Sput used a huge variety of Meinl cymbals at the Meinl Drum Festival, as listed below. Not only because he loves them all, but his unique setup in Gutenstetten, Germany demanded that huge selection from the Meinl catalog. In case you didn't hear the news: earlier this year, Sput changed his drums to Tama. In the fifth video with this article, he talks about his change of drums.

On the Meinl stage he combined his Tama Star (Walnut, with Mint Green Mist finish) with a Cocktail-Jam kit - continuously switching between them during the show. Also good to know when watching the last video from Meinl: Sput wrote all the music he played himself.

"I have a fascination and fetish for triplets. There are so many ways you can interpret just the three notes... I am trying to explore all the ways you can do that."

- Robert "Sput" Searight

Robert "Sput" Searight
Sput started playing drums when he was about three or four years old. He grew up in a musical family with a mom and dad active as musicians and singers. His second instrument is the piano. Playing the keys has been a major influence on his drumming and musical perspective, as he states in Modern Drummer (April 2013):

"It's meant everything for my drumming. When I play music, I'm thinking tones and melodies. I'm playing from a weird perspective for a drummer, actually. I'm looking for melodies and using my ears differently, as opposed to always playing from a rhythmic standpoint. I am thinking melodies first."

The past few years, he is probably best known for his work with worldwide sensation Snarky Puppy. When looking at his résumé of the past 20 years, you find a longlist of major artists. A few of them are Marcus Miller, Celine Dion, Bob Carlisle, Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Justin Timberlake, Diddy Dirty Money (P. Diddy), Tha Dogg Pound and Timbaland. Together with Kendall Lewis, he is taking care of the drums on Kendrick Lamar's 2015-release 'To Pimp a Butterfly'.

In 2014 he won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance with Snarky Puppy for the song Something from the album 'Family Dinner, Volume 1', featuring soul singer Lalah Hathaway.

New releases
There are a few releases in production that Sput is working on. Together with Snarky Puppy percussionist Nate Werth he started a project called 'Ghost-Note'. Their debut cd/dvd features the duo's rhythmical connection crafted over the past eight years. Latest info tells us it is to be released soon after the summer.
Also, during the interview he talks about his upcoming solo album. Without a doubt, this will be a welcome surprise as well. It has a lot of Sput's friends on it, all playing an instrument other than the one they are known for. Naturally, Sput's instrument will be the piano.

The Ten One-minute Questions at the Meinl Drum Festival
In the four questionnaire-videos, besides answering the questions, Sput gives great insights into his musical background, his fetish for triplets and the music he grew up with and still listens to. He even recalls his first drum kit and how he got into playing drums. As with all the artists we talked to at the Meinl Drum Festival, the first question always was: Can you describe what playing Meinl means to you?

The Ten One-minute Questions are

1. Can you describe what playing Meinl means to you?
   
2. What is your favorite Meinl cymbal?
   
3. What made you start playing drums, what was the trigger?
   
4. What do you still practice regularly?
   
5. The biggest mistake you ever made while performing?
   
6. Which artist playing this festival do you envy the most?
   
7. What is your message during a clinic like today?
   
8. Which three albums should everybody listen to?
   
9. What do you still aspire in music?
   
10. What is your main advice to the drummers out there?

Discover Robert "Sput" Searight
Sput can also be heard on several Gospel albums on wich he appears playing drum and keys. Here are some Spotify links that feature Sput in other settings than the Meinl Drum Festival, plus some Snarky Puppy albums.

• Myron Butler & Levi - 'Stronger'
  
• Tamela Mann - 'Best Day's
  
• Tasha Page-Lockhart - 'Here Right Now'
  
• Snarky Puppy & Metropole Orchestra - 'Sylvia'
  
• Snarky Puppy - 'Family Dinner, Volume 1'

Robert "Sput" Searight plays

• Meinl Cymbals
  
• Tama drums
  
• Evans Drumheads
  
• Vic Firth drumsticks

Robert "Sput" Searight's Meinl setup on June 27, 2015

• 12" / 14" Generation X XTreme Stack Hihat
  
• 20" Byzance Trash Crash (bottom)
  
• 12" Soundcaster Custom Splash (top)
  
• 8" / 10" Generation X Electro Stack
  
• 10" Byzance Extra Dry Splash
  
• 18" Generation X Safari Ride
  
• 16" Byzance Extra Dry Medium Thin Hihat
  
• 20" Byzance Vintage Crash
  
• 10" Byzance Extra Dry Splash
  
• 21" Byzance Transition Ride
  
• 18" Byzance Vintage Pure Crash
  
• 20" Byzance Extra Dry Thin Crash
  
• 18" Generation X Kinetik Crash (bottom)
  
• 10" Byzance Extra Dry Splash (top)
  
• 22" Byzance Crash Ride

All artists performing at the Meinl Drum Festival 2015

• Thomas Lang
  
• Adam Markó
  
• Richard Spaven
  
• Krimhera
  
• Ralph Peterson Jr.
  
• Anika Nilles
  
• Matt Garstka
  
• Robert "Sput" Searight
  
• Benny Greb

The best Snarky Puppy album?
While walking uphill on the Meinl premises to our interview location, Sput and yours truly talked about Larnell Lewis sitting in for him during the recordings of Snarky Puppy's album 'We like it here'. Sput stated: "That is probably the best Snarky album so far..."

At that specific date, we expected to interview Sput, but due to strikes in the US, Larnell had to sit in for Sput. Here's our feature with Larnell Lewis after his week of live recordings with Snarky Puppy in the Kytopia studios in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Larnell Lewis takes care of Snarky Puppy dvd recordings
Video interview with the drummer who saved the day