Bradley Jon Sanders | Bio
The arc of Bradley Jon Sanders' career path has seen some interesting twists and turns. As a drummer, his world is filled with syncopations, time changes, fills, the occasional solo and the usual mechanizations of holding the rhythm section together. If you take that kind of thinking and apply it to the way one lives their life -- which most musicians do in one way or another -- then the multiplex puzzle that is Bradley Jon Sanders' world starts to fit together.
Besides being a drummer with an affinity for rock, funk and fusion, Sanders has developed his own clothing line, runs a music magazine he founded and, believe it or not, still has time to film Sanders Home Bakery Studios.
He began his lifelong passion for drumming at age 4, and hasn't looked back since. In 1993, after ping ponging back and forth across the country a few times, he hit upon the idea of starting a music-related clothing business called E=Fb -- Musicians Theory of Relativity, featuring t-shirts and clothing for musicians. Along the way, he enlisted famed bassist Jeff Berlin to endorse his products and today his t-shirts are available in over 18 countries.
That's not to say it was always smooth sailing. In the early days of the company, he was living in an office without a shower. "I had to listen to every single business in Orlando, Florida tell me no at least a hundred times before I got it into a store. I had to listen to people tell me my product was a piece of crap over and over and over." Sanders goes on to explain, "After going through all of that, there was one person that said 'YES'. I treated that person like royalty! When I finally did get my shirts into a store they sold out almost immediately."
Today he has a strong partner to run the business side of the company, allowing him to work on creative stuff like logo designs and artist relations. It would seem that being a musician and building a clothing company would be enough activity to keep most people on their toes for some time. But somewhere along the way, Sanders discovered another music-related outlet.
In 1998, Sanders started an online magazine called Drum Clinic News as an adjunct to promote the t-shirt company. He would cover concerts, drum clinics and conventions like PASIC, the Percussion Arts Society International Convention. Many of the big names at these events helped him to build not only the audience for Drum Clinic News, but also his credentials.
The caliber of artist that Sanders was able to interview continued to expand, including such drum legends as Virgil Donati, Roy Haynes and Ed Shaughnessy. The quality of the concerts he started covering also improved, including such acts as Sheryl Crow, Kid Rock, Marilyn Manson and the Dave Matthews Band. After about 3 years in an effort to broaden his audience, he decided to change the name from Drum Clinic News to The Musician Times.
Looking over his various interests, Sanders says there is a synergy to all of these endeavors. At some point, he would like to find other writers and an editor to take on more responsibility for The Musicians Times. His one true passion is still music and everything that he does is in support of that.
Through all these diverse enterprises, Sanders remains decidedly positive about pursuing his dreams. "Whether you're trying to start a band, record label, studio, magazine or clothing line, the most important thing is to start it with what you have available today. Don't wait until all the conditions are perfect because that day will never arrive." And the most important thing that he adds is to "never give up!"
Currently, Sanders is a full time member of the music group, APPLE Z.