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The
Ultimate Drummers Weekend Roundup
June
5th & 6th 2004
PRESS RELEASE
This year's weekend reverted to a 2-day format at the Darebin
Arts and Entertainment Centre in Melbourne and once again we were
lucky with the weather - winter fresh, but not wet. Patronage
was once more very high, with a constant stream of visitors from
all over the country and overseas, eager to get around and check
out all the instruments on offer at the Expo and to catch some
of the best in drumset performances. The concerts were fully booked,
and everything on display at the Expo was for sale. That alone
made for a lot of activity, as potential buyers checked out just
how far their budgets would stretch. As always, the atmosphere
was congenial, relaxed and informal, both backstage and out front
as drummers caught up with fellow drummers and shared an anecdote
or two.
The weekend ran smoothly, reflecting the good work of organisers,
sound crew, sales staff, security, backstage crew and everyone
else involved in putting on this weekend. Our international visitors
in particular comment on how well run the event is, and how relaxed
the atmosphere is, so a big pat on the back is warranted.
The programme this year featured more than 40
performances, with Steve Smith, Gregg Bissonette, Dom Famularo,
Michael Schack and Marco Minnemann visiting from overseas, Chad
Wackerman giving a farewell performance of sorts, and The John
Reynolds Raiders Drum Corps and local drummer Dave Beck completing
the line-up. This parade of drummers, together with the twenty
or so expo performers, made for a weekend of excellent music!
The Competitions:
This year I was invited to be a part of the judging
panel for the Junior and Intermediate competitions, together with
Brian Czempinski, Graham Morgan, Bruce Howieson, Alex Deegan,
Marco Minnemann and Dom Famularo. Each year I struggle to find
the right words to describe the standard of performance of some
of the younger players who reach the finals, and this year is
no different. Performances ranged across a number of styles, and
groove, swing, taste, flair and individuality were all in evidence.
Entries are coming in from far and wide now, evidence of an ever
widening audience, and an increasing awareness of drum set performance.
To see these young players performing at such a high standard
so early in their careers is heart warming as well as entertaining.
Congratulations to all finalists and to the sponsors Premier,
Sabian and Vater, who collectively provided nearly $4,000 worth
of prizes.
The Junior section was won by 12 year-old Jacob
Randall from New Zealand, who gave a clean articulate performance
with a solid groove and a very mature sound. 2nd was another 12
year old, Reece Baines from Queensland, with 11 year-old Matt
Damon from Tasmania finishing 3rd.
In the Intermediate section, honours went to
Ben Todd, 15, from South Australia, with Queenslander Kosta Theodosis,
also 15, coming 2nd. 3rd place went to Dylan Elise from New Zealand
(Dylan unfortunately arrived late due to plane delays, but was
able to present his programme as part of the expo performances
on Sunday)
In the Open Age Category, the 3 finalists this
year were Avi Kenny from Melbourne, Julian Schweitzer from Queensland,
and Damian Corniola from Melbourne. These 3 all rose to the occasion
and played to a very high standard. 16 year old Damian Corniola
impressed the judging panel (which included Dom Famularo, Steve
Smith, Graham Morgan, Chad Wackerman, Bruce Howieson, Brian Czempinski,
Gregg Bissonette and Michael Schack ), and took out 1st place.
This made Damian the youngest Open Age Category Winner. 2nd place
went to Avi, with Julian 3rd. Damian continues to grow as a player,
and now plays with a wealth of good ideas, as well as a wealth
of good technique. Congratulations on making it a clean sweep
of all age sections Damian! So get your tails down and your chops
at work all you potential up and comers, it's an open field again
next year.
The Workshops:
This year's workshops were all well attended,
and audiences got great value from the four presenters, with useful
information mixed in with good humour.
Dom Famularo, entertaining as ever, explored the Moeller stroke
and the idea of rebound, particularly in relation to a matched
grip, open-handed style. Dom was ably assisted by a member of
the audience acting as a practise pad stand (i.e., holding the
pad up for Dom to play), and silently playing straight man to
Dom's comic repartee. Dom continues to provide very useful information
on how to understand, master and use various techniques, and his
presentation is always full of humour and passion. Here in Melbourne
we have been able to watch Dom's progress as both a passionate
educator and his sheer dedication to exploring new and better
ways of exploring the art of drum set playing. He has accepted
all challenges and has willingly shared his knowledge and experience
to audiences worldwide.
