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Brian Chippendale

Checking In At 20 – Documentary

A student turned me on to Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt recently. I love the chaotic noise and unbridled freedom of his playing. YouTube, eager to get me hooked into whatever the hell it is I’ve just looked at, showed me Black Pus, Chippendale’s one-man-band and then, somehow, to this documentary on Pitchfork about him and a bloke called Greg Saunier from the band Deerhoof. I don’t listen to much of this kind of expressionistic, arty rock these days (if… Read More »Checking In At 20 – Documentary

I Saw The Kinks Musical, Sunny Afternoon

Last week I got to see the musical Sunny Afternoon which is based on the story of the Kinks and features their music. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I’ve visited the theatre (and have a couple of fingers to spare) and I found it to be a very novel experience. The show is based on the fortunes of the Kinks from their early days as the Ravens to the summer of 1966… Read More »I Saw The Kinks Musical, Sunny Afternoon

The Real Last Waltz – Alternate Footage Posted on YouTube

Wow, this is brilliant. Someone’s posted alternate footage of the Last Waltz concert which shows the real performance before all the overdubs that Levon talks about so disparagingly in his book. The Band is one of my favourite rock music combos and Levon Helm is truly a master drummer. I love the movie and have watched it countless times but there is nothing to beat a real performance. Wonderful! First bit: Next bit: Last bit:

I Have Joined The Ranks Of YouTube Drum Coverers

As someone who lived before there was such a thing as the Internet, I still find the notion of being seen by anyone anywhere in the world somewhat creepy. I normally share videos with people via file sharing services. But as internet users are migrating away from their desktops and laptops towards tablets, I keep getting complaints about not being able to view the videos I send. So I end up using YouTube because it seems to work on any… Read More »I Have Joined The Ranks Of YouTube Drum Coverers

Hard To Handle Video Lesson

Blimey, making a video is not easy. Kudos to all those who do such a great job on Youtube. Anyway, here’s my demonstration of the main bits in Hard To Handle according to The Black Crowes. It’s intended for the students attending the band workshops I am putting on with my colleague Rodrigo but it might be useful for anyone wanting to learn the song.

Lou Reed Est Mort!

Sad news just coming across the internets that legendary rock ‘n’ roller Lou Reed has died. I’m pretty fond of Transformer and New York and despite not being a huge fan of the Velvets, I have a lingering affection for the band as my dear departed friend Hetty’s husband, Angus, used to be their drummer before quitting in the early days. Hetty said that Angus wrote some of the early tunes. Anyway, Lou kept it going through the years and… Read More »Lou Reed Est Mort!

A Bit of Black Sabbath

Frank at JPF Amplification (London Amp Repairs and Custom Amp Builders) sent me a link to this fantastic live set from Black Sabbath circa 1970. Bill Ward is an amazing drummer who isn’t mentioned as often as some other legendary 70’s rock drummers but he’s a real original. Heavy metal was just loud funk back then. Yeah. If you don’t have time to watch the whole thing, check out this splendid clip showing the drum tech setting Bill’s kit up… Read More »A Bit of Black Sabbath

John Bonham Triplets Lesson – I’ll Have Some Of What He’s Having…

I need to get back to writing some more stuff about my recent experiences with drumming luminaries. Meanwhile, here is another lesson from the brilliant Terry Keating AKA Bonzoleum. This is a brilliant way of explaining the triplets-around-the-kit idea and his method for breaking it down is wonderfully simple and logical and why didn’t I think of that? I’ll be working with this method tomorrow myself as I always thought my Bonzo triplets were a bit crap.

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