Blake Paulson
Blake Paulson (born April 10, 1978) is an American drummer. Active as a professional musician since 1998, he has performed across the United States with a wide variety of artists and bands at venues of all types including acoustic cafes, rock clubs, festivals, and stadiums. His playing is a distinct blend of many musicals styles with emphasis on Rock, Pop, R&B, Funk, Soul, Latin, Jazz, Singer/Songwriter, and Country.
Blake was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to a music and education family. Father, John Paulson, taught public school music, was founder and CEO of Springboard (leading education software), was founder and CEO of MakeMusic (Finale, SmartMusic), has served on boards of NAMM, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Forum, Wenger Corporation, and is a composer & guest conductor. Mother, Coreen Nordling, is Principal Bassoon of the Minnesota Opera, private teacher, and often performs with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.
Blake’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. In 2000 he was awarded the schools Professional Music Achievement Award. Blake’s training comes from some of the finest drummers in America: Scott Crosbie, Paul Stueber, Gordy Knudtson, Dave DiCenso, Casey Scheuerell, and Zoro.
During the period from 1996 to 2006, Blake expanded his musical abilities beyond drumming to include singing, songwriting, music directing, engineering, and producing. He built a home studio which he operated professionally from 2002 to 2006 and co-wrote, produced, and engineered songs with many talented artists and musicians. Although no longer working as an engineer, Blake continues to enjoy collaborating with artists as a co-writer, co-producer, and music director.
Blake resides in Los Angeles, CA where he is active as a touring and session drummer. He has worked for many talented independent and major label artists including Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers, and Hoku. He is also a founding member and business director of LA’s team of session musicians, the Backliners.
An active teacher and advocate for high quality music education, Blake has been teaching drum lessons since 2000. He teaches private lessons to students of all abilities in Los Angeles. In 2012, Hal Leonard published Blake's first drum set method book, Drum Set Coordination.