Ron Thaler
Ron Thaler is a record producer, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and spatial sound pioneer. He is credited on over 450 albums, 43 billion streams, and 11 #1 Billboard hits.
Thaler is best known by fans as the drummer on Alicia Keys' double Grammy-award-winning No One, and as a character and bandmember on NBC TV’s primetime series Lipstick Jungle. Thaler has produced artists for Sony, Warner, UMG and other labels, receiving three Producer-of-the-Year Grammy nominations and eleven Artist Grammy ballot nominations,. He has provided business development, project management, and oversight to labels on new artist initiatives, and has spent time touring and backing many recording artists as a sideman, recording studio drummer & multi-instrumentalist.
Thaler is active in music licensing, publishing and synchronization, through his three firms RTP Music, Soda Box Music LLC, and Concorde Music Agency SAS based in Bogota Colombia. Thaler is an artist-in-residence and visiting professor at The Collective, where he teaches music business, music production, the economics of music, music law & contracts, and networking principles, in addition to masterclasses in drum performance and studio recording techniques.
Thaler is a pioneer in the field of 360° immersive sound and spatial music creation, having launched SoundSphere Studios, CineSphere, and Lysten 360 Sound Systems in 2017 with partner Steven Boardman. He has directed educational initiatives in 360° sound at post-secondary facilities in North and South America, with curriculums focussed on industry transformations taking place in the worlds of spatial sound capture, music creation and 360° immersive sound transmission.
A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Thaler released an instructional program for drummers called Phraseology And Individuality On The Drumset, and has appeared as a performer and keynote speaker at international AR/VR/MR technology conferences, music and gaming expos, synchronization forums, drum festivals and music colleges.
Biography
Early Years
Thaler was 11 years old when he first picked up drumsticks, after playing piano for three years. He joined the high school jazz-band, and played his first professional shows at age 16 with jazz saxophonist Gordon Clements and with The Island Big Band. In his late teens, Thaler moved to Vancouver, Canada and toured with electronica band Moev in support of their release Yeah Whatever which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard and Rolling Stone music charts, also appearing on three other albums with the group, In and Out, Alibis , and the compilationBrave New Waves. Thaler worked as in-house drummer and percussionist for various emerging artists on Nettwerk Records, Arista, Sony/ATV, Warner Canada and Atlantic Records, recording at Mushroom Studios, Greenhouse, The Armoury, Little Mountain Sound, and Curryhouse Studio. Thaler recorded with Sarah McLachlan on her follow-up to Touch, and performed with Ultramarine, Mark Hasselbach, and Ian McDougall.
The Evolution of Blondie Boy
In 1993, Thaler began recording at Envy Music House & Ludlow Productions on music jingles for the Cartoon Network, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and ESPN, and performed in Latin-jazz group Conosur along with Manolo Badrena and Al Di Meola, and with Paul Simon/soukous artist Dominic Kanza. In 1994 Thaler recorded the east coast sessions for Arista Records artist Jonathan Robbins album "You Got Me", with drummers Jeff Porcaro and John Robinson tracking drums on the west coast sessions. Ron recorded drumset, percussion, and drum stool on the title track.As a touring drummer, studio drummer and multi-instrumentalist Thaler has appeared on 450+ recordings, having recorded and performed with Dweezil Zappa, DJ Logic, Bethany Joy Lenz, Taylor Dayne, Sophie B. Hawkins, Jonathan Robbins, Taj Mahal, Moby, Gwen Stefani, Simaku, John Legend, David Guetta, Rob Thomas, Alicia Keys, Ashlee Simpson, Mercedes Ferrer, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Judie Tzuke, Yoko Ono, Diana Krall, Mike Stern, Rufus Reid, and Hiram Bullock. In 2004, producer Arif Mardin exclaimed "...Blondie Boy..." upon Ron's arrival to a recording session, and the professional name stuck.
Thaler performed with Willie Nelson, Los Lonely Boys, Hank Williams Jr. and 5th Of July at Alltel Stadium during the 2005 Super Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. In 2011, Thaler toured the USA with Anita Prime, Robbie Dupree, Joe Lynn Turner and members of Orleans as part of the 2011 All Star Rock Tour.
Thaler has appeared on CTV's Canada AM, City TV's Out There with Melissa DiMarco, NBC TV's The Ellen DeGeneres Show, TV1 and TV3 New Zealand, Lounge Radio Budapest, Muzic 'N Me Radio, England's Hot 102.7, CBC TV, MTV and MuchMusic, and has been featured in Modern Drummer Magazine, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Talking Drums, France's L'Est Republicain, New York Times, Pulse Magazine, Canadian Musician Magazine, Batteur Magazine, Australia's DrumScene, Drums Etc., Le Délit Magazine, Rip It Up, Experience Hendrix Magazine, Drum!, NewsBeat, and others. Thaler was also featured in the hardcover book "Sticks "N Skins" about drummers from around the globe.
