Is it too late for Christmas?
As with most of my blog updates, I’m running a little behind. My last blog included what I got up to with Intersales Music during the summer of 2010. The Perfect Lesson still gets me excited. It was a great show and a brilliant experience considering none of us had actually done a theatre production from scratch before. Unfortunately it is not likely to be happening again through Intersales Music, but more on that later.
For me to get my blog world up to date, we’ll have go back as far as December. I’m sure most of you will remember December quite clearly. Not just because it’s the run up to Christmas, but because of the large amount of snow we received.
This caused my band more problems than I can ever remember. On the 18th December we were due to play in Billericay in Essex. The snow fell that heavy for three days we were not able to make the gig. I can’t recall ever having to cancel a gig due to bad weather and it was incredibly frustrating to say the least. The client understood, but I can’t help thinking how disappointed they were.
Our next performance was to be on the following Wednesday. Fortunately it was only an hour away in Daventry, surely nothing could go wrong with this show? Although the snow was still on the ground, most of the roads were completely clear, but unfortunately for us, the Caravan Park where the van is stored wasn’t. You have to bear in mind that caravans are not used during the winter. It’s pretty obvious, but because of our gig schedule, we need access fifty-two weeks of the year. The snow had come down that heavy we couldn’t get the van out of the park. Lucky for us the client was very understanding and had a back up plan just in case the problems over the last few days were to repeat themselves. Thankfully it wasn’t needed, the AA helped us to get the van out and albeit a few hours late, we performed a storming show.
The next day it was time to celebrate Christmas properly. As many of you will know, my future in-laws are from the Czech Republic. We were due to fly out first thing on the Thursday morning, but we couldn’t help thinking the snow might be a problem once again. Happily Stansted Airport hadn’t encountered the same problems as Heathrow. We flew out on time ready for a wonderful Christmas.
After flying back from Europe, it was time for another show with Wild. New Years Eve in the Cotswolds doesn’t get any better. We played there last year at the same venue and it didn’t disappoint. The Old Stocks Hotel in Stow-on-the-Wold always puts on a great night. Their guests sit down for a quiet relaxing meal and then spend the rest of the evening enjoying Rock and Roll performed by us. Everybody had a great night including the band, what a great way to start the New Year.
Like every New Year, you always make plans for the future. Little did I know that my world was about to change in a huge way, more on this in my next blog.
Thank you for reading and although it’s late, Happy New Year!
The Perfect Lesson
During the summer of 2010, I took it upon myself to create something different for the students of Intersales Music. Over the previous three years we have performed what we had labelled “A Student Show”. The student show was typically a chance for the student to perform anything they had been learning during their lessons. This would involve a short exercise, playing to a backing track, or even collaborating with other students to form a band. This has been a huge success, but was it time for a change?
The students of Intersales Music attend a lesson on their chosen Instrument each week, but unbeknown to us, many attend dancing, acting and other different performance related classes when not with us. This was all the excuse I needed, could I write a play that involved the talents that they all had?
Below is a video account of what we achieved that night. I am proud to say that we pulled it off. None of us had ever done this before as a whole, but with determination and lots of effort, it was a success.
My heart felt thanks go to everybody who made this possible, I hope you enjoy the show.
Holiday Time
As much as I believe in working hard as a musician, the important thing to remember is we all need a break from time to time. As a very keen drumming enthusiast I often forget this. One main reason for this is I started playing drums for fun rather than a job. When it is fun, you don’t need a break?
Many a day I would rush from work to do a gig, thinking no more that it was a great night out and also a chance to show off my drumming skills. The words skills is loosely used, as I never really gave it the time I do now- obviously because of the job.
What job did I do? Time to come clean I guess, and clean certainly was a factor. I spent fifteen years clearing rubbish from people’s home. Yep, I was a dustman or Trash man if you are reading this in American. This paid my mortgage and other bills whilst learning to play. It never really entered my mind that I would eventually land up playing for a day job. Drumming was a fun thing and a chance to hang out with my friends. Money was never an issue for me either. I would often play for nothing and that really has not changed, although I have to be careful which dates I commit to.
Another important part of my progress involved my teaching. This time it was a money thing. Even though my bills were being paid, like everybody, I was finding it hard raising extra cash. I enquired at a local music teaching school and was told they were thinking of starting drum lessons. A few months later I started teaching once a week.
