Introducing me – Drummer, DJ and creative all-rounder

Hello, if you have been sent this link it is because I have approached you about any work vacancies you may have for me at this time or in the near future.

I am looking for work that will compliment and enhance my playing, exposure and help to set me up in my new city. My freelance experience is probably more suitable to explain what I could help you achieve in your business, rather than a formal CV.

Having recently moved to London I have under my belt just under 20 years experience playing and performing behind the drum kit. I have minimal session experience, but have a great ear/feel combination, am proficient in many styles, and would love to be considered for audition on any drum tracks you need. I have a basic grounding in recording set-up, and am extremely willing to learn. I’m fit and relatively strong and am used to lumping heavy stuff around. I have a clear and sensible telephone manner, good sense of humour, and am a good judge of character.

As a DJ I am a vinyl specialist with a versatile collection, and I have experience of Traktor, Sorato and Ableton Live. I have been part of the most popular and longest-running monthly Saturday club night at Mr Wolfs, Bristol – PICK UP THE PIECES, under the name The Blengineer. This night also happened regularly at the Big Chill Bar, as well as another night our collective put on – GERT DOWN. The following link presents my ‘Big Hig Mix’, which got me through to the DJ final in the Big Chill Festival competition, summer 2011, in which my band also competed.

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More Links
- PUTP
- GERT DOWN
- MIX CLOUD

Along with the above I also bring with me a useful musical contact list.

My other freelance work entails copywriting, editing and social media projects. This may be unrelated, but perhaps presents another way in which my skills could be of use while working for you; simply updating promotions/events you are involved with, for instance. My client list can be viewed from my COPYRIDER website.
I am qualified to degree level in English and Creative Writing.

If you have any openings that could make use of me in any of the above fields, I’d love to hear from you. I will consider partial payment in practice time/space on your premises, and can leave my Mapex kit to be used there if appropriate.

Many thanks for reading. I look forward to hearing from you.

Dylan

Custom/trademark drum lesson

Music is not all about regularity and rehearsed-ness. It’s often more the feel of the moment that creates the best music, rather than the reward from playing it again Sam time over (which is no less important, and has its place perhaps more often in successful musicianship).

In this vain, this post is a draft of an idea for a drum lesson, perhaps number twenty or thirty for any given student. Pretend you want to play drums (if you don’t already). In this lesson we’ll use the internet as a resource; specifically a Youtube playlist I have compiled. Only four videos, but four which display the expressiveness and flair of some of the most pioneering and gifted musicians.

The objectives of this lesson: to integrate your own feel into these songs, to surprise yourself with your own interpretation, to witness top class players’ emotion on stage (piano and bass as well as drums).

It doesn’t matter if you aren’t a proficient jazz player; it doesn’t even matter if you have never played a typical jazz beat. I will play you each of these videos and you will play what first comes into your head. Just try to play whatever you think fits well with the music. If when you try again you play it differently that’s fine. It’s all about the expression of the moment.

Undoubtedly Thelonious Monk never jived his right leg quite like that before or after that performance; Duke Ellington is relying on communication with his band at a critical change in theirs. Mark Fletcher removes the snare on his drum due to bass hum because the bass is the prominent instrument here and drums provide a subtle accompaniment. And no doubt Gregg Bissonette relies on his confident gift of the gab rather than a script to record these video lessons.

Understanding the importance of knowing how to preempt the right way of doing things on the fly is a key factor to this lesson. Carrying this out, like so many things, requires many hours’ practice.

Now create a 4-video playlist of your own

Vinyl and DVDs for sale

DVDS

SOMMERSBY – RICHARD GERE/JODIE FOSTER

SHE KNEW HIS FACE. HIS TOUCH. HIS VOICE. SHE KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM … BUT THE TRUTH

CHAIN REACTION – KEANU REEVES/MORGAN FREEMAN/RACHEL WEISZ

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE FUGITIVE

IN THE ELECTRIC MIST – TOMMY LEE JONES/JOHN GOODMAN

WILL SECRETS OF A SERIEL KILLER FINALLY BE UNEARTHED…

FAIR GAME – WILLIAM BALDWIN/CINDY CRAWFORD

BUCKLE UP FOR THRILL UPON THRILL…

NELL MCANDREW – PEAK ENERGY DVD

BLAST THOSE POUNDS AND GET IN SHAPE!