Producing Career
Thaler is a multi Grammy-Award nominated producer and arranger, and is a credited songwriter on Kelly Saint Patrick's In The Margins, Project Grand Slam's Play, Jason Yudoff's Tragic Hero, and also on Alicia Keys No One. Thaler credits his time working with producers Phil Ramone, Matt Knobel, Frank Fillipetti, Jerry Wexler, Bruce Fairbairn, and Arif Mardin for teaching him the art of music production, for helping him develop "sonic landscapes... equal parts analog confection and digital sweetening", and for what the New York Times calls "a virtuosity that touches great depth, eliciting that special emotion from listeners well beyond the mere consideration of technical mastery".In 2010, Thaler produced and co-wrote Anita Prime's Destiny, Lewis Copeland Roots at Sony/Tree, Oh Hello's One Trick Pony, and Heavy Road's Everything Changed.
In 2011 Thaler produced and co-wrote Anita Prime's single Complicated reaching #3 on Billboard, The Royal Canadians Lonely Whale, a VIMA Album-of-the-Year nominee, Mahavishnu Redefined's Timeless, and Isunray's Balancing Act.
In 2012, Thaler produced and co-wrote Gareth Barker's Hello World, and Project Grand Slam's Spring Dance.
In 2013, Thaler produced Traum Diggs Major Journalism and Martin Rybak's Live For The Day.
In 2014, Thaler produced Darren Hodson & Southern Companion's 1000 Days Of Rain, Eran Phillips' The Beatles Lullaby, and produced and co-wrote several songs on Robert Miller's Twenty.
In 2015, Thaler produced Secondhand Habit's "Chinese Whispers", Mark Edwards "Hallelujah Chorus 2.0", Dorothy Melody's "Walk On Water", Nate Jolley's "Love Apocalypto", and contributed vocal production to Joey Clarkson's single "Loving You Is Breaking Me".
In 2016 and 2017, Thaler produced The Run Dogs "The Run Dogs" as well as a version of Morrisey's "How Soon Is Now" with the band for an NBC/Universal film production, Yola Rage's "Sugar", Andy Pratt's "It's Not The End Of The World", Kelly Saint Patrick's "Recover", country star Amy Jack's "Don't Lose Your Soul Over It", and contributed to new tracks by Shy'm, Wyclef Jean, and Capcom's game platform "Dead Rising: 4".
In 2018, Thaler produced PuKa's "Higher", Amy Jack's "Who The Real Ones Are", and Perrenque Films "La Voz Magica De Edith".
In 2019, Thaler produced PuKa's "Rabbit Hole", 12XPretty's "12XPretty", Amy Jack's "Dallas Till I Die", Danielle Thaler's "The Lady Of Brody", and Isa Ruiz's "Luna".
Thaler has also produced albums The Led Zep Project w/Dweezil Zappa's Jazzed & Confused, Eric Hill's Second Sight, Elimotion's Elimotion 1, The True Story Band's "Grain", Jeff Fiorello's Jeff Fiorello, Nika Brightn's Television, Amelia Terry's "Road Less Travelled", and others.
360° Immersive Sound & Future Tech
Thaler is a pioneer in the field of 360° immersive sound and spatial music creation, having launched SoundSphere Studios, CineSphere, and Lysten 360 Sound Systems in 2017 with partner Steven Boardman. SoundSphere Studios is focussed on the creation of 360° immersive music and it's capture, and CineSphere and product Lysten360 provide spatial sound experiences for cineplex, auditorium, and other large scale environments. Thaler has directed educational initiatives in 360° sound at post-secondary facilities in North and South America, with curriculums focussed on industry transformations taking place in the worlds of spatial sound capture, music creation and 360° immersive sound transmission.Lipstick Jungle
Thaler appeared on NBC TV's Lipstick Jungle, a primetime series about New York City socialites with Brooke Shields, Andrew McCarty, Lindsey Price and Kim Raver. He played the drummer in character Shane Healy's music band. Thaler had a speaking role as himself, and performed music from Project Grand Slam's Play along with the band, who served as Shane's on-camera band. The show aired for two seasons before being cancelled in 2010.Solo Projects
In 1994 Thaler began performing under his own name, showcasing his original compositions, and would record ...Works with jazz musicians Ray Anderson, Hiram Bullock, Rick Margitza, Rufus Reid, Adam Rogers, and Oskar Cartaya. The group performed at The Montreal Jazz Festival, The Vancouver Jazz Festival, The Zebrock Festival, and other venues in Canada and France.In 1997 Thaler formed "The True Story Band", with jazz musicians Mike Stern, Chris Clark, Ron Bertolet and Jeff Carney. Thaler toured "The True Story Band" through Europe, Canada and the USA in support of the group's two releases, 1997's Medium Rare Grounds and 1998's Grain.
