Studio opening & the adapting musician in 2020

It’s been a while since I have written on here, and what a strange year 2020 has been so far. Apart from the obvious pandemic being the main source of focus this year for most, for me personally finally a life long goal of having my own drum studio has been achieved!

Over the past 2 years I have been building a soundproofed drum studio where I can practise, record and teach drums from. It’s been a long road but one I finally completed in March this year. Just in time for lockdown to hit properly, so during this I have been extremely lucky in that I have been able to carry on playing drums.

Another goal was to make the studio into a fully operation live drum tracking studio where I could provide remote drum recording for anyone all over the world. The Pandemic kind of fast tracked this idea as I had time to be able to get my drum recording setup up and firing, and I began to get recording work in almost immediately, which has been incredible!

Over the past months I have been working with a wide range of artists and bands, and already have a number of tracks recorded in the studio that have already been finalised & released, you can check out those tracks here:

As like many others I have been forced into adapting to this new landscape and becoming an online session drummer & providing remote drum recordings seemed like the obvious choice for me. Recording has always been my favourite part of music creation so it was an exciting step. For more info on this, the process and getting in touch regarding your project visit my remote drum recording page for more info.

My drum lessons have also adapted and gone online, via Zoom, Skype or FaceTime I have been able to continue on existing drum students and take on some new students from around the world. This has been a lifeline to me and also helped a lot of people through lockdown to still be able to up keep their own practise and learning on the drums. If you would like more info on my drum lessons or how to book something in with my please have a look at my drum lessons page for more info.

As I say I have been keeping busy myself with a lot of new learning whether it be learning from prestigious drum books like Charles Wilcoxon’s “Modern Rudimental Swing Solos“, Gary Chester’s “The New Breed” or the classic George Lawerence Stone’s “Stick Control” or up keeping my brand new YouTube channel Thom Mills Drums.

My YouTube channel has been an exciting area that I have been avidly updating each week with a case study of a particular song play through on the drums and accompanying drum lesson. I have been getting great feedback from viewers on these and this has underlined my aim with doing these weekly videos, which is to try and offer a complete and easy to understand method of how to learn and play along to the tracks. I release a video every Sunday at midday so be sure to check out my channel and get subscribed to keep up to date with the latest videos.

For many people in the creative arts industry it has been a tough time and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. The live music sector is an area that for me take up the main chuck of my income and is the same for a great deal of musicians and crew working in the music industry. I don’t know when the live music sector will be able to start up and although the government has shown a little support for the arts, it really is not enough and not enough care is being given to the future and nuture of an extremely important part of everyday culture in the UK. I hope and pray that more importance is given to music and the arts so that in the future we can once again boost a thriving music and artistic output.

Learn to play the drums: the perfect Christmas gift!

With Christmas right around the corner, it’s that time to be thinking about gifts for your loved ones. You might want to learn the drums yourself, or your partner or friend has been banging on about it for ages! If this is the case look no further, and have a watch of a sample lesson below aimed at the complete beginner:

I provide drum lesson in Brighton & Hove and all the surrounding areas in Sussex. You can come to my drum studio in Portslade or if you have a drum setup at home I can come to you. Get in touch for special xmas drum vouchers, and lets get you booked in to learn the drums in 2019, or even sooner!

Drum Lessons in Portslade, Brighton & Hove and Sussex

Every drum lesson I teach is tailored around the individual student’s musical taste, needs, ability and personal targets. This way the student is motivated and focused throughout the lesson, and always working towards a goal. I cater for all ages, genders and abilities, from absolute beginners to advanced drummers wanting to improve their technique.

My experience enables me to break drum teaching into 4 key areas:

  • Sight Reading / Aural Perception – From basic notation and note values to advanced chart reading, transcription, studying genres of music, time signatures, drum grooves, rudiments, pieces and performance, & Trinity Guildhall Grades 1-8.
  • Technical Development – To strive and work towards a perfect technique, the study of a wide range of techniques for the hands and feet, sticking, posture, breathing and all aspects of drumming technique.
  • Drum Grooves & Fills – Study of specific grooves, feels & drum fills relating to individual genres, these include; Rock, Pop, Funk, Metal, Country, Afro-Cuban, Drum & Bass plus many more. Also study these genres to get inside the music and help to form an understanding of how to write musical drum parts, as well as understand how the music works.
  • Session Drummers & Live Performance – Studying a vast selection of drummers and genres. Learning key performance techniques and songs to be performed live and along to tracks.

