
On Tour with Shaboozey's Drummer Darren Poindexter The LA-based drummer reflects on how his Berklee training shaped his career and prepared him for touring with the country-rap star.
By
Colette Greenstein
September 27, 2024
Darren Poindexter BM '17
Image courtesy of the artist
Darren Poindexter BM '17 grew up immersed in music in the small town of Louisa, Virginia. A self-taught drummer who received his first drum set at age 12, he remembers watching music award shows and imagining himself performing the latest hits. Now, years later, Poindexter's dreams and hard work are paying off. Based in Los Angeles, the drummer who spent his Boston years leading wedding bands and playing with local acts is now on tour around the US through December of 2024 with country-rap star Shaboozey.
We recently caught up with Poindexter to talk about his experiences on tour with Shaboozey, his Berklee education, and more.
You're currently on tour with Shaboozey. How did that opportunity come about?This year has been really interesting for me. Before Shaboozey I worked with Forrest Frank of the band Surfaces, which introduced me to Spacebar Society, an agency that books bands and handles rehearsals and playback for different artists. The work I did with Forrest paved the way to the Shaboozey call. It's been a really busy and fun ride. So many different cities and crowds, great scenery and food, and it's a good group of guys to be around.
Are you the sole drummer on tour with him? What have you learned about playing at that level? I am the sole drummer, and I'm getting to put to use what I've practiced over the years. The drummers I studied always play to the best of their understanding and abilities regardless of environment. I aim to always swing for the fences.
Once you made the decision to be a professional drummer, did that decision bring you to Berklee? My decision to be a professional drummer came with how much I love the instrument. It was less of a decision and felt more like, I have to finesse this into what I do. Coming from a small town, you don't always know what's beyond or how to get there. Many people's passions fall by the wayside because they don't always feel like it's a tangible way to make a living. I discovered Berklee in my junior year of high school and that passion felt a little more real. Majoring in professional music allowed me to experience much that the school has to offer.
How did your education and experience at Berklee prepare you to be a professional drummer?I learned a lot in my time at Berklee, most of which was in practice rooms and from my peers. I think being self-taught helped me because I always look at things with a critical eye/ear. If I heard a rehearsal or someone practicing or went to a show, I'd enjoy it but take notes of all the musical interactions happening. I'd take them back to the practice room and mold myself in preparation to be in those situations. Seeing such diverse and high-caliber performances is much different in person than on TV. I paid attention to everything from how people comped in solos to how hard a drummer was meant to hit or how nuanced one could be.
Tell me about your experiences leading wedding bands and playing with local acts in and around Boston. I have many fantastic memories of playing weddings. There's something great that happens when you have known repertoire and musicians that don't know each other-it's truly one of the best ways to get to know someone. You can experience how they hear the world in a way because every player comprehends the music differently and then infuses the music with their own influences. I spent the second half of my Berklee years playing weddings and still do them when I'm not on the road. Many of these weddings lead to performance and recording opportunities locally.
Looking down the road, are there any other musicians you'd like to perform with? There are so many. I would love to work with Raphael Saadiq in some capacity. Bruno Mars-whether as a solo artist or with his other projects-and Snarky Puppy would be amazing. I also did a short run with an artist named Afgan, and I'd love to do more with him as well if he finds himself back in the US.
What do you hope for in your career, and what's next for you?My goal with music is and always has been to play music I love with people I care about and make a living. I love where I'm at right now, and I'm super excited for what's ahead. I hope to keep it exciting, fresh, and explorative.
Related Categories
Keyed In
News
Most Popular
Jim Lucchese
Image by Kelly Davidson
Jim Lucchese Named Berklee's Fifth President A 20-year music industry veteran and a committed artist advocate with deep Berklee roots, Lucchese sets the tone for a new era at the institution.
Latest
Image by Clem Onojeghuo
Independent Music Platform Ampwall Launches Signups Built by and for DIY musicians, the Bandcamp alternative is now open to the public.
On Tour with Shaboozey's Drummer Darren Poindexter The LA-based drummer reflects on how his Berklee training shaped his career and prepared him for touring with the country-rap star.
L-R: Alumni Achievement Award recipients Mark Kelley BM '03, Natalie Toro BFA '86, and Gustavo Borner '89 will be featured guests in season two of Pass the Mic.
Image by Mike Spencer
Berklee Alumni Affairs Launches Second Season of Pass the Mic Podcast The new season will feature Mark Kelley of the Roots, Broadway veteran Natalie Toro, and former president of Fox Music Robert Kraft.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
17/11/2025
EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast to Return Thanksgiving Night With Immersive, Data-Driv...
17/11/2025
Behind the Broadcast Booth: Impact Ventures' Greer Christian on Building Her...
17/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Sportradar's Brian Josephs Talks Peacock's Powerful Perfor...
17/11/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Greg Gumbel, Iconic Voice and Comforting ...
17/11/2025
ESPN, Pixar, the NFL, and Beyond Sports Team Up for ESPN's Dec. 8 Monsters,...
17/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: EA SPORTS' Evan Dexter on How the EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast...
17/11/2025
Cast your votes and sail into 2026 with the return of SBS's the Chillest 100
17 November, 2025
Media releases
Voting is now open for Australia's ul...
17/11/2025
When VSI Group, one of the world's leading localisation providers, set out to modernise its complex, multi-site operations built through years of acquisitio...
17/11/2025
Dealmaking for broadcast stations continues to heat up with Sinclair reporting that it has built up a 8.2% stake in E.W. Scripps and that it has been talking to...
