Coastal Drum Academy

Every good drum studio needs a kitty standing watch over the secret rudiments

Hey Port Macquarie,

Just a heads up that our teaching rosters are currently full at the moment and the area is currently suffering from a severe shortage of qualified & quality private music tutors across all instruments.

Our current Monday-Friday books are at or beyond capacity, but we can and will make exceptions for professional touring drummers passing through the area looking for one-off private sessions on the weekends regarding technique and other related minutiae.

We really wish we could accomodate everyone but right now we simply just do not have any more available slots.

If we can add any more we will definitely get the word out ASAP.

Hit ‘em Hard,

Mark

It’s a great day for jazz at The Bowl Port Macquarie for our final Sunday session before we take a three month break over Winter. We’re busting out some spicy new charts & arrangements this arvo from 1-4 PM out in the Terrace Deck if you’re in the mood for some sweet tunes and a few cold ones xoxo

Hey Coastal Drum Academy Fam,

I know we keep things really quiet around here because we find self-promotion fairly distasteful (but happy to humble-brag that our reputation speaks for itself), but with the 2024 school calendar about to kick off I thought I should reach out and let everyone know some pretty exciting studio news.

As many of you know I (Mark) have had to severely cut back on my after-school teaching due to my drumline and school commitments, but we are happy to announce that we now have two amazing student assistants who are able to offer after-school tuition for those who would like to get their child started on the path to learning drums and percussion.

Michael Nixon (pictured right), is a 2022 graduate of MacKillop College and is a 6x national drumline champion as a member of the Port Macquarie Vanguard. He was captain of the drumline during his senior year and earned an encore nomination for his Music 1 HSC while and also completing his Grade 7 RockSchool studies.

Michael was my assistant drumline instructor for both the Port Macquarie Brumbies and Port Macquarie Vanguard drumlines this past year as well working full-time as the MacKillop College Music Trainee. He began teaching in my studio last year and is accepting students for Monday afternoons.

Callum Pender (pictured left), is a 2023 graduate of MacKillop College and is a 4x national drumline champion as a member of the Port Macquarie Vanguard. He was also captain of the drumline in his senior year and in addition to completing his Grade 7 RockSchool Exam studies he was the 2021 Marching Snare Drum Champion of Australia as well as second in the state in Music 1 for his HSC.

I am very proud of both Michael and Callum and happy to vouch for their skills and teaching acumen. As a studio I make sure we strive to focus of the core fundamentals:

reading, counting, listening, & feeling

I don't care what order you put them in or prioritize them, you need to take care of the lot or you will find yourself sorely lacking.

I am always happy to chat drums & percussion so if you are interested in getting your child off to the best start don't hesitate to get in touch.

Yours In Drumming,

Mark

Congrats to all 16 of our Coastal Drum Academy students who sat their AMEB Rockschool / RSL Awards exams today. Each and every one of these students has put in a lot of time and effort into working on their graded material and we could not be any more proud of them.

Massive thanks to St Joseph's Regional College for allowing us to use their amazing facilities, and a huge thank you to all the mums, dads, carers, & guardians for their support of the arts.

Onwards & upwards xoxo

Mark

Massive congrats to all 21 of our 2021 AMEB Rockschool candidates who sat their exams yesterday and today. These students have had a challenging year and their exams were delayed but they remained focused throughout the year and impressed the examiner immensely with their talent, hard work, & musicality. These fine young men and women fill my days with joy and laughter and watching them learn & grow is truly special.

Well done to each and every student and thanks to all the parents for their support. A special note of appreciation to St Joseph's Regional College for hosting us the past two days and for opening up their facilities to these future rockstars from across the Hastings District.

Hit 'em hard xoxo

The latest DIY music clip from Royal Chant features Port Macquarie Vanguard's 3x national champion superstars Harry Amon, Michael Nixon, Callum Pender, & Nick Horder adding their skills to "Full-Throttle Starling" from RC's 7th album, Blank Verse

Royal Chant - Full Throttle Starling full-throttle starling running on empty dreams in a suitcase handful of playthings Don’t wanna to be forgotten tie me up in knots inside hold me tight agains...

Yesterday I had 17 of my students sit their Rockschool exams and I could not be any more proud of these whipper-snappers.

Daisy keeping an eye and ear on things in the studio. Elliott (the drummer, not our cat) hard at work for his Grade 3 RockSchool exam.