August - Old Dog, New Tricks

The proverb says ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’, meaning you can’t make people change their ways. We are who we are and that’s the way it is, dammit! Whilst some of this is true and we are of course all different in our own way, I feel that we could actually translate this proverb as ‘I’m too old to learn something new now’. And as you have probably guessed, in this month’s blog I’m going to use witty similes and personal anecdotes to tackle this idea of being ‘too far over the hill’ to learn anything new.

It’s my own personal experiences that were actually the inspiration for this topic. Since venturing out into the world of full time drumming I have been lucky enough to pick up quite a few new students, varied in age. And in that first slightly awkward lesson where people are probably thinking ‘who is this curly haired, vested, slightly too enthusiastic drummer?’ I experience a big difference in initial approach between the younger drummers than the more mature students. The young ones are straight in like they’re playing Pokemon Go and they’ve found a rare Pikachu behind the kit. “Give me the sticks because I wanna be… the very best!” However, the older students act very differently. Much like when their peers at work discovered they were also playing PokemonGo, the older student looks sheepish, embarrassed and the first topic of conversation is an attempt to justify why they are here. 

Now I have no problem with a student explaining their aims or reasons for wanting to take up a musical instrument. As far as I’m concerned you’re here to learn the drums, awesome! However, when I begin to hear utterances like ‘I know I’m a bit too old’ or ‘I’m not young anymore so I’m not looking to be anything that amazing’ I’m left feeling more deflated than a closed pub’s bouncy castle. At what age do we lose the child-like enthusiasm for adventure and discovery? Why are we suddenly nervous to admit we would like to do something new, even though we aren’t at school anymore?

There are many reasons. Firstly, the internet - and how it can now be used as a sort of measuring device for our lives. Social media and our thirst to be constantly updated means we are equipped with this tool to compare ourselves with other people’s victories and personal achievements. What are they doing that we haven’t? For my age group, it feels like the comparison falls into two categories. It’s either: ‘this young person did something I can’t/or have never done’ OR ‘this person the same age as me is achieving a new status of adulthood or success I’m yet to achieve’. Both result in a strange panic of ‘oh my god should I be doing that? All I am doing is riding the scroll train through Instagram, not changing the world like I said I would when I was 17!?’ So when it comes to learning something new, we  are all so hyper- aware of the achievements of others , that we can be plagued with debilitating self-doubt. But it’s important to remember that social media only ever shows us the best parts of people’s lives. If there was an alternative dark upside down world of Instagram alá Stranger Things, that showed the reality of peoples struggles and hardships, would we waste quite so much time looking at what others are doing?  

I constantly hear people comparing themselves to others, usually concluded with something along the lines of ‘…and they're only 19! Christ what have I done with my life?’ The answer is actually, that you have done loads, it’s just in a completely different context to the Olympic champion you are comparing yourself to.

It’s strange how someone else’s happiness can make you question what you are doing with your life, that maybe you need to change it, so you can feel like you are closer to where you are ‘supposed to be’. Whatever that means!? Because where you are supposed to be, I think, is wherever you want to be. It’s important to remember that it is all completely subjective. Your world is your world.  One person’s gold medal, new promotion or buying a house is another’s inverted paradiddle groove. Don’t envy the 19-year old gold medallist for being young and successful, you didn’t want to be a diver in the first place.  

Don’t let your age block you from trying that something new. Just because you didn’t take up a skill, hobby or interest when you were young doesn’t mean you can’t now. School and youth equip us with one of our most powerful tools: our ability to learn. When I was 16 I scraped a C in Spanish… in Spanish!? If you can experience success at a time where the hormones were on the ceiling, your attention-span lasted as long as that first time, your focus was firmly set on who could buy you a sneaky beer from the local shop, imagine what you could do now you are older and wiser. If you could combine your adulthood knowledge of patience, perspective and perseverance with your youthful ability to learn, you could be unstoppable; you could continue to learn something new.

And that new thing could be the drums. Back in the studio with the students, we’ve made it through that initial slightly awkward lesson and my students are beginning to learn new skills and techniques they didn’t even know existed. Probably one of my favourite things to witness as a teacher, is the older students realising they can still learn new things, that they are allowed to play, their age does not stop them from progressing. We are back at Hogwarts and Dumbledore is here to guide you on a new magical journey.

