Demo Of Bill Sanders’ New 14″ Practice Pad
Bill Sanders has just released his new 14″ pad and since I have been using and recommending his practice kits for years, he asked me to check it out prior to launch.
Drum Blog
Better Call Saul Theme Includes JPF Amps Regent 25
OK, nothing to do with drums at all but I’m always pleased to plug the fine work of my friends and associates. The theme tune for Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul which is looking like a great TV show so far, is by the band Little Barrie. Lead singer and amazing guitarist Barrie Cadogan used a JPF Amps Regent 25 built by my friend and Astrojets band leader, Frank Cooke at JPF Amps maker of fine guitar and bass… Read More »Better Call Saul Theme Includes JPF Amps Regent 25
Musical Time – The Drummer From Semisonic Writes About Feel
Here’s a series of blog posts I discovered courtesy of The Steve Goold Blog by drummer Jacob Slichter of Semisonic talking about developing one’s sense of time and all that encompasses. This is a topic that can seem quite esoteric and can be challenging to communicate to students about, especially with those who don’t listen to a lot of music (sadly, a common deficit with the kids of today). Mr Slichter explains the subject brilliantly with some really good examples… Read More »Musical Time – The Drummer From Semisonic Writes About Feel
Whiplash – A Bloody Awful Film About Drumming
So I hate-watched Whiplash, the movie that’s got folks salivating with anticipation due to some glowing reviews and enthusiastic press reports. I say hate-watched because I knew I’d hate the movie due to a bunch of stuff some sensible people wrote about it, like George Colligan did on his Jazz Truth Blog and from the trailer. Why watch it if I knew I’d hate it? Because being a drummer and drum teacher means everyone I talk to assumes I’m interested… Read More »Whiplash – A Bloody Awful Film About Drumming
Shameless Plug for A Couple of Cruise Ship Drummer Books
Just a quickie to let you know that the Samba and Bossa book (wot I reviewed in my last post) by the Cruise Ship Drummer is now available in dead tree format. Also the Book of The Blog 2014 is out. It’s a compendium of last year’s posts including stuff on jazz and Afro-Cuban drumming, snare drum exercises and transcriptions of drum parts in a variety of styles. I highly recommend checking out the blog for tons of free drumming… Read More »Shameless Plug for A Couple of Cruise Ship Drummer Books
New Cruise Ship Drummer Book – Playing Samba and Bossa Nova: A field Manual for Drummers
Todd Bishop over at the Cruise Ship Drummer blog never ceases to amaze me with his prolific output. His recent publication is a Kindle book called – Playing Samba and Bossa Nova: a field manual for drummers. It costs in the neighbourhood of ?4 and is a very well put together guide to playing Samba and Bossa for any drummer who wants to add these styles to their skill set in a practical manner. The guide is concise, it contains… Read More »New Cruise Ship Drummer Book – Playing Samba and Bossa Nova: A field Manual for Drummers
Advice For Beginning Drummers from The Cruise Ship Drummer
I really loved this post from Todd Bishop of the Cruise Ship Drummer blog. Go have a read, he very succinctly summarises a bunch of stuff that’s essential to be aware of. Go read here – http://www.cruiseshipdrummer.com/2014/12/advice-for-novices.html Meanwhile, I’ve had another Skype lesson with Todd and found it very enjoyable and am planning to do an actual kit lesson with him soon to see what it’s like. Oh, and to get some pointers on my jazz playing.
Drumming DVDs About Musicianship Not Chops
Since I just wrote a review of Jojo’s DVD about feet, I thought I should do a bit about some DVDs I know which are all about the music and don’t waste much time on technique. These are videos that any drummer would hugely enjoy and benefit from. You should get them all. Levon Helm – Classic Rock, Country & Blues Drumming One of my absolutely favourite videos is by one of my absolutely favourite drummers, Levon Helm. Levon Helm… Read More »Drumming DVDs About Musicianship Not Chops
Drum Intro For Tony Allen’s Go Back From His Latest Album
Damon Albarn is a pretty lucky guy since his rock star status allows him to play with musicians of the calibre of Tony Allen. Having said that, he’s quite good at songwriting and Go Back from the album Film Of Life is really good. On the album version of the song is this intro which I just realised is absent from the radio version of the song which is available on Youtube. I guess it’s a good reason to get… Read More »Drum Intro For Tony Allen’s Go Back From His Latest Album
I Saw Tony Allen Play In London
So last Thursday I got to see Tony Allen at a venue in London called the Village Underground. I was very excited to see him play since I have a bit of a drum infatuation with his incredibly funky and unique drumming. The set comprised the songs on his new album Film Of Life and I felt very glad to go and see the great musician’s left foot in action in real life, so to speak. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really… Read More »I Saw Tony Allen Play In London