August already!

The gigs have been going really well with The Almaboobies and we are one big happy family i'm getting used to how busy this band is now and how far we travel to spread the music and entertain as many people as possible. I've even bought a tent because a lot of the time we stay over at rallies all over the country so i thought it would be nice to have my own little home from home at the weekends! just need to get a warmer sleeping bag now! The Lizards are also going from strength to strength and have more gigs coming up in the following months so check my gig dates (which i will try to update more regularly!).

The private teaching is still going well and i have also just been offered a job teaching drums at Giles Academy in Boston, Lincs. I'm really excited about this opportunity and looking forward to working with the children at the school. After being there at the interview it looks like a very nice place to work with both the staff and children being very nice and friendly.

This now means that on September 6th i will officially be a full time professional self employed musician with a regular full time wage which is a dream come true.

I am hopefully going to make some updates to the website in the near future it's one of those jobs that i keep putting to the back of the list! This Sunday i am playing a charity event at Old Nicks Tavern in Horncastle where i will be drumming for both The Lizards and the Almaboobies. This is a great event and is all in aid of Wish Upon A Star.

http://www.whenyouwishuponastar.org.uk/

It really is a fantastic charity and hopefully the event will raise a lot of money.

Cheers JJ

June update...

Me and the girls taken from recent photo shoot

Me and Lizzie on the way to Denmark

Me in Denmark

This year has been mental. The teaching is going quite well still and the gigs are amazing i am really locked in with the band now and we are sounding great. It's been mad as usual with lots of travelling and lots of gigs. Since the last post i've had a week in Denmark which was a lot of fun as well as shows all over the country from Essex to Bolton to the Isle of Wight and everywhere in between! I even played the Beer Festival in my home town which was lovely and my nanna got to come and see me play.

The Almaboobies have also had a photo shoot and have been included in 'playmusic' magazine which is really nice. You can find a link to that here (page 58)...

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1sdal/PlaymusicJune2011/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fcontent.yudu.com%2FLibrary%2FA1sdal%2FPlaymusicJune2011%2Fresources%2Fflipbook.swf

We have lots more shows coming up and i will continue to teach privately. I am also thinking about offering lessons on line via skype so that i can offer lessons to people all over the country so watch this space for more information!

Thats it for now because i've got lots of lessons to write out and songs to transcribe.

Cheers JJ

Overdue update!

Is it March already?!? where has the time gone! can't believe my last post was in December just shows how busy i've been. If you look at my current schedule you will see what i mean. This last weekend i played 7 sets over one weekend where i played with the fantastic Ford T from Denmark along with my new band...

The Almaboobies

www.thealmaboobies.com

their awesome drummer Alex is following a new career now and being in a band of this level with there schedule is such a huge commitment. Which means i am now the full time drummer and so far i'm having a great time. The girls are awesome and the whole family is so supportive and have welcomed me with open arms. They are really professional and i am really happy to be as busy as i am and to be playing with such talented musicians.

I am also still playing for The Lizards which is great fun and i will be playing with them tomorrow night and next week then i have gigs every weekend with The Almaboobies until the end of July! The teaching is going from strength to strength and some of my students are beginning to show huge potential which is a great feeling.
Throw in rehearsals and practice and you see why i haven't updated the website!

In other news i have finally learned to drive. I never needed a car while living in Guildford but since I've moved back to Newark i definitely need to drive and I passed my test first time thanks to Howard's Way... http://www.howardswaydrivingschool.co.uk
I've got a nice big Renault Megane Scenic that fits my drums in lovely and it even has a little fridge that keeps energy drinks cool for when i'm driving home after a long rehearsal or gig!

I'm also quite amazed at the amount of youngsters getting into drums its really nice to see.

Anyway if you want to know what i'm up to i'm on twitter although i think it's only any good if you're famous! the bits i put on there will automatically link to my facebook, myspace and homepage on the website. Also for up to date gigs you will have to get them on my website because myspace has changed and it takes too long to put the dates on!

Cheers JJ