Part of what makes mature students so much fun to teach is because they understand that they might not be able to learn something straight away, if anything they expect not to be able to at all. They appreciate that practice will make a difference and mastering a skill is worth it even if it takes a bit more time. Whereas with  my younger students, I tend to see an impatience that we haven’t moved on to the next topic quickly enough. I do occasionally worry how easily younger students give up on something after they have tried to play it for a full 7 seconds! But it’s their desperation for something new that powers them to improve. They aren’t yet worried about what others will think, they just want to play.

Learning something new, at any age, can also have massive benefits to your health. Don’t just take my word for it -  clever people like Dr. Denise Park of the University of Texas have done research into how learning new hobbies can actually help thwart off diseases such as dementia and improve your memory. In her research, Dr. Park randomly assigned over 200 older people to learn new skills such as digital photography and quilting for 15 hours a week for 3 months. At the end of the assignment they were given memory tests compared to several different control groups. Some of these groups would watch films with friends, whilst others would work at home and listen to classical music. The only group to show significant memory improvement were the adults that learned new skills. Most interestingly, is that the greatest improvement was actually found in the people who found their learning the most challenging. So even if that new hobby you are learning is difficult, you are actually still doing your brain an awful lot of good!

As a drummer it’s important to remember that I can always learn something new on the kit. The nature of playing drums means that there is always a new genre of music or style of drumming that we are probably yet to try out, never mind master. That’s actually one of my favourite things about the instrument. As a newly working drummer I’ll have weeks where I can find myself a little strapped for cash for sure. However, if I conquer a new technique or begin to understand a new concept in my playing, I tend to find that my glass looks more half full, even if my wallet is empty. So whether it’s carpentry, tap-dancing, mathematical equations or of course learning a musical instrument, I encourage everyone to try learning something new. Don’t worry about your age, and what he or she is doing. Do something for you because I have a sneaking suspicion you might just enjoy life a little bit more.

May - California Kids

We have finally arrived at part 3 of my overdue recap of an incredible American trip I took back in February. My girlfriend and I started in Seattle, Washington before moving through to Portland, Oregon and now, here we are, shadow weighs a ton, driving down the 101, California here we- if you aren’t singing by now you’ve missed that OC/Phantom Planet reference. But yes, California is our setting for this month’s blog and with it, comes incredible scenery, an inspiring friend and the Golden Gate Bridge.

I have to be honest California blew me away. Like many, I think I went in with the LA, Hollywood, roller-skating down Long Beach, stereotype view of California. But I now honestly feel that everyone should experience the beauty of Northern California. Driving down the Oregon/California coast and visiting the Redwood National State Park was simply breath taking. My girlfriend and I would drive 10 km deep into these thick fast woods and then hike another 1km further in. We stood like ants amongst trees that were over 2000 years old and 3 times bigger than the Statue of Liberty. And the best bit was, we would usually be the only people there. The parks are so enormous and thick you rarely see anyone else experiencing this incredible phenomenon. There are no people, buildings, cars, or Wi-Fi codes to distract you, just you, your girl and some really big fucking trees. It’s like you’ve discovered another planet, and these woods were used for just that. In 1983 George Lucas filmed in the Redwoods to create the forest moon of Endor. So as you can imagine, I was freaking out big time. I was an Ewok and a lightsaber away from being Luke Skywalker, I believed the Jedi had returned to Endor, and that Jedi was me.

Whilst this Jawa juiced, geek nonsense is clearly just fanboy fantasy, the overwhelming feeling of awe and wonder as you stand amongst these giants of nature, is very real. The trees are a living example of not only the power, but also the rewards of time and growth. And in that true Californian hippy mentality, you can’t help but make that mirrored metaphor, that if we were all a little bit more like Redwood trees and put more time into growing in our skills and passions, we’d be that little bit more wonderful.

It was ironic then, that after seeing such great heights in the forests, that we moved on to hang out with a man who knows all about growing and putting in the time.  We drove down to Folsom California to meet up and spend some time with the drumming education sensation, Mike Johnston. Now I’m not really sure how or what happened, but at some point in 2015, Mike and I became friends. Like many drummers, I’ve been in awe of his playing and his revolution in leading online drum education for a long time. It’s what led me to that drum camp in Ireland last year. But never did I think he would personally invite me to hang out in America. I was seriously confused when he turned and said ‘I think you should come to America’. In my head it was all ‘But you’re Mike Johnston? Surely you are hanging out with Benny Greb, Mark Guiliana and Gretsch executives? I’m just average Joe Drummer from Essex’. Obviously the words I responded with were probably more like ‘Of coouuuuuuurse!’ but I didn’t think it would actually happen. But it did and I have to say I feel so privileged that he managed to find the couple of days to hang out, because my god, that guy puts the hours in. He is unstoppable.