Many people talk of hard work paying off. Hard work is exactly what it was. Getting up at 5am to drive the truck, making my way to the teaching school for 3.30pm and finally home at 9pm. One day a week was fine, but after a few months I soon found myself teaching three nights a week alongside my driving.
At this time I was still the drummer of Wild. This band has been my life for the last ten years and although at the time we would play possibly twice a month, I feel it is a contributing fact to me being the musician I am today.
Wild started over seventeen years ago, but with another drummer. They had the same intention as many of us, to play Rock n Roll music for fun with no money driven ambitions. I joined in 2000 which set off our quest to conquer the holiday camp world. This we did with over four years of successful gigs and still with no ambition of massive earnings until we realised we had something real to offer.
It got to the point where we were paying for poor accommodation and making a loss whilst the camps were using us as their main attraction. Don’t get me wrong, it did the band nothing but good. We now played so tightly together it is unreal, clearly the benefit from playing so regular- something had to change. We signed with an agent who has looked after us ever since and although we are constantly playing for the corporate world, we feel it is what we are worth.
So now I was gigging every week, teaching three nights and driving a truck collecting rubbish during the day. Could it get any busier? Surprised and very flattered, my teaching skills hadn’t gone unnoticed. Intersales Music was to offer me a full time position helping the teaching school grow. This has given me the chance to teach more, but also to get more involved in encouraging all different types of students. It has also been know for me to play a few notes on a guitar (not very well I must add)
What has all this got to do with having a break? I hear so many times “I’m a professional musician!” Maybe you are, but I like to think I’m a ‘working musician’. We always need a break from work and that’s exactly what I’m doing now. As I write, I sit in the sunshine in Gran Canaria. This break has not only been a relaxing break, but has thoroughly inspired me to work even harder as a working drummer when I get home.
Give yourself a treat, take a break from music, it won’t make you any less of a musician. If you have a day job? It doesn’t matter, you’re still a musician.
On that note it’s time to head back to the hotel room and get ready for tonight. You never know, I might see someone working as a musician.
Catch you back in the UK when I return.
You’re Never Too Old To Learn
It amazes me that only a select few musicians actually feel like learning or having extra lessons. Just because I play up and down the country regularly and teach for my day job, it doesn’t mean that I am proficient in everything I do. Let’s not get the wrong end of the stick here, I am confident in my playing and cover almost every genre of music in my teaching. As we all know, there is always something to learn, which can increase your knowledge. I have mentioned in past blogs that taking exams is a part of my drumming career for one simple reason- it keeps me up to date and therefore making me a better teacher and player.
When I found out that Paul Hose at MLC Academy was holding a weekend of drum clinics and master classes in Nottingham, I knew I had to be involved. The classes featured two of New York’s finest drum teachers, Mike Sorrentino and John Favicchia. Unfortunately due to a gig in Stratford Upon Avon, I was unable to attend the drum clinic on the Friday night, but that didn’t damp my enthusiasm for the early start the next day.
The class started at 11am, joining me for the day was a student of mine- Phil Harris, who has recently started teaching. Phil has only ever had me as a teacher and I thought it would be a great experience for him to join me and get involved in the same session.
As with most drum classes, immediately the joking and happy introductions start. Drummers often have this camaraderie between each other and just to prove the point, the first question of the class was, what’s the difference between us all? Of course the answer is nothing, we’re all players that wish to progress in our instrument.
We all introduced ourselves to the tutors explaining, why we were there and what our goals were. This soon starts a conversation about practising and technique. I’m a great lover of technique and feel it’s a big part of what I’m able to play on the kit. I think most people agreed and we were soon looking at 16th Note Elements from John Favicchia’s new book. This really opened my eyes. It’s not a new concept, but it had me excited when I actually heard it adapted to the kit. The rest of lesson was based around questions that the students had and unfortunately it came to very quick end.
After an hour or so for lunch we headed over to the teaching studios for an individual lesson with one of the tutors. I was rather happy that Mike Sorrentino had chosen me. I’d watched him earlier and noticed his incredible technique, whist holding the stick in a traditional style. I have always been interested in other people views about this stick technique, as I have played like this for most of my life. I wasn’t disappointed, he has given me plenty of exercises that will keep me busy for sometime.
