About Sam Harrisson
Sam Harrisson is a Montreal-based drummer with over 35 years of experience performing live and in the studio. Known for his versatility, his playing spans a wide range of styles — from blues and rock to pop and everything in between.
Sam's Career
His talent, versatility and work ethic have made him the first call for many producers, artists and musicians over the years. Sam is a Maple Blues Award Drummer of the Year winner as well as the recipient of 11 Quebec Lys Blues Awards.
The Montreal based drummer's past and present collaborations, both onstage and in-studio, include multi-platinum and gold-selling artists France D’Amour, Corneille, Marjo, Éric Lapointe, Nanette Workman, Gage, and Offenbach, in addition to successful artists Steve Hill, Hubert Sumlin (Howlin’ Wolf), Dawn Tyler Watson, Angel Forrest, Steve Strongman, Sam Tucker, Cliff Stevens, Edith Butler, Coral Egan, Smokin’ Joe Kubek & Bnois King, Anik Jean, Antoine Gratton, Patrick Fiori, Christian Marc Gendron, Porn Flakes, Les Respectables and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Gasoi. Sam has also been hired repeatedly by notable producers such as Guy Tourville (France D’Amour, Sylvain Cossette, Roch Voisine), Mark Plati (David Bowie, The Cure, Les Rita Mitsouko), Glen Robinson (Keith Richards, Tori Amos, The Ramones) and Rob Heaney (Cirque du Soleil, Kevin Parent, Jean-Pierre Ferland), to name but a few.
From 2013 to 2020, Sam was busy recording and touring across Canada, Europe and the USA with his power-trio blues-rock band The Paul DesLauriers Band (The PDB). In January 2016, The PDB came in second place at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, USA, a world-wide competition that saw 119 bands competing for a spot on the podium. The PDB was also a winner of multiple Maple Blues Awards including Drummer of the Year, Guitar Player of the Year, Bass Player of the Year, Electric Act of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.
In November 2019, Sam had the honour of performing Jon Lord's Concerto for Orchestra with L’Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and special guests Bruce Dickinson (Iron Maiden) on lead vocal and conductor Maestro Paul Mann. The event took place at The Palais Montcalm in Québec city for 2 sold out concerts. It was a special event celebration for the 50th anniversary of the Concerto.
His busy touring schedule has carried him around the world. Sam has played hundreds of stages on four continents including many historic venues such as L’Olympia de Paris, numerous Zénith throughout France, the Centre Bell, Club Soda, Spectrum and Metropolis in Montreal, the Hard Rock Café and Universal Studios in L.A., and the Moscow International Performing Arts Centre in Russia, amongst others. Sam has also played prominent music festivals such as the Festival de Jazz de Nice (France), Playing with Fire Festival (Omaha, NE), South by Southwest (Austin, TX), Big Blues Bender (Las Vegas), the Festival d’été de Québec and has made regular appearances at the Montreal International Jazz Festival throughout his career.
He has made numerous studio and live recordings at prestigious studios such as Electric Lady Studios and Avatar Studios in New York City, Studio Méga in Paris, Planet Studios, Studio Tangerine, and Piccolo Studios in Montreal. An interview with Sam was featured in an article in the May 2006 (no.24) issue of France’s popular drumming magazine Batterie Magazine.
In addition to being a seasoned live performer and a sought-after session player, Sam was the drum teacher at the Montreal International Jazz Festival’s annual TD Blues Camp from 2004 to 2019, and has been giving private drum lessons for over 25 years.
Sam is currently playing shows and touring with artists France D'Amour, Steve Hill, Dawn Tyler Watson, The Ben Racine Band, among others.
"I have been playing and loving my Dream cymbals for over a decade now. The buttery feel and the spectrum of colours that these cymbals provide brings me joy every time I play them. Each line is unique and covers the palette of sounds that I need to accommodate all the styles I play. The Bliss and Vintage Bliss lines are among my favorites. They respond very quickly and have huge range of dynamics. The swift attack followed by a nice low-end spread makes them a favorite live and in the studio. The Crash and Crash/Ride cymbals accentuate the music quickly and get out of the way to let the rest of the music breathe. The Bliss rides provide a musical round attack with a nice under-wash. The Hats are cutting without being aggressive and have a beautiful slushy sound when played half opened. Over the years, many drummers, musicians and sound engineers have complimented me on my cymbal sound. Engineers were amazed at how easy it was to blend them in the mix. Dream cymbals make me sound good. That's all there is to it."
Sam's Dream Setup
Meet Our Artists
Michael Cavanagh
Michael “Cavs” Cavanagh is an Australian drummer best known for his work with the psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. Cavs has been a pivotal member of the band since their formation in 2010. His dynamic drumming style encompasses an array of genres, including psychedelic rock, progressive rock, jazz, and thrash metal.
Cavanagh’s versatility and energy have significantly contributed to the band’s innovative, genre-bending sounds.
Paul Wertico
Paul Wertico, a seven-time Grammy-winning drummer best known for his work with the Pat Metheny Group, has performed with artists like David Bowie and Kurt Elling and released several acclaimed solo albums. Also a dedicated educator, he’s in his 22nd year as Associate Professor of Jazz at Roosevelt University and continues to conduct drum clinics worldwide.
Ben Satterlee
Ben Satterlee has been connected to the drums for as long as he can remember. Raised in Oklahoma, he came up through concert band in middle school and jazz band in high school, earning spots in the Tulsa All-City Band during both his junior and senior years. He credits his early mentors, Mr. Baird (Nimitz Middle School) and Mr. Kirk (Booker T. Washington High School), for fostering his passion and setting him on the path he still follows today.
