The End of a Challenging but Great Year
November / December 2011
The infamy of covers band A Girl Called Sue is spreading - I had an interview for Musician magazine which I haven't read but hopefully I didn't say anything I shouldn't have! A few bookings in January 2012 for the 8 and 7 piece line up with horns! This was enjoyed by all, band and clients.
The start of the new year has been full and exciting; sitting in with some great drummers and being inspired by them too! Spamalot was in Brighton and drummer Mike Parkin kindly allowed me to sit in. What a fun gig and Mike is an excellent drummer! I've also sat in with Andy McGlasson who has an incredible feel. Every time I see him play I learn a lot! Andy is on Ghost at the moment and has been a west end first call for many years. Blood Brothers was another sit in with Rick Finlay who plays the gig so well but you should hear him with his Jazz group Just East. If you're a jazz fan check them out! Thanks drumming gentlemen for allowing me to sit in!
I've launched a new youtube channel called Brighton Drum Lessons. Check it out at www.youtube.com/user/BrightonDrumLessons. If you would like lessons either a one off or longer period of study do give me a shout and check out the lessons page of this website. I charge reasonable rates and do half hour and one-two hour lessons. Check out the videos on youtube for some quality info! Till next time keep drumming!
Busy, Busy, Busy!
October 2011
Hello again! The end of September and the start of October have been lots of fun so far; the Britain's Got Bhangra tour has been at Windsor Theatre Royal, the Curve in Leicester, Hackney Empire in London and the Orchard in Dartford. The show is going well and has received some great reviews. My current favourite character is DJ Lovely and his Rap Off track is still a roast with its multiple V Drum patch changes and a drum part that moves between Urban beats and Songo feels with the odd bar of double time Drum n' Bass thrown in for good measure! I've taken a few days off and I'm grateful as always to Gabor Dornyei for depping and doing an excellent job. Speaking of Gabor his DVD with the Thunder duo is out soon on Hudson DVD so watch out for more from this incredible drummer at www.gabordornyei.com. As well as the tour I've had a session at Raezor studios in Wandsworth with Chris C. This was a great day with all six tracks going down in as many hours and a warm drum sound being achieved with a minimum of fuss. The birch/bubinga kit I used sounded really good with a 14 x 6.5 steel snare suiting all of the tracks really well. I used various cymbals as the music moved between jazz and rock and my 2002 Heavy Ride did what it says on the tin! I'm looking forward to hearing how the tracks sound.
Speaking of bass Mike Nichols has uploaded various mixes of the tracks recorded back in the summer in my studio in Brighton and at Terl Bryant's place. Have a listen to the final results at www.mike-nichols.co.uk/mike-s-tunes. It was an honour to be asked to play for Mike on these tracks and I hope you enjoy the results. With all other instrument parts being played on various bass guitars it's every drummers dream; three bass players in one band - result!
On the teaching front I decided it was time to move on from my position at the ACM and after almost a decade of teaching it was time to say goodbye to many great friends and stretch out for pastures new. What a pleasure and privilege it has been to be involved with a great institution and play a small part in passing on musical skills to so many fantastic musicians. A big thankyou to Mike Sturgis, Nik Preston and all the staff and students of the ACM. For anybody who is interested in lessons with me I am teaching one on one lessons at my studio in Brighton. Drop me an email via the contact page if you would like to know more.
A Girl Called Sue and Blame It On The Boogie have been a bit quieter in October but after a full on summer it's been nice to be doing a little less for a while before the Christmas madness ensues! As I've been away Rob Parsons, Gabor Dorneyi and Terl B have been covering drumming duties and as always doing a great job under Pete Roth's musical direction. The band have been working away on a new demo so watch this space for some more party band madness! The guys are at the Ritz in Piccadilly at the end of the month doing an acoustic set - should be fun!
The Blues Trio with Dave Markee and Stu Barbour also played at the Booze and Blues festival in Croydon and I am hoping this project will grow and grow as it really gets to the core of what drumming is for me. As always I learn a lot playing with such a high level of musicianship and Dave's new hair cut isn't bad either! More gig dates to follow once we can choose a name! Any suggestions? Thanks for reading and see you next month!
Britain's Got Bhangra Tour starts, a Paiste endorsement and more!
September 2011
September has started with two weeks of rehearsals for the Britain's Got Bhangra show at Watford Palace Theatre. Watch a promo vid for the show here. The show is on V-Drums and I'm really enjoying the new TD20 module as it opens so many great doors in terms of sound. The kit is a hybrid set up with some Paiste Signature cymbals who I'm delighted to now be endorsing. My first cymbal was a Paiste 400 power ride so I'm pleased to be using such wonderful sounding cymbals which I've always loved and feel completely at home with. Many thanks to Christian Wenzel and Paiste! The Britain's Got Bhangra tour kicks off this week with previews at Watford Palace and then it's off on a UK tour until November. If you fancy some Bhangra check out the dates below and perhaps see you there!
Watford Palace Theatre: 21 - 24 September
The Orchard, Dartford: 26 September - 2 October
The Curve, Leicester: 3 - 9 October
Hackney Empire: 10 - 16 October
Windsor Theatre Royal: 17 - 23 October
West Yorkshire Playhouse: 24 - 30 October
Oldham Coliseum: 7 - 13 November
Warwick Arts Centre: 14 - 27 November
"The Rhythm Section" of myself and Dave Markee have been out working with the Love Band, Stu Barbour, Granville Harding and Coco Brown. A diverse set of artists playing some great music from honky tonk through to some swing and blues. I've been working with my good friend and guitarist Paul Fraser and bassist Chris Constantinou who also plays a mean flute! Hopefully more live dates to come. A Girl Called Sue has been busy with both Gabor Dornyei (www.gabordornyei.com) and Terl Bryant (www.terlbryant.co.uk) filling drum duties when I'm not around and both doing an amazing job. Britain's Got Bhangra .... and Stu Roberts on V-drums! New Endorsement with FLIX and Other News It's been a great week topped off by a new endorsement with FLIX. I used their orange flix for 4 months on the 2010 Britain's Got Bhangra tour with no breakages so I'm now looking forward to experimenting with their other types of sticks too! I had a session with bass supremo Mike Nichols at the beginning of June which began in my studio and ended at Terl Bryant's place just up the road. Terl did a fanstastic job in capturing a great sound. I'm looking forward to doing some Blues trio work with Stu Barbour and bassist Dave Markee over the next few months. Heyfunkydrummer.com Gets A Redesign It finally happened. I could resist no longer. Follow me at twitter.com/sturobertsdrums
August 2011
June 2011
April 2011
January 2011