In 2000 Thaler took to reworking the music of Led Zeppelin for an instrumental context. Thaler recorded Jazzed & Confused: The Led Zep Project in 2001. The album includes Led Zeppelin compositions "Kashmir", "Whole Lotta Love", "The Rain Song", "The Ocean", and "Dazed & Confused", and 25 musicians including guitarists Mike Stern and Dweezil Zappa, violinist Miri Ben Ari, turntablist DJ Logic, harmonica player Hendrik Meurkens, trombonist Dave Panichi, trumpeter Vinny Cutro, and flamenco vocalist and dancers Amparo and Racquel Heredia. The album is produced by Thaler and Goo Goo Dolls/Maroon 5 alumnus Michael Landolt.
In 2008, Thaler formed the experimental music group Elimotion, with bassist Matt Garrison, turntablist DJ Logic and guitarist Elijah Steele. The group's first release, Elimotion 1, was recorded at Manhattan Center Studios NYC, and released in 2014.
Seminars, Clinics & Masterclasses
Thaler is a frequent lecturer at international music industry, synchronization, and AR/VR conferences discussing topics such as music economics, networking, industry contracts and content synchronization issues. He has been a keynote speaker at: E3, Sync Summit, Future Music Forum, South By Southwest, CMW, NAMM, BOMM, BAM, at university institutions including The Collective NYC, Music Academy International, Haberiana University, Manhattan School of Music, The New School, UVIC, UBC, McGill University, The Sorbonne, Mainz Music College, SAE College, and Prime Music Academy in New Zealand.Thaler has also delivered 500+ drumming clinics, seminars and educational workshops internationally. He has shared festival stages with leading drum figures Dennis Chambers, Steve Smith, Virgil Donati, Thomas Lang, Giovanni Hidalgo, Johnny Rabb, Mike Portnoy, John Blackwell, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Anton Fig, Ignacio Berroa, Jojo Mayer, Jimmy Degrasso, and Vera Figueiredo. He has performed at The 1996 Montreal DrumFest, The 2003 TUDW Ultimate Drummers Weekend International Drum Festival, The 2004 KOSA Drum Festival, The 2006 Fort Myers Drum Festival, The 2010 Victoria International Drum Festival, The 2010 National Association of Music Manufacturers International Music Fair, The MIDEM Music Conference in Cannes France, The 2011 CMW Music Conference in Toronto Canada, The 1998 Music West International Music Conference in Vancouver, The 2004 Paris Zebrock Music Festival, at Drummer's Collective New York City, Music Academy International, University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, Music Arts Academy, SAE College, Prime Music Academy, and others. Thaler has been featured on Drumeo TV, and on four segments for the Daddario/Evans Educational Webcast Series.
In 1998, Thaler released an instructional drumming video called Phraseology And Individuality On The Drumset. The video was voted one of the "Top 25 Must-Have Instructional Drumming Videos of All Time" by readers of France's Batteur Magazine in 2007.
In 2015, Thaler was invited to The Collective music school in New York City as an "Artist-In-Residence", as a visiting professor of Studio Drumming, Music Production, and Music Business & Industry.
