Stereo Embers The Podcast 0310: Adam Topol (Jack Johnson, Eddie Vedder, David Gilmour)

“Cuando” Adam Topol doesn’t sit behind a kit the size of Alex Van Halen’s or Chad Smith’s, but he’s equally as mighty. Topol is like Charlie Watts in the sense that he just kind of sits in the pocket and holds it all down. Like Watts, his style looks super laid back, but looks are deceptive because laid back appearance aside, big work is getting done. Topol is a subtle player who’s inventive, tasteful and intuitive and he plays with a blend of finesse and muscle—he’s one of the best drummers on the planet. Subtlety aside, the Lake Tahoe born Topol was reared on punk rock and his teenage years were spent listening to bands like Black Flag and the Adolescents. The young drummer pounded away on his kit to the loud stuff, but he was also equally smitten by the quieter stuff like the music of Cat Stevens. Educated at USC and the Berklee College of Music, Tool’s formal education quickly gave way to knowledge that can only come from outside a university campus. In other words, real life. And in his real life, Topol soaked the world up. A fan of jazz and Afro Cuban percussion, Topol spent time in Cuba studying the discipline of drums. Although Topol might be best known as the longtime drummer for Jack Johnson, he’s sat behind the kit for Alana Davis, Ziggy Marley, Eddie Vedder, David Gilmour and Jimmy Cliff. He’s played in a band with Joey Santiago of the Pixies, been a part of the Culver City Dub Collective and put out great solo albums like 2019’s Cuando, which showcased his talents as a singer-songwriter. Adam is a practitioner who plays with fine drawn precision, rhythmic smarts and musical intuition. He’s a fabulous player and a very cool guy www.adamtopol.com www.adamtopol.bandcamp.com www.bombshellradio.com Stereo Embers www.stereoembersmagazine.com www.alexgreenonline.com IG: @emberspodcast