Additional Subjects:

  • Drum Tuning – How to make you sound great behind a kit, as you can learn all the greatest techniques, but if your drum kit doesn’t sound good this will have less impact. Also cover drum-kit care how to look after your gear and the internal workings of your drums, and getting drums to sound great in the studio.
  • Music Industry – Learn the basics of how the industry works and how to get the best out of your career as a musician and own musical project.

My lessons are taught from my own written syllabus with aspects of other workbooks, exercises and patterns to improve your drumming skill and achieve great technique and a musical brain.

I have my own drum studio based in Portslade, Brighton & Hove where I teach drum lessons from, I also provide mobile drum lessons in the Sussex area where I travel to the student and teach on their own kit.  I also offer interactive Skype drum lessons for students based further a field.

Thom Mills Drums – Portslade, Brighton & Hove, Drum Lessons:

  • Musicians Union Member.
  • Public Liability Insured.

Rates – £30 per hour / £15 per half hour.
Consultation / introductory lessons available.

To enquire about drum lessons in Portslade, Brighton & Hove and across Sussex please feel free to contact me here:

Email: thommillsdrums@gmail.com
Mobile: 07812 750205

Following seas..


Currently I am mid way through a mini tour of East coast America. We have just completed the Salty Dog Cruise, a festival on a cruise ship set-up by friends and fellow band Flogging Molly. It was a crazy time, sailing from Miami to the Bahamas over 3 days, and I got to see at close quarters one of my biggest drumming influences Josh Freese play with the incredible Vandals.
Now we are off on a 5 date tour of the east coast before returning home, to start recording and writing the fourth Skinny Lister album, due for pencilled release in 2019, so watch this space!
I will also be in the UK and available for lessons, gigs and other projects in the mean time so don’t hesitate to get in touch. Thom.x

What’s happening 2018?

Happy new year! Here’s to a brand new year with loads of exciting projects and music in the pipe line.

Firstly with Skinny Lister we will heading out to the US in Feb/March to finish off touring the “Devil, Heart & The Fight” album campaign. This is then quickly flanked by another week long trip a month later in April to play the Flogging Molly Salty dog cruise from Miami to Bahamas, and then finally a week long run in Germany. That will mark the end of the album campaign, and can mean only 1 thing, time to start writing and recording the next one, album 4! This will take place over the summer, with a view to be releasing it through Xtra Mile Recordings in early 2019.

I also have another project in the melting pot and in it’s infancy, called ‘Loose Teeth’ which will be writing and recording music throughout the year, for potential release sometime this year, so look out for that.

There will also be a bunch of summer festivals to play, in between recording including Download Festival France, and continuing work on our new festival themed function band ‘Dirty Weekend’, as well as offering and providing drum lessons to my current students, as well as anyone else interested in taking up the drums or continuing their learning of the instrument.

So it’s going to be another busy year of music for me, so here is to a great year and being blessed to be able to do what I love for a living! Thom.x

Drum Lessons – 2017

As of Mid-February I will be once again offering my services for drum lessons. These take place at my home drum studio in Hove, or I can alternatively come to you, if you have a drum-kit setup at home.

My rates are £15 per half an hour or £30 per hour, and these lessons are open to students of all ages and stages of learning, from complete beginners who want to learn the basics, to advanced players wanting to fine tune their playing. I also offer Skype drum lessons for those living further afield than the UK!

Have a look at my drum lessons page for a little more detail, or feel free to contact me through here if you have any other questions. Hopefully speak to you very soon!

Skype Drum Lessons

skype drum lessons

I am now offering drum lessons over Skype so you can now learn to play the drums even if you live on a remote island! (Providing you have a good internet connection…)
For more details on drum lessons please contact me directly through the below contact form. Also don’t forget I offer your 1st drum lesson completely FREE! Joy of joys!
Thom.x

Pictured is Ged who lives in France and we do weekly drum lessons over Skype and they rock!

Brighton Drum Lessons

Every drum lesson taught is tailored around the individual student’s musical taste, needs and ability. This way the student is motivated and focused throughout the lesson. I cater for all ages and abilities, from absolute beginners to advanced drummers wanting to improve their technique. My experience enables me to break drum teaching into 4 key areas:

  • Sight Reading / Aural Perception – From basic notation and values to advanced chart reading, transcription, studying genres of music, drum grooves, pieces and performance, & Trinity Guildhall Grades 1-8.
  • Technical Development – To achieve a perfect technique, study of Moeller system, Drop and snap technique, sticking, posture, breathing and all aspects of drumming technique.
  • Drum Grooves & Fills – Study of specific grooves relating to individual genres, these include; Rock, Pop, Funk, Metal, Country, Afro-Cuban, Drum & Bass plus many more. Also study the relative drum fills used within these genres to help to form an understanding of how to write the perfect drum part.
  • Session Drummers & Live Performance – Studying a vast selection of drummers and genres. Learning key performance techniques and songs to be performed live and along to tracks.

Additional Subjects:

  • Drum Tuning – How to make you sound great behind a kit, as you can learn all the greatest techniques, but if your drum kit doesn’t sound good this will have less impact. Also cover drum-kit care how to look after your gear and the internal workings of your drums.
  • Music Industry – Learn the basics of how the industry works and how to get the best out of your career as a musician and own musical project.

My lessons are taught from my own written syllabus with aspects of other workbooks, exercises and patterns to improve your drumming skill and achieve the ultimate technique and musical brain.

I have my own drum studio based in Brighton where I teach drum lessons from, I also provide mobile drum lessons in the Sussex area where I travel to the student and teach on their own kit and also offer interactive Skype drum lessons for students based further a field.

Thom Mills Drums – Brighton Drum Lessons:

  • CRB checked.
  • Musicians Union Member.
  • Public Liability Insured.

Rates – £27 per hour / £15 per half hour.
Free 30 min consultation / introductory lesson available.

To enquire about drum lessons in Brighton & Hove and across Sussex please feel free to contact me here:

1st Drum Lesson for Free

Currently I am offering a free introductory / consultation drum lesson of 30 minutes, so all those people who are toying with idea of taking drumming lessons can have a go and see if it is for them!

This is open to all levels of player from complete beginners to advanced drummers who want to focus on particular problem areas or subjects of interest. The lesson will aim to pin down where and how we can improve as well as giving a brief oversight of the fantastical world of drums!

Just click on my contact page above to send me a message if your interested.

 

FREE Drum Lessons

I am giving away 2, 1 hour drum lessons for free next month at my ‘drumming marathon’ charity gig. For your chance to win all you have to do is come along to the show on 27th March at Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar and take part in the extreme charity quiz. There will also be a whole host of other prizes including, a pair of cinema tickets to The Duke of York, Troll’s Pantry burger vouchers, GBK food vouchers, PizzaFace pizza vouchers, a bottle of Kraken rum plus many more exciting prizes. Plus I will be performing with 3 of my bands, Derelicts, Louis Romegoux & Millou, and SEERS, and all the proceeds go to HIV and sexual health charity The Terrence Higgins Trust aiding raising money for my London Marathon 2014 run.

MarathonFundraisierSMFB27.03.14Poster

Drum Kit Lessons, Drum Tuning Lessons & Band Updates.

Whether you are a total beginner or a seasoned player wanting to improve on your technique I can help you achieve the goals you crave. My syllabus includes every aspect of learning to understand and play drum kit to a high level, be that working through the grades 1-8 or focusing on musicality and technique from my extensive workbook library and session genres. For a full list of workbooks and more detailed information on drum lessons visit my lessons page.
Currently I have new availability in my teaching schedule for new drum students, so please feel free to contact me to secure a place.

