Gordy pushes the beat to another Grammy nomination

Two-time Grammy Award winning percussionist and Marylander M.B. Gordy returns from Los Angeles to tell Nestor about the beat of his latest – and fourth – Grammy nomination with “Seven Seasons” in the Classical Compendium category.

Nestor Aparicio discusses his upcoming Maryland Crab Cake Tour with special guests, including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Gina Schock and his seventh-grade music teacher, Mr. Calvin Stadium. He highlights his friend and Grammy-winning percussionist MB Gordy, who has been nominated for a Grammy for his work on the album “Seven Seasons” by Kit Wakeley. MB Gordy shares his journey from Salisbury, Maryland, to becoming a multi-Grammy Award-winning percussionist, his experiences with various bands, and his current projects. They also touch on the Grammy nomination process and the importance of live performances.

• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Attend the Dundalk crab cake tour stop with Gina Schock on Thursday (participate in the scheduled crab cake tour stop)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Attend the Gertrude’s crab cake tour stop on Friday with Dan Rodricks and John Shields (participate in the scheduled crab cake tour stop)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Work out at Planet Fitness in Timonium on Monday to prepare for 2026 (exercise session after tour appearances)
• [ ] @Nestor Aparicio – Plan a visit to Los Angeles to meet M.B. Gordy for Korean food and attend the Hollywood Bowl next time in LA (schedule trip/meetup)
• [ ] Send a link to the ‘Seven Seasons’ album (provide link to review/listen to the nominated work)
• [ ] Arrange to meet up with Nestor when he next visits (coordinate an in-person meetup during Nestor’s visit)

Maryland Crab Cake Tour and Upcoming Events

• Nestor Aparicio introduces the Maryland Crab Cake Tour, mentioning stops in Dundalk, Timonium, and Gertrude’s.
• Nestor highlights the participation of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Gina Schock, John Allen, and his seventh-grade music teacher, Mr. Calvin Stadium.
• Nestor expresses excitement about the tour, including Ravens scratch-offs and Candy Cane Cash scratch-offs.
• Nestor mentions working off the eggnog at Planet Fitness in Timonium and getting ready for 2026.

Introduction of MB Gordy

• Nestor introduces MB Gordy, a Marylander and multi-Grammy Award-winning percussionist now based in Hollywood.
• MB Gordy confirms his Maryland roots, mentioning his parents’ passing and his visits to Maryland to see his sister and nephew.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss MB’s journey from Salisbury, Maryland, to becoming a Grammy-winning percussionist.
• MB Gordy shares his early musical influences, including The Dave Clark Five and The Beatles, and how he started with makeshift instruments.

Early Musical Journey and First Grammy Win

• MB Gordy recounts his early musical experiences, including playing with friends using baseball bats as guitars and a funky Hawaiian drum kit.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the evolution of the Grammys and MB’s first Grammy win with his band, Opium Moon.
• MB Gordy explains the process of winning a Grammy, including the FYC campaign and the unexpected nature of their first win.
• MB Gordy describes Opium Moon’s music as Middle Eastern-based new age, featuring improvisation and a diverse band.

Opium Moon and the Evolution of Music

• MB Gordy elaborates on Opium Moon’s music, highlighting the band’s unique blend of world music and improvisation.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the recording process of Opium Moon’s album, emphasizing the lack of isolation and the band’s live performance.
• MB Gordy shares his thoughts on the evolution of music, including the rise of remote recording and the importance of live performances.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the impact of technology on music, including the ability to communicate and collaborate remotely.

Live Performances and the Importance of Audience Interaction

• MB Gordy emphasizes the importance of live performances and the feedback from the audience.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the unique experience of playing live, including the energy and communication with the band and audience.
• MB Gordy shares his experiences playing with various bands, including the Jazz Blues Review and the Doobie Brothers.
• Nestor and MB Gordy reflect on the enduring appeal of live music and the emotional connection it creates.

Influences and Musical Exploration

• MB Gordy discusses his musical influences, including The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Chick Corea.
• Nestor and MB Gordy talk about the impact of these influences on MB’s musical journey and his open-minded approach to different sounds.
• MB Gordy shares his experiences studying world music at Cal Arts, including Ghanaian drumming, Indonesian gamelan, and tabla.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the importance of being open-minded to different musical styles and the exploration of new sounds.

Current Projects and Grammy Nominations

• MB Gordy talks about his current projects, including his involvement with Matt B’s record and the Royal Philharmonic at Abbey Road.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the process of submitting records for Grammy consideration and the importance of campaigning.
• MB Gordy shares his experiences working with Kit Wakeley on the record “Seven Seasons,” which explores the seven stages of grief.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the emotional impact of the music and the importance of storytelling in Kit Wakeley’s compositions.

Grammy Process and Final Voting

• MB Gordy explains the Grammy voting process, including the first round of voting and the final round.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the importance of the final round of voting and the impact of the Grammy community.
• MB Gordy shares his experiences attending the Grammy Awards, including the excitement and anticipation of the event.
• Nestor and MB Gordy reflect on the significance of winning a Grammy and the recognition it brings.

Reflections on Music and Future Plans

• MB Gordy reflects on his musical journey and the importance of staying true to his passion for music.
• Nestor and MB Gordy discuss the future of music, including the impact of technology and the importance of live performances.
• MB Gordy shares his plans for future projects and his continued dedication to exploring new musical styles.
• Nestor and MB Gordy express their mutual appreciation for music and the joy it brings to their lives.

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Grammy Award, percussionist, Maryland, MB Gordy, new age music, Opium Moon, world music, Hollywood Bowl, music industry, classical compendium, seven seasons, trauma, grief, nomination, awards ceremony.