Though accepted to Berklee College of Music after graduation, Ben chose to continue the momentum he had already built—having played club gigs since the age of 13 and touring regionally by 19. In 2012, he and his wife relocated to Nashville, where his career expanded into touring, recording, and developing his own teaching approach rooted in simplicity, musicality, and real-world application.
Ben is currently in his third year as the touring drummer for Grammy Award–winning Larkin Poe. When he’s not on the road, he’s at home in Nashville spending time with his wife and their four boys.
Dante Foley
Dante Foley (They/Them) is a drummer and video creator from Cleveland, Ohio. Coming from the Cleveland open mic and DIY scene of the 2010s they sat in with many local projects before joining and touring with Cleveland collective Mourning [A] BLKstar. The collective went on to win the Cleveland Arts prize, compose and perform music for Company Christoph Winkler in Berlin, Germany, as well as tour the U.S. and the E.U.
Foley has also traveled the U.S. and E.U. as a guest percussionist in the band Algiers and freestyle percussionist for the Lonnie Holley quartet.
Lia Braswell
Setting out on one’s own is a daunting thing. Whether it’s leaving home, changing careers, or in Lia Braswell’s case, pursuing her first solo musical endeavor, the process is nearly always as fraught as it is illuminating. But on her debut full length, Repetition, Revisions, Temptation, Decisions, she executes the feat with astounding grace.
If Braswell’s name rings a bell, that’s because it should. Having done time as the touring drummer for A Place To Bury Strangers, TR/ST, Le Butcherettes, Sextile, and many others, Braswell has performed on nearly every continent and played internationally renowned festivals such as Coachella and Cruel World. As such, it should come as no surprise that her impressive resumé shines through in the expertly crafted, ethereal dream pop of Repetition, Revisions, Temptations, Decisions. Simultaneously evoking the airy, atmospheric sensibilities of Cocteau Twins, the pop-forward experimentation of Kate Bush, and the hyper-danceable, retro synthwave of contemporary artists like Riki and Nuovo Testamento, Braswell’s self-assured presence as both a songwriter and vocalist results in an effort that bears none of the awkward growing pains one might expect from a new project. Equally arresting is Braswell’s lyrical finesse, with profoundly evocative and delicately personal narratives elevating the already deeply affecting music to heights that border on the sublime.
Moving from the relative anonymity of a drumkit to the revealing illumination of center stage comes with its own unique set of anxiety-inducing challenges, but if Braswell is experiencing any trepidation, it certainly doesn’t show in the quality of her music. Then again, when you’ve already toured with Iggy and the Stooges by age 20, maybe embarking on a solo career seems quaint in comparison. What’s beyond debate is that Braswell has a remarkable knack for songwriting and performance that is self-evident on her stunning debut. Accomplished a career as it already is, Repetition, Revisions, Temptations, Decisions feels like just one more step forward in an ever-growing body of work that is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Escape Ten
Escape Ten is a percussion duo formed by Dr. Annie Stevens and Dr.
Andrea Venet. Escape Ten is passionate about exploring all genres, and expressing it creatively through the colorful world of percussion. The duo performs a varied and exciting spectrum of music- including contemporary, pop, jazz, and classical selections. Repertoire includes their own innovative arrangements, as well as arrangements and compositions written exclusively for the duo.
Escape Ten actively performs around the country and has their own publication series of new percussion duos through Keyboard Percussion Publications (KPP). Recent activity includes a showcase concert at the 2016 PASIC Convention of new keyboard duo works, and Escape Ten's world premiere of their commission, 2300 Degrees by Ivan Trevino in Atlanta’s Spivey Hall.
Escape Ten has been featured artists at the Barnes Foundation, the 35th and 36th Annual Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Seminars, the Rhea Miller Concert Series, the McCormick Marimba Festival, Minnesota Percussion Association Day of Percussion, University of Central Arkansas, University of North Carolina, Southeast Missouri State, Virginia Tech, the International Trombone Festival, Christopher Newport University, the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference and at the Virginia Humanities Conference at Roanoke College.
Decorated as accomplished soloists, Escape Ten members Annie Stevens and Andrea Venet have both performed and competed throughout the world. Both hold a doctorate in Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. Dr. Stevens is Assistant Professor of Percussion at Virginia Tech Dr. Venet is Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of North Florida.
Andrea and Annie are both Malletech performing artists, endorse Remo and Dream Cymbals, and are active members of the Percussive Arts Society.
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(Andrea Venet)
Dr. Andrea Venet is the Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of North Florida where she directs the UNF percussion ensemble, teaches applied lessons, pedagogy, methods and percussion literature. As a passionate educator, Dr. Venet’s research involves pedagogy, with focus on college percussion education at various levels, classical improvisation and historically informed Baroque performance practice techniques for Bach on marimba. Her arrangements and compositions can be found through KPP.
As an international soloist, Dr. Venet has performed at the 5th Annual Marimba Competition in Stuttgart, Perkumania Paris International Marimba Competition, as well as taking 2nd prize at the 2013 PAS KoSA Solo Marimba Competition at New York University. Additionally, Dr. Venet has been a featured soloist with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble, a member of the award winning Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, and performed with Grammy winning alternative band TOOL.
(Annie Stevens)
Dr. Annie Stevens is the Assistant Professor of Percussion at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia where she teaches studio percussion and directs the Virginia Tech Percussion Ensemble. As an active soloist and chamber musician throughout the U.S. and internationally, Annie has been featured in recent performances at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, International Trombone Festival, the International Trumpet Guild, the International Computer Music Conference, and Eastman’s China Connection Ensemble. She has performed with the festival orchestras of the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, the National Orchestral Institute in College Park, Maryland, and the Aspen Music Festival. She can be heard on albums, Blue Earth County with the Kelly Rossum Quartet, and Escape Ten’s, Colours of a Groove.