Nick Buda is a drummer and record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. Primarily associated with contemporary country music, Buda has been featured on recordings by

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

and

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocat ...

, and has also worked with

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

, Jewel, Michael W. Smith and more.

Early life

Born March 26, 1974 in

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislature, legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the sec ...

, Buda was enrolled in piano lessons as a child but soon gravitated toward his teacher's drum set instead. At the age of 12, he and his family moved to the United States seeking an escape from apartheid and a path to better opportunities. Buda continued to pursue drumming throughout high school, playing in several local bands and touring briefly with “

Everlasting Love "Everlasting Love" is a song written by Buzz Cason and Mac Gayden, originally a 1967 hit for Robert Knight and since remade numerous times, most successfully by Love Affair, as well as Town Criers, Carl Carlton, Sandra Cretu, and Gloria Estef ...

” co-writer Mac Gayden. He went on to attend Boston's

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

on the recommendation of one of his idols –

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

drummer Vinnie Colaiuta – graduating in 1996 with a bachelor's degree focused on percussion performance.

Career beginnings

After returning to Nashville following college, Buda moved to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, in 2000 to join the touring band of jam-fusion pioneer Colonel Bruce Hampton. He performed with Hampton's group for two years, sharing the stage with high-profile acts like The Allman Brothers Band,

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...

, Derek Trucks,

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

and more. Returning to Nashville again in 2002, Buda shifted his work to the country music industry, touring with mainstream artists like Cyndi Thompson,

Hank Williams Jr. Randall Hank Williams (born May 26, 1949), known professionally as Hank Williams Jr. or Bocephus, is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His musical style is often considered a blend of southern rock, blues, and country. He is the son of ...

and

Emily West Emily Marie Nemmers (born July 9, 1981) is an American music artist, who performs and records under the name Emily West. Signed to Capitol Records Nashville, she debuted on ''Billboard's'' Hot Country Songs charts in early 2008 with the single " ...

, among others, and performing on the historic

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

and ''

Late Night With David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...

''. However, he soon realized he was not cut out for a life solely on the road and started making inroads into Nashville's recording community.

Recording career and Taylor Swift albums

After building a small home studio, Buda was introduced to producer/songwriter/guitarist Nathan Chapman, who was in need of a drummer to track some last-minute demo sessions. Striking up a potent working partnership, the pair began recording multiple demos each week as part of a studio team which also included Tim Marks (bass) and Chad Carlson (engineer). One of those demo sessions was for a teenaged singer/songwriter and aspiring country star named Taylor Swift, who liked the group's work so much she convinced her Big Machine record label to let Chapman produce her debut album – 2005's ''

'' – joined by Buda and the others. Buda went on to play drums on all four of Swift's country albums (''Taylor Swift'', ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

'', ''

Speak Now ''Speak Now'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 25, 2010, through Big Machine Records. Swift wrote the album entirely herself within two years, while she was promoting her second studio alb ...

'' and ''

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

''), each of which has now sold more than 6 million copies worldwide. In 2009, ''Fearless'' won

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

awards for Best Country Album and Album of the Year. Since then, Buda has continued to work as a recording drummer, contributing to albums by Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Martina McBride, Jewel and Michael W. Smith.

Production studio and continuing work

Buda owns and operates The Loft – a professional recording studio located in Nashville – where he continues his work as a session drummer and produces the work of other artists. He also continues to perform live with artists such as Jewel and others.

External links

Nick Buda’s complete discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buda, Nick American drummers Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee 1974 births Living people 21st-century American drummers