SPEAKERS

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Speaker 1, Nestor Aparicio, M.B. Gordy

Nestor Aparicio  00:01

Welcome home. We are W, N, S, T. Am 1570 Towson, Baltimore. We are Baltimore positive, and we are, I feel like Todd rungren, you know, I don’t want to work. I just want to bang on the drum all day. But I am going to work. We have three more crab cake tours, stops, including in Dundalk with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Gina shock on Thursday, my pal John Allen, whose hair used to be longer than mine, he will be out with me, as well as my seventh grade music teacher, Mr. Calvin stadium, who’s now 85 years young, and led the congregation through a whole myriad of Christmas tales and stories of the baby Jesus last week down in Edgemere. So I am looking forward to that. I’ll have Maryland crab cake tour stops, ravens scratch offs, as well as the candy cane cash scratch offs and cost us. On Thursday, we’ll be at gertrudes on Friday, with Dan Rodricks and my cousin John shields eating all sorts of crab cakes. And then on Monday, I’ll be working it off in purple at Planet Fitness at Timonium, getting ready for 2026 and trying to at least cut down on the eggnog. Every time I get together with this guy, he’s either won a Grammy or he’s about to win another Grammy. And he’s a Marylander, and he comes at an honest his sister is friends through my son and my family, and he is out in LA and he left us a long time ago to go bang on the drum all day. He is not just a drummer, a true percussionist as well as a multi Grammy Award winner. Now that I actually know MB Gordy, I actually when I google him, the first thing that pops up is the Grammy page, and, like, I pop that up on the grammy.com and there’s a whole page dedicated to your nominations and wins. So long way from Salisbury, Maryland, right?

M.B. Gordy  01:46

MB, yes, sir, it’s been, yeah, 3000 miles.

Nestor Aparicio  01:49

Man, why now you still claim Maryland, though, even though you’re out in Hollywood, right? Yeah.

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M.B. Gordy  01:58

Man, it’s like every time I get to go, which is not that often, but, you know, because both my parents are passed away now, so I don’t really have a whole lot of reason to get down to Eastern Shore anymore, but, but I do get back to Maryland and see my sister and my nephew and his family. So it’s, it’s great, yeah,

Nestor Aparicio  02:13

all right, so what is a Grammy Award winning percussionist? Now that everybody will be out googling you, if they don’t know and they’re driving around, it’s MB, as in m and b, the letters and Gordy, G, O, R, D, y, and your nominations. And when I look things up, and you know, I was a music critic 40 years ago, and I sort of enjoy all the background of different kinds of music, and there are so many Grammys given away that don’t make the television show. But I tell you, you know, for anybody that’s winning at the top of their craft, I think you’ve come a long way from probably the first time you picked up a drumstick annoyed your friends and family in the garage and said, I’m going to be in a rock and roll band, because that’s kind of how it starts, right?

M.B. Gordy  02:58

Well, in my case, yes. I mean, I was young, and, you know, I grew up with Dave Clark Five and The Beatles, and, you know, like all those, all that era, and my buddies and I, we’d get together, and first we had no instruments, right? So we were just using baseball bats as guitars, and I had, like, this little funky Hawaiian drum kit, you know, like that grew to another kid, which grew to another kid which grew, you know, like and then grew to lessons and grew on and on and on and so, yeah, so, but all this, the whole accolade world, you know, like the Grammys and, you know, getting awards and all that kind of stuff, that was, like, not even part of my reality when I grew up. You know, it was not even a thing, fact that, oh, Grammys have only been around since, I forgot what year, but say 1964 but I’m not sure I forget exactly when the Grammys first started. When did

Nestor Aparicio  03:47

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it even like, come on to your you watch the Grammys in the late 70s, when Michael McDonald’s won an award, like, like, you’re into music, it was on television. We had three channels back when we were young. We didn’t have a lot of options, you know. And so, I mean, and music’s obviously being in the space. It’s a ubiquitous part of your life. You dedicated your life to the craft. But, like, at what point do you wake up one day and you have that Sally shield moment, you’re like me, you know?

M.B. Gordy  04:15

Because, yeah, well, that’s, that’s kind of what happened. I mean, when the first Grammy that I won with my band, opium moon. I say my band, it’s our band. You know, it’s, it’s not just my band. But that was really kind of out of the blue. Was the best new age Grammy album and, and we didn’t know, I didn’t know anything about this whole process, you know how you have to do your FYC campaign, and you know all that there’s a lot of work that goes into this stuff. We were very green. We knew nothing, and we came in and just, it was a heartfelt record. And you know, if your listeners get a chance to listen to it, teach

Nestor Aparicio  04:55

me about opium moon, because he did last time. And every time I have you on, I. Um, it is new age music. It is, you know, I mean, I think it’s very accessible for anybody to want to listen to it, right?

M.B. Gordy  05:07

Absolutely, it’s, it’s, it’s how to describe it. Well, if your your listeners know anything about world music, I mean, it’s kind of more Middle Eastern based with the tonality and and we it’s not like we’re playing pop tunes. We’re not doing that. It’s more of this, like a couple different three or four, maybe at most, chord changes that happen through a piece. But there’s a lot of improvised improvisation that happens with our band. The band is, I play hand percussion, there’s there’s a fretless bass player, there’s a electric she plays both electric and regular violin, but it’s all amplified and pedals and all kinds of stuff. And then a son to her player, which is like, would be the equivalent of like, hammered dulcimer, but it’s a, it’s an Iranian instrument. It’s a Persian instrument. And he’s from, from Iran originally. Hamid said Is his name, and so, and all these players are, you know, very well known in their in their own right. I mean, Lily Hayden is our violinist, and she does the music for Ginny in Georgia, the TV show. So she’s really in, everybody’s got their hands in a lot of different stuff. And we got together, and it just was magic. And we recorded at my studio, as a matter of fact, with no isolation, no, which is how I’ve been raised to, like, everything’s isolated. Man, you know when you cut a record, so you have clarity on everything, but we didn’t, and so

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Nestor Aparicio  06:31

you did this in a room, like a band, right? Like in that way, yes, old school.

M.B. Gordy  06:35

Man, in my studio, we all got together just to rehearse, but we recorded it, and it was like, whoa.