Steve Smith's workshop was packed out very quickly,
and those that made it in got an insight into the mind of one
of the best drummers in the world. Steve demonstrated the value
of having a swing technique as the foundation to one's playing.
He believes that the swing feel is the root of all popular music,
and that therefore a drummer will benefit from at least some understanding
of what swing is and how to play it effectively. Steve is a veritable
encyclopaedia of techniques, jazz and otherwise. He is currently
studying rhythms from South India, and he gave a fantastic demonstration
of how he is learning to clap and count some very difficult rhythms.
Steve demonstrated an eight beat count using both hands and fingers
(clapping and tapping your right hand on your left:- clap, tap
little finger, tap middle finger, tap index finger, -that's four
counts-, clap, tap back of hand on palm, clap, tap back of hand
on palm - that's a total of eight. ) Once the audience had managed
to learn this basic count, Steve demonstrated how to count a steady
pattern of triplets to each count, then how to count in groups
of four (still at a triplet rate…), then groups of five,
six and seven (maintaining the triplet rate the whole time). Steve
also demonstrated these ideas on the kit, showing how they flow
freely one to the other, and how each grouping creates different
phrase ideas over the same basic eight beat pulse.
Marco Minnemann was another to play to a full
house, with everyone there keen to see 'extreme drumming' at its
best. Marco ran through a series of ideas, featuring some simple
sticking patterns and coordination ideas, through to interesting
odd time phrases. Marco also demonstrated his understanding of
different musical styles, and stressed the need to be as versatile
as possible, to have a good knowledge of all aspects of musical
style. He impressed me with his dynamic ideas, and with the way
he explained and demonstrated the use of rebound in various sticking
ideas. Marco was engaging in his presentation, punctuating his
educational message with just the right amount of good humour;
he was also free with his insights into life as a professional
player.
The last workshop this year was with Gregg Bissonette,
who proved to be well worth the wait. Gregg has a personality
that I would describe as lively and energetic, and his workshop
reflected this. Gregg gave us lots of information about what he
has done, who he has done it with, who he listened to and who
he has emulated. A confident, versatile player, Gregg emphasised
his love for playing drums and for playing anything and everything
in terms of style. Gregg loves the Beatles, has worked with Ringo
and spent some time exploring the depth of Ringo's playing, illustrating
points using specific tunes from the Beatles repertoire. Gregg
also showed the audience a couple of licks he got from Tony Williams
- one was based on a Swiss flam played as sixteenth notes and
the other involved playing a single stroke roll alternating right
hand and right foot. Both were very impressive!
If there was one theme that I found in all of
the workshops it was the idea of continuity, of exploring the
techniques and ideas that have proven useful to drummers from
the past, then taking these same materials and applying them to
today's music. If you need evidence of the value of learning from
the past, just check out the work of the four players above.
The Concerts:
First up for AUDW '04 was the John Reynolds Raiders
Drum Corps, with a line up of snares, quads, bass drums and cymbals.
They worked their way through several pieces, including 'Crazy
Army', and Paul Simon's 'Obvious Child'. The rudimental flavour
of the music was a great way to announce a concert featuring drummers,
and the band, looking good in their blue and white uniforms, played
with great precision and with good visual presentation. The arrangements
were musically varied and the choreography of the ensemble made
for a very effective and entertaining performance, and was a strong
start to the day.
Marco Minnemann's performance was eagerly anticipated,
and was greatly appreciated. Marco played an open solo, displaying
his command of 'extreme drumming', with fast chops and great musical
flourishes. Marco uses a bass drum mounted on his left (up in
the air), as well as a double pedal, and his percussive palette
included splashes, cowbells, extra hi-hats and china cymbals.
He played some great industrial funk to an up tempo backing, but
he will be remembered best I'm sure for his Monty Python piece.