Film & Television
Thaler has participated on Film and TV projects as a soundtrack composer, music supervisor and sound-design content developer. In 1993, Ron teamed up with Envy Productions on music jingles for The Cartoon Network, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, ESPN, MTV, and Bravo. In 1994, Thaler created music production/publishing company RT Type Music & RT Type Publishing, and secured music placements for his compositions and those of production clients on internationally syndicated TV programs including The OC, One Tree Hill, Lipstick Jungle, Rodzinka, Laguna Beach, Sweet Sixteen and Auckland Daze. Thaler has composed music for films Tilt, Sex Chronicles, Monster-In-Law, Three Vignettes, La Tropical, Bright, All Summer Long, and Contact. Thaler continues to be active in music licensing and synchronization, through his three firms RT Type Music, Soda Box Music LLC, and Concorde Music Agency SAS based in Bogota Colombia, with placements on The History Channel, Spike TV, TLC, Discovery, BRAVO, NatGeo, MSNBC, PBS, FOX, The WB, The Travel Channel, E! Entertainment, Vice TV, NBC, Telemundo, Style Network, Animal Planet, Jergens, Six Flags, Bell Canada, MSG Sports, Logitech, The Nashville Predators, Barclay's Premier Football League, The New York Knicks, Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Toddlers and Tiaras, Real Housewives of Miami, Gator Boys, Alaska Wingmen, and Canada AM. Thaler has contributed executive production, logistics planning and storyboarding to music videos of several production clients, including Anita Prime's Serenade, La La La, Destiny and Live At Galatos DVD, Kelly Saint Patrick's Shame On You, Gareth Barker's Making of Hello World, and Traum Diggs' Off The Floor.Discography (selected)
| Date | Artist | Title | Label | Certifications |
| 2019 | Amy Jack | Dallas Till I Die | E3/Sony | |
| 2019 | 12XPretty | 12XPretty | 6Ways | |
| 2019 | Isa Ruiz | Luna | IRMusic/UMG | |
| 2018 | Perenque Films | La Vox Magica De Edith | PFI/ABC | |
| 2018 | Amy Jack | Who The Real Ones Are | E3/Sony | |
| 2018 | PuKa | Higher | 6Ways | |
| 2017 | Shy'm | Heros | Warner |
|
| 2017 | Run Dogs | How Soon Is Now | NBC/Universal | |
| 2017 | Amy Jack | Don't Lose Your Soul Over It | AJMusic/ESPN | |
| 2017 | Yola Rage | Sugar | AMR/Warner | |
| 2016 | Run Dogs | Run Dogs | RD/MusicBus | |
| 2016 | Capcom Gaming | Dead Rising: 4 | Capcom | |
| 2016 | Kelly Saint Patrick | Recover | Wilhelmina/SBM | |
| 2016 | Andy Pratt | It's Not The End Of The World | Columbia Legacy | |
| 2015 | Traum Diggs | Major Journalism | 623 Records | |
| 2015 | Secondhand Habit | Chinese Whispers | Blackstream/Sony | |
| 2015 | Young Kazh featuring Mobb Deep | Destiny | YKZ | |
| 2015 | Darren Hodson and Southern Companion | 1000 Days of Rain | Streets/Universal | |
| 2015 | Mark Edwards | Hallelujah Chorus from The Messiah 2.0 | ME Classics | |
| 2015 | Lana Del Rey | Honeymoon - Music To Watch Boys To | Interscope - Polydor | |
| 2014 | David Guetta | Dangerous, Listen album | Parlaphone/Atlantic | |
| 2014 | Elimotion Band | Elimotion 1 | TP | |
| 2014 | Robert Miller | Twenty | Cakewalk Records | |
| 2014 | Eran Phillips | The Beatles Lullaby | Daddy Plays | |
| 2013 | Jewel | Let It Snow | TFB | |
| 2013 | John Legend | Love In The Future - You & I | Columbia | |
| 2013 | Gareth Barker | Hello World | JRNE | |
| 2013 | Martin Rybak | Live For The Day | MR Records | |
| 2012 | Royal Canadians | Lonely Whale | RCR | |
| 2012 | Project Grand Slam | Spring Dance | Cakewalk | |
| 2012 | Isunray | Balancing Act | ISR | |
| 2012 | Don Kimenker | Tattered and True | earBuzz | |
| 2012 | Tatiana Moroz | Tatiana | TM | |
| 2012 | Greg Merritt | March Madness | GMR | |
| 2011 | Anita Prime | Complicated | Phull | |
| 2011 | Anita Prime | Destiny | Phull | |
| 2011 | Anita Prime | Destiny | Phull | |
| 2011 | Project Grand Slam | He Ain't Heavy | Cakewalk | |