Nestor Aparicio  06:40

Because I often wonder, like, and I’m studying an AI now, and you’re out in LA but putting pieces of bands together, and when I talk even the modern rock musicians, it’s Hey, you know, like I had Steve Gorman’s a buddy. Why am I always friends with the drummers and the offensive lineman? Why don’t I never know the guitar player, the singer? It’s always the drummer I know, so Steve Gorman’s a buddy of mine. That’s radio, and he’s another Severna Park guy here from the black crows, and they put this new band together with Darius, who spends a lot of time in London, and Mike Mills, who lives in Atlantic. You know that you can put a band together and send parts back and forth instantaneously in a drop box that you don’t need to be in a room. But I still think there’s something that’s like, even with you and me right now zooming, I would rather it’s dude. It’s 20 degrees here. I’d rather be in Atlanta. Care what? I’d rather be in K town right now, eating some barbecue with you and, like, sitting next to you. But there is this point where it’s so accessible for anybody to communicate music. It’s mostly made that way. Now, correct?

M.B. Gordy  07:45

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Well, yes and no. I mean, I have a studio at my house, and so I do a lot of work here for other composers now, preferably, hopefully they come, and at least I get to work with them. But let me, let me back up and just say something like, you know, because none of this existed when I grew up, and it’s all coming to existence, like sending tracks and, you know, recording remotely, and all this kind of stuff last 25 whatever years, you know, but, and it’s become more and more and more. I’ve had my studio at my my studio here at the house, since 1998 but that was in my garage, but I built a studio in the back of my house, and that’s been since 2007 when I moved into it. So so yeah, there’s that element, but I have to say, and when I do clinics and workshops and work, because I do a lot of work with young composers and all this kind of stuff, I did not get into music, to sit in my studio and play music by myself. You know, anybody can do that. We can do that all day long. You know, you play the records you can now with technology. You know, I isolate this and that and, you know, like everybody’s got Garage Band, and there’s all kinds of stuff you can have that did not get into music, to play music by myself, man, I want to. It’s communication. I want to be with other people,

Nestor Aparicio  09:03

although and part and part of it is being a musician. You rehearse in solitude, like being a basketball player shooting free throws in an empty gym, right? Like you’re really sweating it out alone, the jam, the juice, I would say the glory or whatever, that whatever that that serotonin, whatever that that rise you get, happens not just in the space with your other but when other people light up to your music, right?

M.B. Gordy  09:34

Yeah, absolutely, which is why I will personally not ever stop playing live unless I physically can’t, or I don’t get hired, or, you know, whatever, I’m not gonna that’s, that’s the feed right there. You’re communicating not just with the band members, but with the audience, and you’re getting that feedback. And you live, you feed off that and win opium Moon plays, or any other these other bands, like these past three nights, there’s a group here in town that this buddy of mine. George Khan has a group called the Jazz Blues review with these three amazing singers and a quintet, band and, or no sex that, and because we use guitar, trumpet, sax, bass, drums and, and he plays piano. So this jazz thing, total jazz thing, that’s a more jazz R, B type thing, yeah.

Nestor Aparicio  10:18

Oh man, see, I gotta get back out to see you. Come on

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M.B. Gordy  10:21

And dude, that is just such and these singers are so good, man, and it’s just such a high to play that, man. You know that? I’m sorry, you we can talk about AI, you know, all you want, all day long, but AI will never replace this. I mean, can I mean, imagine? Are you going to go to a concert and look at a stage full of nothing to listen to music. No, you’re not going to do that. You want to. You want to see people, man,

Nestor Aparicio  10:45

I have been turned on. I went back to the sphere to see the Eagles with my wife a couple of months ago, and I made it out to last time we chatted, I told you the holly the Hollywood Bowl was on my bucket list. I made it out to see the who and Joe Perry and Steven Tyler and slash got on stage that night, young blood. It was like a whole thing at the Hollywood bowls, like this glorious, perfect night in September that I did it. And you know, as I sit here the years winding down, it’s the end of 2025 I can define my year by best ball games or best sunsets, but music, best shows I saw this year is at the top of all the things I did, second row with Sammy Hagar in Vegas back in the summer, seeing this crazy band with the hooting the blowfish guys, just nights out with Friends. And the experience of music to me, has far surpassed sports. And you know, I’ve done sports for a living, or whatever. Sometimes you get the game winning home run, sometimes there’s a rain delay. But music rarely disappoints me, rarely, and if I choose it wisely, I never get in my car on the way home, whether I’m in Philly, Washington, Las Vegas, LA, I was out in Seattle seeing Robert Plant about three weeks ago do all of this Moroccan sort of feeling music. There’s never a point where I’m like, Well, I was a waste of time, and my shouldn’t have done that. You know, the nights with music are, are the best nights of my life at 57 MB,

M.B. Gordy  12:18

Oh, absolutely. Listen hands down for me, the best concert in all my life, the ever forever, was two years ago when I saw Peter Gabriel’s tour. Peter he it that dude, to me, is God, I mean it. That show was amazing, and it’s something I will never, ever forget.

Nestor Aparicio  12:38

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But I’ve seen him a dozen times. And the time he was in the ball, oh, that giant ball rolling around on top of the crowd at the Capitol center. I mean, you don’t forget that, you know, you know,

M.B. Gordy  12:51

he’s on the top of his game. Always has been with he owns a technology company that designs all of his production stuff, you know. Or they, he whatever they do it. But it’s just creativity to the max.

Nestor Aparicio  13:04

Well, the sounds on the so album, even 40 years ago, we’re back to 86 African sounds, African singers, African beats on the back end of even Paul Simon doing that with Graceland, right? So the that, that, and then Robert Plant, I hear the Moroccan sounds and his music, going back to the early 80s, and pictures at 11. You know when I hear the big log even, yeah, yeah.

M.B. Gordy  13:30

I mean, and that’s amazing stuff. And so, and we did see, by the way, we saw poor Paul Simon’s tour. We didn’t go to the Hollywood, to, I’m sorry, to the Disney Hall. We saw it in Long Beach. We thought it would be a better and it actually was great environment. See it, and it was fabulous. But I have to say, you know, it was an interesting thing. You know, he’s what, Paul Simon, 8280, yeah. But so, okay, so his voice is way more fragile than it used to be. And you once you get past that, and now he had a stellar band. And the thing was, this is, when I left, I was like, Oh, my God. It was, it was kind of, I don’t say life changing, but it was very well, this new awareness, because when I thought about the tunes that they did, I mean, my favorite idol, you know, drummer, was Steve Gadd, who was playing that show with him. Well, Steve Gadd played on Paul Simon’s first big record, you know, and then Paul Simon was a huge star by that point. Steve Gadd just beginning his career, so they’ve been playing together since 1971 Yeah.

