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

Christmas Drum Lessons Offer

Another update. This month i was featured in the wonderful 'in touch' magazine with a nice interview about teaching and playing drums for a living. I will also have an advertisement in the 'reel cinema' movie guide so watch out for that. Also i am now involved in a special offer with RST Music shop in Newark where anyone spending £50.00 or over on drum equipment will receive a voucher giving them a free drum lesson worth £20.00 with myself. I think this will be a great opportunity for me to meet more of the local people interested in drums and drumming and hopefully be able to give them a good start or some good advice for more advanced players.
In other news it's been a busy month through November and I've had a weird month where it seems everything is breaking on me and trying to make my life difficult. My printer, which i managed to fix after two weeks, my phone, which is currently being repaired and my laptop which took three weeks to locate the right screen to fix it. You don't realise how much, as a modern musician, you completely rely on technology to work the way you do. From writing out charts, to learning songs, to writing and emailing lessons, organising rehearsals and gigs to contacting companies to advertise your business and making posters and fliers. It's all done on my trusty laptop and even updating the website and social networking that goes with advertising all requires a laptop or phone.
Throughout December i'm going to be keeping busy rehearsing with a new band that i can't say anything about until next year as well as playing with Mask of Infamy and teaching. I am going to hopefully write out as many lessons as possible because next year is already shaping up to be really busy and i can't wait!
Cheers JJ

new tracks up on website

Since the last update i have received the results for my degree and i'm very pleased to say that i got a 2:1 overall which i am very happy with.
The teaching is going from strength to strength and i am still finding it really fun and challenging. In the music side of things i have been playing for a band called The Lizards which is great fun and we are just finishing our demo which was recorded with electric drums and no metronome with every song in one take! this will be sent out to venues so you will be able to see me playing with them regularly in the near future. Mask of Infamy is still going well and the E.P sounds great i have now put the tracks up on the Gallery - Audio section of my website and for those of you that are interested in how different drum parts fit the songs i have also put up the isolated drum tracks. This way you will be able to hear the track with everything else there and then hear just the drums to hear exactly what is going on. I know i love this kind of thing so hopefully someone else will enjoy it!

Cheers JJ

Unleashed From Origin!

After mixing and re mixing and mixing again i am happy to say that one of the bands i am in has officially released its first EP 'unleashed From origin'. I had a great time in the studio which consisted of getting into Nottingham really early and having nice breakfasts then playing or watching the other band members record. The mixing process was long and taught me a lot. The guys in this band really know what sounds they are looking for and how they want everything to fit and i really think that comes across in the finished product.
I'm happy with the way i played although my double bass playing still needs a lot of work to get to a standard where i can play some of the cool things that are in my head! I will be posting the finished tracks in the gallery on my website shortly along with the drum tracks isolated so you will be able to hear how the drums sound on there own and how they sound in the context of the song.
I have a new classic rock band that i'm playing for now called the lizards which is going to be great. Will hopefully be coming to a venue or bike rally near you soon. I also had an exciting phone call while on holiday asking if i would be part of a new project which is going to be amazing and will ensure that i am playing lots of good gigs all next year but i can't say too much about it now!
Mask of Infamy will also be playing as many gigs as possible in the near future that i don't always have time to post on the gigs page so be sure to follow me on twitter to get all the latest info. Cheers JJ

Academy of contemporary Music finished!

Been a while since i updated but like always i am just mega busy!. had a lot of nice gigs with Desert smile lately, which are always fun and a chance to let my hair down as well as with my originals band Mask of Infamy. I've been practising my double bass like crazy lately ready to go into the studio with Mask next week in Nottingham. Should be a lot of fun and a nice challenge i will post some of the songs when the mixing and mastering is done. Later this month i have a few shows with Ford T who are coming over from Denmark so i've got plenty to keep me busy along with my teachig which is going from strength to strength. I have also finished my degree now at ACM so am officially on the road to becoming a full time professional musician. I've had an amazing three years there and when i look back i've come a long way with my knowledge and playing ability since i started as well as meeting some of the nicest and most taleneted people ever. The tutors are first class and i recommend it to anybody wanting to persue music as a career.
Because i have finished the degree now there will be a lot more spaces available for me to take on students so feel free to get in touch.
The rest of this month is going to be pretty hectic which is exactly what i wanted when the degree finished but i will try my best to keep this updated more regularly and to let you know what i've been up to! Until then you can follow me on twitter which i update regularly
Cheers JJ