![gretna percussion studio set mckenzie gretna percussion studio set mckenzie](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2D2XMP2/prime-minister-john-major-ian-lang-left-and-scottish-secretary-michael-forsyth-right-on-the-campaign-trail-in-gretna-green-today-thursday-photo-by-chris-baconpa-2D2XMP2.jpg)
Yes it does but you know what? I mainly acquired that through listening and playing along to thousands of my favourite records. That requires a lot of technique, doesn’t it? It was him, followed by Harvey Mason who’s another one of my main influences.įunk, the style of music you’re probably most known for playing, is all about playing tight. What really got to me though was how easily he played his chops so technique-wise I think I adapted a lot of his style and still have that in me. It still never got me away from playing the left handed set up. I actually watched him play with the Mahavishnu Orchestra at one of those Old Grey Whistletest programs back in the day and he played open handed. Billy Cobham was one of my favourites when I was younger. I picked up technique just by watching my favourite drummers. I can’t explain it though, I just thought that’s the way to play. It was just a natural thing and immediately felt right. You naturally taught yourself to play left-handed, even though you would have watched most drummers play the other way around. He was a great all-round drummer and taught me some good basics. It was after I bought my first drum kit that I had my first lesson with an American guy called Rusty who lived in Wembley. Up till then you were completely self-taught? When I turned 18 I was working at Marks and Spencer earning £9 for half a day, doing extra hours just to earn more money, to then buy my first drum kit: a 1964 Slingerland set, black sparkle, for £400. All the years up till then I never had a drum kit because my mum refused to buy me one. At that point I thought I’d just have to take it a bit more seriously. That was great and it was sort of my first taste and experience of jazz/funk. We didn’t do many shows but we rehearsed really hard and wrote a lot of original compositions. Then I joined a jazz/funk band called ‘Transients’. The band dispersed just after I went to college. That was all while you were still at school? I joined them and we stayed together for about three years. She was already doing music from a young age. The guys really enjoyed it and gave me nice feedback that kept me going.Ī year later a friend of mine at school asked me to join her band ‘Pure and Simple’. He invited me to come to a rehearsal of his reggae band where I got on the drums and played along with them. It was a weird way to practise but it did the trick. Back then I used to play on this rectangular chair we had: the right knee would be the hi-hat, the seat of the chair would be the snare and the kick was just me stomping on the floor. I didn’t really think anything of it though, I was just playing along to some music. My sister’s boyfriend at the time was a reggae keyboard player and heard me play along to some reggae tunes. I wasn’t really seriously into drumming until I was maybe 13. That was really my first experience playing the drums. My mate Mario was actually the drummer of the band but we swapped around a lot. When I was seven we moved from Islington to Tottenham and my new friends there decided to form a band. I just naturally fell into it and really enjoyed it.
![gretna percussion studio set mckenzie gretna percussion studio set mckenzie](https://iiif.lib.ecu.edu/cantaloupe/iiif/2/00015315_0069.jp2/full/2000,/0/default.jpg)
After listening to some rock track on the radio I just picked them up and started banging them on the floor. I picked up my first set of “sticks” at the age of six actually it was a pair of wooden coat hangers. You started playing the drums at a very young age. I caught up with Derrick at the UK Drum Show to talk about his musical upbringing, his passion for dance music and his way onto the drum chair of the UK’s most successful jazz-funk band ever. Many see his driving grooves as a major part of the band and the fact that he is celebrating 25 years with the band this year speaks for itself. Nowadays Derrick is mainly known and loved as the drummer for Jamiroquai.
#GRETNA PERCUSSION STUDIO SET MCKENZIE PROFESSIONAL#
This not only taught him the ‘do’s and dont’s’ of professional gigging, refined his drumming skills and introduced him to electronics but also revealed that the success of a band can quite often be down to band internal politics. Soon after school he started touring with various bands. One drummer at the very top of the funk game is UK’s very own Derrick McKenzie.īorn and bred in London, Derrick discovered his love for rhythm at a very young age and mainly taught himself by watching his favourite drummers. Track listing Īll songs written by Gary Strater, Bruce Botts and George Harp, except where noted.Funk is all about tight drumming, and while many try, only a few really ever master it. It was very well received by fans and critics alike. It featured members from all eras of the group, as well as artwork by Annie Haslam and Ed Unitsky. Song of Times was released in 2007, three years after the death of bassist and founding member Gary Strater.