I embarked on a new adventure today, and it's one that I'm very excited about. Between the ages of about 14 and 16, playing the drums was my favourite thing in the world; I spent more time drumming than drawing or making art and I formed several half-arsed bands with various musical friends. As friendships dissolved and access to practise rooms became more difficult, I gradually ceased playing altogether, and I never quite forgave myself for that. Nothing compares to the feeling of beating a drum, or even better a whole kit of them, and it's something I've missed for so many years now that this year I decided to do something about it.
Some months ago while I was watching the rather excellent local band Fangs Of... for the first time, (whose bass player Michael works with Shaun), I decided that their incredible drummer Jem was the man who could pull me out of my drumless rut. And that he has; today I had the first of hopefully many lessons with Jem, who turns out to be warm and friendly and lovely to talk to. His approach to drumming is a perfect blend of technique and intuition, and I couldn't be happier to be learning from him. Do yourself a favour and check out Jem's many musical projects, including the well-loved Fire Witch, at his indy label We Empty Rooms, who put out beautiful limited edition cds and vinyl with hand-printed covers that you can buy for a very reasonable price. But first, check out this awesome clip of Fire Witch playing live in August last year.
1 comment:
no kidding? that is excellent news...
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