huge library of videos I’ve done over the years. It dives into everything from how I hold the stick to how to learn Afro-Cuban beats. The reason I agreed to go into the Parlor is because I’m going to film the whole thing, which will add more content to the drum academy site. So it makes sense to do the camp in a setting where it sounds really good and looks really good and use that as content to continue to post on the subscription site.

L4LM:  What are some of the best lessons you’ve learned along the way as an educator?

SM: For me I always try to give people something they can walk away with and use immediately. That’s going to make them a better musician, a better player, and that’s going to improve the level at where they’re at. I like to give people things that they can use right away, things that they can do right away. That’s a challenge–to try and connect with people at every level. I’ve worked over the years to develop things that I present that will connect with people at every level.

Galactic, Soulive And Cyril Neville Will Join Forces For Run Of Shows In 2016

L4LM: Have any of your students gone on to do bigger things and are you in touch with anyone in particular?

SM: There’s a girl who used to come to my sound checks with Galactic who would come and take lessons with me often. Long story short, she’s now Prince’s drummer. Her name is Hannah Ford. Adam Bergner is one of my students who plays with Mike Dillon’s band as well.

L4LM: What are some of your fondest memories of coming up as a musician, both inside and outside the context of Galactic with all of the musical legends with whom you’ve performed?

SM: You know, being that Allen Toussaint just passed away, we’ve had him come and play with us and rehearse beforehand and such–we’ve done that a couple of times with him and that was amazing. Since we just lost him that’s been on my mind a lot lately. That was very memorable. Just to go way back, I used to drum tech for Russell Batiste–long story short I got asked to fill in for him on a few gigs. I wasn’t quite ready yet, I was maybe 20. To actually get called by some of these legends for gigs is truly amazing. To me, guys like George Porter, Jr. and Leo Nocentelli (The Meters) are the equivalent to The Beatles, in terms of New Orleans music.


L4LM: When you first got going did you envision yourself as a teacher?

SM: I didn’t originally think about that so much. I wanted to focus on playing. The teaching stuff happened because people just kept coming and asking me to teach them. The educational stuff started to really snowball for me when DRUM! Magazine reached out and asked if I was interested in doing a monthly column about New Orleans drumming. Once you have a book and a DVD out a lot of people just reach out for lessons. I dig helping people become better musicians, and inspiring people is awesome. It returns back to me because it helps me understand what I’m doing on such a deeper level.

Jam Cruise Has Revealed An Incredible Schedule

L4LM: You mentioned Second Line drumming. Can you talk about Second Line drumming and its lineage within American Music?

SM: New Orleans is really the root of it. The general consensus is that drums started in New Orleans. This whole concept of playing a drum set really started there. With Congo Square being in New Orleans, which was the only place that allowed African people to practice their music, religion and dance in Congo Square, these people were able to practice their culture in New Orleans. So that culture started to permeate out of Congo Square into the city and you start mixing the European culture and music with African culture and that’s really where you start to get the whole New Orleans thing.

L4LM: Is there anyone you’re dying to play with that you haven’t yet?

SM: I’ve been asked this question a lot. There’s tons of people. Coming off a tour with Maceo Parker was just amazing. I have to think about that one though, because I’ve played with so many people.


L4LM: What’s new with Galactic? What can we expect from this upcoming tour and going into the New Year?

SM: We think the new record, Into The Deep, is some of our best work to date. We’re already starting to work actively on the next record. Next week we start recording drums for the next record.

L4LM: Unrelated question we’ve received from fans: Where do you get your glasses from?

SM: Kaenon is the company. They’ve been making sunglasses for years. In the last several years they’ve been making regular glasses as well. I have a great relationship with them.

L4LM: New Orleans living legend Johnny Vidacovich has been a friend and mentor of yours for a long time. He’s quite the character. What is the best quote you’ve heard from Johnny V?

SM: I love Johnny and the whole Vidacovich family. One of the most memorable ones is, “Bruh, drums is from the neck down. You have to play drums from the neck down–you can’t be thinking about it too much.”