The vendor area was fun, but full of more marimba and mallet stuff than I'd expected. Some cymbal companies were absent all together (I don't think I saw Istabul there, for instance). I over heard someone say that there were more retail vendors and less industry folks than usual.
Neil Peart Snakes and Arrows kit with legless stands.
I bought a Wuhan 12 inch splash for $19 that turned out to be exactly what I've been looking for. I also bought a Meinl 8 inch bell for $44...jury still out on that one. I also got the Nirvana and the Hard Rock playalong books and Turn It Up, Lay It Down Rock Edition on the recommendation of Ed Shaughnessy.
Chris Pennie, Drumset Clinic
His advice "The most important thing is to get together and play with other people." He also said to continue to learn and stay open to new ideas. Talked about how placing stickings and accents can change the feel of time. Suggested learning slow: then add feet slow, add hands w/o accents, then accents. Be creative. Try different setups, surfaces, depths.
Sergio Bellotti, Drumset Clinic
His clinic had a heavy emphasis on rudiments. Had a handout. Showed single tap, unison, buzz roll, doubles/diddles, flam, drag/ruff. Suggested that playing on the kit is more important than on a practice pad or pillow. Suggested practicing weak side lead twice as much as strong side lead. Said superimposing rudiments over recordings can be a way to stay interested in practicing. He said you should take one rudiment and work on for 2 weeks straight...eventually working to applying it to kit musically. 26 rudiments will take a year to finish. Showed a "Dr Beat" exercise of quarter note bass, triplet, 16th note, 8th note on each of other limbs. INverted doubles...2nd note is on downbeat. Linear drumming: one note at a time with no unisons.
Zoro and Daniel Glass, Drumset Clinic
I didn't take notes from their talk. It was well set up and more entertaining than some others. They traded playing a moment or two from major tunes that influenced R&B. Mostly grooves. All this in support of their book together. Zoro yells into mic too much.
Free Hearing Tests
I checked out okay, though my right ear was a little weak on the lowest test frequency.
Steve Fidyk, Drumset Master Class
This was a class on transcription. He recommended the Amazing Slow Downer or Transcribe as good software. Recommended trying to learn something from every drummer that you listen to. Funny highlight...the "Pat Boone Debbie Boone" fill.
Felix Pollard, Drumset Clinic
I remember nothing about this guy.
Tobias Ralph, Drumset Clinic
Dude played a 24 minute solo. Mentioned "broken double": a double split between two different drums. High hat fills ala Steve Gadd. Inverted paradiddles with foot substitution.
Benny Greb, Drumset Clinic
He's a funny German guy. I don't remember much about his clinic, but it was good.
Akira Jimbo, Drumset Clinic
Played a Michael Jackson medley and then a jazz medley. He plays melodically with electronic triggers in real time. A one man band kind of thing. A neat trick, but kind of boring after a while.
Ed Shaughnessy, Drumset FUNdamentals
Probably the best of the convention. Dude played in Tonight Show band forever. Had suggestions for young jazz players. Nice handout. Told some funny stories about Buddy Rich and about how he got started back in the day. Showed feathered bass and counter clockwise ride beat. Also showed how to drop parts of ride beat when speed is really fast (ding ding a ding ding and variations). "Making time versus playing along to time...more how than what." Showed how to raise brush and not just swish.
Joel Stevenett, Drumset Clinic
This guy plays music for video games. Had a huge presentation video that he played along to. Talked alot about getting work and being "the squeaky wheel".
Dean Butterworth, Drumset Clinic
I liked this guy best of the drummers I saw. He's in Good Charlotte amongst other things (plays on New Adventures of Old Christine, for instance). He was all about groove and just supporting the band. All of the drummers SAID this was the most important thing...but then they'd play a 30 minute solo that showed off everything in their toolkit. This guy walked the talk. He played 4 or 5 tunes...with no crazy solo crap. He's the kind of drummer I strive to be. Good time, good feel...interesting, but always in support of the song...not to show off.
Skip Hadden, Drumset Master Class
Was about fusion. He showed cut from Ken Burns' "Jazz". After that I got bored because he wasn't saying anything of substance, just making little jokes about the audience, so I left.
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