Drum

I am Andy Bott professional drummer/drum teacher based in Sheffield UK. I am fully DBS checked and work in schools across Sheffield, National music studios across the UK. I also have a private fully equipped 'drum studio' in north Sheffield (S6 area) very near The Super Tram stop 'Middlewood' on the Wadsley Park Village Estate.

I have been playing and obsessing with the drums since the age of seven (1978) starting out on pots and pans, getting onto the drums and excelling through rock, funk and Jazz at an early age with my tutor Maurice Fogg.

As a youngster I played in many theatre productions and attended the same school as Rick Allen (Def Leppard) I shared many of the same teachers whom also taught and inspired me.

I played in many local Sheffield based bands and venues before attaining my first record contact at the age of seventeen along side writing, recording and playing live nationally appearing on TV and Radio weekly.

I started teaching the drums in my late teens 1988 privately and across schools, colleges & special schools able to tailor each lesson in line with the national curriculum.

In the late eighties & early nineties I was a signed musician working  with  several record labels, management deals and publishing deals working in mainly rock, punk and indie bands.

I also worked as a session drummer playing as a replacement drummer for many touring bands and I was lucky to have toured with; The Levellers, RadioHead, Soul II Soul, Nick Turner and the all stars (Hawkwind), The Bootleg Beatles, Carter USM, The Blue Aeroplanes, Hue and Cry, and even 'the one and only' Chesney Hawks to name a few.

I was so busy that when asked by my at the at time music manager 'Marcus Russell' (Ignition management) to  audition with his unknown band, 'Oasis' I just didn't have the time, luckily Paul Weller's drummer: Steve White recommended his brother whom came to the rescue and saved me from a life of working with Liam Gallagher.

I love teaching the drums of many different styles to my many students of all ages and abilities and I still love playing the drums in a live and recording setting, as often as I can.

This year I have played at SilverStone F1 Race Track, Headlined the 'Bournemouth Beach Air' show to 120,000 crowd,  Travelled to Dubai opening a chain of prestigious hotels as well as performing all over the UK at music festivals and large venues and I even played on the same stage as The Beatles.

My drumming career of 40 years has gone from strength to strength. Drumming is great fun, easy to get into and completely addictive, so you either want to learn the drums from scratch or maybe you have been playing a while and have reached a stale point in your playing and are looking to improve your technique understanding and ability.... well you're at the right place.

My ethic for teaching and learning is that no matter where you are in the scale of your drumming development there is always more to learn and more to explore and more to practise.

We are all different in our musical tastes, abilities, goals and everybody learns in different ways, this is where I excel in ensuring you learn in line with your learning style and ability. I teach at your level and your needs remain my main focus tailoring each lesson to your ability and musical tastes.

I have had the pleasure of meeting some of the most amazing drummers on the planet. This has been liberating from my main drum tutor and jazz genius; Maurice Fogg to Jo Jo Mayer, Thomas Lang, Akira Jimbo, Steve White and the endless drummers to numerous to mention that I have toured with.

I still feel there is more to learn from so many amazing drummers. This thought has carried me around the world teaching/playing/supporting amazing bands and learning from all these great drummers.

I would also like to thank Karl Vanden Bossche (The Gorillas, Joss Stone, Lighthouse family) for his words of encouragement in my teaching. Also big shout out to Ralph Rolle for his company whilst on tour with Niles Rodgers - "Yes we will do a drum clinic together at some point"

I also recently took an online lessons with the master drummer, 'Doctor Throwdown' - John Wooton and my mind is still hurting from new avenues of drumming to explore, his advice for any drummer "Slow it down, until you can throw it down" wise and tested words .

Developing and listening to music and appreciating the musicianship is the drive that keeps me pushing to develop my experience and pass onto other drummers. Many of my drum students have gone onto either playing the drums professionally or semi professionally.