April 22, 2006

Hi Drummers-Paradise FaNs!!!

This Blog is to draw Your attention to the XSPF MP3 Player to be found Top RiGht of this Very Site!!! >>>
It’ just aboVe the Translator Flag Strip (A BIG HELLO to ALL My Drummer~Friends reading this iN Spanish, Japanese, French & German!!! >>> It seems You are Out There oN the WEB iN Large Numbers!!! >>> COOL!!!)

Daddy Funk’s MP3s :

1. Beauty ~ October 2000 ~ This is a “Funky Pop Tune” Featuring Rapping & Keyboard Skills from Seth Greenhill & DJ Scratching from “Goose”.

2. BIG Cats ~ October 2002 ~ “Phat Ultra Single” by the Writing/Production team Daddy Funk & Jamie King>>> Featuring Amanda The Panther Kitten oN the spoken Poem in the Centre of this Tune.

3. Drum Solo @ 3.30am ~ Featured oN “Signs of LIFE Volume 2″.

4. From the Ground UP ~ February 2004 ~ “Powerful Soul Rock Single” This is My Personal Favourite!

5. Loop Walking ~ May 1998 ~ This was by the Groove~Jazz Outfit “Hip Socket” >>> We Toured the UK extensively in the Late 90s & Supported Clyde Stubblefield~James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” in 1997!!!

6. Pa$$ion Flower $eXy ~ October 1999 ~ “HOT Funk Extravaganza”!!!!!! Check Out the RUDE Lyrics & The Wicked SaX & FLUTE Solos!>>> Rap & Backing Vocals & KeyBass by My Outrageously TALENTED Brother Seth Greenhill!>>>

All the Tunes are Co-Written by Me (Simon Greenhill) & Jamie King >>> with additional Writing credits going to Seth Greenhill on “Beauty”& Rob Palmer on “Loop Walking” >>>

ALL the Vocals, in all their Glory are by the MiGhty DF ( ME!!!)

Hope You ALL Love the Music as Much as I did Making it >>> LISTEN & ENJOY!!! >>> The tracks Feature Drums & Percussion in ABUNDANCE for all You Drum~Addicts out there iN WebLand!!! >>>

PeAcE & Massive Phat GroOVes,
Speak to You ALL again REAL SOON,

***** <<< SiMoN the Daddy Funk >>> *****

March 12, 2006

Hello, Hello, Hello!

I was giving My student Iain a LesSoN the other afternoon>>>He was trying to master a 16th Note Hi-Hat Part in a CoOL Off~Beat GroOVe & He asked Me why I have the distance between My Hi-Hat Cymbals & My Snare Drum set the way that it is>>>

My Answer was this…….with comfortable distances between the Drums & Cymbals on My Drum~Sets it gives Me more ROOM to Move around Freely, enabling Me to set up a Smooth FLOW in My Playing & encorages Me to utilise the effects of GRAVITY on My DRUM~STICKS to the fullest!!! >>> Let Me explain this to Everyone in a little More Detail >>>

I’ve found that an ALARMINGLY Large amount of Drummers have No idea how to set up their Drum~Kit so that it is Comfortable to move around on & maintains LOW STRESS & LOW IMPACT on The Muscles in the Body, Particularly the BACK, NECK, SHOULDERS & KNEES.>>>

In 1981 My Drum Teacher Dave Clifford took Me & a small goup of His Favourite Students at Raynes Park High in South London to See THE INCREDIBLE BUDDY RICH & His Big Band Playing at The Royal Festival Hall on London’s South Bank >>> This AMAZING Experience CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER!! >>> Buddy Rich was then & still is Now,Years after His Death, One of the ALL~TIME GREAT MASTERS of Drums, bringing to the Instrument Swing, Funk, Flair, Humour, Power & FEEL,FEEL, FEEL, FEEL, FEEL!!!>>>>

As an excitable, Over~Enthusiastic Teen~Ager He & His Brilliant Band COMPLETELY BLEW ME AWAY!!!! >>> I Vividly remember getting SO EXCITED that I couldn’t stop Laughing out loud & thoroughly Annoying the other kids in Our little group!!!

