Martyn James

I hail from Devonshire originally, having first picked up the sticks at the age of 13. This was inspired by the spur-of-the-moment purchase of an old Premier kit from a dodgy second-hand shop, and put an end to 7 years at war with the piano. Five years of diverse musical experiences followed, playing in a trad jazz band, a big band, a pit orchestra for several musicals, a rock ‘n’ roll band, a pop covers band and, of course, a heavy metal band (mandatory for all kit drummers in the 80s). Formal tuition followed a fairly traditional route, using the Guildhall School of Music. After moving to Bath in 1987 I played in a series of popular local bands at many of the well-known venues, including rock and funk bands plus local indie legends the almost-famous Grandma’s Hamster. During the nineties, I made a lot of the musical friends and contacts I now have the fortune of working with. The bulk of my playing nowadays is with legendary 80s tribute beauties Rubix Groove, and Dudlow Joe (boogie, blues, Nyorleans Funk). I also regularly dep for many local bands getting regular calls due to my years of experience, and reputation for solid, accurate playing. As a teacher, I run private lessons from my fully-equipped studio in Bath drawing on the many years of experience playing with other musicians in many environments. I focus on the application of creative and musical thinking to grooves in a song situation, and lessons tend to centre around playing with backing tracks. I also coach more advanced players on specific areas they may be having problems with, and take younger players through the Trinity Guildhall examination process. Lessons are predominantly 1-1, although I have run both group and school workshops on occasion. Between 2008 and 2011 I was Course Director for Rhythmfest (formerly the Bath Rhythm Course) after having been involved for about 5 years. This was one of the biggest education events of it’s type in Europe with the list of tutors and artists reading like a who’s who of drumming.