| 2011 | Lewis Copeland | Roots | Phull/SonyTree | |
| 2011 | Various | Mahavishnu Redefined: A Tribute To John MacLaughlin | Abtract Logix | |
| 2010 | Anita Prime | Destiny | Phull | |
| 2010 | Anita Prime | La La La | Phull | |
| 2010 | Lizzy Mercier Descloux | Bustin Out - New Wave to New Beat | Year Zero | |
| 2010 | Greg Merritt | Everything Changed | GMR | |
| 2010 | Lynn Verlayne | Drifter | PopStar/LV Music | |
| 2009 | Anita Prime | Serenade | TP | |
| 2009 | Stephanie Macpherson | To You | SM | |
| 2009 | Greg Merritt | Heavy Road | GMR | |
| 2009 | Jasper James | Chanel | Thump | |
| 2008 | Alicia Keys | As I Am: The Super Edition - No One | J/RCA | |
| 2008 | Jasper James | Vibrator | Thump | |
| 2008 | Project Grand Slam | Play | Cakewalk | |
| 2008 | Kelly Saint Patrick | In The Margins | KSPR/Hella Good | |
| 2008 | Gjorgi | Now & Forever | Ludwig Music | |
| 2008 | Defibulators | Skiptracers | Soundtrack | |
| 2008 | Strange Kids | Superhero | SK Music | |
| 2008 | Project Grand Slam | Captain of Her Heart | Cakewalk | |
| 2007 | Alicia Keys | As I Am - No One | J/RCA | |
| 2007 | Jason Yudoff | Tragic Hero | JYE | |
| 2007 | Eric Hill | Second Sight | Hidden Drive | |
| 2007 | Jeff Fiorello | City Sessions New York | Vivid | |
| 2007 | Kacie Sheik | Anthem | Blue | |
| 2007 | Moby | Go, The Very Best Of Moby | Universal | |
| 2007 | Jeffrey Wilgus | Signature | JW Records | |
| 2006 | Brythonwen | Solus | Pagan | |
| 2006 | Simaku | Echoes of Iliria | Reincarnate | |
| 2006 | The Unperson | Queen's Decade | Coldleaf | |
| 2006 | Jeff Fiorello | Jeff Fiorello | Vivid | |
| 2006 | Rob Thomas & Kacie Sheik | Katrina | Blue/Universal | |
| 2006 | Kirsten DeHaan | Under The Richter Scale | SirLady Records | |
| 2005 | 5th Of July | No Surprise | July Records | |
| 2005 | Stephen Patrick | Grunion Run | Hit Road/MTV | |
| 2005 | Emiko | City Sessions New York | Comcast/YTV | |
| 2003 | Kaleta | Kaleta Jaa | KMP | |
| 2003 | Lizzy Mercier Descloux | Mutant Disco | EZ/Polydor | |
| 2003 | Tennyson & Keiser | PJazz Project | PopJazz Records | |
| 2002 | Bethany Joy Lenz | Preincarnate | Sony/Epic | |
| 2001 | Bill Tonsaker | 5 Bucks A Lick | Brouhaha | |
| 2000 | Guitar Talk | First Come First Serve w/Joe Pass, Chuck Loeb & Barry Finnerty | EFA/JVC | |
| 2000 | The Led Zep Project with Dweezil Zappa | Jazzed & Confused | TP | |
| 2000 | Moby & Gwen Stefani | Southside | V2/Universal | |
| 1999 | Moby | Play | V2/Universal | |
| 1998 | True Story Band | Grain | Hotwire/JVC | |
| 1998 | Ron Thaler | Phraseology & Individuality On The Drumset | Editions PDG | |
| 1997 | True Story Band | Medium Rare Grounds | TP/Factor | |
| 1996 | Sarah McLachlan | Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff | Nettwerk | |
| 1995 | Jonathan Robbins | You Got Me | Arista | |
| 1995 | Moev | Brave New Waves | CBC/RCA | |
| 1994 | Ron Thaler | Works | TP/OMD/Universal | |
| 1993 | Lizzy Mercier Descloux | T'As L'Air | Polydor | |
| 1991 | Sarah McLachlan | Just As I Thought | Nettwerk/Arista | |
| 1991 | Moev | Alibis | Rebel/SPV | |
| 1990 | Moev | Inside Out | Nettwerk/Atlantic |
Equipment
Acoustic drums:PEARL MASTERS MAHOGANNY CLASSIC LIMITED EDITION
- 16"x20" Bass Drum
- 12"x14" Tom Tom
- 8"x8" Tom Tom
- 10"x10" Tom Tom
- 10"x12" Tom Tom
- 11"x13" Tom Tom
- 5"x14" Wood Snare or Brass Snare
SABIAN
- Chinese: 16" HH China, 8" Pro China Splash, under 8" HH China Kang Brilliant, 12" AAX Mini China Brilliant
- Hihat: 13" AAX Studio Hihats Brilliant, 8" HH Splash, 13" AAX Stage Hihats
- Crash: 14" AAX Studio Crash Brilliant, 14" AAX Dark Crash, 15" AAX Studio Crash Brilliant
- Splash: 6" HH Splash Brilliant, 8" HH Splash Brilliant, 8" AA China Splash Brilliant
- Ride: 20" AAX Dry Ride or 21" Calhoun Ride
- Effects Cymbals: 8" CD Cymbal Disc, 10" Glennie's Garbage, 10" Calhoun Alien Disc, 7"/8"/9" Radia Cymbals
VIC FIRTH
- Ron Thaler Signature model