When I was there he was putting the finishing touches to his new website (now live by the way, check it out it will blow your mind) and he has once again revolutionised the way online drumming can work. The new mikeslessons.com has detailed breakdown courses that track your progress and only allow you to move on when you’ve hit your goal and completed the video with Mike. All bases are covered: foot speed, hand speed, grooves, fills, independence, rudiments and technique. The courses start at beginner and move through intermediate, advanced and up to pro. However, if you start at beginner and move through the courses that way, Johnston has essentially created the world’s biggest drumming iron and it’s here to smooth out your playing.

Making the world’s biggest drumming iron is hard work and Mike optimises just that. In the last year he has rebranded and reimagined his website, he has filmed hundreds of new videos for the site, released a weekly drumming podcast, maintained his weekly online lessons, held drum camps throughout the year, performed at drum clinics around the world, he finds the time to study scientific theories about how the universe works and he STILL also finds the time to practice 5-6 hours a day. What’s your excuse for not playing this week? But the thing that really impresses me more than all of that, more than his drive, his hard work, his entrepreneurial nature or his achievements is that he’s just a really good guy. He is kind, he is funny, and he is humble and thankful for what he has and how he got there. His enthusiasm for pushing yourself forward and staying positive is infectious.  That’s what makes him a great drummer and a great teacher. It’s why I was there. He didn’t look at me and think ‘he’s a badass drummer I wanna hang out with him’. Certainly as I am not that at all. He probably just thought, ‘I get on with that guy. It would be cool to know him better’. In a world like the music industry where there are so many people with false promises and hidden agendas it’s so nice to meet someone who dedicates all their time to making music fun and progressive to whoever picks up the sticks.

We left Folsom to head towards our last destination of San Francisco. Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge we met the rolling hills of another beautiful city and completed our 2 week trip of the West Coast. From Seattle to San Fran it had been packed full of so many memorable moments. But I honestly did not expect to have so many different musical experiences. History, influences, nostalgia, friends and inspiration, it could all barely fit into my overhead compartment on the plane. With so much energy and enthusiasm to inject into my own career of drumming, you could accuse me of being over optimistic or naïve in thinking I could achieve similar feats to that of Mike Johnston or the Redwood trees. But a clever Californian from San Francisco once said ‘Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish’ and that seems all the more relevant after an adventure in West America.  

April -Portland Drum Revival

So after an incredible time in Seattle, we moved on down into beautiful Oregon towards the city of Portland, where we would be lucky enough to discover another serving of some musical history. However, this time it came in the form of a drum shop. Now I really didn’t expect Portland to be the place to provide us with such an exciting drumming experience. Portland’s main attraction’s were it’s Stumptown Coffee, tax-free shopping and infamous Voodoo doughnut bakery. In fact, I didn’t even know this place existed until Mike Johnston called me to say that I had to visit this infamous drum store before we left. So, before we departed for Northern California we made our last stop at Portland’s Revival Drum Shop and we were not disappointed.

Drum Revival is like walking into a secret mini drum museum. It sits on it’s own amongst a community of homes, inoffensive and inviting like any other store. But upon walking in, you feel like your Aladdin discovering the Cave of Wonders for the first time. Inside a collection of vintage kits, snares, cymbals and percussion from era’s past are displayed on two floors waiting for you. And unlike the Cave of Wonders, in Drum Revival, you can touch and even play what you see. The staff are also not blue, imprisoned, shaped like a rug or voiced by Robin Williams (however they are incredibly friendly and informative).

Now they don’t have the actual sets played by Buddy Rich, Bonham or Ringo but for me it’s the survival of the gear that makes the place so cool. The immaculate kits aren’t behind glass, you can just sit behind them, throw down a couple of paradiddles and suddenly you are playing the drums in 1965.You become a new part of that kit’s history. The skills of Buddy Rich may always feel unobtainable, but the drums are accessible to everyone and when you are in Drum Revival, you feel apart of a community that appreciates it’s history. That idea that, that choice of ‘what gear I should play or buy?’, existed long before you came along is quite humbling.

