Drumming powerhouse Sean Fuller gave a free afternoon clinic at The Woodshed in South Windsor, CT on July 7th 2016. This coincided with his sold-out evening performance with platinum selling group Florida Georgia Line at the XFINITY Theatre in nearby Hartford.
Sean opened the clinic with a drum solo featuring amazing chops, blistering speed, and showmanship coupled with some vicious stick twirls and flips thrown in for good measure…His solo literally brought down the house. He then passed out numerous sheets of practice exercises, which are his personal favorites. Sean demonstrated a few of them with the assertion of practicing slowly at first and using a metronome.
Sean began playing drums with his guitarist Dad at age sixteen. While listening intently to Led Zeppelin, The Doobie Brothers, Alabama and many others…Sean always knew that he wanted to be more than just a drummer. It was most important to bring something new to the table. Consequently, in the past few years Sean has reinvented his style by leading with the left hand to improve ambidexterity. He also moved the hi-hat to the spot where his small tom would be for more tonal possibilities…This also freed up his right hand to hit the snare drum with more power.
Sean also spoke in detail about recording, and using ‘Ableton Live’
at home, on the road, and in the studio. Wikipedia describes the ‘Ableton Live’ system in the following ways.
“Ableton Live” is a software music sequencer and digital audio workstation for Mac OS X and Windows. In contrast to many other software sequencers Live is designed to be an instrument for live performances as well as a tool for composing, recording, arranging, mixing, and mastering. It is also used by DJ’s, as it offers a suite of controls for beatmaking, crossfading, and other effects used by turntablists, and was one of the first music applications to automatically beatmatch songs”.
Sean then proceeded to play a few Florida Georgia Line tunes including Cruise, Every Night, and Anything Goes. Sean hits the drums really hard, yet does so with finesse and accuracy. Thankfully, Woodshed proprietor Jay Wood had plenty of earplugs on hand.
In between answering questions from the audience, he emphasized the importance of a healthy diet and daily exercise. Besides intense practice, Sean works out, eats right, and drinks plenty of water. He continually stressed the importance of staying strong and focused for the rigors of the road, and extended touring.
Sean, for all his successes is a humble, soft-spoken gentleman who knows the importance of family and friends. Sean embraces the down time between tours, spending it with his wife and daughter. He said, “there is more to life than just playing the drums”.
There is no ego or pretense with Sean knowing that he is blessed with the good fortune of landing such a great gig. Before Florida Georgia Line, he was in the process of re-evaluating his life. Luckily, Sean had a heads-up on what three tunes would be played at the FGL audition. He learned those plus six others and won the coveted drum chair.
Sean has been with Florida Georgia Line since 2012…Averaging 230 shows a year. Watching the group grow from playing small clubs to football stadiums, and multi-platinum albums. The sky is the limit for Sean Fuller and Florida Georgia Line… Continuing to showcase the talent which has brought them worldwide success.