Master Classes, Workshops, Lessons and Gigs!

In March and April 2012 I will be in Swindon offering 1-2-1 lessons.  I have also been asked to run some Master Classes at The Academy Of Music And Sound and so will also be running additional workshops for up to 10 students wishing to learn more about careers in music, teaching drums as a profession, time, technology in music and more...

To find out more about this, either email me, or go have a look on my facebook.


Also, there are many gigs with various bands in the UK, including The Dacoits, System Of A Clown and also a gig in memory of a very good friend of mine who passed away this time last year.  Trevor Carter was a very very close friend of mine and I miss him dearly.  The gig (at the Louisiana in Bristol) will celebrate his memory and his music and bring together a collection of musicians who had the pleasure of working with him and being inspired by him over the years...


Here are my full gig listings (as it stands):

• David Marx and The AK Poets at the Brauhaus, Südstern, Berlin on Friday 3rd February
• David Marx and The AK Poets at the Mrs Lovells, Südstern, Berlin on Saturday 18th February
• David Marx and The AK Poets at the The Ufer Cafe, Berlin on Saturday 25th February
• David Marx and The AK Poets at the The Ufer Cafe, Berlin on Saturday 17th March (St Patricks Day!!!)
• The Dacoits at The Frog And Fiddle, Cheltenham, UK on Friday 23rd March
• The Dacoits at The Bear, Marlborough, UK on Saturday 24th March
• The Dacoits at The Beehive, Swindon, UK on Friday 30th March - (This is my birthday!  It is also a charity song-off against the mighty Black Sheep Apprentice!  All proceeds to a charity of Richard Skidmore's choice.)
• The Dacoits at The Swan, Wantage, UK on Friday on Friday 6th April
• System Of A Clown at The Furnace, Swindon, UK on Saturday 7th April
• System Of A Clown at The Louisiana, Bristol, UK on Sunday 8th April
• Charity Event featuring many hit songs from bands such as The Industrial Lemons, Marilyn Twice, The Greenbacks, The Familiar Sound and more... at The Louisiana, Bristol, UK on Monday 9th April

When did it all get so busy!
Exciting times...
See you all soon
:-)

GIG - BERLIN - THURSDAY!

So, happy new year and all that!

I haven't posted for ages and so I thought I would share with you everything that has been happening in the Rich Millin world of drums and also what I have planned for the first part of 2012...

Firstly, thanks to everyone for reading and participating in the Drumazine!  It's a small venture where I get to speak to lots of drummers about their lives and get an insight into who they are and what they do, all for my own personal and completely selfish wish to gain more knowledge about what it means to be a drummer...

I don't know about you (even if you're not a drummer), but I suffer from serious self doubt.
I am always questioning what I do and how good (or not) I am at it.  I never know if I'm right or wrong.  I never think I'm good enough and I always think that everyone else is much better than me.  Maybe because they are more disciplined?  Or maybe because they are naturally better?  Or is it because I am lazy?  And why did I never get that massive world tour or that lucky break or session which would have propelled me onto the world scene of top drummers...???  Obviously it's because I am not good enough...
Having said that, what would I do if I did succeed in my ultimate career dreams?!  I might be too nervous or get it wrong or maybe, maybe...  Ahhhh!  I don't know!

Anyway, that was the whole point in Drumazine.  I really wanted to interview other drummers, some who have made it and some who haven't and some who are teachers, some who just play for fun and some who are struggling just like me to find out if I am alone in my thoughts.  They fact I am sharing these interviews with the drumming world is just something I thought would be fun.  Turns out I was right!  Drumazine has had well over 1,500 hits in a month!  It's ace!  I love the feedback I am getting and the positive response, not only from readers but also from the interviewees themselves!  Amazing stuff!  So again, thanks to everyone :-)

The other things I have been doing include lots of eating and drinking and being lazy over Christmas and New Year visiting family and friends.  It was lovely.  Although, coming from a fairly sleepy little town in mid-west UK, I really wasn't prepared for the war-zone in Berlin on New Years Eve!  Seriously, there must have been about €1,000,000.00 spent on fireworks!  It was like being in Berlin circa 1943!  Explosions everywhere!  The guy on the balcony next door was sat there happily firing his fireworks at the apartment in the building opposite!  The guy opposite, instead of getting pissed off or calling the police, simply went up onto the roof of his building with a big stock-pile of ammunition and started firing back!
Ridiculous!

Before that, (I seem to be working backwards chronologically from now to my last post for some reason?!), I was in the UK for a ridiculous amount of drinking and some absolutely unforgettable gigs with The Dacoits and BabyTrain.  It turns out that The Dacoits can pull off a 20 song, 90 minute set no problem and BabyTrain can play a somewhat flawless gig without even having 1 practice in 5 months!
I miss my UK bands...

I am, however, keeping very busy in Berlin with other musical projects...  Mr David Marx has been here lots to rehearse for a gig this Thursday 12th January at The Ufer Cafe in Berlin.  I am extremely excited about my first Berlin gig, so if you are in the city and can make it down , please do...  :-)

Also, (and this is the scariest thing for me to plan for in 2012), I have been asked to run a Master Class at The Academy of Music and Sound in Swindon in March for the end of term Master Class week.
Me!  A Master Class!  HA - Awesome!

