DRUM LESSONS AVAILABLE!

Any drummers out there looking to improve their playing and take it to the next level?

Both online and 1 to 1 lessons are available, so get in touch as I can get the next step of your musical journey underway.

I have 35 years playing experience both ‘live’ and in the studio and I’ve techniques & concepts that will help you nail the audition, gig or session. 

I look forward to hearing from you! 

Email: robert.brian70@gmail.com 

Mentoring Sessions Available!

I realised that in these very difficult times that many of my musician friends, and indeed myself, were suffering from mental health issues based around our careers. In these Covid fuelled times we as musicians have had a pretty raw deal from the government re:benefits and any help. This has left a lot of us feeling worthless and a little lost, what was once our living and our passion became worthless as we were told to retrain etc.

To combat these times I had to dig deep and use all my inner strength and character to keep going and keep my head above water. In doing so I realised that I could help others in a similar position, I had mentored before in pre-Covid times and I thought doing the same ‘within‘ Covid times was now crucial.

So, if you feel you need help regaining your confidence in your performance or career, please get in touch and we can start some sessions to help you get back on track.

Contact me here or via email: robert.brian70@gmail.com

 

 

NEW DATE!! Planet Drum Masterclass – April 7th 2022

Hi everyone, I am delighted to announce that this event has now been rescheduled for Thursday April the 7th!

I am really looking forward to returning to see the guys at Planet Drum in London, it’s going to be a great night of drumming, music and chat!

Bag your tickets here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/robert-brian-drum-masterclass-tickets-239585315127?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb

 

‘Too much Rain’ – Jennifer Crook & the Broken Road

Here is a song from our recent gig at the Chapel Arts Centre in Bath a few weeks ago.

I love playing in this band as the music is wonderful, all the folks in the group are lovely and we have so much fun recording & gigging together.

Check Jennifers website for more info on her and her music: https://jennifercrook.com

We have a new album coming out soon and I’ll share more info on that when a release date has been confirmed, you will love this new album!

(Hit the square at the bottom right of the YouTube link to watch the clip full size.)

 

Ringo Starr Masterclass!

Thanks to the great guys at Next Level Chops, you can now see parts of my recent Ringo Starr masterclass on YouTube.

I have received some great feedback about this and I hope that you guys enjoy it, if you have any questions about what I played then please let me know.

I plan to book more of these masterclasses in the future so watch this space for more details . . .

 

 

Back at Real World Studios

It’s always a pleasure to record at Peter Gabriels wonderful Real World Studios in Box, and last week I was in there for a few days tracking with some wonderful musicians. We had bass player Charlie Jones from Goldfrapp and the pianist/composer Daan Temmink, plus Cameron Jenkins from Stranger Records at the helm as our producer. Recording direct to tape is always an amazing experience and I had forgotten just how warm it makes the instruments sound, especially the drums. I was using my 1967/68 Ludwig Super Classic in white marine pearl, 22″ bass drum, 13″ tom & 16″ floor tom, with 3 different snare drums. They were my DW Collectors 14″x 7″ hit maker snare drum which just seems to sound great on any project. My 14″ x 5″ WMP 1967 Ludwig Jazz Festival which was a joy to play, I have not recorded with this drum for ages and it sounded awesome on the track. Finally, we used my 1967 Ludwig 400 which is an industry standard in the studio, mine is a little battered but it has such character and provides the goods every time.

The singer/songwriters material was along the lines of Johnny Cash/Blue Nile, and once again I found I was channeling my inner Ringo. The songs were fabulous and seemingly simple but the drums had to provide plenty of dynamics, shape, but never get in the way. So channeling Ringo, Mick Fleetwood, Steve Gadd and Jim Keltner is always a good place to start for me while working on this kinds of material.

The results will be released at some point along the way in the shape of an album, I am not disclosing the artist as yet but in time I will be able to.

Simon John’s vintage drum show – Ringo Masterclass!

It was great to play at the Simon John’s vintage drum show last week in Coventry, it’s always a great event and this year was super great!

These shows give us all the chance to meet up with some friends that we probably haven’t seen for ages and I met up with so many. I played an hour long masterclass on the interesting nuances of Ringo Starr’s drumming which was very well received by the room full of drummers and stall holders attending. So much so that we may do an event next year utilising my masterclass idea with other Ringo/Beatle related stuff, but more on that at a later date.

