Nottingham Drummers' Forum a huge success, read on for comments and photos

I'm proud to say that the first Nottingham Drummers' Forum went extremely well and that it is certainly something I will be hosting more of!

The vibe was good, the people were friendly, the discussion was informative and interesting and the speakers bought something to the table for all to ponder on and the food was nice!

Unfortunately, one of the speakers could not make it due to the weather, But, after my presentation on bass line interpretation and some progressive modulation ideas and some food, Steve Barwell's slightly extended talk on short rolls in orthodox jazz time keeping and some words of wisdom on the orchestral percussion front made us all quite happy. We rounded the night off with some jams with the present painist, saxophonist and bassist and generally had a blast.

Here's what people had to say about it, particular thanks to Wayne for his support before the event which galvanised me on my path of drum geekdom!

"Great night. Really enjoyed it!" - Chris Shepperson, bass accompanist at NDF #1.

"Thanks Jim for allowing me to take part and meet some great players... Yes I would love to come back and speak again." - Steve Barwell, speaker at NDF #1.

"It was very good Jimbo, thanks to you and Steve for providing some valuable homework." - Paul Marston, NDF #1 attendee.

"Had a wicked time mate, I'll be there for the next!" - Rich "The Gritz" Grindon, drummer for Insidious and Lordaeron, bassist and percussionist.

"For a feature I wrote on John Bonham (DRUM! magazine, Oct. issue) I spoke to a number of major players including Black Sabbath's Bill Ward, who reminisced about his early days in Birmingham, when as teenagers he, Bonham and others would get together and jam on the drums, talk about music and just hang out and learn from each other. All these years later, those times when the lads got together and shared what they know still mean so much to him... they helped him move his drumming forward faster and farther. Hopefully every drummer for miles around Nottingham will make a point of attending your event, Jim, because it's such a great opportunity to live and learn drums, make new friends and become a part of the local scene, either as a teacher or a learner. Indeed, we're all learners..." - Wayne Blanchard, freelance drummer and writer, Canada. Thank you for this inspirational piece on the wall of the firs ever NDF event, it means so much to me.

"Jim, the 1st meeting of NDF was a success! The line-up of speakers and variety of subject matter was really interesting and it was a great opportunity to meet other players and see who is up to what on the Nottingham scene. I'm really looking forward to being a regular face at these events, Cheers." - Chris Livingstone, international teacher and performer, pipe snare drummer, speaker at NDF #2.

"My name is Paul and I'm a drummer. I've been learning for approximately 2 years now and despite 2 excellent teachers I have admittedly found it difficult to pick up the sticks outside the lessons.

Frankly I've been apathetic about practising at home and no amount of good will or encouragement from my tutors changed that. Consequently I've played for about 80+ hours over the last 2 years and that isn't going to make anybody a superb drummer.

Jim Farey mentioned the Nottingham Drummers' Forum to me a few weeks ago and I thought it might be a good idea to attend. The promise of being in and amongst accomplished drummers and tutors as well as students of all abilities really did appeal to me. As well as the social aspect of course :-)

I attended the first forum last week and really enjoyed the experience. As well as some masterclass tuition from the guest drummers I got to play on 2 acoustic drumkits that were set up at the venue.

That is when I woke up and realised my problem... All the good will and encouragement in the world doesn't get me going on an electric kit... I need to hear a booming bass drum under my right foot and have the enhanced tactile feedback of real hi-hat (my favourite part of an acoustic kit). Additionally while playing the kits I was given feedback on my technique and was admittedly a little embarrassed about the quality of my performance. Now of course, I just want to get better... at least as good as I can get for the next forum anyway!

Subsequently I've been using my drum pad at home and spent a few hours shopping around to get myself an acoustic kit. I'm even going to crank up the electric kit to improve my coordination and time-keeping.

My summary of the first forum is that I received excellent tuition and guidance, met some really nice drummers (plus a bassist and saxophonist) and I took away some inspiration and desire to learn, which has invigorated my attitude towards drumming as an art form.

Long may the forum continue! Congratulations to Jim for organising the event." - Paul Marston, drummer from Nottingham.

Many thanks to everyone who took time to write something positive, especially Paul for being very open about his experiences. I hope more people can get something good out of this forum.

The next event is Tuesday 4th January 2011. Tickets are available from my facebook page here or by emailing me at the usual address or calling me. Please check out the photos on facebook or if you aren't on facebook, you can see them on my picasa web album. Don't forget that the generic info for the the event and the flyer is all on a previous blog post for your reading delight.

Thanks to everyone who attended and offered support, judging by ticket sales and enthusiasm levels, the second event should be something even better!

Check out, Steve Barwell, Chris Shepperson, Vic Stinchome and Dave Williams playing below!