Drummers to the Rescue

As a new term approaches, I keep thinking about ways my drum lessons can benefit more people (alongside the obvious benefits of learning the most fun instrument ever, obviously!). I’m really keen to set up a scheme where, moving forwards, NHS staff/kids of NHS staff, get their lessons for free, or at least heavily discounted. We’re in harsh times and if those saving lives have one less thing to worry about (money), it’s actually the least we can do.
But, obviously, I need to still earn a living, too. So the plan is to set up some kind of bursary where people can chip in whenever they want to, basically a pot of money (it’ll be in a separate account to my normal one so that I can keep tabs on it) and whenever there’s money in there, the NHS parents/kids either get their lessons for free or discounted if there isn’t enough on that tab.
What do you think? Can this work? Who’s in? Message me!

Many thanks to the brilliant singer-songwriters who have sent over songs for our latest recording adventure. If you're a singer-songwriter who has a spare song that my drummers can gloriously drum all over, ping me a message. Lovely things are being achieved here for those who really need it :)

https://www.drummerstotherescue.co.uk/album-project/

What a day yesterday! 21 students (many of them playing their first ever gig), 21 songs, 2 hours. Backed by an amazing live band in a cracking a venue, we raised £325 for Macmillan Cancer Support. Not bad for an early afternoon gig, is it? :-)

SINGER-SONGWRITERS/BANDS WANTED!
So what we do is give drummers, new drummers, who are taking their first steps into the performing world, a chance to show the world what they can do - with a chosen charity benefiting. You know all that already, that's why Drummers to the Rescue exists. The gigs are happening and we've recorded one full album with a bunch of brilliant guest musicians that will be released on 29th April 2022.
That was a fun experiment, in which every student and musician randomly jammed to an agreed bpm and it's been mixed together with rather exciting results. The album is called: Hanging Out with Friends Having Adventures in Peculiar Rhythmical Dreams. It will raise money for The Trussell Trust.

Next up, we're going for something more...structured. What we need is songs. Original songs, 'donated' to us by the writer/artist/band. We need a minimum of 12 of them for this to work. A drumless song, that my students will write a part for, learn, and eventually record a part for. They'll rehearse it relentlessly in the lesson, they'll be creative, they'll learn how to write a drum part themselves - the experience will be invaluable for them. Eventually we'll have 12 songs, 12 different drummers, a unique and hopefully beautiful album that will be released for Macmillan Cancer Support.

If you're a songwriter who fancies submitting a track, drop Paul a line: [email protected]

Welcome to the Drummers to the Rescue page! I (Paul Richards, hello!) teach people how to play drums (Cambridge-based), I then stick them on stage playing gigs for charity and we record albums, too. So far, we've made plenty of cash for Macmillan Cancer Support, local food banks and those suffering in Ukraine. Much more in the pipeline, watch this space...great things can be achieved, and we can have a lot of fun hitting things whilst doing so! Main page: https://www.drummerstotherescue.co.uk/about/