VANTAGE POINT – FORREST WHITAKER SIGOURNEY WEAVER DENNIS QUAID

A SLICK EXPLOSIVE THRILLER THAT BUILDS TO AN EXCITING CLIMAX

COACH CARTER – SAMUEL L JACKSON

IT BEGINS ON THE STREETS. IT ENDS HERE

BASED ON TRUTH, THIS FILM DEPICTS THE URBAN HANGUPS AND HARDSHIPS OF A DETERMINED BASKETBALL TEAM WITH JACKSON CALLING THE TIME-OUTS

THE WHOLE NINE YARDS – BRUCE WILLIS/MATHEW PERRY

IN THE HEART OF SUBURBIA, A HITMAN WITH HEART HAS JUST MOVED IN

LADY IN THE WATER

FROM WRITER-DIRECTOR OF UNBREAKABLE, SIGNS, THE SIXTH SENSE

CON AIR – EXPLOSIVE CLASSIC WITH NICK CAGE, JOHN CUSACK AND JOHN MALKOVICH

RUSH HOUR – JACKIE CHAN/CHRIS TUCKER

THE FASTEST HANDS IN THE EAST VS THE BIGGEST MOUTH IN THE WEST

HAIRSPRAY – TRAVOLTA AND WALKEN WHAT A TREAT!!

DRIVING MISS DAISY – MORGAN FREEMAN JESSICA TANDY DAN AYKROYD

TRAINING DAY – DENZEL WASHINGTON/ETHAN HAWKE

COOL AND EXCITING – ACADEMY AWARD WINNER WASHINGTON 2001

east meets west – AMUSICAL CELEBRATION

FEATURING KODO DRUMMERS OF JAPAN, DONAL LUNNEY AND COOLFIN, SHARON SHANNON, JEAN BUTLER

LIVE DRUMMING PERFORMANCE DOCUMENTARY

VINYL

12″ Vinyl Blue – Way Out West

12” Vinyl Armageddon Drum and bass

1999 Renegade records

DJ Reality – Detroit Blues

Konflict – Beckoning

Hard Hands

12” Vinyl Manic Street Preachers La Triesse Derea

Columbia 1993

La Triesse Derera (Scream to a sigh)
Patrick Bateman
Repeat
Tennesee

12” Vinyl – Sunglasses Ron Feel da beat

feel da beat
thank you mama

white

12” Vinyl Sartorello Move baby move

1996 Multiply records

12” vinyl 4 hero cookin up ya brain

Reinforced records

cooking up ya brain
where’s the boy?

12” Vinyl Calabash – Obia / Every Little ting

Infiltration records

12” Vinyl Degrees of Motion feat Biti – soul freedon free your soul

1992 Esquire records

soul freedon free your soul
do you want it right now
shine on

12” vinyl e-smoove feat. Voices of freedom

2000 reverb records

lift your hands up

mindchime mix / soulforce remix garage head vocal

12” vinyl ANTHEMS 2 88-92

2 plates

quadrophonia – quadrophonia
bombscare – bad mice

Compounded – Edge 1
Hypnosis – psychotropic

kaos – doctor baker
go – moby

just let go – petra and co
stratosphere – trigger

12” vinyl The Urbanites Smiling

2000 Well Built records

Smiling
I’m smiling (brasstooth remix)

12” vinyl B.B.E Hypnose

Triangle Records

Hypnose
seven days and one week

12” vinyl 2′s company – expressions/desire

E1 recordings

expressions
desire

12” vinyl Harpoon – digital islands/1000 reasons

1996 zoom records

digital islands
1000 reasons
the abyss

12” vinyl WINX – don’t laugh

1995 xl recordings

contains mixes by junior vasquez, josh wink, tony de vit, metenso

12” vinyl Tommy and Karim – Balance

After midnight records

Balance
Lost love

12” vinyl ZOUK presents Transcendental experience

1996 React records

Vertigo
Viscious

12” vinyl BluelightFever – DJ

2002 S:alt records

DJ
ebola tombola

12” VINYL C & C MUSIC FACTORY – JUST A TOUCH OF LOVE (EVERYDAY)

1991 COLUMBIA

JUST A TOUCH OF LOVE (EVERYDAY) GARAGE AND DUB MIXES

12” VINYL MONIE LOVE VS ADEVA RING MY BELL

1990 COOLTEMPO RECORDS

TOUCHDOWN MIX
UPPERCUT MIX
L-PLATE MIX

12” VINYL COMING BACK FOR MORE LA MIX

1990 A & M RECORDS

MIX, INSTRUMENTAL AND ACAPELLA

12” VINYL BANCO DE GAIA ILOVE BABY CHEESY

1990 GECKO RECORDS

DUB PISTOLS MIX AND WAYWARD SOUL MIX

12” vinyl SHAMEN – MOVE ANY MOUNTAIN

1991 ONE LITTLE INDIAN

MOVE ANY MOUNTAIN
PROGEN

12” VINYL SILVAQUEST VOL 5

FEAT CHANTAY SAVAGE

I WILL SURVIVE (THE WIDEBOYS REMIXES)

