TWO Albums, ONE Drummer and TWO Microphone Brands

How Different Mics Tell Completely Different Stories

Some drummers walk into a session and immediately shift the orbit of the room: energy, enthusiasm, caffeine intake. Nick D’Virgilio (part of our round table discussion on page 14) is absolutely one of those drummers.

I have been blessed to make records with Nick for more than 25 years, and the word versatility is an understatement. Where you need him to dial in some flash or simply sit in the pocket, no genre is beyond his reach: rock, R&B, progressive rock, jazz, country—you name it, and Nick has a groove for it. These are the marks of a great session drummer.

Nick also plays several instruments and is an accomplished songwriter, which means he thinks musically rather than just rhythmically. He follows the melody and the groove. While that sounds simple, not every player thinks that way.