dopeYEAH talk

🔥 Grammy-Nominated Drummer & Vocalist Jamison Ross on the dopeYEAH Podcast! 🥁🎤
What happens when a voice this smooth comes from behind a drum kit? In this episode of dopeYEAH interviews, Rob Cass sits down with Jamison Ross, the Grammy-nominated drummer, vocalist, songwriter, and producer, and one of the rare musicians on Earth who can sing and play drums at the same time and make it look effortless.

Jamison's artist journey started at his grandfather's church in Jacksonville, Florida, where he sang and played drums long before winning the 2012 Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Competition for drums. He studied jazz at Florida State University and later earned his Master of Music at the University of New Orleans, a city he calls "the greatest gift of music to the world." His 2015 debut album, Jamison, recorded at Esplanade Studios in New Orleans and featuring a guest appearance by Jon Batiste, earned a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Vocal Album. 🎶

The conversation goes deep into the stories behind songs and the craft of soul music: his early collaborations with singer Carmen Lundy, the influence of Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye on his sound, why falsetto isn't considered cool anymore, and what actually makes a great song. As a song producer, Jamison also shares insight from producing Mykal Kilgore's Grammy-nominated "Let Me Go," and gives a live showcase of how singing and drumming together actually works. 🥁

This is one of those musician interviews that doubles as a masterclass in freedom, rhythm, and following your ears. A must-watch for any fan of jazz music, soul, or musician stories about finding your own sound. 🎥 If you like musician interviews from Rick Beato and Rick Rubin, you would love this one as well.✨

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🔥 Grammy-Winning Vocalist Nicole Zuraitis on the dopeYEAH Podcast! 🎤🏆

What does it take to go from a childhood dream of being Whitney Houston to a Grammy Award, with a detour through opera, football, and self-taught piano along the way? 🎸🔥 In this episode, Rob Cass sits down with Nicole Zuraitis, the American jazz vocalist, pianist, composer, and arranger who won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for How Love Begins, one of the most compelling artist journeys in music today.

Nicole traces her story from Waterbury, Connecticut, where she started singing at 11 and trained classically at NYU before a brief run in opera convinced her jazz was where her voice actually belonged. She talks candidly about teaching herself piano, coining her own term (Jazzlore, not folklore), and the sheer disbelief of a night in New York City when she found herself saying, out loud, "Oh my God, we are playing jazz in New York City!" It's one of the great stories behind songs in recent jazz history, and a window into how inspiring artists actually find their sound. 🎶

The road from a 2019 Grammy nomination for her arrangement of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" with drummer Dan Pugach, now her husband, has led to back to back nominations in 2025 and 2026 for Live at Vic's Las Vegas and Little Fears. Nicole also gets real about being a woman in jazz, choosing between music and motherhood, what's genuinely terrifying about AI in the music industry, and why the best musicians she's ever met play weddings and bars, not arenas. 🎤

Funny, honest, and unfiltered, this is one of those musician interviews that goes past the usual industry interviews and into the real stories of musicians building a life in jazz music, capped off with a live improvised song, an acoustic reworking of "I Dare You (Call My Name)," and a surprise duet with Rob on "Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay." A must-watch for anyone who follows music history, iconic musicians, or viral music success stories. 🎥✨

If you like musician interviews from Rick Beato and Rick Rubin, you would love this one as well.

👉 CLEARAUDIO
This episode also features a special collaboration with clearaudio — the Celebrity “Al Di Meola” Edition turntable, inspired by his iconic Gibson Les Paul. Limited to 1,000 pieces, it blends high-end German engineering with artistic design and comes with a numbered special release album by Al Di Meola and a guitar pick — a true collector’s item. 🎸
👉 Learn more via the link: https://bit.ly/4tGGudp

