The place to be for all those of us who hit things to make music was the London Drum Show held at Olympia this last weekend.
Bass Player Dave Marks and I performed on the Mike Dolbear stage spreading the word on rhythm section education with our RhythmMatters project. We got to check out some new gear, meet some lovely people and watch some amazing playing.
Artists appearing this year were:
Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl, Benny Grebb, Pete Lockett, Mike Mangini, Ndugu Chancelor, Nissan Stewart, Craig Blundell, Ian Mathews, Albert Vila, Ralph Salmins and Paul Clarvis.
Many thanks to those who helped us deliver our masterclasses especially Mike Dolbear, Matt our superb sound technician and all those at the ICMP.
Here are a few photos from the weekend.
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It’s been a hard days night and I’ve been working like a dog!…
It’s been a hectic few months getting content ready for my new two page article in Drummer Magazine. This article will run concurrently with my good friend Dave Marks’s column in Bass Player Magazine on the subject of playing in odd times signatures (anything other than 4/4). The subject of this article is just one of the topics we cover in our on the road masterclasses and at our new web site http://www.rhythmmatters.co.uk.
The site is really taking shape and I’ve been sweating it out in the studio recording drums for all of the audio examples. Thanks to all the guys at Drummer for making this happen and helping Dave & I realize our vision.
Hot news! Dave Marks and I will be performing at the London Drum Show at the Olympia Conference Centre on the 4th & 5th September 2010 on the Mike Dolbear stage.
For more info check out the website:
http://www.londondrumshow.com/
Dave Marks and I have been working hard to get RhythmMatters website up and running ready for our up and coming articles in Bass Player Magazine and Drummer Magazine. The articles will run concurrently and feature playing grooves in odd times. To support the articles we will have video lessons and audio backing tracks available at our website: http://www.rhythmmatters.co.uk
We are also pleased to announce that Shure microphones have come on board and are suppling microphones for our up and coming masterclass tour later in the year.
On the 2nd May 2010 I was invited to join the judging panel of ‘Live & Unsigned’ at a regional final held at the Beck Theatre in Hayes, Middlesex.
My fellow judges were Radio 1’s longest serving DJ Annie Nightingale (MBE), Radio 1’s top urban DJ Ras Kwame, legendary record producer Steve Lyon and MTV and XFM Presenter Phil Clifton.
We had a great day judging three shows of bands, solo artists and everything in between. All performers gave their very best and proved live music is very much alive in the UK. Wicked!
http://www.liveandunsigned.uk.com/
Here are three tracks I recorded for irish bassist Dave Marks as a range of play-along tracks for bassists and soon to be available here and at http://www.drumlessonpodcast.com minus drums for drummers.
Ghetto Upgrade (HipHop/R&B)
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The Ealing Feeling (Brit Funk)
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Skattershot (Ska)
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I am currently in the planning stage of a new web site entitled “The Drum Lesson Podcast”. Visitors will be able to download a large number of FREE, yes free lessons on a variety of different subjects for beginners to advanced students of the drums.
Visitors to the site will be able to download the lessons to their computer or ipod from what will be an ever expanding library of information for drummers and percussionists.
Watch this space for more details!!
http://www.drumlessonpodcast.com
Here are a few photo of me playing with the Dub Pistols at the Beautiful Days Festival in Otter St.Mary in Devon.
