Joel “Jay-Ray” Anderson is a drummer that was recently touring with The Wiz.
I caught up with him mid-tour. We talked about growing up in a musical family in Fort Lauderdale, learning drums from YouTube and his oldest brother, coming up through the Dillard High School drumline, studying music at Broward College and Florida Memorial University, landing his first tour (Pretty Woman) the week after graduation, and transitioning to The Wiz through a network built one relationship at a time. We got into gospel drumming history, drumline battles, a month spent touring Japan, and why networking, not just chops, is what actually opens doors.
Jay-Ray comes from a house full of musicians. His father plays guitar and sings; his oldest brother plays drums and keys; another brother sings, plays drums, and plays saxophone; and a third brother plays bass, guitar, and keys while producing. Jay-Ray’s own introduction to the drums came at six years old, when his oldest brother sat him down in front of a kit for the first time. By twelve, he had his own Sonor drum set, a gift from that same brother, and was already teaching himself by copying drumming videos on YouTube.
Jay-Ray attended Dillard Center for the Arts, where he played in two jazz bands, marched snare in the wind orchestra and drumline, and got pulled onto snare drum as a freshman after impressing section leader Javon with a string of paradiddles. He talks about the discipline instilled by band directors Christopher Dorsey and Dr. Sheldon McClain, learning traditional grip for the first time, and the intensity of real drumline battles.
Jay-Ray studied at Broward College (Associate’s in Music Performance) before transferring to Florida Memorial University for his bachelor’s degree, where he played under percussion director Taurus Lovely, a 25-year Broadway touring veteran (including Tina Turner: The Musical) who would later become the person who got Jay-Ray his first tour. Jay-Ray’s first trip to New York came in 2018, when Dillard’s jazz band won the Essentially Ellington competition at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the same trip where he first saw a Broadway show, Ain’t Too Proud.
The day after Jay-Ray graduated from Florida Memorial in May 2023, Taurus Lovely called with an audition opportunity for the Pretty Woman national tour. Jay-Ray recorded four songs from the show, landed the gig, and was in rehearsals in Syracuse, New York within months. He talks candidly about the learning curve of running click tracks and Ableton on the road, getting walked through the system by original drummer Kevin Maynard, and the parts of touring nobody warns you about, like setting up and breaking down your own kit on travel days. Over roughly two years with the show, he toured extensively across the U.S. and spent a month performing in Japan (Shinjuku, Tachikawa, Kyoto, and Osaka).
Jay-Ray’s move to The Wiz came through his network: Sammy Merandino and Quentin “Q” Robinson recommended him, and MD Michael Aarons brought him in. Jay-Ray left Pretty Woman in Wichita and, within a week, was in New York starting rehearsals, spending his off-hours studying original drummer Trevor Holder’s book and comparing the Broadway cast recording to the touring arrangement. He also shares how he first met Q Robinson years earlier, showing up at Hamilton’s closing show in Fort Lauderdale just to introduce himself.
Asked what he’d tell a high school or college drummer chasing a career like his, Jay-Ray’s answer is simple: networking. Every opportunity in his career, from Pretty Woman to The Wiz to this very podcast episode, traces back to a relationship someone else made on his behalf.
Where to Find Jay-Ray
* Instagram & TikTok:@jay.ray04
* Facebook: Joel Anderson
* Email: joel.r.anderson04@gmail.com
Resources
* Free: How to Land a Broadway Gig Roadmap — subscribe to Broadway Drumming 101 (free or paid) and grab it at broadwayboundbook.com/roadmap
* The Broadway Sub Playbook ($7.99) — available at signaturebrandworks.com
* Broadway Drumming 101 merch (backpacks, tees, hats, mugs, and more) — signaturebrandworks.com
* Broadway Bound and Beyond: A Musician’s Guide to Building a Theater Career by Clayton Craddock — out now
Clayton Craddock was most recently the drummer for Cats: The Jellicle Ball on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre. He is also the founder of Broadway Drumming 101 and the author of Broadway Bound and Beyond: A Musician’s Guide to Building a Theater Career.
His Broadway credits include Memphis, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Ain’t Too Proud, and Cats: The Jellicle Ball, with additional credits spanning tick, tick…BOOM!, The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical, and subbing on Rent, Motown, Evita, Avenue Q, and the Hadestown tour.
Clayton has appeared on The View, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the Tony Awards. He has performed with artists ranging from Chuck Berry and Ben E. King to Kristin Chenoweth and Norm Lewis.
www.claytoncraddock.com
Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe
