Monthly Roundup #20 - October '19

October had lots of wonderful things going on… A few gigs, a “drumathon” (more about that later!), a trip to see a show, and our monthly drum hang.

The month started with a couple more gigs with the “Alter Eagles”, playing a theatre in Deal, then a local one for me at Eastbourne Bandstand. The Deal gig was a nice little theatre/arts centre, and the Eastbourne one was one where we braced the elements outdoors! Truth-be-told, for us on stage it was okay under cover, but some keen spectators got thoroughly drenched! They put on a brave face though and stuck it out, many of them singing and dancing away - well done people of Eastbourne! My wife and a friend came along to this one too actually, so added pressure for me there! ;)

Setup at the Astor Theatre in Deal

And then the local one at Eastbourne Bandstand!

The next morning I was on the rota to play at my church once again. Nothing new to report here, other than I’ve got into the habit of sticking a tambourine on the kit for this genre, which is proving a useful addition! Nothing particularly revolutionary about a tambourine, of course, but it’s proving some new textures and playing ideas. Think I’ll stick with it for a while!

Setup at church

The next thing to report is a big one… A dear friend of ours in the local drumming community has been having a tough time lately with his second battle with cancer. He used to work in our local music shop heading up the drum department for a number of years, where he took very good care of many of us in the area. So, some 23 of us drummers took part in a sponsored “drumathon” which lasted a total of 52 hours in order to try and raise as money money and support for him and his family as possible. In the end, we raised an amazing £2,810 which will go directly to him and his family to use as they see fit, in the hope it might be of some help during this dreadful time. Another big thank you goes out to all who participated and supported the event. Great work, all!

Our setup for the drumathon

One of the next musical highlights of my month was that my fantastic wife had booked me surprise tickets to see John Legend for our wedding anniversary! I’m a huge fan and I'd not seen him before, so it was a real treat… Boy, do those guys know how to put on a show! Amazing gig, and of course Rashid Williams was on fire on drums. A night to remember, that’s for sure!

Loved the John Legend gig - what a band!

Once again, we had our monthly drum hang to look forward to at the end of the month! This time around we were talking tuning and head choices, so we each brought along so drums to go into that side of things… Following the drumathon we had a few new faces around too which was nice - if you’re reading this and also interested in joining us some time, give me a shout!

Talking tuning and head choices at the drum hang

More from the drum hang

There you have it for October… There’s been a nice variety of musical goings on, and if you’ve made it this far, I hope you’ve enjoyed checking in once again! Hope to catch you again next time. All the best, Ed.