Also currently offering drum tuning lessons, so if you are a drummer in need of better sounding drums or a producer / engineer looking to get that killer drum sound I can help you to get the sound you desire. You can contact me here directly for any lesson enquiries: [contact_form]

Bit of a personal band update, working with 7 original projects at the moment, Derelicts, an electro pop 4 piece, Ed Prosek, 8 piece acoustic singer songwriter, SEERS, 4 piece indie rock band, Louis Romegoux, solo singer songwriter, Holy Vessels, rock and roll outfit, Flash Gordons, psychedelic rock 2 piece and a double drumming as yet nameless project.

Debut Derelicts single release before the end of 2013, recording sessions for Ed Prosek, Louis Romegoux, SEERS and Holy Vessels for 2014 releases, and plenty of shows to keep me busy in the mean time. I will be updating the site with new releases as they come so keep them peeled!

 

Drum Students

I have a brand new section of my website, dedicated to my current set of drum students and showcasing videos of their talents behind the kit. Just click on the section above entitled ‘Students’ for the full list of videos and students, or just click this link:
http://thommillsdrums.co.uk/students/

Here is Bailey showing off a tidy groove!

Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information on drumming lessons: thommillsdrums@aol.co.uk

Drum-Kit Lessons

Every lesson I teach is tailored around the individual student’s musical taste, needs and ability. This way the student is motivated and focused throughout the lesson. My experience enables me to break drum teaching into 4 key areas:

 

  • Sight Reading / Aural Perception – From basic notation and values to advanced chart reading, transcription, studying genres of music, drum grooves, click tracks, pieces and performance and Grades 1-8 also taught, if required.

 

  • Technical Development – To achieve a perfect technique, study of Moeller system, Drop and snap technique, sticking, posture, breathing and all aspects of drumming technique.

 

  • Drum Grooves & Fills – Study of specific grooves relating to individual genres, these include; Rock, Pop, Funk, Metal, Country, Afro-Cuban, Drum & Bass plus many more. Also study the relative drum fills used within these genres to help to form an understanding of how to write the perfect drum part.

 

  • Session Drummers & Live Performance – Studying a vast selection of drummers and genres. Learning key performance techniques and songs to be performed live and along to tracks.

 

  • Additional Subjects:
  • Drum Tuning – How to make you sound great behind a kit, as you can learn all the greatest techniques, but if your drum kit doesn’t sound good this will have less impact. Also cover drum-kit care how to look after your gear and the internal workings of your drums.
  • Music Industry – Learn the basics of how the industry works and how to get the best out of your career as a musician and own musical project.

 

My lessons are taught from my own written syllabus with aspects of other workbooks and exercises, techniques to achieve the ultimate drumming experience and information. I am also currently writing my own drum workbook.

I have my own drum studio based in Brighton where I teach from, provide mobile drum lessons where I travel to the student and teach on their own kit and also offer interactive drum lesson through Skype.

CRB checked.
Musicians Union Member.
Skype Username: thommillsdrums

Rates – £30 per hour / £15 per half hour.

 

Bibliography;

  • Progressive Steps To Syncopation For The Modern Drummer – Ted Reed
  • Stick Control For The Snare Drummer – George Lawrence Stone
  • Master Studies – Joe Morello
  • Advanced Techniques For The Modern Drummer, Vol 1 – Jim Chapin
  • Conversations In Clave – Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez.
  • The Drumset Musician – Rod Morgenstein & Rick Mattingly
  • Advanced Funk Studies – Rick Latham
  • Play Rock Drums – Joel Rothman
  • Jungle/Drum ‘n’ Bass For The Acoustic Drum Set – Johnny Rabb
  • Afro-Cuban Grooves For Bass And Drums, Funkifying The Clave – Lincoln Goines & Robby Ameen
  • Trinity Guildhall, Drum Kit 4, Pieces & Studies, Grades 7 & 8.

Skype Drum Lessons & New Website.

I have now started to do Skype drum lessons, so you can now learn to play the drums from anywhere in the world! If you are interested you can contact me here or email me on thommillsdrums@aol.co.uk. My Skype username is thommillsdrums, take a look at the video I did for www.gigsido.com to see into my drumming window…

You can also checkout my profile on gigsido.com here:
http://www.gigsido.com/Lessons—Tutoring/49/teach-you-to-play-the-drums-and-become-the-ultimate-drumming-monster!-

And check out my new website…