Musical Background – 2014 Update

Stop Press: 2014 update.

In October 2012, a guitarist friend, Ron Barratt (Ron And Rosalind), persuaded me to dust off my drums and do a “one off” gig with him at Camborne Conservative Club, Cornwall to celebrate the 5th November and I reluctantly agreed. This was to be my first gig since 1987!

Of course having done it and to a very surprisingly (to me, anyway!) enthusiastic audience, I was hooked and decided I’d like to try to get my drumming back up to speed again.

So in January I was off to a jam session held by Alan Rideout and his partner Kc. (Casey) Johnson. Well, I sat quietly at the back of the venue open mouthed as a stream of excellent drummers (aged from about 10 years old!) got up and, in turn, did their stuff! How can I compete with children I asked myself and almost walked out. Luckily I managed to delay my performance till last (nearly everybody had left by then including the other drummers!) but thanks to the remaining musicians it was ok …well I enjoyed it anyway!

As a consequence I spent the next few months practising or playing anywhere or everywhere I could …jam sessions, open mike sessions or just anywhere or with anyone who needed a (free) drummer. Then in August I joined The Parchman Blues Band led by local businessman and guitarist John Cowles playing old blues. Our first gig together (after just one practice) was at a blues festival near Looe in S.E.Cornwall…so no pressure! Then in November local personality, ex-champion show jumper and rock ‘n’ roller Ben Davis asked me to join his band The Thunderbirds which he was reforming after a break due to ill health. And I’m still with them playing with Geoff Jackson on bass, Chris Ward lead guitar (surely the only person who can lift my Mapex traps bag above his head!) and Ben Davis jnr. on the mixer deck.

And not content with 2 bands I’ve now formed the Al Rideout band playing blues rock with the very talented multi instrumentalist Kc (Casey) Johnson on bass and vocals and occasionally Simon Bowman on keyboards. And here is a recording from one of our first gigs (done on a digital recorder) which was held at the Queens Arms, Breage, Helston on 8th March 2014.

Teenage Kicks – The Al Rideout Band:

However by mid May, with no paid bookings in the pipeline and modest intentions, an amicable parting of the ways with the Parchman Blues Band became inevitable.

Finally a message to my friends Frank Allen (The Searchers), Alan Lovell (The Swinging Blue Jeans), Roger Newell (The Wildcats) if you or anyone you know are ever desperate (well you’d have to be!) and need a drummer….call me. And will I play for nothing just to be on the same stage as any of you? Well of course I will and I’ll pay my own expenses too!

So has my phone rung? Well No – not to date anyway! But I live in hope and one day, who knows, I may be able to update this page!

And my present drum kit? A Mapex Meridian in birch:- 10/12/14/22. Cymbals:- 2 16″ Zildjan K Dark crashs:- a medium and a thin, an old 20″ Paiste 2002 ride and a pair of Paiste Alpha Hi-hats. Hi-Hat? A Premier given to me by my mother many years ago. Pedals? A Ludwig Speed King and a Yamaha pedal. Sticks? Vater sugar maple and my latest toy…Rock Stix Pro2!

And as for my Guitar Collection? Well that’s still growing too so please keep checking!