Benji Woerly
Credit: Jason Moser
Drum Tech
John Legend / Eminem / The Strokes / Beck
CHANGEOVER: Talk a bit about who you are and what you do.
Benji Woerly: I’m a touring person I guess you could say. I’m a drum tech but sometimes I play. I'm known mostly for my drum tech skills. I've been in the business for sixteen years and, for the past few years, the main artists I’ve been with include John Legend, Eminem, The Strokes and Beck. Those are my four main gigs. I don't know how it happened, but I've working with them for years and none of them have overlapped. Luckily, I've been with some of these artists for a long time and, as everyone gets older and has kids, it's pretty neat that I can substitute out some of my friends on the gigs and never lose them. It’s great that production managers accommodate and realize these are real human beings that have families and things to attend. It's really cool that you're not just having to do the grind or you're out.
How did you get into the music industry?
Credit: Jason Moser
Like many people, I always played in a lot of bands. I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida originally where a few bands came out from there that people may know, like Limp Bizkit and Yellowcard. My brother in law, who everyone knows as Dirty, was touring with the band Fallout Boy for a long time. He started with a band called Matchbook Romance, and it seemed like Matchbook Romance and Fallout Boy were always touring together. They were all buds and were coming up at the same time. At one point Dirty, who’s real name is John, reached out when the tour was coming through Jacksonville. He said that Matchbook Romance was looking for a drum tech and asked if I would be interested. It was the right place, right time and knowing the right people. A few weeks later I got a call from their tour manager and was asked if I wanted to come out on the road with them. That's how that all started. (Shout out to Brian Diaz!) It was just knowing the right people at the right place and right time.
What do you enjoy most about being a drum tech?
Credit: Jason Moser
Honestly, to me it feels easy. I've been around drums my whole life either with school, playing, or listening to different styles of music. I always liked the aspect of what I call the mechanic for drums. It was neat to get different sounds. I like figuring how out to make drums sound the way they do. It's just something that I enjoy and it comes relatively easy. No one wants to work at a hard job that's stressful all the time. I don't like to stress. I also get to work with some really awesome people, so that's fun.
How did how did COVID-19 affect your job in the industry?
It's obvious that the music business barely exists right now. I try to keep up with a lot of my friends, like my touring friends. I call and text people to see how they're doing. I literally know two people that are actively somewhat working right now. I haven't done any work. Luckily, I work with some great artists who have financially helped us, which is pretty amazing. John Legend is a very stand up guy. We had summer tours booked out and he was very generous to help us with those funds, even though the tours didn't happen. That's been really great.
At the same time, I don't want to be that guy that's like, ‘oh, everything sucks’ because it doesn't. I’m in a newer relationship with my girlfriend so that's been amazing. Everyone always talks about how they want to be home to be with their wives or kids, and they’re missing out. I'm not missing out on that. I've also been able to finish up my company brand that I've been working on for a long time with my dad, as well as doing all the normal stuff. I know it's COVID, but by being safe and being outside, I get to have barbecues with my friends and see them on the regular, which is pretty cool. I'm taking it in stride. Is the money not rolling in like it was? Yeah, but I enjoy being home. I was about to do a really long year with all those different artists and, right before it started, I was wishing I had more time at home. Then it all got canceled. Maybe it was meant to be. I get to chill out and get my mind, heart and life right.
When was the last time you set up your own drum kit versus setting it up for somebody that you work for?
Credit: Jason Moser
I have a really good friend named Rashid Williams and he’s the drummer for John Legend. He and I will go to each other's homes to hang out. With his wife and my girlfriend, we all hang, barbecue and take trips together. He was here not too long ago, so I had a kit somewhat set up in one of my rooms. I knew he was coming in, along with another one of our friends who plays drums, so I set up the kit. We were all jamming on it, switching out cymbals and this and that. We were just having fun, having some drinks and jamming a little bit. That was about two months ago and it was great. It was a lot of fun.
What sound do you miss the most from touring, for example, the chirp of a radio?
I hate that. I am known as the guy who never has a radio. I always have it near me, but I rarely wear it. With the gigs I'm on a lot of other people really don't wear one either. If somebody needs me, they just text me because no one really needs me that much. I'm setting up the drums. That's my job.
What sound do I miss? I miss those those airplane wheels hitting the tarmac and I know that I'm home and it's all done. Of course, we've all done the big gigs, like I did the Jonas Brothers for a long time. That sounded like a ton of jet engines going off because the sound of those little girls and boys screaming. It was crazy. The Eminem shows were the biggest shows that I've done in my career. The amount of people and energy there was insane. But when the wheels hit the ground, it’s done. It was a great time, but now I get to hang with my loved ones and be home.