17/11/2025
The worlds online population grew by more than 240 million people in 2025, according to Facts and Figures 2025 released today by the International Telecommunica...
17/11/2025
ASB GlassFloor, the leading provider in LED sports flooring, today announced the opening of Athletes Lab 2.0, a premier athletic training facility designed to e...
17/11/2025
SmallHD today announced the release of its popular Camera Control for Canon cinema cameras. This new integration enables filmmakers to adjust critical camera se...
17/11/2025
Luxury is in the details, and no one captures that better than the creative team at Samuel & Sons. As the visionaries behind iconic photography and advertising ...
17/11/2025
17 Nov 2025
VEON Commences USD 100 million Buyback Program Dubai, November 17, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON or the Compan...
17/11/2025
Monday 17 November 2025
Sky brings top comedy talent to screens with new stand-up specials
Sky and streaming service NOW are bringing audiences a fresh dose o...
16/11/2025
L3Harris to deliver advanced electronic warfare systems quickly for worldwide F-16 programs...
16/11/2025
Upgrading your Apogee Symphony MKII from TB2 to TB3: Need to Knows Upgrading your Apogee interface to Thunderbolt 3 isn't difficult - but it's not a cas...
16/11/2025
Apogee Electronics Acquired by Dirk Ulrich's Rockforce Tech Holding, Parent ...
15/11/2025
BURBANK, Calif. The Walt Disney Company and YouTube TV have reached a new multi-year distribution agreement, ending a carriage dispute that had blacked out ABC,...
15/11/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wis. A group of about 20 TV technology vendors supporting NextGen TV are wrapping up their ATSC 3.0 Interop here at Heartland Video Systems headquarte...
15/11/2025
NEW YORK NBCUniversal has announced that it will be launching NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), a 24/7 linear network featuring a wide range of marquee sporting event...
15/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has released an updated agenda for its Open Meeting on Thursday, November 20, 2025, which is scheduled to comme...
15/11/2025
JERSEY CITY, N.J. OpenVault has released new data showing that DOCSIS 3.1 and higher services are driving significant across-the-board increases in speed and co...
15/11/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has concluded an agreement with the Ohio Valley Conference ( OVC ) to broadcast OVC college basketball games across 20 Gray markets in five s...
15/11/2025
NEW BERN, N.C. Wheatstone has named company veteran Darrin Paley vice president of business accounts, effective immediately....
15/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Serves Up the Trailer for Dining with the Kapoors'...
14/11/2025
Op-Ed: The Automation Imperative - Why AI Is the Only Scalable Defense Against L...
14/11/2025
FutureSPORT 2025: Caretta Research on why streaming won't save broadcasters By Jo Ruddock
Monday, November 10, 2025 - 14:37
Print This Story
Caretta R...
14/11/2025
Daneysse Daniels, Emmy-Winning Production Manager and Beloved Teammate at TNT Sp...
14/11/2025
The NBA 2K League Returns as an Immersive Entertainment Ecosystem' With Non...
14/11/2025
Inaugural SVG LIVE! Conference Brings 250 Top Sports and Entertainment Producti...
14/11/2025
(L-R) Suzette Quintanilla, Isabel Castro, and Chris P rez attend the 2025 Sundan...
14/11/2025
This week, Casa Spotify lit up Las Vegas with an unforgettable celebration of Latin music and culture ahead of the 26th Annual Latin Grammy Awards. Hosted at th...
14/11/2025
Boston Conservatory Orchestra to Perform at Carnegie Hall for United Nations Gen...
14/11/2025
Berklee Alum Lewis Pickett Wins Record of the Year at Latin Grammy Awards Pickett, a 2009 graduate, was nominated six times across three categories at this ye...
14/11/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wisc. A group of about 20 TV technology vendors supporting NextGen TV are wrapping up their ATSC 3.0 Interop here at Heartland Video Services headquar...
14/11/2025
What if your idle operations centers, inactive cloud time, staff or you as a freelancer could start generating revenue tomorrow?
NECF Corporation today announc...
14/11/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, today announced that it has been recognized as a Major Player in the IDC MarketS...
14/11/2025
The recent ADAC RAVENOL 24h Race at Germany's legendary N rburgring circuit marked a milestone for live broadcast production, and Clear-Com played a pivota...
14/11/2025
Streaming tech companies M2A Media and Unified Streaming provided key software components that enabled the world's leading sports entertainment platform, DA...
14/11/2025
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management solutions, is strengthening its commitment to sustainability through a series of people-focused ESG (Environm...
14/11/2025
WASHINGTON As the federal government shut down comes to an end, the Federal Communications Commission has further extended some filing deadlines and issued some...
14/11/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. In the run-up to being spun off from Comcast, Versant has announced that USA Sports will be the new brand and division name for the company'...
14/11/2025
Friday 14 November 2025
Documentary short, Children No More, comes to Sky this December
Following its world premiere at DOC NYC yesterday, Sky today announces...
14/11/2025
Friday 14 November 2025
Sky to remain the home of Ryder Cup and DP World Tour through 2029
Sky and the DP World Tour have today announced a four-year partners...
14/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz redefines border security with comprehensive signals intelligenc...
14/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz, together with Samsung, first to validate 3GPP NR-NTN conformanc...
14/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the Trailer of City of Shadows
Entertainment
14 November 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
PREMIERING ON NETFLIX ...
14/11/2025
Today's AI workloads are data-intensive, requiring more scalable and afforda...