This was a fantastic day of education that I am pleased I did not miss. MLC Academy is at the forefront of educating drummers and I’m so glad I have the chance to go there. If you need any further details about MLC Academy by all means drop me a line. Better still, you can check out the website at the bottom of this blog.
Thanks to everybody involved, especially to Paul Hose for making these events happen.
See you next time.
The Perfect lesson
One of the hardest things I come across as a teacher is my students do not have an interest in music from the past. Although I thought that would be a tough obstacle, I later found out that most of my work colleagues had no interest either. Something had to be done in a way that everybody could enjoy learning about the history of music.
Each year at Intersales music we hold a performance music show, which involves the students performing anything they choose. This could be just as simple as an exercise that they have been working on, or even performing a song solo. Past events have entailed students collaborating together to form bands also. Performance is always an important part of the leaning process, but this year I wanted to take it a stage further.
Years of playing drums and meeting different people have inspired my way of thinking. Since an early age I have always wanted to be involved in a theatre production. I guess it comes from my father taking me to shows as a young boy, sitting there watching the production whilst he blasted out a tremendous sound on the trombone from the orchestral pit.
It was decided I should start writing a musical play. I began writing ‘The Perfect Lesson’ some month’s back and I hoped it would give an insight to where music began. It is based around six characters travelling through time on a discovery trip learning different genres of music through the decades. I feel that incorporating music and dance within a performance can only add experience to a musician.
The story starts with all the students being magically transported from their lessons within Intersales to a place called “Change Over”. The students have been chosen due to their refusal to learn any other style other than their favorite. In charge of lessons within “Change Over” is the all-knowing character Mr. Intersales. He has been given the responsibility of teaching the Perfect Lesson and soon has them on a magical journey that will change everybody’s opinion of music.
The three characters are strong-minded students who refuse to learn any thing new. Metal Lisa is a guitar student, who loves heavy Metal music. She can be arrogant and insulting, but deep down, cares for her friends. AKA Bilk is a Jazz clarinetist who believes that Jazz is the answer to everybody’s taste. This strong character influences the others easily, but soon finds out that music is not just about him. Cozy Towel is a real life tribute to rock. Cozy believes he is the real Cozy and shows off his talent of drumming through the story, but with his “Rock Star ways” you soon see what makes the average Rock Star tick- or maybe not?
Two real stars join the story in the shape of Texas Whitney and Elton Gong. They will learn from a different perspective, as their real Rock Star status is soon put under question.
The students of Intersales Music have been working very hard on this production over the last few weeks. The music has been carefully chosen for this show and with students as young as ten performing, it will be truly inspirational.
This has been a fantastic project to be involved in. At times it has been very hard, but to see all the children “perform their hearts out” has been an experience I will never forget. If you are interested in coming to the show, please drop me an email via my website and I will gladly point you in the right direction. The show will be happening on the 28th August 2010 at the Masque Theatre in Barton Seagrave.
Will you receive the Perfect lesson? That I will leave to you to decide, but I know I have.
Thank you for reading
Summer Music
From the beginning of May to the end of June I have had the most unbelievable time playing gigs with Wild. After getting back from the Derry Jazz festival we have been up and down the country like a Yoyo.
The first gig we were to play was in Sale, Manchester. This was a sixtieth birthday party at a conservative Club. This really did take me back in time. Years ago I started my drumming career playing clubs just like this. It was a good life and it certainly gave me plenty of experience, which I am thankful for today. It’s such a shame that many clubs in my area don’t have the people using them. This might not be the case throughout the country, but bands are not playing them anymore because venues can’t afford to have entertainment.Lucky for us this was one of the clubs that was attended regularly and we was greeted with a statement I hadn’t heard for many years. “Blimey, you have a lot of equipment; I hope you are not too loud”. It made me laugh, we do have a lot, but it is there for a reason. The band played brilliantly and the people enjoyed the evening thoroughly, a great night in Manchester.
Next day we were off to North Wales. A fifties themed birthday party was certainly our thing and it didn’t disappoint. The whole marquee was covered with everything fifties, from cardboard cut outs of James Dean, Elvis and even Marilyn Monroe. The biggest surprise was the 50s Thunderbird car which turned up later for a busy photo session. Once again the band played really well. 
