I first meet Bob back in 83 and studied with him for a couple of years down in the cellar in the house where I now funnily enough now live. I knew nothing about drumming and Bob's name came up twice through two different friends who said he was the man to go to. It was fortnightly lessons then at £6 an hour. As luck would have it in 91 having been on the waiting list for a short period of time a spot came up. I had actually been accepted at PIT in LA and also was considering going to NY to study at Drummers Collective. I studied with Bob another 3 and a bit years. Bob is an absolute legend. He gave me so much more than drum lessons and his legacy will continue to go on in all of his students.
Hi Paul, thatnk you so much for sharing that with muyself and the others in this drum nerd family. You were very lucky to have shared such a long time with him and at only £6 an hour, that's amazing! :) So you actually got to end up living in the house bob taught out of? It's funny how life takes these twists and turns and gets us to where we need to be. He really does live on in all of us and through our playing........PAGE 33 hahahaha. Be well and again, thank you for sharing such a grand story about your journey with him.
@@DRUMNERD No problem! Yes, £6 an hour then gradually went up to £8, then £10 in the basement. When I came back in 91 it was £20 for lessons in the studio in the back garden and it remained at £20 for me even with the move to Drums Inc upstairs then back to the house around 93. I left sometime in 95. I will always be extremely grateful to Bob for showing me the way. Believe his fee was £50 an hour last I heard someone say. To be fair Bob could have charged £100 an hour and it would to the right kind of student be worth every penny.
I don’t log in/ comment much but this bought back very many happy memories of studying with Bob for nearly four years from late September 2006 to June 1st 2010. I still remember my audition lesson and was lucky I wasn’t on the waiting list for long (maybe my email made a good impression I don’t know). The most nervous I’d ever been at that point after seeing Bob walk up on stage and hug Russell Gilbrook at Drumfest (I think the seed was planted then to get in touch for lessons) he was very practical when he saw my poor imitation of Jazz he said “if someone called for you for a Jazz gig you’d make an idiot of yourself!” Or words to that effect… and so it began, learning to play a ride cymbal at 50 bpm akin to your experience. Any feedback could be “that was shit wasn’t it? See you in two weeks” To the curveball compliments like “I don’t think you realise how good of a drummer you’ve become.” He built me up from the ground up and was hilarious at times too. I did the opposite and went to the same school after Bob several years later and was lauded for my ability to play Jazz, not possible without him! Dropped out after the first year after years of messing about not finishing degrees in my younger years and having to pay my own fees to complete the course. It was a confidence boost to get feedback from some great players whilst there but my years with Bob WAS my university to be honest… anyway great video and channel
Hi MikeyJay, yes indeed I meant T.D and I apologize for miss speaking there. Watching this back, investing in a mic along a new camera would be best :) Hope you're well.
DRUM NERD awesome, I thought as much, because I had pretty much the same conversation with him! Really fantastic video. Enjoyed practically a trip down memory lane, I could relate to so many of those experiences and you really pay great tribute to him here. Thanks for doing so. The big one that stands out for me, I’ll never forget on my phone interview with Charmaine she said “there is a waiting list, it’s quite long, and I have to tell you it’s not “first come first served”. When a space becomes available Bob looks at the list and picks the next student based on how valuable you’re going to be as a student to him, so think about your answers carefully”. Man I was like “this guy is NOT F’ing around here is he!?”!
MikeyJay thank you so much for the kind words, I'm glad I could help take you back down a nice walk through memory lane. :) ALSO, thank you so much for sharing your story about Bob, that sounds like him in a nutshell, ''NO MESSING AROUND!'' haha, he truly was a god among men and a no nonsense sort of guy. That was never something I knew, that he would only take you from the wait list if you were of value to him (making me laugh so hard I'm near crying) What a gem! Be well and again, thank you for sharing. He lives now in all of us, his mighty army, waiting at Thermopylae.
