Beginners Rock

The beginnings of Rock Bands

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Formed in 1983 in Los Angeles, California, the Red Hot Chili Peppers first consisted of the founders Anthony Kiedis (vocals) and Michael "Flea" Balzary (bass guitar), as well as guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons who were all classmates at Fairfax High School.

Inspired by punk and funk groups like The Contortions and Defunkt they got a sound to their music. They found a rhythm by improvising their music while lead singer Anthony Kiedis rapped poems he wrote. 

The first concert they performed was in front of a small audience of 30 people with the stage name of Tony Flow and The Majestic Masters.

Following the success of their first performance, the band was asked to perform the following week. This time they took inspiration from Jazz and Blues artists and came up with a bold new name.

As the Red Hot Chili Peppers, they could begin their musical journey by continuing performing around clubs in Los Angeles and eventually signing to EMI.

Fleetwood Mac

Usually, Stevie Nicks is the one many associates Fleetwood Mac with, but did you know she wasn't in the band when it first started?

The beginning of Fleetwood Mac was in 1967, founded by drummer Mick Fleetwood, guitarist Peter Green, and bassist John McVie. The three of them first met as members of the band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, which is how they got to know each other. After spending some time in the band, they all quit the Bluesbreakers to start a band of their own and called it Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac or simply Fleetwood Mac after the three members. 

They started off playing mainly blues and performed in various festivals and clubs around the UK. After releasing their first album in February 1968, they got more gigs in the US and became well known to the audience there.

The band recorded their first three albums in only blues and spent the early years touring in the UK and US. When they changed record labels, they included more rock into their music which is the sound we now know them for.

The group has included many members over the years and became most successful in the second half of the 1970s when it consisted of Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood.

Muse

Formed in 1994 by Matthew Bellamy (vocals, guitar, piano), Christopher Wolstenholme (vocals, back vocals, and bass guitar), and Dominic Howard (drums).

In the early 90s, two of the founders Howard and Bellamy first met as members of the band Carnage Mayhem, which split after some time. The two of them remained and met the drummer Wolstenholme who started playing with them. After changing the name to Rocket Baby Dolls they had their first gig at a music competition, Battle of the Bands. To their surprise, they ended up winning it after playing aggressively and smashing all the equipment. 

Following the success in their hometown, they all quit their jobs, moved away, and changed their band name to what they are today known as Muse. After some difficult years, the band managed to get a contract with Mushroom Records and in 1999 released their first album "Showbiz".  

Today, the band is particularly known for their live performances and for combining different kinds of genres into their music, such as classical, electronica, hard rock, and R&B.

New Beginners Rock Course

Rock can sound in a variety of genres and in this course you will learn how to play a wide range of Beginner Rock Songs with various kinds of drum fills. This course is great for those who are starting off with drumming and want to improve their drum flow.

This selection of 8 Rock songs is built up from basic rhythm to more complicated with different drum variations. Each song starts with a basic 8th note groove followed by some fills and variations, and the challenging version ends with some syncopated grooves.

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