Drummer Joke

A man goes into a shop and says,

"I'd like a pair of 13-inch Zildjian KZ Custom hi-hats, a 16-inch Sabian AAX Ozone crash, a 22-inch Paiste Signature ride cymbal and a Wuhan 14-inch China. Oh! And could you throw in a pair of Vic Firth 5A sticks and a 14-inch Remo Ambassador coated head please."

The assistant behind the counter looked at his customer with a puzzled expression and said, "Are you a guitarist?"

The customer smiled and said, "Yes, how did you know?"

The assistant replied, "Because this is a fish and chip shop"

Practice

Today's entry is short and to the point ...

A couple of quotes which I hope you will find helpful and thought-provoking:

"It's not practice that makes perfect, but the right kind of practice that makes perfect"

"The difference between an amateur and a professional is, an amateur practices until they get it right, a professional practices until they can't get it wrong"

Lessons from a Master

Earlier in my playing career I had the privilege of taking lessons from one of the true characters in the drumming scene. He wasn't renowned nationally but on the local scene he was called simply Mad Bob.

His technique was awesome and his ability unquestionable. Bob was able to play, beat for beat, many of the best-known pieces by his hero Buddy Rich. Bob was the driving force behind many of the big bands and brass bands in the region. Always a spectacle, his trademark beaming smile visible amongst the blur of arms and sticks, a smile that clearly demonstrated his passion and ecstasy as he sat behind the band, pushing the music along, stabbing with the horns, giving everything to the music and people he loved.

The main lesson I learned from Bob was his passion for playing, his passion for teaching, his passion for life.

Years later I had the privilege of visiting Bob at his home, just before he passed away. A man now ravaged by an illness that took his voice, his strength and co-ordination, and that could have so easily taken his dignity. But deep in his eyes burned that same fire that had burned through those previous years. Nothing inside Bob had changed, except now he was also at peace with his Maker.

The creativity and drive came from his heart and his inner passion and was inextinguishable to the end.

I hope that in my life and playing, I can show something of the passion and commitment that I learned from my friend and teacher, the late, great, Mr Bob Nutt.

Happy New Year

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives ... so goes the saying.

A new year with new potential and new opportunities. Some will come our way; some we'll have to go out and find; some will be expected and others will be out of the blue.

In whatever shape today finds you, remember that 2008 is a year in which we can all make a difference in some way.

• Perhaps it's learning something new ...
• Perhaps it's being able to play something we've never been able to play before ...
• Perhaps it's just picking up a pair of sticks and making our very first sound from a drum ...

Whichever way we make a difference ... whether to our own life, or to the lives of others ... let's try to make sure that 2008 is a year we can look back on and say, "Something special happened that year!"