Joe Crabtree's Blog

Vinnie Colaiuta lick in Chaka Khan soundcheck clip

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:09:20 +0000

Ok, I can’t post the video to this, but if you’ve seen the video of Vinnie messing around in a Chaka Khan soundcheck this is one of the licks he plays (at the 2:28 mark). It sounds a bit like … Continue reading →

Lessons from the road…

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:07:14 +0000

I’ve been recording every gig on this tour and listening to the recording on the journey to the next gig. I always find that when I’m disciplined enough to do this regularly I learn a lot about how I can … Continue reading →

Snare Sound

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:34:39 +0000

snare sound The above is a recording from my iPhone of how the top head of my snare drum is tuned. It’s a 6.5 x 14 Ian Paice signature model. I’ve been recording gigs on the tour and I was … Continue reading →

Thoughts on Foot Technique

admin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:47:16 +0000

One thing about touring is it gives me the opportunity to try out different techniques night after night and see how they affect the sound, accuracy, and ease of playing. So far on this tour I’ve been focussing mainly on … Continue reading →

I’m now a columnist in DrumHead magazine!

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:00:21 +0000

So I just received the new issue of DrumHead magazine which features the new regular column ‘Joe Knows’. This month it’s a 4 page article on quintuplet rolls Vinnie style! DrumHead has been my favourite drum magazine since I first saw … Continue reading →

The best metronome in the world! UPDATE – Now Available

admin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 01:08:32 +0000

Ok, so I’m a little biased as this is my baby. A few years ago, after taking some lessons in New York, I was inspired to create some software. I originally figured it would be for the iPhone but I … Continue reading →

Do You Ever Feel Like You’re Getting Worse?

admin — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:37:34 +0000

Have you ever felt that you’re getting worse as a drummer? That you’ve put in all this work and yet you were a better player a year ago? Peter Rabbit When I was 5 years old, at nursery school, I … Continue reading →

Drum groove from the new Wishbone Ash album

admin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:17:56 +0000

I’m pleased to announce that Elegant Stealth, the new album from Wishbone Ash, is now available! You can get it here :http://wishboneash.bigcartel.com/ I’m pretty happy with the final product. There are some great songs and I felt like I got … Continue reading →

Hand Technique Part 8

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:00:51 +0000

In this video I”m working on finger control, allowing the stick to bounce, and accuracy with switching between different rates. I use PYRAMID to help me gauge my accuracy. I’ve started a Facebook page for PYRAMID if you want to … Continue reading →

What to practice…

admin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:09:35 +0000

I just got back from a month long UK tour. I haven’t done any practice at a kit since before we started – though I’ve had plenty of time on the pad warming up and working on hand technique. I … Continue reading →