I’m not a vintage drum collector in the slightest, but I think any drummer can appreciate that the fact there is a place where you can go and play a drum kit from the1940’s, is pretty amazing. Kudos, to the staff who work there as well. Clearly the English guy who pulled up in a rental car, is not going to be walking out with a 1967 Ludwig kit today. Still the fella in there was happy to tell me about the history of the place, introduce me to the owner and explain how they collected all the different kits. All whilst handing me a pair of sticks to have a go.  

Needless to say the experience saw me walk out with the t shirt and retro drum key before I left. And that is exactly what any visit to a drum shop should be, an experience. You may save yourself money by ordering online, but for me, it can’t replicate that delight of going to your local drum shop to look at what you're saving your money up for next. Developing that relationship with the staff that work there, who get to learn what sticks you want, give you advice on what to buy and know the set up you play. It’s all part of the fun of being a drummer. We can’t all be lucky enough to have local shops like Drum Revival in Portland, but I do think we should do all we can as drummers to try and keep our local stores going. One sad day will come when it will all be operated by computers and robots and there will be no Caves of Wonder for us to discover.

Speaking of Caves of Wonder if you do go to Portland, do seriously visit Voodoo Doughnuts. It's like the Weasley Wizard Wheezes of doughnut shops. Magical. Powell's book store is also worth a visit. 

California, here we come. 

March - Scenes in Seattle 

Hey there! I want to start the March blog by saying a huge thank you to everyone who read my debut blog in February. In particular I’d like to thank those of you who got in contact to tell me what they thought. The positive support and encouragement that so many of you showed really gave me confidence that I have made the right choice in going freelance as a drummer. And if you are reading this month’s blog, I’d like to thank you for coming back! 

So at the end of February, before plunging into the world of freelance drumming, I was very lucky to have a short adventure in America booked in the calendar. My girlfriend and I had two weeks travelling down the West Coast. Starting in Seattle, Washington, we moved through Oregon and Portland, before making our way down to California where we finished in San Francisco. Even though we were travelling almost 5000 miles to the other side of the world, I found myself connecting with places and people that either could or already have influenced my drumming and my musical upbringing.

With so many miles covered, I am going to split the trip up into a few blog posts over a few weeks.

First stop, Seattle. Famous for it’s gloomy weather, the origin of Starbucks coffee and this band called Nirvana that were kind of a big deal once. The Space Needle towers over a city of green and red brick embedded in musical history. As well as Nirvana, Seattle was also kind enough to give us other musical giants, including the legendary Michael Jackson producer Quincy Jones, guitarist Jimi Hendrix and alternative rock band Death Cab For Cutie.

Seattle was our favourite city of the trip, full of so many great places to eat, drink and visit. Highlights included: The Seattle City Library, never have I seen a library look quite so attractive, the building itself kind of resembles a pile of books wrapped in a diamond shaped netting. Pike Place Market, where local Seattleites sell a range of their own local home grown/made goods. The Pike Seattle Brewery Company, great beer, killer burger. Cinerama Cinema, we saw Star Wars (again) in full 70mm film on enormous panoramic screen, they even costumes from the original films in the lobby, very cool. The Gum Wall, totally gross but an entire wall covered in a collection of peoples gum from visitors around the world. Disgustingly beautiful.   

Like many people, I consider myself to a pretty big Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl fan. I’ve seen countless lives shows, bought the merch, got the tattoos, I’m there. Been there. Done that. Got 6 t shirts. However, when it comes to Nirvana, I’ve always been disappointed that I wasn’t able to be there at the time of the grunge scene. Live it when it happened. When Nevermind was released, I was 2. To me, Nirvana were introduced to me much like The Beatles or Led Zepplin. They’ve just always existed. You are told they were this massive cultural impact on music, but I didn’t actually live that moment the Teen Spirit chords broke through on MTV. There was a time in my young teens (before the internet) that I didn’t actually believe that the singer in Foo Fighters could be that long haired guy playing drums in that sweaty gym for Nirvana. How could he be in this Foo Fighters band if he had already been in Nirvana. They are massive!?  

Well luckily the EMP museum in Seattle was there to fix the 12-year-old confusion I’d had so long ago. It exhibits some incredible assets and moments from Nirvana’s too brief history. Whilst I was very excited to see Grohl’s 1992 drum kit, what really shines in the museum is not the story of Nirvana, but the story of how the grunge scene came about. With incredible interviews, photographs, gig posters, scene magazines, buttons, t-shirts and back catalogues from Seattle’s finest grunge players, it’s probably the closest you’ll get it to ever living the Seattle grunge scene. The exhibit was great but it did leave me with a slight feeling of melancholy though. In today’s modern technology driven world where we don’t need to leave our house to discover the next exciting band. It’s difficult to see how we could ever be lucky enough to really physically live a repeat of such an underground scene full of social rebellion and celebration.