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Nestor Aparicio  14:34

And I think what I get so inspired Robert Plant is out doing something that’s very appropriate. My wife and I saw Paul McCartney about 10 weeks ago in Albuquerque. He can’t sing in the same key, but when there’s 30,000 people singing, hey, Jude, if the hair on the back of your necks not standing up, you’re not alive. And I think music has the ability to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. And I and I think, you know. So winning a Grammy, or being up for that especially, you know, I think you got a year or two on me, even that it comes for you later in life, there’s such an appreciation for all of it, because, you know, music’s ubiquitous for all of us, and the little piece we we find in new age music, in this lane that you’re in that’s giving you such gratification. You know, I feel that way about Robert Plant, because they all want him to shake his ass and sing LED. Zeppelin, we’re not all doing what we were doing in 1975 nor should we be doing that. You know, that’s

M.B. Gordy  15:34

what that’s true. Man, I mean, look, I years ago for so from 2001 to 2000 into 2005 I played with the Doobie Brothers. And, man, that was a band that I grew up as, like, Man, I’m playing with the Doobie Brothers. This is amazing. Man, cool, you know. And, and they do what they do. They have a new record. You know, they since Michael McDonald’s back with them again, now they have a new record out. And, but they still, you know, you go see and they did their fifth, their their 50th Anniversary Tour lasted three years, or some crazy stuff like that. You know, Elton John did similar thing. You know, his final tour was, like, final year was, like, three years long. I saw the who’s final

Nestor Aparicio  16:11

tour in 82 at the Capitol center. I saw him again at the Hollywood Bowl eight weeks ago.

M.B. Gordy  16:19

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Tell me about that. So, so that it was just them. It was them that they brought in guest artists, or

Nestor Aparicio  16:24

it was the who and Joe Perry Project at the Hollywood but by the way, MB Gordy, if you’re listening on on the radio, is my new pal out on the West Coast. His sister’s on the East Coast. He’s a Marylander up for yet another Grammy. And I’m going to talk about the awards and the ceremonies. And last time you brought it out of the box and did

Speaker 1  16:42

it all that I’ll go get him, if you’re the Hollywood Bowl

Nestor Aparicio  16:47

for me, was this experience that I had put off, and I don’t know why. And nobody really talked it up until recent years. And then once I mentioned it, I think I mentioned it to you, and we got to go. You got to come there. It’s going to be great. We had the most perfect night. And I keep thinking to myself about places and venues that I still want and need to see music, like Royal Albert Hall in London, and a couple of places that I haven’t been because I’ve been to a lot of places. But I do think that there’s, there’s something about the theology of the space when you go to these places that are 5075, years old, that Elvis and the stones and Sinatra and whomever have graced those stages, that there’s something about it. But the Hollywood Bowl, I would say this out loud for me, Lambeau Field, and how you would perceive sports Red Rocks. Everybody wants to go to Red Rocks. And I went there, and I love red rocks too. To me, the Hollywood Bowl is just, it’s perfect. It’s like built into this ravine. It looks like Disney would have done it in modern times. But no, it’s been there for a million years, and I missed out. I’m gonna, I’ll be back. You’ll see me again there this spring.

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M.B. Gordy  17:56

Well, we’ll, we’ll, we’ll have to hook up when you come but, yeah. I mean, think about it, the Beatles played Hollywood Bowl. That’s crazy.

Nestor Aparicio  18:03

Yeah, yeah. Most of the places are gone. I might get

M.B. Gordy  18:07

to play there, man. I mean, it’s, it’s a, I’ll be honest with you, I love the Hollywood Bowl, of course, and I love the Greek theater is another great venue to me. It’s, it’s, I dig it a little bit more for audience perspective, because it feels more intimate. The Hollywood Bowl is real, so if you’re way back up in the nosebleed section of the Hollywood Bowl, it’s not as good as if you’re sitting down close. But then that’s just a matter of ticket prices, right? But I gotta say, I heard there’s another concert that was very mind blowing. Was herb. If you guys get a chance to see Herbie hanco’s tour that he’s doing. I don’t know how much he’s doing. He’s it’s spotty through the rest of the year, into the spring. And I think his last show of with this tour is going to be at Disney. I think it’s a Disney Hall in April. But anyway, if you get to see HERBIE, if he’s coming to near where you are, see that show. It’s mind blowing. And I got Hollywood Bowl tickets. I was like, first third section back. Was the closest I’ve ever sat the holly bowl. And it was like, mesmerizing, man. It was so good.

Nestor Aparicio  19:12

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Herbie Hancock was innovative 40 years ago in regard to having his mind opened to different sounds, different beats, different music, unclassified. You didn’t know, you know, you didn’t know where to find him in the music store, because they couldn’t label him, right?

M.B. Gordy  19:28

Well, longer ago than that, he I mean, come on, man, HERBIE Anka, I played with, with Miles Davis, right? We’re going back. So what a career, and what a musician and his band is just freaking insanely awesome. And it was an incredible show. I loved every minute of it. And he was with, oh God, snarky puppy. Oh my god, snarky puppy. If you guys don’t know snarky puppy, check them out, because they’re ridiculous. And I I forget the opening act, this girl, I. I I forget who it was. But anyway, how does music

Nestor Aparicio  20:03

come to you as a person in the industry? And last time we talked, you make music for movies. You’re sort of percussionist for hire. You have a studio, you make a living. You’ve toured, you’ve done all that stuff. You live in LA, but like finding something that sounds like something else or something that you want to play. Or somebody comes in and says, Here, I want you to I’m going to pay you to be a part of my thing, and we’re going to have hours and but this is the music I want to do. What, how do you pick the parts, and how do you and I would think people come to you with all sorts of things, because you’re a pretty open minded individual in regard to sounds, right? You’re not one kind of drummer or one kind of percussionist, which makes you kind of unique, right?

