Sammy Merendino has been shaping the sound of NYC music and theater for over 40 years. A pioneer of electronic drum programming since the early '80s, he built the groove on Cameo's *Single Life* and *Word Up!*, played on Pat Metheny's Grammy-winning *We Live Here*, and has recorded or performed with Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Aretha Franklin, Hall & Oates, and dozens more.

On Broadway, he originated the drum chair for *Kinky Boots* and *Pretty Woman: The Musical* — handling all the Ableton programming for both shows — played *Diana: The Musical*, and designed and programmed the drums for the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular and for *The Lost Boys* (stage kits and pit). Add 1,000+ commercials and TV themes — *Monday Night Football*, *Nightline*, *World News Tonight* — and a catalog of gold and platinum records, and you've got a career most drummers only dream about.

When he's not on a Broadway stage or a session, Sammy runs Harlem Parlour Recording out of his Harlem brownstone — a studio built for real records, not just demos.