BIMM Kerrang Metal Summer School

[johnnylager]

I'm thinking about doing this course in the summer - and I quote...

[i]kerrang metal summer school
Four day intensive tuition for Guitar, Bass and Drums.

Course Features:
Intensive technical development and rock / metal - Styles work outs taught by top UK session players
Live Performance Workshop under the guidance of experienced pro players using a pro backline and PA system
Artists covered include: Queens of the Stoneage, Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chile Peppers, Muse, Hundred Reasons, Tool, Darkness, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden, NOFX, Machine Head, Funeral for a Friend, System of a Down, Incubus and Deftones

Star tutors include: Hundred Reasons, Carcass, Therapy, A, The Lucky 9, Million Dead, Pitchshifter and The One Condition.[/i]

Anyone got any related experiences they would care to share before I splash the cash...?

Thanks, John.

Edited August 11, 2008 by johnnylager

[Dood]

Ooooh I wonder if my guitarist, Jamie Hunt is tutoring the course? I'll ask when I see him.

[johnnylager]

Righto, off to day 1 (of 4) today and I aim to keep you posted in a blog stylie, in case anyone else fancies it next year.

After 25-odd years of playing at amatuer level - gigs, recording, mini-tours, I have blown me back pay on this! I am sure I'll be surrounded by 12 & 13 year-old prodigys, but what the heck, eh? I can flog 'em fags & booze behind the bike sheds.

One of me mates has recently turned to the dark side (boo-hiss), and lent me his '78/'79 'Ray, which is somewhat different to play than my GL Jazz, so to make things more exciting for myself, I'm taking this along. Obviously the neck is somewhat larger (twice as thick ) but we all need a challenge!

Ok, I'm off to learn some song written by people younger then me 'Ray. Wish me luck! Laters.

Edited August 11, 2008 by johnnylager

[Toasted]

Great, let us know how it goes.

[johnnylager]

So, first day of school with the eminent Mr Stuart Clayton teaching the 4 bass students (I use that term loosely about myself). An hour of theory (warming up and some slapping basics), followed by 2 hours of learning song of the day - Know Your Enemy by RATM - good job I took the 'Ray then.

After fumbling my way through that, there was just enough time for a quick loosener at the pub round the corner and back to the common room to realise I had forgotten how the song went - despite listening to quite regularly since it was released a good few years back!

The live performance workshop followed a brief demo of how it should be played by a host of stars, including Mr Clayton himself. Being the old git I am, I bravely/foolishly volunteered to be the first bassist up and this proved to be a good call as the band seemed the best (barring myself obviously), particularly the drummer! We had a good few run throughs and didn't do a half bad by the end, except the distorted bass bit of course!

I was using the 'Ray through on Orange stack - AD200, 4x10, 1x15 I think and very nice it was too. As an aside, the only other old git on the course was a guy I met a couple of years ago through work - small world, eh?

Tomorrow we learn Give Me What I Want by Kids in Glass Houses, whoever they may be. Wikipedia then. Laters.

[quote name='dood' post='187520' date='Apr 28 2008, 07:54 PM']Ooooh I wonder if my guitarist, Jamie Hunt is tutoring the course? I'll ask when I see him.[/quote]
Long hair, Les Paul up high, doesn't stop smiling?

Edited August 11, 2008 by johnnylager

[Stuart Clayton]

And a fine job you did too Johnny!! Sounded great.

See you tomorrow,

Stu

[johnnylager]

[quote name='Stuart Clayton' post='260335' date='Aug 11 2008, 08:59 PM']And a fine job you did too Johnny!! Sounded great.[/quote]
Hmm, don't know about that mate, but thanks anyway! Felt much better about todays performance and I think I pretty much nailed it with another excellent drummer (I do like the ones that belt the bollocks out of the kit!). Kids in Glass Houses are not a band I shall be revisiting though, they didn't sound very Welsh to me and I must question their inclusion in a 'Metal' summer school.

The day started with fretboard knowledge with which I'm almost there, some scales and an introduction to the circle of fifths (me mate once had a band called this by the way) which I am not. It has given me some more useful pieces to practice though.

The 2 hours spent learning the above song were rewarded by a fair performance (as above) and then an excellent display of song dynamics by the house band. There's certainly some food for thought there too.

Right, better find the plectrum for System of a Down's 'Chop Suey' tomorrow! Ert.

PS. I am now officially a Stingray convert - I love it.

Edited August 12, 2008 by johnnylager

[johnnylager]

Day 3 and the morning was spent learning System of a Down's 'Chop Suey' - crikey, they're quite good. The plectrum saved the day however and I nailed it during the first run-through but not the second - relaxing too much methinks. Must concentrate more on learning the arrangements tommorrow.

Highlight of the day (and probably the week unless someone real special turns up tomorrow) was playing bass with Adrian Erlandsson from 'At The Gates' then Mem Jago from 'Ghosts of a Thousand' drumming on my run-throughs. What an opportunity that was, thanks guys.