M.B. Gordy  20:46

Yeah, yes, I would agree with that. So we’ll back up a little bit on that. So I started in this whole music thing as just playing drum set. Then once I started going to college, and then went to graduate school and broke into my career. You know, it was more of the well, in school, I had to study percussion. Well, I didn’t have to. I could have gone to some school and just played, like Berkeley School of Music and just been a drummer. But I went to, I chose schools where I went to Towson State first, and then I went, eventually, went to Glassboro State, New Jersey, which is now Rowan University, and I did my graduate work at California Institute of the Arts here in California, and that’s where, that’s where I really got into the world music thing. At Cal Arts, I studied Ghanaian drumming. I studied Indonesian gamelan, both Balinese and Javanese. I studied in India. I played Tabla. I learned tabla there. I learned that language, you know, for what that is. I mean, I don’t play like Zakir Hussain, but I studied, and I’ll have a lot of friends who, or that’s their main thing. You could use

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Nestor Aparicio  21:49

your gateway to that. I mean, from a music perspective, in Salisbury or Taos, or even Jersey, where you’re at a record store, and you move from, let’s say, Led Zeppelin, and, you know, whatever the music you were listening to, to something that maybe was a smaller section that, you know, a smaller minded person wouldn’t see some of that stuff, maybe, or hear it, or have access to it.

M.B. Gordy  22:12

Okay, so I grew up, you know, obviously I was listening to The Beatles. I was Led Zeppelin, John Bonham, my favorite drummer, you know, like one of my favorite drummers, at least in the rock world, and then on and on and on, right? And that grew to whatever. So now I’m at Towson State, and the first time I heard light as a feather by chick Korea. I was like, What is this? So that was a mind opening thing. And that was in the jet, totally in the jazz thing that he was doing. And Chick was another player who, you know, played with Miles Davis, I mean, so there was that. And remember, I’m talking in 1971 when I was at Glassboro. So, I mean, I’m sorry at Towson. So anyway, so I got that that was life changing. So there was all these moments of life changing things, right? And that happened certainly again when I was at Glassboro. But I went to this one concert where I saw, if your listeners don’t know who Paul winter was, he was an old, I say old, I mean his original origins were in the jazz world, but then he was like one of the kind of the forerunners of new age music, in a way, because he wrote this tune, and then he start built his Whole new repertoire around. There was a, there was a tune called Icarus, which was a, became a very sort of, they still caught it jazz, but it was, it was, it was not bebop, it wasn’t miles, it wasn’t chick Korea was. It was a lot more mellow sounding. And he had this band with a percussionist named Walt Colin Walcott. And so I went to see him in Philadelphia, and that was another life changing moment. And he Colin had, like, he played toble. And I was like, Oh, wow, what is that? That’s first time I got turned on toble and and then he had, like, just a whole array of, he didn’t have a drum set. He had, like, just an insane array of percussion instruments, like, and they called him Brazilian timpani, but they were just these big surdus just hung all pitched differently, hung around him, and then he had all this other stuff. And I was like, Oh, what is this? Man? That was something I’d never heard or seen before. So that’s when I go, like, Oh, I’m gonna find out about that tablet thing. Man. I want to start to, well, I found out you can’t teach yourself to play toddler. You have to study it for somebody. It’s like the one of the hardest instruments I’ve ever learned.

Nestor Aparicio  24:24

Well, you also have to have access to the instrument, or the sound or the music. During an era where there wasn’t a click away for an internet there was barely a record store to get, you know, a Zeppelin album, if you didn’t live in a city somewhere, have a college, you know, record store we’re talking about in the 70s. So finding this music really takes a little exploration. That’s all right,

M.B. Gordy  24:47

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well, and again, it’s about being open minded to a lot of things, but particularly sounds and music. And as a percussionist, that’s my life. I mean, I every time I’m hearing what was that that could that? Could be cool and something, you know? I mean, I’m noticing stuff like that all the time, you know. But anyway, so from that, when I went to Cal Arts, is where I really got into the world music thing, and it’s just grown from there. So look, I I could have decided at one point, way back then, and go, like, in fact, I thought about it when, before I went to Glasper, what am I going to do? Am I good? Because I I had left. I went to visit my sister and her husband at the time in Germany. And before I went, I applied to Glassboro. So I stayed with them for a couple months that fall, fall into the winter and and then when I got back, I found out I got accepted to Glassboro, and that’s where I went to finish out undergraduate school. But before that, I was thinking like, well, maybe I’ll go to New York, or maybe I’ll go to Boston and go to Berkeley. I didn’t know, you know, so

Nestor Aparicio  25:47

you weren’t a guy joining a rock band at that time that that shark had jumped, but that was a way to make money, right?

