193: Nabil Ayers (The Lemons, The Long Winters, 4AD, Sonic Boom)

The Trap Set with Joe Wong

Joe Wong

Joewong, Drums, Comedy, Performing Arts, Arts, Drummers

4.8 • 709 Ratings

🗓️ 28 November 2018

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Nabil Ayers was born into a deeply musical family and began playing drums as a toddler. Eventually, he toured and recorded with bands such as The Lemons and The Long Winters, his experiences as a drummer serving as the foundation for what has become an impressively multifaceted career in the music business. Nabil tells Joe about: being raised by a single mom; getting his first drum set from his uncle, free jazzer Alan Michael Braufman; the few interactions he’s had with his biological father, Roy Ayers; getting arrested and charged with a felony; co-founding Seattle record store, Sonic Boom; his career as a record executive; and his budding interest in writing.

Transcript

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0:00.0	That just ruined everything I've ever heard and seen.
0:05.0	Ever. It was really, really heavy. It was really strange.
0:09.0	This is Joe Wong.
0:23.1	Welcome to the Trap Set, where each week we explore the lives of drummers.
0:27.6	I want to play something for you.
0:57.7	I'm going to why I bring you around when you start out so dry and then decide to be quiet, like an angry shout.
1:04.0	You're hearing Rich Wife by The Long Winters, featuring my guest, Nabil Ayers on drums.
1:09.9	Born into a deeply musical family, Nabil was gifted his first drum set when he was a toddler.
1:14.6	Early jam sessions with his uncle, free jazz artist Alan Michael Broughman,
1:17.1	coincided with a membership in the Kiss Army.
1:22.0	Nabil began his touring and recording career in the 90s with the Lemons and continued to play into the new millennium with the Long Winters.
1:25.9	His experiences as a drummer serve as his foundation for a wide-reaching, multidisciplinary career.
1:32.3	In 1997, Nabil co-founded the record store Sonic Boom, which over the course of the subsequent
1:37.8	two decades became a beloved Seattle institution.
1:41.5	He also created the label, The Control Group, releasing albums for artists ranging
1:45.8	from Licky Lee to The Killers. Now based in Brooklyn, Nabil is the U.S. label manager for
1:51.7	the venerable 4A.D. Records. Over the past few years, he's also tried his hand at writing.
1:57.9	His latest essay, Coming of Age in the Loft Jazz scene, was published in the New York Times in August.
2:03.5	I spoke to him in downtown Los Angeles. And now my conversation with Nabil Ayers.
2:13.6	I do actually remember being in our apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which was
2:22.4	like not a basement, but like a few steps down.
2:24.8	So there were windows.
	...

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