I remember thinking "Cut off in my prime!"

It was all I wanted to do with my life, play music, and this guy was telling me I was too old!

At 25!!!

I decided then and there to make him regret those words!

I don't think I ever made him regret it but I very soon came to the understanding it didn't matter. I would be a Professional Drummer recording and touring without Anybodys permission!

It really hurt but its the price you pay for experience as I mentioned earlier.

The thing is don't let such comments get to you.

"Know Thyself"

Its a big lesson I learned from Martial Arts and extended to understand in my career as a Drummer.

I have travelled extensively and I feel really rich with experience. At the end of the day thats what we all need to survive day to day, and not let petty arguements or silly comments get to us.

I came to understand my shortcomings as a Drummer and that has been such a positive energy in my life. Even pointing to short comings in my sparring technique!

It has helped me and I suggest playing drums or any instrument can get to you and make you desire practice every day to improve. It can provide you with answers to questions you are not aware you have in other areas of life.

I feel exactly the same way about kickboxing, and I get my dose of pain from both in equal measure. Don't be shy or afraid it helps you grow as a person!

Trust me!

TTFN

Gary

This is the case in music, if you go for that big fill and make a mistake, nobody but you really knows so we put ourselves under stress which was completely unnecessary. Just as we wanted to get the bus on time and we wanted an even flow to the journey, getting on one bus and get to the destination on time. Its basic and simple I think you will agree.

It is true to say that we learn more from failure then we do from success, consequently that's what we aim for, success. We just don't realise the failure is the thing that focuses our mind and our attention on being successful.

So...

if we have a short amount of time to practice it should be focused on relevant fills or grooves.

On Guitar it might be scales or chord combinations. We don't need to do hours of it we can actually do a focused 30 minute section or even 15 minute section but at the end of the day it will all add up!

We look for a flow in everything we do, it's just the music it's much more obvious. Playing guitar requires you to get fluent in chord shapes And that way the song flows from beginning to end.

In my limited experience with Guitar I have found taking a piece of a song that is troubling me and going over and over it helps me to develop that flow. I might have 15 minutes just to get a particular phrase with maybe a couple of bends so I practice that and I know my time has been well spent. I do recall being on the road with Steve Hacket, and needing to practice a drum solo, as I wanted to make some changes to it. The problem is when you're on the road nobody wants to hear the drummer doing a drum solo in sound check. The other musicians don't and the crew certainly don't. So I had to be careful with my practice. I would generally have a practice pad backstage which was a quiet way of practising. I would also have that set up in my hotel room so that I could do 45 minutes just to stay fresh on days off. My point is nothing is perfect so we snatch 15 minutes here and there to make things work.

It is my opinion we do this in life too.

So when time is tight don't worry just focus in on what's really necessary !

You've got this!

TTFN

Gary

Oscar Peterson

In the early days I would listen to Mum and Dad’s music, and what was on the radio, or LPs on the radiogram in our front room! That thing was an amazing piece of furniture, and it sounded great for the time, though not stereo.

I would listen to a complete mixture of music, from Classical to show tunes, to music hall.

Artists from Mario Lanza to Val Doonican or The Dubliners, The Hi-Lo’s, The Four Freshmen, Oscar Peterson and Les McCann. I would later find out about Miles Davis from my Uncle Mick, and more great jazz artists as he was a real fan. He eventually led me to love Prog starting with Genesis and particularly Yes, ELP and Gentle Giant.

The thing I notice is, by listening to such a vast range of artists and styles, it all helped to shape what I loved in music. I feel there is a vast array of music available, but as a lot of it is computer generated and hip, people miss out on the Classical control of some singers and the musicians of the Orchestra, as its often not deemed hip! That is plain wrong! As well as getting into the ‘Bass wars’ some producers have had over the last 18 months, you should be aware of how Classical Orchestra can move you emotionally with melody and harmony.

It honestly will make you a better musician!

Nuff said for now!

TTFN

Gary

I recall, on this day of the funeral of one of my mentors Bobby Armstrong, that he would say to me after I had mentioned I wondered if I was any good as I didn’t feel the guys in the band I was currently working with were happy enough.

“Did they tell you you were playing badly? No!

Did they express concern over your performance that night? No.

Have they sacked you? No!

Sometimes that driving force in us to do a great job and analyse what we did makes us better. However if the gig isn’t great and the guys, or some of them, are not used to someone caring as much about the gig, they think everything is ok because your doing a better job than they expected.”

That made me think! I do care about every gig I do, even if the guys I work with didn’t. You are only ever as good as your last performance, but you can always make your next one better. The thing is every time we play we put across our groove, our fills, and there are rarely times these days to re-do it, or re-record our performance. We can make it all perfectly quantised and balanced and EQ the character out of it, but you will know if its good, then move on and play the next song!

You see the whole point is, once we practice hard and get to this level, we create an atmosphere in the band which is not only tied in with our playing, its also about our personality. Its often said you can get a gig without being the best technical player, if your face fits with that group of people, your in.

As Bob used to say to me, and had the quote in a frame on the wall of his studio.

“Its nice to be important, but its more important to be nice!”

This particular quote made me realise how all these things were linked and I should consider looking at How they were interlinked, but that is for another day.

This was a bit of a long one but I hope it makes you all think!

Stay tuned for more in the next few days.

TTFN

Gary

I'm now teaching privately from my professional studio in High Wycombe — a space I've carefully designed for focused, effective learning. I'm also continuing my work with local primary schools, where I've watched students discover their musical voices year after year.

This isn't a retirement from music. It's a different expression of the same passion that's driven me since I was young enough to pick up a pair of sticks.

I'm also creating again — something I haven't had proper time for in years. Short teaching videos, blog posts about rhythm and technique, explorations of the music that's shaped me. I want to share what forty years of playing has taught me.

If you've followed my journey over the years, thank you. If you're discovering me now, I'm excited to meet you.

Whether you're a complete beginner curious about drums, an intermediate player wanting to break through a plateau, or someone simply looking for creative outlet and community — there's a place for you here.