M.B. Gordy  25:52

Well, yes. And one of the reasons I quit tales, well, there’s a few reasons why I left Towson, but we don’t need to get into all that. But one was the guys that I had grown up playing music with prior to that, wanted to get back together. We want to do this band, man, and we want to so, like, I had very strict parameters of how I wanted to run it, but so we were going to try to put this band together and make it happen. It didn’t go but, you know, whatever, it’s okay. It all worked out. But when I got to California, then I then I was like, really into the world music thing. And then I became aware of, like, oh, there’s Wow. See, I grew up. I want to be a on a records, man. I, you know, I knew I could tell you all the players, all the studios, everything, where all these records were recording, who was on it, blah, blah, blah. Because I just would look at the album jackets all the time and study this stuff. Well, then I get to California, like, wait a minute, there’s a whole world of music that’s, like, I didn’t know about, you know, when I was growing up, there’s the film, music world and TV, and you think about it way back in the day there. Well, there’s still, I mean, there’s music on all that stuff all the time, but then it was live. It wasn’t since and in the box, it was all live players recording all that stuff, all the shows we grew up with in the 60s and 70s into the 80s, even, was all live musicians. It’s all changed a lot, because now, because the fast turnaround, a lot of times they they have to do everything in the box. For example, there’s a show, Big Show, huge show, Stranger Things, all that’s mainly synth stuff, you know. I mean, so there’s some shows that do that, big man, think about it. Music has changed drastically. So we grew up with song structure, right? And so, and then think about all the film scores John Williams being the goat, as far as I’m concerned, you know, like, think of what he’s done, you know, with Star Wars and on and on and on and on. However, tastes have changed. So, you know, like, there’s not always a call for, oh, it needs an orchestral score, something, you know, like, sometimes they just want a rock and roll type base thing, or a jazzy score. Or think about the music, the film score for bird bird man, remember that movie with Michael Keaton? Sure that was Antonio Sanchez improvising drum set the entire score. That’s it. There’s nothing else in that score. It’s all drum set that’s unheard of, right? Or think about like Dave Grusin on the firm. That’s just Dave Grusin playing piano. There’s no orchestra, there’s no nothing. It’s piano. And so music tastes and requirements have changed now, because there’s so many types of music, man. So that’s I get to be a part of that, which is what I love, because I love so many styles of music I get to play. There’s nothing better, man, I gotta tell you, one time I was on a I forget the note. Remember the composer? It was a friend of mine, Chris Beck, but I don’t remember what movie it was, but there’s a cue. I wasn’t playing, percussion wasn’t on, and we were just kind of standing, and we’re in the back of the orchestra at Warner Brothers, excuse me, and I’m just listening to this orchestra like you couldn’t hear or feel anything better than this man. And I was like, Wow, if I died right now, this would have been, like, awesome. This would have been a pinnacle situation. You know, this was, like, it doesn’t sound or get any better than this man and, you know, and you’re in it. And a lot of times, you know, I You might even do go through this too, with what you do that we kind of just roll with it, you know, we just do it because that’s our gig, you know. And I don’t want to say like we’re dissing it, or we don’t take it, but we it’s easy to take certain things for granted, because you know what the parameters are of it, and that’s just what you roll with every day. But it’s nice to step step it’s interesting, and to be able to step back sometimes and go, whoa. Wait a minute. This is some this is some amazing stuff going on here. Well, you

Nestor Aparicio  29:57

never know what something heavy is going to happen. Like that, and that’s why we keep doing it. Same reason people watch sports, I can see something they haven’t thought they were going to see or have that euphoric aha moment, which I’m hopefully having right now. MP Gordy is my guest. He’s a multi time Grammy Award winner from the state of Maryland, even with Towson, left the Salisbury years ago, but has some family back here. And tell me about what you’re up for this time, right? So opium Moon was like a number of years ago, right? And then you won again last year. This year, you’re up again. I can’t keep up with you, so do tell me about your awards.

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M.B. Gordy  30:33

MB, okay, so the first was, was with opium moon in 2019 so you gotta keep in mind the record that wins that particular year was released the year before. So in 2018 is when we released our first record and we submitted it. There’s a whole process you gotta go through, turn it in and and then you gotta campaign again for it. You know, the FYC you’ve seen, everybody’s seen the for the Emmys and the, you know, the Oscars, this

Nestor Aparicio  31:01

is where it helps if you have a big studio or a big firm behind you, or a big label, right? I mean, there’s, there’s a push, right?

M.B. Gordy  31:11

Well, let me tell you, there’s a lot of work that goes into it when you don’t have that. I do not like sitting in front of computer all day long, and you have to do it.

Nestor Aparicio  31:19

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Please vote for me. Please vote for me. Please listen to my music, right?

M.B. Gordy  31:23

And here’s the thing you can never say, use the word vote. Please vote for me. Okay, everybody knows what

Nestor Aparicio  31:30

it is. Please consider There you go. There you go.

M.B. Gordy  31:35

Take out my new record.

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Nestor Aparicio  31:38

Check out what I’m later. So what? What are you up for this time? And tell me how you got involved in the project. Because I guess you never really know when you’re going to get involved with something that’s going to be up for Grammy right? You do a lot of work. Not all of them win Grammys. That’s right, that’s right.

M.B. Gordy  31:53

Okay, so well, because of that, so that led to a nomination with opium Moon for the 2022 Grammys. We were still at the back end of covid, and it was in Vegas that year and whatever, we didn’t win, but we got a nomination. And then this this year, and for 2025 February, was a record that I was involved in with that was recorded last year with a guy named Matt beef, and so he submit, he’s fantastic. It’s like a he won Best Global music album, and he’s, well, for lack of a better term, he’s a Afro beat kind of artist, okay, but, but he’s got spoken word on it, and he recorded it with, with with the Royal Philharmonic at Abbey Road in London. So, so that’s one of the first times I’ve ever heard a record of that sort with an orchestra on it. So anyway, there was a big push for that. And everybody knows Matt and in this in the Grammy community, and he made a big push. We pushed really hard for that, and I was co producer on it, plus I played all the percussion on it. And so it was right up my alley, because I got to play, I got to play drum set and a lot of African percussion as well. So anyway, so he went and grabbed me with that. Now, then there’s this whole other thing you start now meeting all these other people. So my this new friend of mine. And now, for the past bunch of years, guy named kit Wakeley, who’s, like, up for five Grammys this year for records, he’s produced one of them being his own. So he’s a, he’s a force of nature, bro. I mean, this guy’s amazing. You should have him on. He’s freaking awesome. But anyway, he’s in he lives in Oklahoma. He’s a great just a wonderful cat and just incredible composer. And so he his first record, which won a Grammy a couple years ago, was called, and I played on that, and that’s how we met, was called, oh my God, please forgive me.

Nestor Aparicio  33:59

It’s okay. We can move on.

M.B. Gordy  34:00

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I’m forgetting the name right now, but anyway. But it was, it was, there was a theme to it, so his category that he was in then and now, this was, was is called Classical Compendium. And everybody goes, What’s that mean? So it’s in a classical music kind of vein. There’s orchestra. There’s some vocals on the choirs, vocalist, vocalist, I got to play all the percussion on it, and then, and then, so, but it’s orchestral in that sense. So it’s classically minded. But Compendium means like, there’s a through line, right? There’s a story that kind of go. And so this new record is called seven seasons, and it’s, and it’s, it’s called, yeah, it’s called seven seasons, and the through line is the seven stages of grief that people experience via trauma and

Nestor Aparicio  34:58

all this kind of stuff. Right? So he. Very emotional music, right? Yeah, yeah.

