I’m publishing some of the rough drafts of pages from my forthcoming book, “Life’s Little Drumming Lessons”, Chapter: Sticking Theory and the Prime Rudiments.
Read moreLeedy & Ludwig Zebra finish
The ad is from the Sept. 10, 1952 issue of Downbeat Magazine
Read moreCharlie Watts :-(
When I received my first snare drum in the sixth grade I played along to the 45 rpm single record of “Satisfaction” incessantly. I still, to this day, think it is the best rock and roll drum track ever recorded…and it’s nothing but quarter notes on the snare drum and bass drum! Unrelenting, pile driving, perfect timing, tempo like a metronome, simple quarter notes. It’s so simple that you wait in anticipation of a little variation -expecting him to break face. But NO.
Read moreNNS
Nashville Number System Book by George Lawrence
Three songs that accompany this book.
Study drums with George Lawrence
I teach at at Memphis Drum Shop and at my home in East Memphis. Lessons cost $30 per half hour, and $60 per hour. Grade school and college students usually take half hour lessons. Pros and working drummers usually take hour lessons. I teach remotely via skype, zoom, face time, etc.
Read moreLife's Little Drumming Lessons - Constantly Re-Inventing One's Self in the Drumming Business
I was 63 and not happy about my life or career. I sat out on my back deck one afternoon to have a long talk with myself about how I wanted to spend the next phase of my life. I needed to re-invent myself again – and it needed to be a major re-invention.
Read moreLife's Little Drumming Lessons
I love hearing drummers’ “origin stories”. We all have one; that story that we tell over and over again about the first time we played a drum, or watched someone else play a drum or a drum set that inspired us and gave us the “drum fever”. This is mine.
Read moreLife's Little Drumming Lessons
Life's Little Drumming Lessons: Some random thoughts that are slowly coagulating into a book I hope to publish one day.
Read moreSubbing a gig with a Nashville Recording Artist
09/1999 - I do a lot of work as a "sub"; a pinch hitter". I and a pool of other drummers that I share gigs with in Nashville have honed certain preparation skills to the point that we can guarantee an artist that we can come in with little or no rehearsal and play the parts right, catch all the cues and make the artist feel at ease. There are two gigs that I am presently preparing for. One is a Tanya Tucker gig that I am subbing for fellow drummer Steve Ebe who also plays with Kim Richie, Webb Wilder and used to play for the Dixie Chicks. The other gig is subbing for Brian Prout, drummer for the country band Diamond Rio, while he is recuperating from scheduled carpal tunnel surgery.
Read moreA day in the life of a touring drummer
George Lawrence at Poco concert . Mid 2000s
In 2007 my friend Joe Lang suggested putting my little stories that I tell in the shop into writing because he finds them interesting to drummers, so if this bores you it just shows you how easily amused Joe is! My current gig (2007) with Poco is a lot different than the gigs I worked out of L.A. and Nashville in the earlier part of my career. This band is celebrating its 44th anniversary this year (2012) and has seen the glory days and the tuna fish sandwich days; from southwest flights and crowded vans to luxurious tour buses and Mac trucks full of gear. You should read the Wikipedia history on this band, it's quite a family tree. I joined Poco in 2004 as a sub for their original drummer George Grantham who was taken ill. When it became apparent that he would not be able to rejoin the band they offered me the job.
Read moreGeorge Lawrence -Liner Notes for Poco's 2013 CD "All Fired Up"
pocoafu (1)
I am not a legendary drummer, but I did play in a legendary band, so that's why I included this piece that I wrote about that legendary band in this Legendary Drummers category. Legendary!
Originally published March 2013. This is the liner notes I wrote for our album All Fired Up which was released march 2013. They were not used because there were no liner notes, though the first sentence was used in one of our press releases. "There is no manual for a forty five year old rock band........."
Read moreThe Endorsement Controversy
This is my rap to drummers looking for endorsements... and it's not pretty. This is not about how to go about getting an endorsement from a drum or drum gear company. It's about how some companies have abused the concept of the endorsement program to the point that it is not as effective as it once used to be!
Read moreCleaning your Hardware
How to clean and polish your metal hardware to prevent rust and pitting.
What causes pitting? Pitting results from moisture getting through tiny cracks and scratches in the thin chrome plating. That leads to rusting of the underlying metal causing a cavity that the chrome plating sinks into. So the solution is to keep your hardware dry so it can’t pit.
Read more