My origin as a professional musician was playing in a full time professional covers band. This is a great learning platform for any musician. We had a huge repertoire of songs and I would constantly have to learn new songs every week as the latest hits would come out. I learn’t everything by ear so this taught me a great deal about hearing and understanding what the drummer does in a song and how song writing structures work. I began to realise what the better drummers were doing and how they shaped their drum parts to support the song. I was very meticulous in learning the material and would sit down with headphones, going over each bar, so that I had every single hi hat opening, ride bell and other parts so I could be as close to the original drum part as possible.

As I progressed with my learning, I started looking at doing formal studies to advance my musical skills further. I started to audition at conservatories and universities. Unfortunately my music theory skills were well down in comparison to my drumming skills so I was unsuccessful in my first attempts. I then started to get music theory lessons and after 3 years of auditioning, I was accepted to do my Bachelor of Music. I’ve since gone on to become a Doctor of Music so I have the formal qualifications as well as my on the road experiences to relate to both sides of the spectrum. I’ve also been a conservatorium lecturer and have written course curriculums for subjects so have the skills and know how to structure a course. 

As well as that, I’ve travelled around the world doing concerts and also for my sponsors doing hundreds of clinics, masterclasses and percussion festivals over the past 25+ years. I’ve also done countless hours of private tuition for a wide range of students doing everything from playing in local bands to going to university to winning national drum competitions.

I’ve spent an innumerable number of hours exploring and discovering this awesome instrument and love to share not only the what, but also the how and why on all things drums. I love the creative aspect of music and like to look at ideas from a different perspective. Doing this helps us to discover alternative ways to play things and leads to finding your own individual voice on the instrument. I’m super excited about putting these programs together and would love to be able to transform and inspire your personal music journey.