M.B. Gordy  35:02

It’s, you check it out. It’s, it’s, I can send you a link to it, but it’s, no, I’m

Nestor Aparicio  35:06

looking at the links right now because I’m on the internet. So experience the seven stages of trauma and a powerful musical kit. Wakeley, two T’s, correct, yeah.

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M.B. Gordy  35:14

And so it’s, it’s very emotional. And he, he, I mean, he’s a guy who takes what he does very seriously, cuts no corners and no BS. And he interviewed 4050 I don’t know, quite a few people. You know, victims of the Oklahoma bombing, who lost family members and stuff, or they were there, or, you know, as well. Or same thing with 911 same thing with you know, victims of rape, victims of car accidents, people who lost kids, people who lost parents, you know, shooting victims, you know, on and on and on. It was very heavy, if for him and anybody who listens to this story. And so that’s what the impetus was to write these pieces. So there’s the seven stages of grief, versus like a cool and then it’s all then there’s disbelief, then there’s and you can see on the, on the on the record, the way it goes. So and so each piece is those seven stages.

Nestor Aparicio  36:09

Well, the music emotes, like, literally, right? Yeah, totally.

M.B. Gordy  36:13

And so that’s what. So we, you know, he, he submitted the record. We did the first round of Grammy. First round of Grammy voting happens in this in the fall in let me think

Nestor Aparicio  36:28

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I was, I remember, that’s when I wrote to you. I’m like, Hey, you want it. You’re up again, you’re nominated. You haven’t won yet. You’re trying to win now, this is five in every category, or there more than that.

M.B. Gordy  36:39

No, that’s what it comes down to. Okay? You would not believe the first round of voting. It’s insane, man. It’s a it’s beyond a full time gig to try to listen to everything it That’s right?

Nestor Aparicio  36:52

Hundreds of pieces, numb, right? That want, that want to be nominated, right? Understood. And that

M.B. Gordy  36:57

category there was like forgetting. It was 200 and something or

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Nestor Aparicio  37:02

four classical Compendium. Is the name of the category. There it is, seven seasons. MB, Gordy is my guest. If you want to find him, you go to grammy.com put his name in. MB, tell me what the MB stands for.

M.B. Gordy  37:12

MB, the MB stands for, officially, Marvin bounds, Gordy, the third at your service.

Nestor Aparicio  37:18

There you go. Man, you know that’s, that’s, that’s a great name, not, not you know Nestor Aparicio. I have to explain that to people. We’re a Baltimore positive MPs out in in Hollywood. He is up for a Grammy, but he’s a Marylander who went to Towson and is from back here and has sister back here that always says, My brother’s a Grammy Award winning percussionist. He’s gonna make a great guest. And I’m thinking, I gotta come out, get some Korean food with you and hit the Hollywood Bowl again next time I’m out, no doubt about it. So when, what, what did are the next, like, 60 days, right? Like, it’s a little bit less than that. When, when does this happen? And do you get to put a tuxedo on? Okay? So this million a damn.

M.B. Gordy  37:58

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We just started. We just started the the voting for this final round. So, oh yeah. So what that gets narrowed down to is in a lot of categories, five, in some of the bigger categories, some of the pub categories, it’s 10, but whatever. Anyway, so that voting starts started Friday, and it goes through, I want to say January, whatever. That Friday is, fifth, I think. And I think it’s the fifth whatever that Friday is. So we’re in a

Nestor Aparicio  38:27

pretty key period right here.

M.B. Gordy  38:29

All right? Here we are the holidays. And now you’re going, right this is the push I got. It was pushed.

Nestor Aparicio  38:34

You know? It was that, well, I don’t know anybody in the academy or whatever.

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M.B. Gordy  38:38

You know all your friends about kids record like, whoever’s listening, baby. And so then, and then the the awards happen, February 1, Sunday, February

Nestor Aparicio  38:49

1, February 1. So it’s before the Super Bowl. It’s that week between the championship game in the Super Bowl. All right, well, we’re right up on it. Well, good luck man. Fingers crossed. Thank you, baby.

M.B. Gordy  39:00

And so what your members, your listeners might not know is the way the Grammys work. You know, when you see the big show on TV, what we’ve all known historically forever, red carpet, but they’re only giving away 14 Grammys that night. Okay, all the other Grammys are giving away that afternoon across the street at the what did they change the name of it now, but it’s the theater across the street, the peacock theater now. So that happens starting at 1230 in the afternoon, our time, okay, and so that goes to, like, about 430 when they give all the lion’s share of those awards out, and only 14, because everything else.

Nestor Aparicio  39:40

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How do you find out? Is there an announcement? You get a tax what it happens in the room?

M.B. Gordy  39:46

Well, I’ll tell you a funny story. So what happens is, you’re, you’re in there, you know, you’re in the theater. You go through the red carpet, if you nominate, whatever, and then do that, all that stuff, and, you know, interviews and all this pictures and. Ready, then you get inside and hope. And so kit is, like, really well connected, and he’s got a big group of people. So last year, with Matt B’s record, all of Matt B’s team and kids team, they all got hunkered down, got in early and got seats, so that when we all came through the red carpet, we had a place to sit, and we were close to the stage. And that’s probably going to happen again this year, but, and so you get in, and then you wait for your category. And if you’re if you happen to be in there and listen, sometimes people don’t make it. So first of all, some people don’t show up for the Grammy, so they have somebody else accept it for them. And some people like what happened with opium moon. The first year we were there, we didn’t really know the ropes that well. And the man, whatever. Long story there. But anyway, so you kind of have an idea. You get a list that after that morning of like, about what time they think your category is going to be list announced. So we’re going, like, oh well, it looks like about 130 we need to be off the red carpet in our seats by 130 so we’ll, let’s push it a little sooner. So literally, we got off the red carpet. We weren’t in the theater 10 minutes before they announced our category. We could have missed it.