Whilst I do love the internet for so many reasons, I sometimes feel that social media is the reason we feel inadequate. Constantly being reminded that someone else is doing something better than you. In 1992 non of that mattered. It was just about the rock gig and everybody there in that moment. Not what filter you were going to put on one of the 30 identical photos you took of the singer that night. I do say that being someone who follows over 300 instagram accounts and I definitely posted a picture of me and Grohl’s kit on both Instagram and Snapchat for good measure. It is a never ending internal battle.  

However, the night before our trip to the museum, my girlfriend and I had actually found ourselves quite a few beers down in The Crocodile Club at a Seattle’s Emo Night, fittingly named ‘Taking Back Tuesday’. In night of a nostalgia, Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World and Brand New reminded me that I had actually been lucky enough to experience music scenes in the 00’s where the music really did matter.  

It was also really cool to meet up with one of my fellow 21 Drums drummers Cole Paramore. You can travel 5000 miles to the other side of the world but you’ll still bump into someone you know. Before we left there was just enough time for us to visit Robert Lang Studio’s where Dave Grohl tracked all the instruments for the first ever Foo Fighters album. I only stood outside, but I was slightly blown away how something that happened in a building so far away from me, could have affected me and so many other fans to want to play an instrument and write their own songs. I think I was still riding the fumes of the Emo night.

Next Stop - Portland. 

February - Going Forward

Hey! Thanks for clicking and opening my first ever blog post on willdrumsdaly.com. It’s here to try and keep things interesting.  My aim is to bring 1 detailed blog post a month about all things music and obviously in particular, drums. I’m hoping to touch on gigging, education, practice routines, emotions and feelings about trying to make it as professional drummer, all in an effort to help me finally work out how to spell rthym, no wait rithyhm? Rthyhm!? RHYTHM! Properly… Phew, it could be a long road to get there but I hope you can hop on the drummer train to the unknown with me, because I think it could be good fun. Additionally I will occasionally add the fun blog post about other things that inspire me to stay positive or make me laugh. Hope you are still with me so far.

So firstly, a bit of context: two weeks ago I left my very enjoyable and quite frankly unbelievable job of working for Warner Bros. at their Studio Tour - The Making of Harry Potter, to play drums full time. My job at the Studio Tour was to teach hundreds of students, aged from 8 to 18 years old, about the different areas of filmmaking. From costume and set design to film pitching and movie marketing, the aim was to inspire people to work in the film industry. To realise there is a world where the arts are not only appreciated but even financially rewarded. To be fair it’s not just the arts, filmmaking is one of the most collaborative processes anyone can be a part of. It takes communicators, coordinators, computer wizards, riggers, electricians, hair and make up artists, designers, stunt performers, business minds, sculptors, prop builders, featherolgists (real job), costume buyers, musicians, actors - the list is endless! But what was key to the success of my role, was making anyone feel like they could be part of that world, they could do whatever they wanted to do in life. And in doing so my team and I taught more than 45’000 students in three and a half years. What’s more is that I got to actually meet and work with the remarkable people that worked (and are still working) on the films. It was unbelievable. As well as all the minds behind the scenes, I met amazing actors like Alan Rickman, film producers like David Heyman, and Her Majesty J.K. Rowling. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge observed one of my lessons. There was even a time where I managed to take Dave Grohl’s family around the tour (a story for another time). It really was an incredible job. I was there from the beginning, at the tour’s conception and was lucky enough to work with some amazing people to shape Warner Bros.’ first ever film education programme. 

So what happened? Why leave this fantasy world where you’re paid a fair wage to talk about film every day?  

Nothing happened. My decision to leave was actually down to something that’s been with me for a long time: the drums. Whilst also working at Warner Bros. I have been in 3 bands, taught 8 private students a week and volunteered to run a youth drum group. A career in film was on my doorstep, yet for some reason I could not let go of my commitments behind the tubs. Like many young post degree adults from the ‘facebook generation’, I found myself conflicted asking those horrible questions like ‘what am I doing with my life?’, ‘where is it all going?’ and ‘shouldn’t I understand life now I am an adult?’. My job at Warner Bros. was awesome but another spin on it could be that I teach the same lessons over and over again, 5 times a day, 5 days a week. Although I have a huge knowledge and passion for film, I’ve never actually worked on a film myself. I was just telling people how great other people’s work is, rather than celebrating my own non-existent career in film.

