Hey folks. Wanted to share something I’m super excited about. I recently got my hands on a stash of hardwood lumber, mostly oak, that my grandfather milled from trees he cut down on his farm over 20 years ago. I partnered with Buck County Drum Company, and they are going to build me a custom kit from this wood. I just made payment yesterday, and I’ll deliver the material to them in the next few weeks. I’ll have to sell off some gear to cover the cost, but I know it will be worth it. I’ll post progress here over the next few months. Here is the “before” picture of my new drums.

🧹👨‍🔬 Brush Lab, it's giveaway time 🎉 I have created an 'assignment' for you which consists of: - Leadsheet/worksheet - Drumless backing track - Lesson video Watch the video to learn about the assignment. Once you're ready, record yourself playing along to the track and upload your video to this thread. The idea is you stick to the task outlined in the video. The first tune is called The Spy and it's a medium swing. You are to play the main groove without any fills or variation, then learn the hits in the shout chorus. I will choose the winner who I think sticks closest to the task and you have until November 30th to upload. Your prize can be one of the following: - Phrasing and Freedom with Brushes - paperback with free worldwide shipping - Comping and Improvising with Brushes - paperback with free worldwide shipping - Beginner's Guide to Big Band Drumming - paperback with free worldwide shipping - 30 minute online lesson with me Good luck, and I look forward to watching your entries!

I have gone through everyone's The Spy videos and am pleased to announce that @Takayuki Watanabe is the winner!!! He stuck to the task at hand of playing for the song, with great feel and energy. Can we all please congratulate Takayuki. I have also decided to hand out a couple of runner-up prizes. Please check your inbox for a message. Thank you all so much for your videos, I can't wait to hand out your next assignment (coming in January).

Thanks a lot, Anthony, for digging into the "fishhook-movement" and the one-direction shuffle in the "Brush-Lab-Live Technique + Groove Lesson" of today (16th Nov.). That was helpful. Also the explanations in the "Brush Grooves on Demand PDF" to that topic - pages 27 and following - are great to revisit, and with references to a possible audio-track (playback). Meanwhile I tried to transfer the fishhook-approach also to my attempts in Bossa Nova with brushes, where I would like to get into step by step: In the BGOD-PDF on page 42 the two patterns with ride cymbal (RH) and on page 43 with non-articulated fishhooks in the LH. Critical Comments welcome on my playing in the clips. But not on my face on 😂 (recorded with my handy-cam and mic.)

Hey everybody. As I'm into bossa nova a little bit at the moment, I'd like to share two further approaches, that I picked up from Anthony and that I'm exploring now ("work in progress") under his guidance. >> Thanks at that point to the brush-master. 🙏 In one of the examples I play two different accent-patterns with the RH, while the LH hand is sweeping. You can find these in the BGOD-PDF on page 42. And preliminary exercises on page 40 and top of 41, which I play ahead in my clip, before going into the patterns. >> Suggestions for improvement are very welcome.