The story of this instrument stretches back to the early 1980’s where at the age of 19, I came up with
a great way of triggering pyrotechnics so that the crescendos in my punk band would be enhanced by synchronised explosions!
(really). If someone had told me then, how much that simple idea would develop, and how much it would affect my life…
I would not have believed them.
I received and lost a small fortune, I demonstrated the Rhythm Stick/Jamma to many well known musicians and bands as
diverse as U2 and David Morales. I taught Michael Jackson how to play it and I contributed to getting Jules Holland kicked
off the seminal U.K. TV series ‘The Tube’. I’ve lost good friends over it, and found new ones through it.
I’ve tasted success with it, and been devastated by it. As any inventor
will tell you, it’s like giving birth to something, you never really let go… as this site proves some 25 years
later!
I still work within the music business and work a lot with DJs, in fact some of my best friends are DJs (pun
intended). A while ago a few of them and some normal friends very kindly built
a custom PC for me christened ‘the Jamm Station’ complete with sampling software, a top sound card and MIDI interface.
After using it for a while I realised that the new developments in sampling technology mean that the Jamma is now a very powerful
and unique way of making new music.
This website is dedicated to exploring that concept as well as sharing playing techniques, hints and tips from
myself and from anyone else who would like to offer them!
I’m adding to this site all the time, there is a lot of history to tell and there seems to be an increasing
interest in the Jamma/Rhythm Stick so it’s worth checking back. This is not a commercial site I’m not selling
anything but I’m up for broking sales of Rhythm Sticks and helping to get them working again if you have a dead one!
If you have, or had a Rhythm Stick or a Jamma, please feel free to get in touch.
Cheers, Pete.
