This week, Ira Sternberg spoke with Mark Schulman.
Mark Schulman, a drummer for Pink, Foreigner, Cher, Billy Idol, Velvet Revolver, and Stevie Nicks is author of the book, “Conquering Life’s Stage Fright, Three Steps to Top Performance.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Schulman became interested in pursuing music as a toddler. At age 3, he witnessed the phenomenon of Beatlemania: “…I remember seeing a repeat of The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show with my brother and my folks. I saw Ringo playing the drums and something resonated so deeply with me. Then I saw all the screaming girls, and at that moment, I thought to myself, ‘I want that!”
Schulman has enjoyed an unprecedented career over the last 26 years as a first call drummer for world-class rock and pop artists. He has been voted “Top 3 Pop-Rock Drummers” in the 2014 Modern Drummer Reader’s Poll, finished his third record breaking world tour with P!NK, and joined CHER for her ‘Dressed To Kill’ World Tour 2014.
He is the recipient of numerous Gold and Platinum discs and has appeared on nearly every American and European variety show on television including The Grammys, David Letterman, The Tonight Show, Conan O’Brian, Jon Stewart, American Idol, Paul O’ Grady, X-Factor, Wetten Das and more.
Music is not Schulman’s only driving force; he was the chairman of the board of directors of Create Now! a non-profit organization founded in 1996, to help change troubled children’s lives through creative arts mentoring. A cancer survivor himself, he has also motivated children and teens through his work doing seminars with the Ronald McDonald House and benefits for the Teenage Cancer Trust in the United Kingdom.