Rob visits Barnsley’s drummers.

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I really enjoyed visiting Barnsley and performing a workshop and masterclass for many up and coming drummers in the area. It was a great trip and I met so many enthusiastic young drummers who all played so well!

Local drum tutors Keith Ramskill and Bob Wynne were there with their pupils and helped make the evening such a great success. Alex Francis at Barnsley Music Hub arranged the evening with Keith and I can’t wait to travel back up and play for all those guys again…Keep on drumming guys and good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

Loreena McKennitt Canadian Tour!

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I have just returned from a very successful tour of Canada with Loreena McKennitt and the band. Canadian audiences have always been excellent and on this trip they certainly didn’t let us down.

Every venue was sold out and we played some very beautiful concert halls and met some wonderful fans.  I have always loved Canada and we travelled to some cities via train this time which was a real treat, as I could sit back and take in some breath taking views along the way.

Thank you Canada and hopefully it won’t be long until we return!

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I had a great time at the Swan Theatre in Yeovil last week and a BIG thank you to all who came along. It was a great crowd and we got into some really interesting drumming stuff, a real pleasure for me to perform and chat to such an awesome crowd.

 

Ryan and Nick at Drum Dog were awesome hosts and everyone at the theatre was superb and made my stay very enjoyable. Ryan and his partner Kelly were ace and the ghost of the theatre, Annie, didn’t cause any mischief or strife during our performances….Phew!!

I look forward to returning again and please contact me if any of you who attended would like the PDF’s of the exercises that I was talking about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loreena McKennitt Spring European Tour!

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Well, I have just got back from a 5 week tour of Europe with Loreena McKennitt and the band and wow, what a time we had!

The tour was amazing and all the gigs were in beautiful venues ranging from concert halls to arena’s. The fans in Europe really support Loreena and made the whole trip a very memorable experience for us all.

Playing the Royal Albert Hall in London was a definite career highlight for me and one gig that I’ll never forget!!

BIG thank you to all the drum companies that I endorse for their complete back up whilst I was out on tour, and I look forward to playing all the same products on the next leg of the ‘Lost Souls’ world tour which starts in June.

Check Loreena’s website for more details: https://loreenamckennitt.com/tour/

Here are some pics from the tour.

Rob moves to Vulcan Cymbals.

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On my return from South America with Loreena, I decided it was time to move on and try out some new cymbals. The Vulcan Cymbal company had approached me and sent some really great sounding cymbals, so I tried them out and loved them, so decided to sign up!

The ranges that instantly stood out to me were their Etna range, White Masters, Antique and Dark Masters. I selected 2 sets for ‘live’ and studio and I’ve gigged and recorded with them and they sound amazing. I recommend all drummers to check them out asap, you’ll be very surprised at what you see & hear!

Website: http://www.vulcancymbals.com/it/

 

NEW Loreena Mckennitt album ‘Lost Souls’ is out NOW!

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The new album by Loreena McKennitt is now available to buy and stream from all the regular online stores and sites. I worked on the album ‘Lost Souls’ back in August last year and it was real pleasure to spend time with Loreena and her amazing band of musicians. They made me very welcome and the sessions at Real World Studios in Box went very well. The style of music was one that I had never really ventured into before, but Stuart Bruce the producer recommended me and it couldn’t have been a more pleasurable experience.

The kit I used for the sessions was my DW Collectors kit, I took all the sizes down to the studio so I had the pick of any particular combination. In the pictures below you’ll see the various set ups and vibes that I went for on the tracks that I played. I also got a chance to play shakers and some other bells and hand percussion on the album too, always good to stretch out and play other forms of percussion over the top of your own drum parts. Loreena & the band were a pleasure to work with and I am very proud of the music that was made on this record.

 

 

NEW Laura Pausini album NOW available!!

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The new album ‘Fatti Sentire’ by Italian sensation Laura Pausini is now available from all the usual online stores. I played drums and percussion on some of the tracks which were produced by the amazing Rik Simpson (Coldplay, Jay Z, PJ Harvey.) 

The last record we made went Triple Platinum and was up for a Grammy Award in 2016, so we have high hopes for this new one!

Here are some kit pics from the recording session which was recorded at Riverside Studios near Bath, UK 2017. In the band we had the excellent Charlie Jones on bass, David Rhodes on guitar and Angie Pollock on keyboards/piano. 

 

 

 

Palace Drum Clinic – Redditch.

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BIG thanks to all who came along on Friday night to my Palace Drum Clinic in Redditch. It was a great night and we had a room full of eager drummers all up for a full on evening of drumming!! Thanks go to Matthew Green for organising the event and also for playing a great first set. The ace Craig Fenney from Cympad International was there promoting their great products and Mr. Phillip Beazer was on hand helping with the drum set up, and providing awesome company throughout the day. I look forward to returning to the Palace Drum Club again at some point, it’s a great vibe and provides drummers with a valuable learning experience. I hope to return there again at some point and I look forward to it! 

Here are some clips from my performance: 

NEW Cympad Endorsement

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I’m very happy to say that I am now a fully fledged endorser of Cympad products. This company have taken the basic cymbal dampener and taken it to a whole new level, with various sizes for crashes and rides that really control and aid the sound of my cymbals in a ‘live’ & studio environment. 

I am using:

* Cympad Chromatics pack White 40/15mm 

*Cympad Moderator Set/pack 90x15mm 

*Cympad Optimizer – Starter Pack 

They are really helping my cymbals in the recording studio, the moderator’s on my ride cymbal are really centring the sound nicely. That along with the Bopworks sticks I use means I am really getting that Tony Williams style sound when I need it. On the crashes they are really controlling the sound and I’m experimenting between the Chromatics and the Optimizers, and I am only just scratching the surface of all the possibilities that they can offer!

A great product and something that all drummers should check out if they are serious about their sound.