325 - Stephen Bidwell: Playing with Black Pumas, Studying with Johnny Vidacovich, "I'm Not Here to be Drummer Guy"

Stephen Bidwell was born in Washington, DC and grew up in nearby Reston, Virginia. Since being first handed drumsticks in the late 80s he has studied and lived in West Virginia, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and New York but has called Austin, Texas home since 2005. Somewhere in those travels he earned a Bachelors degree in classical percussion and a master’s degree in jazz studies. Since early 2018 he has been the drummer for the Grammy nominated Black Pumas, a psychedelic soul group known for incendiary live shows. When not on tour with Black Pumas, Stephen plays in several diverse projects (Hard Proof, The Calm Blue Sea, Azmaris, the Mood Illusion), works in any genre you can think of as a sideman, and teaches lessons at his home studio in Austin.
In this episode, Stephen talks about:

How Johnny Vidacovich trained him to rely on instinct, not charts

The sustaining gigs he did during his first few years in Austin

How a prior ongoing relationship with Austin guitarist, producer, and Black Pumas founder Adrien Quesada led to getting the drum chair

Still working a day job during the first 1-2 years of Black Pumas activity

Chasing gigs vs. chasing the dream

The grooves and tones on The Black Pumas record