Anyway, I have a lot of preparation to do for this.  I am hopefully going to be touring this Class around all of the Academies in the UK and while I am in the UK (around 20th March until 10th April) I will be offering 1-1 lessons (limited time obviously!) and also will be running some other drum workshops for anyone wishing to attend.  The workshops will be based around careers in music, new technology in music and for drummers who wish to know more about:

a) careers in teaching
&
b) drum specific and playing workshops looking at time itself - (time signatures etc...)

So, let me know if you are interested in attending a workshop or if you would like a tailor-made 1-1 lesson.  (Swindon only).

Finally, whist in the UK in March/April, I am happy to announce a mini tour for System Of A Clown!  (It really is a mini tour, so far two dates!)  7th April sees us at The Furnace in Swindon and the 8th April we will be at The Louisiana in Bristol.
For more information visit the Facebook group here.

I think that's all for now...

bis später.
:-)


(Oh, and I had a haircut)

GIGS!

There are a mountain of gigs coming my way over the next 6 months with various bands in various venues, towns, cities and countries!  Hopefully some of you will be able to make it to one of these:

Firstly on 16th Dec I will be playing for (at least) The Dacoits at the annual 12 Bands Of Xmas event held at The Vic in Swindon, UK.  This is always a very drunken affair where bands are asked to play any 2 cover versions in a style of their choice.   I'm sure I've had very much fun at all the previous 12bands nights - you'll have to jog my memory if you saw me at one of the last ones...

Next up is a full on rock set with The Dacoits again on 17th Dec at The Bear in Marlborough, UK.  This will be along with the wonderful Vooz (a drunken bunch of locals who always manage to tear up the joint whenever we play with them - especially Robin the last time I saw them at the Vic when he managed to fly across the stage face-first and not miss a note: Professional.)

Then is a more acoustic style Dacoits gig at The Beehive in Swindon on 20th Dec.  A little light Christmas jolly full of hot wine, hot bass player, hot chicks, hot music and a hot fireplace where the drum kit is usually set-up.

On 21st Dec is another full on Dacoits show at The Vic in Swindon to support Black Sheep Apprentice on their album launch night!  Even though I am not sure if their album is ready to launch.  Having been a very temporary drummer for BSA I am excited to see them perform with Mr Andrew Cox behind the kit.  And, as an added bonus (for me definitely!) I get to also play a set this night with the wonderful BabyTrain.  2 gigs in one night!  I don't usually get involved in such shenanigans...

After what I'm sure will be a very cold but beautiful Xmas and New Year in Berlin (and Salzgitter), I am proud to say that I have been asked by Mr David Marx to accompany him and bass player Kai Wiergert under the guise David Marx & The AK Poets.  There is a gig scheduled for early Jan in Berlin - details to follow.


Also, exciting news from the System Of A Clown camp:  We might do another gig in April!  Venue and date TBC, but it will be in the UK somewhere...


Hopefully I will see you at one or maybe more of these gigs.


So long for now
Rich

Swindon Music

 I grew up in Swindon.  I am proud to say so too.
Swindon is a lovely town and it is and always will be my home.  I think Gaz Brookfied wrote a song about that...

Anyway, I am not in Swindon any more, even though my heart, my friends, my family and my bands (well, most of them), still are.  My band, The Dacoits is the one band in particular that I am missing.  And, just because I am not living in the UK any more, doesn't mean that the band will not continue.  In fact, we are currently working on a second album and already have some UK shows booked for December this year.  We are also planning a UK/European tour for next summer (starting in August).

You can see videos from The Dacoits on my Videos page.

I would like to also include some more video footage here, as Swindon Viewpoint and Martin Parry have been amazingly active when it comes to getting out to shows and making some fine live footage of bands around Swindon.  At this years Swindon Shuffle, Swindon Viewpoint cameras seemed to be everywhere!  They managed to get footage of most bands.  And, seeing as this blog is all about me me me, here are some videos of 'me' and the bands I played for at this years event.

Firstly, a video for Black Sheep Apprentice and the song: Let It Go.
I filled in for the band after the original drummer left to become a model.
I recorded drums for a few tracks on their debut album and I am very excited about hearing it when I return to the UK for the album launch show at The Vic in December.

This is a video for the band BabyTrain and the song: Forever.  This video was shot at The Beehive in Swindon.  BabyTrain are another band which I will continue to play for when the occasion presents itself!  There is even talk of a gig in Leipzig, Germany, in May next year!

Finally, The Dacoits again with Keep On Moving.  A monster guitar riff written by Neil Mercer.  Who, I have to say is also a master of acoustic guitar.  After seeing them just before I moved away, I must highly recommend that you listen to, or even better, go and watch Rumour Shed.  Beautiful stuff.

And, apart from all that, I decided (for a laugh - I was drunk when I agreed to do it!) to play in a System Of A Down tribute band.  Well, actually, I wouldn't say we were a tribute.  More of a bunch of drunken fools playing loads of System songs in a brutal fashion.  Here's one from the Furnace in August - footage by Mr Townsend (I think).

There are also rumours of another SOAC show, (we've already done 2 one-offs!)...
News to follow.

Will write more soon
Rich