We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Charles Ruggiero. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Charles below.

Hi Charles, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I’ve worked on a lot of meaningful projects over the years, but I think the one that has to take the cake is my most recent album. It’s called Charles Ruggiero, drummer composer. I have seven records out as a leader, but I’ve never recorded any of my own music. Drummers always get a bad rap when it comes to writing music. In fact, there’s a great old joke about it. What was the last thing the drummer said before getting fired? “Hey guys, do you wanna try one of my songs?” Good one 

During the pandemic, some friends of mine, and I got together to record some music, and everybody brought original material except me, and I felt silly. So the next time we got together, I brought some of my stuff. To my surprise nobody laughed or poked fun. In fact, there’s a lot of support. And one of my friends said to me “These are the melodies you heard, and that’s enough.” I was so inspired – Immediately booked a studio and recorded an album of all original music. I also mixed it mastered. It did the artwork and all the packaging so I’m incredibly proud of it. I think it’s my best album yet.

Charles, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Well, like most people these days, I do bunch of different things. I’m a producer, a designer, a creative consultant, and a teacher; but really – I’m a drummer.

My father was an amazing drummer. He passed away, quite young, but he had made a huge impression on a lot of people, particularly in my hometown of Rochester, New York. He wasn’t physically present, but his presence was certainly very strong. So him not being there didn’t curb my desire to be just like him.

I was about 11 years old and I was hanging out in a T-shirt shop where all the cute girls in the neighborhood worked. An older guy came in and asked if there is any jazz T-shirts. As if on cue I asked him if he knew who my father was, since jazz was synonymous with him. It turns out he was one of my dad’s best students. I ran home and asked my mother if I could study with him and that’s when I really started to play.

I began as a rock and roller – jamming to Van Halen and Juno Hendrix records – but quickly got into playing jazz. When I was 18 I moved to New York City. It was a glorious time. The early 90s jazz scene in New York produced the who’s who of biggest jazz stars of today. Being a part of that was special. There were so many incredibly talented young artists all playing together, and we still have access to the men and women who invented the music in the first place.

Over the years I’ve gone back and forth between being a jazz drummer and being a rock drummer. I’ve played with everyone from Kenny G to Stevie Wonder all the way to Motörhead and Marylin Manson. And I love it all.

The albums I make which carry my name are mostly jazz records and that suits me just fine. Cause there’s always something new to do…

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have a lot of trauma in my story, particularly in my early life. My mother was an alcoholic, and my father was a drug addict. Wonderful people just ill-equipped, so to speak. As a result the majority of my life as an adult has been un-learning the bad information of my youth. I have so much gratitude for that now. I’m a real believer that learning lessons for yourself is the only way to ingrain the lesson. To get it in your DNA.

One of the major shifts I’ve had in my life which has enabled me to find real sustainable happiness, and be successfully married is the idea that I can’t rely on other people for my comfort. When I stopped asking other people (or the universe at large) to change some aspect of itself so that I could be comfortable my life really turned around. YOU don’t need to drive faster/put your towel on the rack/etc. I need to find what about me isn’t allowing you to be you… now this doesn’t mean I allow people to just run rough-shod over me, I have boundaries! But today, I make a habit of trying to see where I can change for the better rather than put the onus on you.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think that non creatives view “the artist life” as a choice. It’s not. If you’re creative you HAVE to create. There was a great cartoon I saw once about this. One panel had a person at an art board, painting something, and somebody was standing behind them, saying “you’ll starve.” With a caption – lots of people will tell you how hard it is to be an artist. The next panel was that same person sitting at a desk with bags under their eyes in front of a computer, with the boss standing over their shoulder, yelling at them, and the caption read: but nobody tells you how hard it is NOT to be an artist.

Contact Info:

• Website: Ruggierodrums.com
• Instagram: @ruggierodrums
• Facebook: Facebook.com/charlesruggiero

Image Credits
Brian Bixby photography