🔥 Bass Legend Marco Mendoza on the dopeYEAH talk Podcast! 🎸🎵What does it take to spend four decades holding down the low end for some of rock's most iconic bands — Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, The Dead Daisies, and Ted Nugent — and still sound hungry for the next show? 🎸🔥 In this episode, Rob Cass sits down with Marco Mendoza, the bassist, singer, and song producer whose resume reads like a history of modern rock music.Marco takes us back to San Diego, where jazz and big band records shaped his ear long before rock took over. He talks candidly about being married at sixteen and playing gigs while quietly hiding an addiction — one of the more honest musician stories you'll hear on this podcast — before hitting rock bottom and finding his way to 38 years of sobriety. 🎶 He remembers the call that changed everything: "Darling, Marco, this is David Coverdale," the moment that pulled him into Whitesnake and into a different level of the business.From there, the stories keep coming — joining Black Star Riders, trading riffs with iconic guitarists like Steve Vai, and building a reputation as one of rock's great bass slappers along the way. 🎤 Marco talks about the industry interviews he's given over the years, what it's like sharing a stage with guitar legends across generations of rock music culture, and why he still geeks out over a great groove. He also gets into his fantasy band lineup and what performing live still does for him after all these years — proof that inspiring journeys in music don't stop once you've made it.Raw, funny, and full of hard-won wisdom, this is a masterclass in longevity and one of the most inspiring artist journeys we've featured — essential listening for any fan of rock music, rock music history, or the stories behind songs that shaped a generation. 🎥✨
If you're the kind of listener who gets lost in Rick Beato's deep dives on musicianship or the unfiltered storytelling of Broken Record with Rick Rubin, this is exactly your kind of conversation. 🎧
dopeYEAH talk exists for exactly this kind of story: real, unfiltered musician interviews and artists interview conversations with the people who built rock music culture from the ground up. Between rock music interviews packed with rock music insights, rock music analysis, and stories of musicians who've lived every high and low, this is the corner of the music podcast world built for iconic musicians and inspiring artists chasing more than viral music success — and Marco Mendoza is exactly why the Rob Cass podcast keeps digging for these dope interviews and celebrity profiles worth remembering.

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What if one of the most meaningful moments of your life came in the form of a single white feather? 🤍 In this episode, Rob Cass sits down with Julian Lennon for a deeply personal conversation about music, photography and family. Known for his successful music career, fine-art photography, bestselling children's books, and humanitarian work through The White Feather Foundation, Julian shares the stories that have shaped his remarkable journey.Julian reveals the extraordinary story behind the foundation after an Indigenous elder in Australia handed him a white feather with an unforgettable request: "You have a voice. Can you help us?" He also shares the story behind the famous Bono photograph that happened by accident, explains why none of his photographs are ever staged, and reveals the stories behind some of his most iconic images. Along the way, he reflects on how his mother's strength shaped the person he became and how anonymous demo tapes, sent to a record label by a friend, unexpectedly led to his first record deal. 🎶The conversation also explores his relationship with his brother Sean, the childhood drawing that inspired his father to write "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," and why he swore he'd never cover a Beatles song, until the moment came to record "Imagine" for a greater cause. Honest, thoughtful, and deeply inspiring, this episode offers a rare glimpse into the life of an artist who has spent decades creating music, capturing extraordinary moments through photography, and using his voice to make a difference. ✨👉 CLEARAUDIOThis episode also features a special collaboration with clearaudio — the Celebrity “Al Di Meola” Edition turntable, inspired by his iconic Gibson Les Paul. Limited to 1,000 pieces, it blends high-end German engineering with artistic design and comes with a numbered special release album by Al Di Meola and a guitar pick — a true collector’s item. 🎸👉 Learn more via the link: https://bit.ly/4tGGudp

STAY TUNED ON SOCIALS:https://instagram.com/dopeyeah.talkhttps://www.tiktok.com/@dopeyeahtalk?_t=8pWkf42Rm9h&_r=1https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563840578898https://x.com/dopeYEAHtalkIf you like musician interviews from Rick Beato and Rick Rubin, you would love this one as well.

What does it take to become the guitarist that Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Elton John, and countless legends keep calling? 🎸 Rob Cass sits down with Marc Ribot — one of the most adventurous guitarists of the last four decades, with credits on more than 600 recordings.From his early days in a literal garage band to helping shape the sound of Tom Waits’ Rain Dogs, Marc shares stories about Chuck Berry, Tom Waits pushing until the sound was right, Elvis Costello’s smart way of working with musicians, and Elton John wanting to try something new. He also explains how to make a guitar sound like something else and why Cuban music changed his thinking 🎶Beyond guitar, Marc reflects on film scores, protest songs turning into songs of rage, and the space between Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake. Witty, sharp, and inspiring — this is a rare look inside the mind of a guitarist you’ve definitely heard, even if you didn’t know his name ✨👉 CLEARAUDIO💥 This episode also features a special collaboration with clearaudio — the Celebrity “Al Di Meola” Edition turntable, inspired by his iconic Gibson Les Paul. Limited to 1,000 pieces, it blends high-end German engineering with artistic design and comes with a numbered special release album by Al Di Meola and a guitar pick — a true collector’s item. 🎸👉 Learn more via the link: https://bit.ly/4tGGudp
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