I needed to choose, do I go into film or commit to music? Both are intense lifestyles that really cancel out the other with the amount of time they take up in your life. How do I make that decision? (Decision - another word I struggle to spell never mind put into practise) The answer was a drum camp in September held in the depths of Ireland, called 21 Drums.

21 Drums was a weeklong residential drum masterclass led by three of the drum communities’ top professional players and educators. The venue was a recording studio called Grouse Lodge, a studio built on the remains of an ancient Irish Castle that has hosted acts like Michael Jackson, Muse, Kylie Minogue and Bloc Party to name only a few. The pro drummers were: Mike Johnston the online drum educator entrepreneur, literally the nicest man in drums and the spearhead of the 21 drums event; Robert ‘Sput’ Seabright, one of the drummers for the Grammy-winning band Snarky Puppy and session drummer for many big pop acts (Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dog and Kendrick Lemar); and Mark Guiliana, the New York based jazz musician whose most recent accolade sees him behind the drums, on what is sadly now the last David Bowie album. The concept was that 21 drummers would sit in a studio for almost 6 hours a day to learn all we could from these drumming geniuses, the masters of their craft. They have even made a documentary about it all. It was life changing. Not only due to the knowledge we all absorbed  from the pros, but also the community spirit amongst the 21 students. To be amongst 23 other drummers that all had the same passion to play and to improve their skills was extraordinary. By the end of the week I believed that despite the financial difficulty being a musician can bring, playing drums is worth the risk.

When you work for a big company, your ‘career progression’ is dictated by budget cuts, head counts and performance reviews. When you play drums for yourself, you are the one who can dictate how far your playing progresses. Furthermore, by the end of the week I also had a contact from Mike Johnston himself - It was a drummer in England who ran his own studio and might be looking for another drum tutor. To cut a long story short – I started teaching there on Monday.  

I made the decision and took the leap of faith to stay behind the kit. I have registered as self employed and my aim is to pay the rent by playing the drums. I hope to be gigging drums, recording drums, teaching drums, you know just basically everything drums. But above all what’s really important is that I improve as a drummer. Because I’ll be honest with you, for the bold career change, I am not as good a drummer as I could be. I can admit to myself that I am probably a better teacher than I am drummer. Don’t get me wrong, I can play, I know what I am doing around the kit and when it comes to the way in which I play, I consider myself a real performer. But my drumming vocabulary and skills are limited to that of someone who grew up with Dave Grohl, Chad Smith and Taylor Hawkins as their idols. Rock drums? I’ll smash it out the park, but world fusion Jazz in odd time signatures? I am Matt Le Blanc Lost in Space. Terrible.

I am what you call a ‘solid drummer’. I do what I do really well, but I could definitely be better. If I were a football team I’d be Everton: entertaining and at times explosive, but still finishing mid-table. If I were a Star Wars character I’d be Wedge Antilles. I’m a Ford Focus – the iPod Shuffle, I’m good but I’m not yet great. And really that’s what I’d like this blog to all about: a place to share my progress in my quest to play like Barcelona. In doing so, I also hope to relate to musicians with a similar ambition to improve on their instrument. I want to hear about what you are doing to be a better drummer, so please hit me up on my Facebook page, I’d love to talk to you.

I’ve made one of those big ‘life decisions’ to ‘bite the bullet’ and try to ‘live the dream’ and who knows maybe one day my two favourite worlds will collide and I will hear my drums on a film soundtrack. I have actually written down my biggest dreams and ambitions for playing drums, as an almost blue-sky thinking, open letter to the universe. Recording drums for a movie is one of them. But hopefully this decision will allow me to try and make something of my passion. It’s what I’ve always followed and anyone that is in that ‘where’s my life going’ place, I would encourage you to do the same. It led me to film and Harry Potter and now it’s led me back to drums. The instrument I started aged 12. It’s always been possible, I just never realised that full time drums was a choice. And as a wise wizard once said, (I happen to be pretty good at Harry Potter quotes) “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.’

Now if you’ve read Harry Potter or your name happens to be Harry you’ll love that quote, but if you haven’t, basically get up off your arse and start making things happen!

Speak soon,

Will