From a first-place finish in Slingeriand's Louie Bellson National Drum Contest at the World Famous Frank's Drum Shop (read about that whole experience in the December 2005 issue of Classic Drummer magazine) to landing his first major drumming gig all before his seventeenth birthday, Gregg Potter has driven his charismatic drumming style as hard and fast as it would go.
Gregg has appeared on numerous live radio and television shows, MTV, several featured films, and has worked with the likes of SIREN (Mercury Polygram), Joe Walsh, Rick Neilson, Steve Stevens, Tommy Shaw, and Jack Blades. An established Chicago icon, Gregg stays busy with studio sessions in the Chicago area, and working with his Chicago rock duo, Blackbox, featuring Damon Ranger on vocals/guitar and Gregg on drums.
On November 7, 2009 at the Park West in Chicago, Blackbox, along with Cheap Trick guitarist, Rick Nielsen, who had joined the duo onstage at a Chicago Grammy Chapter event at Columbia College, won an Emmy for their live performance of the Cheap Trick classic, "He's a Whore". Gregg had to leave the Emmy’s early to perform with Supermercado, who opened for international recording artist, Steelheart, and then had to return to the Emmy’s to collect his award. CBS originally aired the video clip on March 27th, 2009.
Gregg Potter's clinic appearance at the 2010 Chicago Drum Show on Sunday, May 16th, at 1:00pm, was made possible by Trick Drums, Prentice Practice Pads, Sabian, Gibraltar, ThunderEcho Drums, HansenFutz and Skins-n-Tins. I caught up with Gregg at the Drummer Cafe stage, after his Chicago Drum Show clinic, for the following video interview.
