news

,

Simon Phillips Masterclass Review

,

Few drummers in the history of rock and roll have appeared on as many albums as the great Simon Phillips. Simon presented a masterclass as Philadelphia Drum Shop in Fishtown this week, and it was a 3 hour tour de force. Simon has recorded with Pete Townshend, Brian Eno, The Who, Toto, Phil Manzanera, Mike Oldfield, Judas Priest, Hiromi, and many more, not to mention a prolific recording career as a bandleader.

I will have comprehensive review with video coming soon, but for now, here are a few pictures of one of the greatest drummers in rock and roll history.

, ,

grooveKSQ Mission Statement 2020

, ,
grooveKSQ Mission Statement 2020

2019 has been a tremendous year. Two fantastic student recitals, a livestream series (grooveLIVE), many, many lessons taught, and our students showed a lot of growth.  

Much more programming will unfold in this upcoming year - right now there are about thirty six (36!!) events planned for 2020. The next phrase for grooveKSQ is to elevate the musical arts landscape in Kennett and beyond.

, , ,

GrooveLIVE Season 2!

, , ,

One of the primary functions of grooveKSQ is to support independent musicians and artists. We are pleased to announce the first two performers of the second season grooveLIVE, which is a high quality video stream you can watch right here at the website, on our Facebook page, or on our YouTube channel.

Season Two of grooveLIVE will occur on the following dates:

  • January 27, 2020

  • February 10, 2020

  • February 24, 2020

  • March 10, 2020

  • March 22, 2020

  • April 6, 2020

A couple of adjustments from the pilot episodes we ran last year: the livestreams are moved to Monday nights, right before Monday Night Football, with a 7:30pm start and a 30 minute program. You’ll notice that the second event in March falls on Sunday, March 22, 2020. There will be much more detail about that event as we get closer. Expect an announcement right after Christmas 2019.

Our first two performers are both excellent:

Paul Wilkinson on January 27th

Nicole Zell and Chris Sprousta on February 10th

Paul Wilkinson (Photo Credit Ron Adelberg Photgraphy)

Paul Wilkinson (Photo Credit Ron Adelberg Photgraphy)

Nicole Zell and Chris Sprousta

Nicole Zell and Chris Sprousta

,

Student Spotlight: Meet Bob

,
Student Spotlight: Meet Bob

One thing that surprises people about grooveKSQ is that our students aren’t just kids or high school students. In fact, quite a few adults and experienced players drop in to work on specific skills, or have a chops session (basically an intense rudimental workout to improve speed/dexterity), or just play double drums with me and have fun.

Meet Bob.

,

This Is Your Brain On Drums: Clinical Study Reveals How Playing Drums Increases Brain Development

,
This Is Your Brain On Drums: Clinical Study Reveals How Playing Drums Increases Brain Development

A recent article caught our attention, and that was a clinical study of the enhancements in brain activity and development of drummers. Yes, drummers specifically were studied, rather than all musicians. Typically you see a more generalized study group from across all instruments.

To paraphrase the conclusion of the study, students who are trained drummers from an early age develop more communication structures across the corpus callosum, which is the structure that separates the right and left hemispheres of the brain. The right side of your brain tends to control your artistic and creative ability, and your left side of your brain controls your analytical ability. Drummers who start training early can more effectively simultaneously engage both their right side and left sides of their brains across the board.