12” VINYL ARTFUL DODGER AND ROMINA JOHNSON MOVIN TOO FAST

1999 XL RECORDS

PUSSY 2000 AND BUMP AND FLEX REMIXES

12” VINYL THE TYRREL CORPORATION

YOU’RE NOT HERE THE MIXES – TWO PLATES

COOLTEMPO RECORDS

12” VINYL MOONCHILD V.O.A.T

1995 ULTRAVINYL RECORDS

VARIATIONS ON A THEME
A MERE BAGATELLE

12” VINYL THE MALTESE MASSIVE HI ENERGY

KOOLWORLD RECORDS

HI ENERGY
ULTRA NOISE

12” VINYL ARTHUR PLAYS WITH ANIMALS

2 PLATES INCLUDING BABYLON BASS MIX

12” VINYL CAMEO WORD UP

1986 CLUB RECORDS

WORD UP
CANDY

12” VINYL DOPE SMUGGLAZ DOUBLE DOUBLE DUTCH

1999 MUSHROOM RECORDS

12” VINYL SONIQ THE REMIX

12” VINYL GETO BOYS YHE WORLD IS A GHETTO

NOO TRIBE (VIRGIN)

12” VINYL ANTIC THE ULTIMATE (REMIX)

1996 HOOJ CHOONS

12” VINYL ROUTE 66 INTERNATIONAL REVOLUTION

STRESS RECORDS

4 MIXES, TWO PLATES VGC

12” VINYL TIN TIN OUT ADVENTURES IN TIN TIN OUT LAND

1996 VC RECORDS – 2 PLATES

12” VINYL LOWER EAST SOUNDZ FEAT. ELECUA

AN URBAN CONCEPT EP

1994 OXYGEN MUSIC

12” VINYL LOVEBEADS FEAT. COURTNEY GREY

THIS IS THE ONLY WAY

INC FARLEY AND HELLER MIX

LIQUID GROOVE RECORDS

12” VINYL DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS YOU MAKE ME WANNA

WHITE

12” VINYL THE SONAR CIRCLE FREE SPIRIT

2000 REINFORCED RECORDS

FREE SPIRIT
IN DEEP
IN DEEPER

12” VINYL THE ARCHITEX – THE CONTINUATION

1996 BASEMENT RECORDS

SOMEWHERE
SECRETS

12”M VINYL BABY DOO YUM YUM

1996 TRUELOVE ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

YUM YUM
BIRDY NUM-NUM

12” vinyl majestic music PAKA – PAERISH

1999 MAJESTIC

PAKA – PERISH
DOTCOM
COMBEAT

12” VINYL BT – FLAMING JUNE CHICANE MIX

ORIGINAL AND CHICANE REMIX

1997 WARNER

12” VINYL F.O.S. PROJECT – CHECK IT!

Z-BIAS REMIX

12” VINYL MAD BASTARD – I AM THE FUTURE

DE JA VU
WHITE

12” VINYL RENAISSANCE ORIGIN – -KILLING ME

FEAT. LYNDSEY OLARD

ORIGINAL AND ORTUS REMIX

2002 RENAISSANCE RECORDS

12” vinyl OXYGEN – AM I ON YOUR MIND

FEAT. ANDREA BRITTEN

ORIGINAL/D. RAMIREZ REMIX

SWITCH RECORDS

12” VINYL ADAMSKI – KILLER

FEAT. SEAL

ALSO BASSLINE SAVED MY LIFE
IDREAM OF YOU

1990 MCA RECORDS

12” VINYL ZOOT WOMAN – IT’S AUTOMATIC

REMIXES BY THEMROC AND PAPER FACES

2003 WALL OF SOUND

12” VINYL SYLK 130 – LAST NIGHT A DJ SAVED MY LIFE

1998 SONY
FRANCOIS K REMIXES

12” VINYL TIGA – YOU GONNA WANT ME

2005 PIAS RECORDINGS

HARDLY PLAYED

12” VINYL Ibreaks COMP

SO FAR SO GOOD VOLM 1

ZILLY ZAUZZAGE
MORE TEKILA

12” VINYL ANGEL LEE – WHAT’S YOUR NAME?

