Mitch Oldham - Balbex
I am a drummer, percussionist and educator. I was born and raised in Nottingham and now live in Derbyshire. I have been hitting, scraping, tapping and banging things for most of my life but became a professional percussionist over 30 years ago. I've worked on stage and theatre in many different styles and genres performing on regular UK, European and World tours as well as being a studio musician and band leader.
Previous bands and artists include, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billie Jo Spears, PJ Proby, Lyn Anderson, Wayne Fontana, Chip Hawkes, The Platters, Sandy Kelly, Lena Martell, George Hamilton IV and V, Stella Parton, Seven Little Sisters, Skyclad as well as working with a number of current original artists such as Manchester's ‘Little Sparrow’.
I run four street performance bands, Stilt Batteristas, Sound Catchers, Samba Flash Squad and Fat Cat Brass, all of which are my main bread and butter these days performing all around the UK and parts of Europe. There is also International Function band ‘The Feds’ and I'm also a member of the Swiss-based band 'Soupabads' having performed in-residence on consecutive years at the world famous Montreux Jazz Festival.
In 2012, I was lucky enough to be one of five UK percussionists chosen to work with the world renowned French group ‘Les Commandos Percu’ for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Cultural Olympiad. This experience was a real inspiration to me opening up many new avenues and allowing me to realise more about who I am as a performer and creative practitioner.
In between gigs, I record remotely for a few artists on demand on either kit or percussion from my home studio.
I have spent a lot of the past 30 years involved in a wide variety of teaching and workshopping projects in an equally wide variety of settings. I feel that it is so important to share your experiences which has led me to working in schools, colleges, prisons, special schools as well as in the corporate sector. I adore this work as it gives me a chance to not only share my experiences and knowledge but to learn greatly from each environment. Much of this work involves facilitating workshops in Brazilian, Middle-Eastern, North and West African and Cuban styles of percussion as well as drum kit. I also have a great interest in making percussion instruments either from recycled materials or taking apart existing ones and putting them back together as original percussive creations.
In 2021, I was awarded two grants to expand my percussive abilities and knowledge and have subsequently been learning with Palestinian born and U.S. resident Tareq Rantisi on Middle Eastern percussion and the legendary U.S drummer and percussionist Jamey Haddad. This has been and continues to be a highlight in my career so far.
In short, I love what I do and feel very privileged to be able to continue to have a fine a varied life within music.
It's been a real blessing discovering Sweet Deal Drums and Balbex Sticks. They are so well made, sturdy and well balanced. As a working drummer, I feel privileged to be part of the family and look forward to all the opportunities to explore music alongside these great people and sticks.