Righto, 'The Pretender' by the Foos tomorrow - a real six minute epic. Going back to the Jazz tomorrow as I want to hear it sing through that Orange stack. And I don't want it to feel neglected by the new arrival! Laters.

[Galilee]

Adrian Erlandsson? You lucky, lucky man. And Stuart Clayton too. It sounds like a fantastic week. Do you mind if I ask how much it cost?

[Toasted]

Holy sh*t! You playing with living metal god Adrian Erlandsson. Wow!

[The Funk]

[quote name='Toasted' post='262404' date='Aug 14 2008, 01:37 PM']Holy sh*t! You playing with living metal god Adrian Erlandsson. Wow! [/quote]

[johnnylager]

[quote name='Galilee' post='262390' date='Aug 14 2008, 01:23 PM']Adrian Erlandsson? You lucky, lucky man. And Stuart Clayton too. It sounds like a fantastic week. Do you mind if I ask how much it cost?[/quote]
[quote name='Toasted' post='262404' date='Aug 14 2008, 01:37 PM']Holy sh*t! You playing with living metal god Adrian Erlandsson. Wow! [/quote]
Aye, just the one song mind, but 'Chop Suey' - what a song it is!

Day 4, final day. Stuart woke us up today with an hour of basic notation and some simple (allegedly) exercises to follow. Most enlightening and a good basis for further study.

Song of the day and strangely enough the week for me, was 'The Pretender' by the Foos - a fantastic song. I'd not heard much (read 'any') Foos 'till last night but they have a new fan. Stuart first encourages us to listen to the song and break it down into bars and sections. We then play each section 'till we're happy with it and move onto the next, before having a couple of solo run-throughs with the backing track. The bass is thankfully under-represented at these Summer Schools, meaning we always get more time than the guitarists (4 of us vs 20-odd of them).

After lunch, the house band played a blinding version of the song & set the standard for us all to follow. My first live run-through through was blighted by me coming in too early and the drummer coming out too late! Ert. However, the Gods (and possibly Mr Clayton) appeared to be smiling on me when I was called up to play with the house band and one lucky guitar student.

I nervously took the stage with Colin Doran of 100 reasons singing, Jamie Hunt from our Dood's own Within The Void (and the other student) playing guitar and most importantly for me, Jason Bowld of Pitchshifter on the drums. Woah, I really like Pitchshifter. I think I pretty much nailed the bass line and we totally rocked! Well, I loved it - I couldn't stop smiling and still can't!

Stuart Clayton, Jason Bowld, Adrian Erlandsson, Mem Jago, Jamie Hunt & Colin Doran, not to mention Ace off Skunk Anansie, all in 4 days - I can't recommend it enough. I can't remember the last time I played / did music for 5 or 6 hours a day for 4 days, it was worth it for that alone. Start Clayton is a fantastic bass player, thorough teacher and a very nice chap - thanks mate, I really enjoyed it. And to play a song with Jason Bowld, Adrian Erlandsson and Mem Jago - what an honour that was and by-Christ doesn't that Jason Bowld batter the kit some.

I would thoroughly recommend this course to anyone interested in rock & metal, I've been playing for almost 25 years and I got plenty out of it. If I've got 300 quid lying around next year, I might just do it again...

Massive thanks to Stuart and all at [url="http://www.bimm.co.uk/brighton/"]BIMM[/url] (can I have one of those Orange bass stacks please? - you don't need two) and thank [i]you[/i] for reading this far.

John.

Edited August 14, 2008 by johnnylager

[leonshelley01]

Sounds like a really good course. Might have to consider it myself for next year!

[Toasted]

Sounds great - some really good "musicians" there

[Galilee]

I'd love to do that.

[Stuart Clayton]

Thanks to Johnny for his kind words! I also really enjoyed doing the summer school, and it was a pleasure for me also to play with the rest of the tutors and guest artists - although we all teach in the same building we rarely get to interact, and in fact I hadn't even met any of the other tutors before Monday!

Johnny and the other 3 bass students all did brilliantly, and were a pleasure to teach. I think we all had a LOT of fun this week, and I look forward to doing it again another time.

I'm moving across to BIMM's new school in Bristol as of September as head of the Bass Dept - if there are any Basschatters that are heading to the school (or the Brighton branch), or thinking of going, please drop me a message - I'd love to hear from you!

Once again, well done Johnny, and if the other guys from the class have made it on here (as I suggested), well done to you all too!

Cheers
Stuart

[peted]

Wow! That sounds like great fun. I would have been overwhelmed to 'jam' with those musicians. Is that a regular course, or just a one-off special?

[kemra]

I think I've seen the advert for it 2 or 3 years running so it is more than likely an annual thing they do.

Infact I may find myself on this next year it sounds great fun and would be very handy indeed.