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AUSTRALIA’S ULTIMATE DRUMMERS WEEKEND 2006
14TH ANNIVERSARY
By Paul Matcott.
Drum festivals are all about showcasing the best drum and percussion players in the world, allowing both the audience and players a whole new insight on the world of performance and musical creativity. The world’s best players step out from behind the band and take centre stage to demonstrate just what they can do on their instrument, and to some degree, why they do it! In its’ 14th year now, AUDW is the biggest drumming festival in the southern hemisphere and one of the most anticipated events staged in Melbourne, Australia. Drummers come from all over the country to get their annual fix of percussive excitement, and these days AUDW attracts an audience from throughout South East Asia, and even from South America. For two days the audience is treated to performances from some of the worlds’ finest drummers, to workshops where learning and inspiration are the key ingredients, and to a display of drum and percussion equipment (all of it for sale) that includes almost every brand and product imaginable!
This years’ festival featured two ‘regular’ international guests, Dom Famularo and Dave Weckl and a return performance from Thomas Lang. With the addition of three amazing new faces at this years festival – Tommy Igoe, Cindy Blackman and Rodney Holmes - AUDW 2006 boasted one of the greatest line ups Australia has ever seen. Not to be up staged, Australia is home to many fine players including Grant Collins. Grant returned once again for a concert performance, as well as the debut of Leigh Fisher, a young and very talented drummer from Melbourne.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of a festival weekend is the diversity of music that is on display; for those who like their drumming on a large scale, Thomas Lang and Grant Collins both proved masters of the ‘large’ array of percussive devices. Thomas was in Australia two years ago, and floored everyone with his technical facility, particularly on the Sonor twin effects foot pedal he uses; this year he added more to his kit, with foot pedals playing woodblocks and other percussion instruments. His ostinato figures were simply brilliant – not just fast, which they often were, but also musically interesting, allowing for a rich combination of textures and rhythms over which his soloing could sit. Thomas’ performance included some ‘industrial funk’ as well as a thirty minute solo that was amazing both for its’ sheer energy and musical content.
Grant has specialised in ‘big’ for a while now, and his kit included more drums, cymbals and percussion bits and pieces than you would find in a fair sized music store; Grant uses this large musical palette to play some incredibly complex pieces, one of which was inspired by the swimming motion of a large fish. According to Grant, the motion was three sevens and a five, and he duly played some amazing percussive melodies and themes based on that rhythm!
Leigh Fisher has an interest in both acoustic and electronic playing and his performance contained elements of both; with both kits set-up on stage. Leigh proceeded to demonstrate his skill in both the dance/funk areas of electronic music, as well as in the acoustic jazz genre.
Rodney Holmes and Cindy Blackman preferred the scaled down five and four piece kits respectively, and both showed just how much music can be played on the ‘smaller’ scale. Their energy in particular was inspirational, the more so in Cindy’s case because she was onstage a mere two hours after arriving at Melbourne airport! Cindy was quick to point out her interest in the history of drum set playing, which is rooted in Jazz. Cindy gave a short historical presentation on how drum set playing evolved from the early marching themes through Big Band and Swing to Bebop and beyond.
Tommy Igoe has been a busy man ever since his Groove Essentials package hit the stores. He gave a wonderful workshop talking about the need to groove – it’s what gets you working after all! His concert performance featured some of the most musical drumming – full of groove of course as per his own advice, but also full of wonderfully musical playing to some great tracks from his solo album.
The Dave Weckl Band also featured some incredibly exciting live playing, with Tom Kennedy on bass, Steve Weingart on keyboards and Gary Meek on saxes. Dave is a regular down under - watching him play this year, one couldn’t help but be impressed by the individuality of both his playing and his sound. The band kicked off their Australian National tour at AUDW and their first performance was full of energy and wonderful musical communication.
If ever there was a drummer who epitomises the spirit of drumming, inspiring us all with his drive and commitment, that man is Dom Famularo. Dom continues to be one of the great ambassadors of drumming and of music, and both his workshop and his concert performance were inspiring. Together with Tommy Igoe and Thomas Lang, “Dom and Friends” was another highlight of a wonderful musical and drumming festival. Both comic and energetic, this trio of players used the Chick Corea tune Spain as a link in an otherwise totally improvised performance – Tommy and Thomas played a single stroke roll, each contributing only one hand, to one of the fastest, cleanest rolls you will ever see/hear! Truly amazing!
Every artist that I have spoken to, and that includes all of them over the years in my role as a Drumscene writer, speaks lovingly of their time in Melbourne. The feel of AUDW is relaxed, the production is first rate and professional and the atmosphere is co-operative and not competitive. For that I personally think thanks must go to the principal inspiration behind, and organiser of, the festival, Mr Frank Corniola. Frank is a major contributor to drumming in Australia as both an educator, and as publisher of Drumscene magazine, and AUDW is another of his great legacies to drumming world-wide. This year was a special AUDW, with a great family atmosphere, the more so because Frank and his wife Rosanna are soon to be proud parents!
Click
here to see the Photos from AUDW 2006
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