INC. ARTFUL DODGER REMIX

2000 WARNER

12” VINYL SOAPY – HORNY AS FUNK

INC. TALLM PAUL MIX

12” VINYL AFRIKA BAMBAATAA VS DANMASS

ELECTRO FUNK EXPRESS

1999 DUST 2 DUST

12” VINYL HOOJ CHOONS MR & MR SMITH GOTTA GET LOOSE

TRILOGY/MUDMEN REMIXES

1996 HOOJ CHOONS

12” VINYL PROTOTYPE – INSIDIOUS

1999 HIGHER SELF RECORDS

INSIDIOUS
FORTUNE COOKIE

12” VINYL KINETICO – VOLTAGE/ESITIV

1996 GROUNDGROOVE

12” VINYL GODFATHER

FUNK POWER

12” BOUNCE RECODINGS DJ UNKNOWN

DJ UNKNOWN/DJ HEATWAVE –

BIG BAAD BAASS
SCRATCH SAMPLES
RIGHT AND EXACT

12” VINYL EURYTHMICS – REVENGE

ALBUM

12” VINYL JUNGLE BROS WHAT YOU WAITIN

1990 WCA INTERNATIAL

12” VINYL TODD EDWARDS SAVED MY LIFE

FULL FREQUENCY RANGE FFRR RECORDS

3 PLATES INC. DJ SNEAK’S FLASHBACK MIX

GRAB A BARGAIN AND RAVE OUT

12” VINYL HIGH DENSITY – JUNO

HIGH DENSITY RECORDS 1999

Listen to this wisdom from Tony Allen –

‘I look forward. I never preview nothing, with my music. The day I decide, the day is there. If I decide I like something then I do it. There is a song on Secret Agent called Celebration. Celebrate means celebrate everything, not just Christmas, or marriage, or anything it means celebrate all the time. Why should we not celebrate every day? Every day. You see, because every time you can go to sleep and wake up the next day, that’s something to celebrate. Because whatever you do is whatever you do. Simple as that.’

LEJOG The Big Ride 2010 – Locations and Dates

17/09/2010 Lands End

18/09/2010 Bodmin

19/09/2010 Tedburn St Mary (near Okehampton)

20/09/2010 Street

21/09/2010 Bristol

22/09/2010 Hereford

23/09/2010 Albrighton (near Shrewsbury )

24/09/2010 Croston (near Chorley )

25/09/2010 Windermere

26/09/2010 Longtown

27/09/2010 Lanark

28/09/2010 Luss

29/09/2010 Ballachulish

30/09/2010 Drumnadrochit (near Loch Ness)

01/10/2010 Brora

02/10/2010 John O Groats

We walked the Sunwalk

Hello All

We successfully walked the half marathon yesterday with no problems and lots of smiles. The weather was perfect and, having started with a sprained ankle Lucy actually thought it felt better after a 13.5 mile walk! Meena would’ve been very proud of all of us I think. I felt quite emotional crossing the finish line, which was quickly erased while some squeaky clean band sung ‘So glad you made it …’ very very loud!

I know that the total funds raised by Team Raz well exceeded quadruple figures. For my part, I’d like to thank all of you who ensured that I have almost reached my target. Your names appear here SPONSORS

I really can’t express how it made me feel to see the numbers start to shoot up almost as I’d posted the page. I know that Meena would have shed tears with me had she been here to witness it, and my thanks for your support and generosity go far beyond the realm of any thanks I’ve ever given before. It was a day of renewed reflection, of course, and I’ve realised that the good and positive things that people can do for one another in this life can make me feel as emotional as the bad. Thank you, thank you, thank you, and THANK YOU on behalf of organisations like Penny Brohn Cancer Care and Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the people who they help to survive.

There are some of you who have expressed a sincere wish to sponsor me, but either haven’t got round to it yet or wanted to do it the old fashioned paper way. This is not a problem, because the facility to donate is open for a long while yet. If you can do it online, here’s the page SPONSOR ME

Just click on SPONSOR ME, and if you would prefer to sponsor me in person let me know when I can bring the form to you. Remember, the target was what I felt to be a potentially high but acheievable number. To exceed it would be amazing.

Wishing you a happy summer’s evening,

Dylan

Time for some Blengineering

Welcome to The Blengineer’s web area. This is where I’ll be updating my musical movements, and just saying hello every so often.

Today, another very hot and bright one, I am quite pleased at having created my first poster for our regular monthly night, Pick Up the Pieces, this Saturday 26th June 2010, 11PM-4AM down at Mr Wolfs, St. Stephen’s Street, Bristol. Have a look at it here
Poster

Rob from Russian Records will be helping me out on the decks. We’ve got our work cut out as it’s Glastonbury weekend – fierce competition!