Episode 22 - Stan Bicknell

The Deconstructed Drummer Podcast

Welcome to Episode 22! This is a conversation I had with Stan Bicknell. Stan’s got a pretty rich pedigree as a player, and has previously played with Kimbra, Miami Horror, Ekka Vandal and The New Caledonia as well as setting up and running a drum shed community called Drummers Summit Melbourne with Stevie Cat Jr. It’s been really interesting to see Stan grow over the last few years since he made the decision to stop touring, and to see his instagram profile explode from his foot technique videos. What I really loved was that Stan was under no illusions of grandeur, and was a big advocate for simply doing the work on the instrument. He also didn’t seem to play by any of the social media “rules” that seem to have been imposed. Posting schedules, cheesy questions to promote engagement, paying for post promotion or anything like that. In fact right at the height of his “fame" he proceeded to delete all his old material and limit his profile to a small number of posts. All things that anyone would be advised not to do in that situation. Not to mention all of the famous posts were filmed with an iPhone on a milk crate resting against a water bottle at the Rumble Coffee warehouse... Stan’s the first guest that I’ve had on that has already been on a bunch of podcasts, so I was really conscious of not wanting to go over the same things that he’s already talked about. So if you’re wanting info about how he started playing drums, foot technique, his drumeo appearance and his decision to stop touring there’s a bunch of other podcasts that have covered this, and I’d recommend in particular his appearances on the Drum Gab (now Drumeo Gab) and the NZ drummer podcast. What I really wanted to dig into is how Stan thinks about life. He’s a fascinating guy that has a real thread of deliberateness running through everything that he does, and has worked his ass off to be able to have a life that is full of things that he has chosen to do, not things that have been dictated by others. We talk about a bunch of stuff as per usual. Mental Health, Routines, Creative fulfilment, Comparison, the idea of just showing up, disconnecting money and creativity, making difficult decisions and handling burnout. So just for some context I’d just come off a pretty heavy 2 year gig when we recorded this interview, and while my playing was probably in the best shape it had ever been, my desire to actually play the drums was the lowest that it had ever been. It’s something that almost everyone has or will deal with at some time, but yet it’s not something that seems to be discussed in great detail. So we dig into that as well and reassessing the role that drums play in life as well. So here it is. Please enjoy my conversation with Stan Bicknell. Stan Bicknell Instagram: www.instagram.com/stanbicknell Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/stanbicknell Rumble Coffee Instagram: www.instagram.com/rumblecoffee/ Website: https://www.rumblecoffee.com.au/ Stan proudly endorses: Yamaha Drums Zildjian Cymbals & Sticks Remo Drumheads Mee Audio IEM’s & Headphones Rooster Thrones Allbirds Shoes Recommended podcast appearances: Drumeo Gab episode 99 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stan-bicknell-round-two/id1189424485?i=1000422906856 Drumeo Gab Episode 29 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-29-stan-bicknell/id1189424485?i=1000389266555 NZ Drummer Podcast http://andrewrooney.net/ep-25-stan-bicknell/ Stan’s Drumeo Live lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IfVRa2xxwE Any questions, feedback or comments just get in touch! Facebook - www.facebook.com/thedeconstructeddrummer/ Instagram - www.instagram.com/thedeconstructeddrummer/