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
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.)
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.
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 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.
I’m happy to see that this album is now available!
I have good memories of tracking drums with the amazing Stuart Bruce at his studio in Batheaston, over a course of 5 late night sessions. The tracks were fun to work on as they are a little quirky and we did some really interesting things in the way that we tracked them. I used a combination of my DW kit and vintage snare drums to get different characterful drum sounds. We tracked the drum parts in a very experimental way by running ideas and recording everything, then sitting back and composing the drum tracks through the many ideas that I tried. This is not the usual way to track of course but it helped us to come up with some interesting parts that I then had to orchestrate and write out and reproduce as solid takes! LOL
It worked though and I love these kind of challenges, it’s just so creative and I love being challenged in this way.
Check out the record I think it’s a great album!
I have been working on some music over the past 3 years, secretly beavering away writing stuff on my laptop between tours, sessions and life!
These ideas and songs are finally seeing the light of day and I’ve started putting ‘live’ drums down and running sessions with various friends coming in to play on tracks. I am thoroughly enjoying the process which I’m doing here & there in-between everything else that I’m involved with.
I am hoping an EP will be available over the next few months, so watch this space and I look forward to sharing it with you.
Rob x
Whilst on tour in Italy last year with Canadian world music artist Loreena McKennitt, I was interviewed by the wonderful Patrizio and Viola for the Italian drum magazine Drum Club. The article is in this months copy of the magazine which is now available to buy or order online: www.drumclubmagazine.com
It’s my first feature in a non-UK or USA drum magazine and I hope to have more dealings with the magazine in the future.
(I even got top billing over Mike Portnoy!)
Proud to say that the new album from Loreena McKennitt is now available to buy at all the usual online and high street retailers.
We recorded the album earlier this year when we performed at the majestic Royal Albert Hall in London. It was a landmark gig for me and I felt so proud to play there, to have it documented forever on CD is just perfect.
The band sounded fabulous and I got to play with some wonderful musicians including the superb Ben Grossman and the late great Hossam Ramzy, what an experience!
Xx
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.
