Playing Drums on Mick McConnel's "My Kinda Heaven"

Last summer I had the pleasure of recording drums for Mick McConnell's
solo album 'My Kinda Heaven'.
I got the call after Wishbone Ash came back from playing in South
Africa with Deep Purple and Uriah Heep. Trevor Bolder, Uriah Heep's
bass player, is also featured on the album and he recommended me to
Mick.
Mick's regular gig is with Smokie but he's been saving up songs for a
solo album for some time. He was a great guy to work with and some of
his enthusiasm for scuba diving rubbed off on me - I'm currently
working to get my PADI!

Here are the details if you fancy getting yourself a copy:

Mick McConnell / My Kinda Heaven
Release Date: 15th July
Available in shops: Germany, Austria, Switzerland.
UK, Europe, and rest of the world; can buy online @ www.mickmcconnell.com
Digital Download: exclusive to iTunes Worldwide, available 15th July
Record Label: FerryHouse Gold
Distributed by: Warner Music Europe

Pantera track - Cool Snare fill

Somebody asked me to transcribe the snare fill in this Pantera song -

It's not really my style (and for any young readers I apologise for
the lyrical content) but the snare fill is interesting.

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If you enjoy this content please spread the word. You can help by
clicking 'like' on my Facebook page, subscribing to my YouTube
channel, leaving comments, telling your drummer buddies, etc.

I really appreciate your support!
Joe

Revamped website, blog, Drum TV and more...

I've been working really hard to update the website.  For the last 3 days I've barely moved out of the sitting room chair; laptop burning a hole in my jeans, probably seriously affecting the possibility of there ever being a Joe Crabtree Jr.  I feel like I'm almost done...

So, what's new? 

Facebook Connect
You can now login with Facebook.  It wasn't difficult to create a MasterClass account before, but I know it's a pain having to come up with yet another username and password.  I prefer it when I can log into other websites with my Facebook profile so I figured I should get it working on my site.  So now, creating a MasterClass account is as simple as clicking a button!  Joining the MasterClass (for free) lets you buy MasterClass lessons and software, and allows you to chat to me when I'm broadcasting on Drum TV....

Drum TV
Drum TV is basically me drumming :)  The same set up I use to record the YouTube and MasterClass lessons is now set up to stream live as I work on new ideas.  You can sit and watch as I break down the things I'm working on, coming up with exercises to make them easier to play.  You can see how long it actually takes me to be able to make things sound good.  You can watch me drop sticks and hit rims.  If you want to make it an interactive experience you can ask me questions via the chat window as I practice.  It's basically your chance to get inside my head.

Blog
I've revamped the blog.  It's now easier to subscribe.  If you check out www.joecrabtree.com you'll see a 'Get Updates' section where you can easily get new posts delivered to your inbox, or follow me on any of the social network sites I'm using.

Drum Discussion
I've steered clear of setting up a Forum on the website.  It's too much for me to manage, and there are some really good drum forums out there already.  However, I'd love to get some drum discussion going on at joecrabtree.com.  My solution has been to install a nice commenting system on the blog (if you're viewing in its proper place).  Basically, you can comment on any of these posts and let me know what you think.  I'm putting this content out there for you, so let me know what you like and don't like.  Tell me what direction you want to see the site and the content to go in.  I love your feedback!

That's all for now.  Maybe I'll see you in the practice room soon.

Joe x

Want to know what I practice? Come and watch...

(Note: This is now happening at www.joecrabtree.com/tv)
I've been working on a Dennis Chambers lick that I've struggled with
for a long time. I was thinking of doing a YouTube video on it, but
first I had to be able to play it myself. I started going through my
usual steps in trying to learn something. Each was a new exercise
that required some time for me to be able to play it. As I was coming
up with these exercises I was making mental notes of them so I could
include them in the instructional video.

Last night I had a thought. What if I just streamed video of my
practice sessions. Maybe that would be of interest to some of you.
Perhaps I could have a realtime chat window so if you were watching
live you could ask questions. I'm not sure if this is a good idea or
not, but it sounds like it might be fun so I'm going to do it.

I still have some setting up to do, and I'm trying to figure out the
best way to make it all work nicely. When I finally get around to it
(in the next few days) I'll send a tweet out
(www.twitter.com/joecrabtree), and probably announce it on the
Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Joe-Crabtree/154808904561193)
- so I recommend following one of those if you're not already.

Maybe I'll see you in the practice room....
--------------------------------------------
If you enjoy this content please spread the word. You can help by
clicking 'like' on my Facebook page, subscribing to my YouTube
channel, leaving comments, telling your drummer buddies, etc.

I really appreciate your support!
Joe

Cool Vinnie Fill

I got this from a live recording of a Robben Ford gig.  It's Vinnie on
drums.  I'll be doing a YouTube video lesson on this and some other
cool stuff in the near future...

--------------------------------------------
If you enjoy this content please spread the word. You can help by
clicking 'like' on my Facebook page, subscribing to my YouTube
channel, leaving comments, etc.
Thanks for your support,
Joe

cool vinnie fill (robben ford).mp3 Listen on Posterous

Peter Erskine

I recently bought the DVD 'Everything is Time Keeping' by Peter
Erskine. It's both of his VHS videos from the 90s on a single DVD. I
owned his first VHS and had seen parts of his econd one. It's great
to see it all again. His feel and musicality is phenomenal and he has
such great advice.

I can see it on the US Amazon site - for some reason listed as a
hardback (though it says DVD in the description)

What do you want to see here?

After 6 weeks away I'm finally back home.  Right now I'm extremely jet lagged, but I'm looking forward to recording some new lessons in the very near future.

I'd love some feedback from you.  Comment on this post and let me know what kind of stuff you want to see - either in video or writing...

As always, if you enjoy my content please help spread the word to like minded drummers.

Thanks,
Joe