In the Interval I walked down to the edge of the stage to look at the MASTER’S Kit & what still fascinates Me to this Day is how FAR AWAY Drums & Cymbals were from Him & His Drum Throne!! >>> He had SO MUCH SPACE!! >>> His China Cymbal for example was a FULL ARMS REACH Away from Him & NO Cymbal or Drum was set too High~ NOTHING was above His Shoulder Hight & NOTHING was Uncomfortable for Him to Reach or Play >>>

I Realised then & there Why He Seemed to have such a GREAT Time & Enjoy Himself SO MUCH when He Played…..BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY COMFORTABLE!!
His Feet, Hands, Arms, Legs & Back were under NO STRESS from His Kit Set~Up….though looking back His Heart obviously WAS from His GRUELING Performance! >>>

So Many Drummers (& Percussionists for that matter) Set their Kits Up to make them Look Cool, Rather than to make them Great to Play>>> This is a BIG MISTAKE!!! >>>>>

So what was that about Gravity I hear You ask! >>>> Well, a Drum Stick FALLS & if We give Ourselves Plently of Room as I have discussed, We can Use this Phenomenon of Physics to Our Great Advantage! >>>>>

Without much Unnecessary Effort We can ALL Play with MORE POWER & SKILL by Controlling & Guiding the “Fall” of Our Sticks thereby “streamlining” the amount of Energy We have to Use to Play Our Instrument >>>

Basically it all adds up to making the Action of Playing Drums or Percussion EASIER & MORE COMFY!!!!! ERGONOMICS!!! >>>
It makes SO MUCH SENSE!!! >>> So why not try Re~Positioning Your Kit TODAY!!!

ENJOY Drumming, ENJOY Music, ENJOY LIFE,

Big Funk & PeaCe to the Planet,

Let the LIGHT Shine,

***<<< Si the DF >>>***

December 10, 2005

Hi All You Drummmers & Percussionist out there,

It’s Mr.Funk here with some More Ideas>>> While I was TeaChing Yesterday, I had some thouGhts about Playing along to CDs oN Drum~Set or Congas & BonGoes>>>

It is MUCH Harder than it at first Seems!>>>

Let’s take the eXample of oNe of My Teenage Students trying to Play along to a Recent “Green Day” Single >>>
Tre Cool the Drummer in this Band has obviously put ALOT of Time & Energy into Designing & Creating His Part for this Particular Track >>> A LOT of ThouGht & Pain~staking Rehearsal Time will definately have gone into Creating this Detailed & Frankly Very Intelligent Piece of Drumming>>>

In a Big International Band such as this, Signed to a Major Label, oNe of the ProCesses New Material has to go throuGh BEFORE aN Album is Recorded is “ROUTINEING”>>>

This is a form of INTENSE Rehearsal of the Song’s FORM & ARRANGEMENT done by the Band (often with the help of their Record Producer) to “Iron Out” any problems in the Track, to OPTIMISE the Commercial Potential of any Track “Short~Listed” for the New CD>>>This can run to MANY DAYS of VERY HARD WORK for the Band in Question ( I know because I’ve been that Soldier & it’s a FULL~ON, Sweaty & EXHAUSTING experience!!!)>>>

As a result, the GLOSSY TRACK that Flows effortlessly out of Your Hi~Fi or MP3 Player has had MANY, MANY Hours of HARD GRAFT spent on it BEFORE it reaches Your EAGER Hands!>>>>

Therefore, when trying to Play like Your HERO, be AWARE of this fact & DON’T be too hard on Yourself if it takes You a While to get it >>>

The MOST IMPORTANT factor to Capture is the FEEL of the Piece >> Get the thing GROOVING & FLOWING, IN TIME before Worrying about EVERY Ghost Note & Fill!!>>> Believe Me, it Probably took the Drummer Him or Herself quite a while to get the Take EXACTLY how they wanted it!>>>

CDs are also, in the case of Most Modern Music, METRONOMICLY IN TIME & therefore VERY UNFORGIVING!!!
Try not to be Dis~Heartened by this!!>>> It doesn’t necessarily mean Your Playing isn’t good if You can’t play the Piece from Beginning to End >>> It just Means You’re trying to Play along with something which has been Fine~Tuned & Perfected for a LONG TIME!!!!!>>>

We are ALL so used to Hearing PERFECTED Music, that I think it’s hard sometimes to put Our own Skill as a Player into Perspective>>>

DO NOT be DISCOURAGED!!!>>> The thing to hold on to is Your LOVE of the Music & That WONDERFUL, EXCITING Feeling it gives You!!!>>> NEVER loose siGht of that!!!>>>

In Music, as far as I’m concerned, ENTHUSIASM IS EVERYTHING!!!>>> Keep hold of that & Music will ALWAYS stay FRESH & INSPIRING for You!!!>>>

PeAcE & BIG LoVe to the World of Drums for Now,

***< <<<< SiMoN the Daddy Funk >>>>>***