Taking the idea of film music to a new high, as a big screen was
lowered above his kit, Marco played along with a scene from Monty
Python's 'Life of Brian', where various members of the Palestinian
left are asking the question: "What have the Romans ever
done for us?" Marco succeeded in capturing every nuance of
speech, both in terms of timing and rhythm and also dynamics and
colour. It was a masterful performance, with his interpretation
of John Cleese laughing bringing the house down. Just when you
think you've seen it all, along comes somebody and shows you a
whole new way of thinking music. I know the old adage about being
able to sing what you play, and I use it all the time in my teaching.
But this was taking speech and music to a whole new plateau. Look
for this on the DVD when it comes out, I'm sure you will enjoy
it immensely.
Dom and Friends is fast becoming the biannual event of note at
the festival, with the guest list this year including Dom Famularo
of course, leading a drumline that featured Marco Minnemann, Chad
Wackerman, Steve Smith, Gregg Bissonette, Alex Deegan, Javier
Fredes and Michael Carmona. Armed with snare drums, bass drum/hi-hats,
congas and timbales, together with a plastic rubbish bin that
did a Mexican wave-like trip up and down the line, Dom and Friends
settled into a salsa groove and were soon trading solos and playfully
conversing musically. The list of past and current members of
the 'Dom, Entertaining Friends of Readymade Music Ensemble Drumming'
reads like a who's who of national and international players now
and it will in all likelihood grow. And who could resist a group
whose acronym spells out the director's musical philosophy!
One of the most entertaining performances from
this year's festival came from the next drummer, Michael Schack.
Michael put the latest electronic kit from Roland, the TD 20,
through its paces, demonstrating both the range of both sounds
and sonic nuances available from this incredibly flexible instrument.
With fifty percent of the CPU going to monitoring the new hi-hat
module, the TD 20 allows you all the subtleties available on an
acoustic hi-hat, capturing, splashes, fast opening/closing patterns
and a huge range of sounds. Michael managed to capture the audience
through his knowledgeable presentation, and through a great sense
of humour. His musical focus was on demonstrating the TD 20 in
a typical setting as a working kit for recording and playing popular
dance music, and he soon had the audience happily dancing along
to some great pop and funk grooves, and showed the flexibility
of the TD 20 as a sequencer and as a full band behind the drums!
Michael also showed just how versatile the kit was by going through
a series of jazz sounds, including nuances associated with brush
playing, buzz strokes and acoustic cymbal techniques. Another
great addition to the electronic drum set catalogue of instruments,
and a very enjoyable performance by Michael!
Saturday closed with another veteran of the AUDW stage, with Chad
Wackerman and his band playing the last set. Chad, with Daryl
Pratt on vibes, Leon Gaer on bass and James Muller on guitar,
played some wonderful original music from their extensive repertoire.
Chad played with a very rich drum sound, clear and articulate
in his expression, with sophistication and imagination, and with
control over every musical nuance. The band played some great
fusion style pieces, featuring their improvising and ensemble
skills, all of which was dynamic and energetic. Chad's solos were
a highlight, with clear musical phrases, great highs and lows,
and a good mix of different ideas and structures. Chad is relocating
back to the US, but this band will still be part of his global
approach, and we will hopefully see him at future AUDW concerts.
Sunday started in a different mood, with Dave
Beck treating the audience to a very musical display of acoustic
jazz. Accompanied by Steve Magnuson on guitar, Dave demonstrated
why he has become such an in demand player, with a performance
rich in expression, good taste, and great feel. From straight
ahead jazz to funky groove, Dave used various techniques and a
collection of different sticks and brushes to extract colour and
dynamic nuance from a well-tuned set of DW drums. Dave has come
a long way since winning the 1st Up and Coming Competition in
1993 and his performance at this year's concert was a very mature
musical statement by a truly individual player.
Gregg Bissonette was up next and gave a performance
that demonstrated his incredible versatility as a drummer, blazing
his way through improvised solos and some solid groove playing.
