One of Music's Most In-Demand Session Drummers on the Session Life, His Process, the Artists He's Played With, and What Separates the Players Who Get Called from Those Who Don't
Trevor Lawrence Jr. -- known to the music world as TLJ -- is one of the most sought-after session drummers working today. His credits span genres and generations, from the biggest names in pop and R&B to some of the most respected artists in jazz and beyond. He has built a reputation not just on his extraordinary playing but on his professionalism, his musicality, and his ability to walk into any room and give exactly what the music needs. That kind of career doesn't happen by accident.
In this early episode, Trevor gives Elmo a full and honest account of what the session life actually looks like -- the preparation, the relationships, the mindset, the discipline, and the specific things that have kept him at the top of his field through years of changes in the industry and in the music itself. This is a conversation for anyone who has ever wondered what it takes to be the person who gets called.
"You don't get called because you're the best drummer. You get called because you make the music better -- and because people trust you to do that every single time."
What it actually means to be a working session drummer at the highest level -- the preparation required before you walk in the door, the real-time decision-making in the moment, the relationship-building that sustains a career over decades, and the specific things that Trevor has learned about being the kind of player that artists and producers call back. The unglamorous and essential truth about what makes a session musician great.
How Trevor prepares for sessions, how he listens to new music, how he figures out what a song needs from him before he ever sits down behind the kit, and the specific mental and musical approach he brings to every room he walks into. His philosophy of service to the music and how that philosophy has shaped every aspect of the way he works and the way he plays.
Stories and insights from years of playing with some of the biggest names in music -- the specific things he has learned from different artists and producers, the sessions that taught him the most, and his perspective on what separates the truly great artists from those who are merely successful. First-hand accounts of the rooms that shaped him as a player and as a professional.
His direct and specific answer to the question every aspiring session musician wants to know: what actually gets you called? The real answer, which is more nuanced and more demanding than most people expect -- about musicianship, yes, but also about character, reliability, communication, and the specific qualities that make someone a player that an artist or producer trusts with their music.
How Trevor has maintained his position at the top of his field through years of changes in the music industry -- the evolution of recording technology, the shifting economics of the session world, the emergence of new styles and new expectations, and how he has adapted to all of it without losing the core of what makes him who he is as a player. His perspective on longevity in a field that has very little patience for stagnation.
How Trevor thinks about the instrument and its role in music -- not as the foundation but as the conversation, the response, the thing that connects everything else and makes it feel the way it feels. His specific musical philosophy, the values that have never changed through years of evolution in his playing and his career, and what he is always listening for in the music around him.
The "what gets you called" answer: Trevor's most direct and fully developed response to the central question of the session musician's life -- delivered with a specificity and honesty that makes it one of the most practically valuable passages in Go With Elmo's early episodes. Not generic advice, but the actual answer from someone who has been on both sides of the call.
Session stories: the specific rooms, the specific moments, the things that happened in studios with major artists that taught Trevor things he couldn't have learned any other way. Revealing, candid, and specific in the way that only someone who has actually lived these things can be.
On preparation: Trevor's detailed account of how he prepares for a session -- the research, the listening, the mental rehearsal, and the specific things he does before he ever touches a drumstick. A masterclass in professional preparation from one of the best-prepared musicians in the business.
The longevity conversation: how Trevor has stayed at the top of his field for as long as he has -- the disciplines and habits that have sustained a career most session players only dream of. His perspective on what it takes to stay relevant is one of the most important things any working musician can hear.
His drumming philosophy in full: the clearest and most complete statement of what Trevor believes about the instrument, about music, and about what it means to be genuinely great at what you do. The kind of answer that makes you want to be better at whatever it is you do.