Nestor Aparicio  41:08

Well, you got to get some video on a scene in there. Get excited about it. And, you know, I You got me Google and kit Wakely now so like, I’m figuring this whole Memphis thing out, and the Oklahoma thing, and Joe Satriani. I got it all going on,

M.B. Gordy  41:22

you know, he’s friends with Joe. Yeah, yeah.

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Nestor Aparicio  41:24

I saw Satriani with, you know, out with Sammy Hagar. It was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen doing, 5150 me, that’s in my lane. MB, you know,

M.B. Gordy  41:33

which, by the way, reason I asked you about the who, because I played, I got to play with them when they were at the bowl two different years in a row, two years ago and year before that awesome, because they used an orchestra, sure, and it was beyond high. Dude playing nice with Joe Bonamassa a couple years ago at the bowl too, with an orchestra. So the first half was just him and his band. Excuse me, in the second half was with with an orchestra, and it was, Oh, my God,

Nestor Aparicio  42:05

you’re the dude they hire when they come to town and want to have an orchestra to back him up at the

M.B. Gordy  42:10

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holiday. I hope so, you know, whatever. But

Nestor Aparicio  42:13

I got a guy. He’s Ian is in the valley. We’ll call him, you know, MB Gordy is here. He you know, you don’t need to grab your Grammy. Here’s the deal, you’re gonna win the next one. And then when it comes in the mail, in the box that it comes in,

M.B. Gordy  42:28

what happens is, when your Grammy you don’t take it home that day, because I got to send you one with your name, and, you know, all this stuff on it, and

Nestor Aparicio  42:36

empty handed that night, like your friends want to see it, and stuff you don’t even have it.

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M.B. Gordy  42:41

Well, listen, here’s the funny thing, man. The thing, when the first Grammy I won, they were, at the time, having the big after party. They stopped this, but they were having the big, I don’t know why. Bums me out, but that we’re having the big after party right across the street. It was the Staple Center. Now it’s the crypto arena. But anyway, right next door is the civic center. And so imagine, I mean, it’s a big place, and you they have food, and all the people come from there to there. Well, we didn’t know, you know, we weren’t told. And VRR, sort of team, you know, like they should have said, Hey, don’t stay at the Grammys, you know, the entire time. I’m talking about the big event at the at the end of the night that everybody’s television about, yeah, leave early, so you don’t have to stand in line so long to get in. Well, we didn’t know that, right? So we waited the whole thing, and it was raining that night, so here we go outside, and we’re just standing in line like everybody else. And we’re going, like, Hey, we’re not to be egoed about it, but we’re like, Hey, man, what a Grammy don’t we have like, some kind of special entrance over here or something? It’s like, no. So we had to wait in line with everybody else, and it took like, a half an hour to get in. And then when we got in, we were starving, by the way, because that’s another thing about the Grammys. There’s no food and there’s no you got to become prepared. And so bring snacks, exactly, and bring a battery pack for your phone. So anyway, so we walk in and, like, the food line is like, we’re like, oh my god, we’re never gonna get to eat, man. So we stayed, like, 20 minutes and left and went to a restaurant. But, but now all these other people we know, kit and this, this wonderful singer named Sangeet the coward. It’s all part of people we know here, and she’s in the Texas chapter. She lives in Austin. Well, she lives here too, but Austin kid, they all kind of put a party together. So we and the after party now is not at the at the Civic Center, it’s now at the Grammy Museum. That’s not that big of a place. You can’t get that many people in there, so everybody goes and does their own thing, really afterwards. So that’s, that’s that. But the best party on the planet is the night before the nominee party.

Nestor Aparicio  44:51

That is, everybody’s a winner until the that night, right? Yeah, because

M.B. Gordy  44:55

we’re all everybody. And, you know, you don’t see maybe a few. Of the big stars will come, but they don’t need to come to that.

Nestor Aparicio  45:02

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They got no man. If I just got no man and didn’t win, I’d be cool with that. I really would, you know,

M.B. Gordy  45:07

you don’t take it away. Listen, I played with Rita Coolidge for a minute. You know, five years, and she’s been, was nominated twice for Grammys, and that was her, ladies and gentlemen, two time nominee, Grammy nominee, Rita Coolidge, right?

Nestor Aparicio  45:23

Exactly. It sounds perfect to me. Seven seasons is the nominated work, best classical Compendium, up for the Grammy Award in that category. MB, Gordy’s our guest, Maryland native. See, it’s just sort of like Grammy. Two time Grammy Award winning, three time nominated. It says so right on grammy.com and be it’s always good to visit with you, man, four time. I’m sorry, I got the math wrong.

M.B. Gordy  45:44

I’m sorry, right? Yeah, hopefully a three time winner, four time nominee. But anyway, when you talk about crab cakes, dude, I get home sick, man. I’m like,

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Nestor Aparicio  45:53

Well, you know, it is the shipping season for our friends at fagley’s and CASAS and Koco’s, so feel free, you know, pick your choice. Get one of each. They’re all different. They’re all delightful in their own special way. That’s why we’re doing the Maryland graphic tour. It’s brought to you. My friends at the Maryland Lotter have Raven scratch offs to give away, as well as the candy cane cash scented tickets, I’ll smell like Santa Claus because they smell like peppermint. And we’re going to be at CASAS on Thursday, Friday. We moved to gertrude’s at the BMA. So I got the arts this week. I got politics, arts, music. MB, Gordy has been our guest here. Hey, man, fist pub out to you and shout out to everything in LA, you got better weather. You made a good life decision going after the California for that fresh air. And as we sit here on 20 degrees, I got four inches of snow out here. You know,

M.B. Gordy  46:37

I know my nephew sent pictures of his backyard. I’m like, oh, man, they get to ski in their back, I mean, sled in their backyard. It’s awesome.

Nestor Aparicio  46:44

Yeah, you’re one crab cake away from Paradise out there in California. It is the holiday season. We’re taking the crab cake tour on the road. We will be at Planet Fitness in Timonium on Monday. Happy holidays to everybody out there celebrating. We are W NSTA in 1570 to Baltimore, and we never stop talking Baltimore positive. Stay with us.