It was time to go home for some much needed rest and a busy week of teaching. Shortly afterwards we were soon on the road again with a reasonably local gig at the Tithe Barn in Bicester. Weddings through the summer are a regular thing for us and sometimes you never know how they will turn out. We have played at the Tithe barn before and it always reassuring when the owner comments on being relieved that it was us. I guess from her reaction that some of the bands she had been dealing with just lately, hadn’t exactly come up with the goods. This gig was made even better by a surprise visit from my wife to be, Barbora. Being a musician means that I am away a lot and we don’t always have the time to get together at home. The band played well and the bride and groom commented on how much they had enjoyed our performance.
The next night saw us travelling to Chester. Albeit we had a few troubles getting into the venue, it was also a great night. The multistory car park was the problem we had. They had not realised that the band could possibly have a large vehicle and not be able to enter the car park. We eventually got around the problem by loading the equipment through the service area, which was in the basement. This meant we would load through the kitchen. It is never popular with the kitchen staff, but there were not many other choices. Again we were still on a roll and the band played very well.
Another week of “rest” while busy teaching, then it was off to a garden party in Chiswick. This was the highlight of the month for me. We setup at the bottom the garden near the green house. Luckily we have been experiencing a great summer, but there is something special about playing in out of the ordinary places. The clients always have a party each year for all their family and friends. No other reason apart from that. We played a blinding first set with all the guests dancing on the grass, really enjoyable. The partying didn’t stop there though. During the break we had Brazilian dancers perform for the guests, wonderful stuff.
Later that evening we had a special guest join us on stage. Apparently he was pretty big in the sixties and was currently performing throughout the country doing the holiday camp circuit. We had no reason to doubt this as he had a fantastic voice and brilliant stage presence. To be honest, he was one of the best entertainers I have ever come across and we certainly had a great time. Keep an eye out for Kin Kelly. If you ever see his name, make the effort to go and see him, I am sure you won’t be disappointed. 
The next show was to be at Princethorpe College in Rugby. For me there is something special about playing in a college. I guess it’s the education thing I’m involved in, but what a great place. It was a wedding and they also knew how to enjoy themselves.
It was then off to Thursley for another wedding. By this time we have had a good run of things so I guess we were due for an unusual night. This was enjoyable wedding, but what they hadn’t realised is that we need power to provide the entertainment. It seems an obvious thing, but they made an error of connecting us to the dimmer switch, which powered the lights for the marquee. As it gets dark, you need less power for the lights. What they did not realize, we couldn’t work under the same conditions. As the night progressed, certain parts of the equipment started dropping out. First the monitors did not work, then the lights, then Paul’s guitar. By the end of the evening we were almost playing acoustically. Everybody enjoyed the evening and that is what matters. Next time we will just be careful when somebody else connects the electricity.
By this time we were ready for a few weeks off. I love my playing, but we were so busy over a short period of time, I was grateful for the time back home.
The beginning of July brought us the real privilege of playing for the RAF. These people are the best of the best at what they do. What an honor it was to be playing for such well-respected people. As you would expect, they are very organized. We had to be setup by 8pm on the nose and ready to play at 8.30pm. This was because of there being two other bands. The RAF certainly know how to party. It was their annual summer ball and they had three bands, including us. We do not often get the chance to play with other bands and we found the other guys friendly and great to be with. Usually, it means we get together and share stories of what we have been up to etc. The two bands were brilliant and I soon had one of the other drummers watching me from the side of the stage. It is always great to get somebody else’s opinion on my playing. He commented on how well I play my snare fills. I was really flattered, considering I had watched with awe at his own playing. The night ended far too early for my liking, hopefully we will get the chance to do it all again very soon.
To bring us up to date, I finished this run of gigs with playing at Oxford College. Once again to be in such a prestigious place made me feel very humbled. It was a beautiful building and a fantastic wedding. As you can tell, we have had a very busy time just lately. Playing music for a living is a dream and I am still living it. Over the next few months we are going to be just as busy. I love what we do and feel I am truly blessed.
Thank you for reading.
Summer Rockschool 2010
This week I have had the pleasure of teaching some wonderful kids who have been a part of the Rockschool course I do through Intersales Music. I have written about this before and always feel the need to mention how fantastic they are. Each student is placed in a band and given two songs to learn over a six-week period. The final show on the last week is usually a nervous, but very talented event.
The video clip below is of the students practice session from week five. I am always a supporter of the future musician and as a teacher I try to better myself constantly. These kids have made my job so easy; I am really looking forward to the final show next week.