Gregg played a memorable New Orleans march style solo to kick
off, and proceeded to follow this with a super strong double bass,
toms and cymbal flourish that brought peels of applause. Addressing
the audience, Gregg teased with his use of the Aussie vernacular
- "Good on ya mate!" - and then went on to explain his
love of music, and his love for playing with other people, which
is all about groove, not solos. Gregg demonstrated his solid rock
chops and his stylistic versatility together with his homage to
other great players, notably Ringo Starr from the Beatles. This
was another memorable performance, full of energy and humour as
well as simply great playing.
Dom Famularo has undergone changes in the last
couple of years, switching to a matched grip, open-handed style,
and we have witnessed these changes as Dom readily shares his
insights about his progress. His performance this year showed
just how far he has progressed, with some excellent drumming.
The same musical subtleties -the flourishes, extreme dynamic contours,
- are all there, together with a stronger overall sound and a
whole new look. I found the differences in the look of what Dom
played - that open-handed approach - to be visually arresting
and added to the overall appreciation of his performance.
The finale to this year's AUDW was Steve Smith,
and his performance was a tour de force of drumming techniques.
Starting with just a snare, Steve ran through his ideas on technique,
on history, on music and on drum set playing, captivating the
whole audience with his in-depth knowledge and command of a huge
range of drumming techniques (The one-handed rolls were a highlight!).
An advocate as well as a practitioner of the swing approach to
playing, Steve worked through a range of styles and techniques
based on jazz playing. As entertaining as it was educational,
Steve's performance was masterful. Clean articulate expression
hand in glove with great feel, and great musical ideas. Moving
from snare to small combo kit, Steve gave a fantastic performance
of hot jazz playing, showing his command of swing, bop, funk and
high energy, fast tempo fusion. Steve's melodic work was as musical
as it gets, and his feel for time and pulse and how to play with
these, was sensational. When he went to his full kit and played
yet another stunning solo, the audience was on its feet, enthusiastically
applauding one of the best performances seen at AUDW.
The Expo:
Pearl were very impressive with the look of their
display complementing the quality of the kits on offer. Gretsch,
Tama, Yamaha and Mapex all had new upgraded kits on display, as
did Premier, Orange County and Sleishman. Don Sleishman as usual
has been busy, with some new lug designs that allow the whole
shell to float even more freely, and that also allow you to interchange
shells as per a free-floating design.
Cymbals were on display on all the kits and were often included
in the overall price, which made for some great buys. I was impressed
with some Sabian B8's which had a great blend of pitches together
with a warm musical tone, and with both the ZXT Pro and the ZXT
Titanium sets from Zildjian. Paiste, Meinl and Bosphorus also
had some excellent sounding cymbals, with a large range of splashes,
crashes, rides and specialist sounds. Hand percussion was well
represented, with LP, Meinl, and Toca featuring with a range of
congas, bongos, timbales and bells whistles and rattles.
Roland had a great display of electronic kits, and as usual these
attracted a lot of interest. Michael Schack ran me through a few
of the features of the TD 8, 6, and 3; as a teacher I just loved
the built in Rhythm Coach that allows you to play along to click
tracks and rhythm exercises designed to help with accuracy, speed
and endurance. The price of these kits was also well within range
of a modest budget, making them a very attractive package.
Elsewhere at the expo you could test your chops with sticks from
Vic Firth and Vater and Pro-Mark, mount it all with Gibraltar
hardware, and wrap it up with Rockbag drum bags, Hardware cases,
and Protection Racket bags. The educational end - books, CD's,
DVD's and Videos has been a growth area and Musictek had a full
display of the latest on offer. Having bought the sticks and the
new book, you could pick up a practise pad from Oz Drumpad and
get to work on your chops!
Congratulations once again to Frank Corniola and the team from
Drumtek and Musictek and to all the performers and expo presenters
for producing another weekend of highlights. Many thanks to all
the crew who work hard to make sure the weekend runs as smoothly
as it can, and many thanks to all the interested drummers and
visitors who also help to put AUDW on the world stage, by being
such a supportive community. See you all next year!
Click
here to see the Photos from AUDW 2004
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