Ringo is a massive influence on my drumming and thought process when making music in the studio or onstage. I call it the “What would Ringo do?” scenario, and sometimes channeling his ideas will help me to nail a particular drum part. I’ve noticed that his name comes up on sessions as producers and musicians alike will ask for certain Ringo-isms, whether it be a sound idea or an actual drum part. So, I thank him for giving millions of us drummers some great drumming/musical parts to learn from and to be inspired by, it has certainly helped me on countless occasions.

I caught up with some wonderful drummers and spent time chatting and hanging out with the legendary Clem Cattini who played on so many classic tracks in the 1950’s and 60’s, also the brilliant ‘Argent’ & ‘Kinks’ drummer Bob Henrit. Geoff Nichols who was so influential to me and many others in the early 1980’s, watching him every week on the brilliant ‘RockSchool’ series on BBC2. I was actually using his 60’s Ludwig Downbeat drum kit in black oyster for my Ringo demonstration, so thanks again Geoff. Henry Spinetti whose been Eric Clapton’s drummer for many years and recently I saw him on the ‘Concert for George Harrison’ gig on Sky Arts, and wow what a drummer he is and a really lovely man. Also a treat was meeting Alan Buckley and chatting to him about his vintage drum collection and his days as a Jazz drummer on the scene. He has played with so many great players and we both had some stories about the great piano player John Critchenson, who sadly is no longer with us.

Also, there were so many stall holders and suppliers there like Tristan & Asha from DrumAttic, Mark from Rusty Drums, Matthew Green from the Palace Drum Clinic, the legendary drummer & collector Garry Allcock, Bill Sanders with his practice kits & pads, Dave Eyre from Hardcase, Rich from Cozydrum, Errol & Bev from the Drumathon, Ryan and Nick from the amazing Drum Dog, Nick Hopkins and believe me the list goes on. All of us relieved to be finally getting back to some normality and share our love of drums and drumming.

Look out for next years show as whether you are a vintage drum fan or not, it’s worth going and hanging out with some brilliant like minded folks.

Thanks to the wonderful Bev and Errol for these pics from the show x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grammy Award Certificates.

I have only just got around to claiming my Grammy Certificates for playing tracks on the Laura Pausini records, ‘Similli’ and ‘Fatti Sentire’ – Both records were a very enjoyable experience, recording with friends and colleagues at Seb Pecchia’s ‘Riverside Studios’ in Batheaston, UK.

I hope that my Dad can see these certificates from wherever he may be and I’m thankful that Mum and my sister, and the rest of my family are here to see these come in.
I thank them for their support through all these years and I could never have accomplished it without them.
Not bad for a lad from Corsham who never took ‘no’ as an answer!
I share these with all my musician friends that I ever gigged with, a bit of all of you is in these certificates ❤️💜❤️💜
Xx

Whats been happening?

Hi everyone, thanks for stopping by and checking my website. Things have been a little crazy around the world lately and I have not been posting as much, but I’m slowly getting back to work and will be posting more content and letting you know what I’ve been up to.

If you have any questions please contact me via the email system here, or on my Facebook & Instagram accounts etc.

Take care everyone and I hope you’re enjoying your music, your drumming & staying safe!

Rob xx

My Patreon page is now up and running!

I hope you are all safe and well and I’m delighted to offer you information about my new Patreon website.

Here is the link: www.patreon.com/RobertBrian3121

On the page you’ll find 3 tiers offering different drum related information. In tier 2 theres exclusive clips of me in the recording studio working on new material for my upcoming solo release. All the footage is only available to my Patreons and cannot be viewed anywhere else, and they’re jam packed with tips on tuning, selecting the correct drums for the style, composing drum parts, interviewing the musicians/engineers & producers that I work with, plus rare behind the scenes access to all my recording sessions and lots more. It’s the kind of stuff that you’re not able to access anywhere else and will give you a hands on feeling that you’re actually there in the studio with me.

In the other two tiers I’m offering access to my masterclasses, drum lessons, plus tips on vintage drums and showing you around my drum/cymbal & electronic drum collection.

Go check out the tier’s for yourself and sign up today and let’s start sharing this exclusive drumming information.