Crabtree began his drumming career at age 11 studying with a local self-taught drummer, Harry Hindle. It was while studying with Hindle that Crabtree was first introduced to the drumming of Dave Weckl via his instructional videoThe Next Step. Crabtree cites this as a defining moment in his understanding of what was possible on the drums. He started playing live shows at age 14, and began teaching drums to local drummers at age 15. Having taken up guitar at age 12, he also taught guitar to beginner students for a number of years. While studying physics at Durham University between 1998 and 2000, Crabtree wrote and recorded with original band Breakmaus. Breakmaus recorded two self-released albums, That White Door and Arrested, and made an appearance on Sky TV on the show Where It's At. Crabtree also played with many cover bands, small jazz bands, and the university big band while studying at Durham. Moving to London in 2004, Crabtree continued his drum studies with London musician Bob Armstrong, whose former students include Oasis's Alan White, and The Who'sZak Starkey .
Professional career
After moving to London in 2004, Crabtree played and recorded with numerous original bands, including a stint with Goldie co-writer Tim Philbert's original project Upsetta. In 2005, Crabtree joined former King Crimson member David Cross in the David Cross Band, which toured Japan, Italy and the UK resulting in the recording of Alive in the Underworld. Bass player Mick Paul recommended Crabtree to Colosseum guitarist James Litherland to play with 1970s folk bandJade for a reunion show. Litherland in turn passed Crabtree's name to Sunshine of Your Love lyricist Pete Brown, who then recommended Crabtree for the Xanda Howe band. In 2006, Crabtree joined Xanda Howe for a short tour along with Malcolm Bruce, with whom he later recorded. Also between 2006 and 2008, Crabtree became a member of Pendragon and completed two European tours, appearing on the DVDs And Now Everybody to the Stage and Jewel - Past and Presence.
Wishbone Ash
Crabtree joined Wishbone Ash in 2007 for the Power Of Eternity album and subsequent tour, replacing previous drummer Ray Weston. He co-wrote songs on the Elegant Stealth and Blue Horizon albums, the latter of which he co-produced and contributed a guitar solo to the song "Take It Back". He appears on the live DVDs ', ', and the rockumentary This Is Wishbone Ash as well as the live albumsArgus Live, recorded live for Sirius XM radio, and the Roadworks series of releases. As of 2017, Crabtree has played over 1,000 shows with Wishbone Ash in 29 countries, including an arena tour of South Africa along with Deep Purple and Uriah Heep.
Teaching
Having taught private students for many years, Crabtree began a short stint teaching at the Academy of Contemporary Music before having to leave in 2007 when the Wishbone Ash touring schedule coincided with term time. Inspired by how much he learned from DCI music videos, Crabtree set up an online drum school, , in 2006. The school has attracted more than 2,000 students, and his channel of drum lessons has garnered more than 5 million views. Outside of his own channels, Crabtree creates educational videos for the drumstick manufacturer Vic Firth's website. Crabtree also contributes articles to Modern Drummer and provides regular "Joe Knows" columns to Drumhead Magazine.
Software development
Crabtree also creates musical software for Mac and PC, including , , and for iOS.
