2020 has not been kind to the drumming world.
The death of one week into the new year was a gut punch on the same level of guitarists losing Jimi Hendrix.
Sean Reinert, formerly of the bands Death and Cynic, died on Jan. 24. into the metal drumming landscape was the stuff of legend, influencing thousands of drummers worldwide.
Vater Percussion president Ron Vater died a day later. He was instrumental in building one of the world鈥檚 . 聽
Corrosion of Conformity went to the great gig in the sky on Jan. 27. January couldn鈥檛 end soon enough.
February, however, provides some light for 麻豆传媒映画drummers.
The inaugural Drumeo Festival comes to the 麻豆传媒映画Playhouse Feb. 21 and 22, bringing with it a roster of A-List artists that reads like a drumming hall of fame induction ceremony: Dom Famularo, Jojo Mayer, Steve Smith, Benny Greb, Chris Coleman and Cindy Blackman Santana to name a few.
If those names don鈥檛 ring a bell, their musical affiliations will: Smith played on Journey鈥檚 鈥淒on鈥檛 Stop Believin鈥�,鈥� Blackman Santana played on Lenny Kravitz鈥檚 鈥淎re You Gonna Go My Way鈥� and Coleman was the timekeeper of choice for Beck and Prince.
鈥淭here鈥檚 never been a lineup like this, especially in Vancouver,鈥� said Drumeo co-founder and festival head honcho Jared Falk. 鈥淚t is in my opinion that this is the best drum festival that has ever been created.鈥�
Outside of the Drumeo Festival, Falk is also the co-founder of the online drum tutorial empire known as Drumeo. It鈥檚 grown to become the be-all, end-all drummer destination with online lessons, interviews, demos and every other conceivable aid for drummers of all skill levels.
The Drumeo Festival format deviates slightly from most drum festivals, where players get on the throne, shred away and that鈥檚 that. In the 麻豆传媒映画context, masterclasses, along with full band performances, will be featured alongside vendor booths, artist talks and classic gear displays.聽
As much as the festival is about looking to the future of drumming, one must look back to find Falk鈥檚 motivations for its birth. The number 15 plays heavily on that front.聽 聽
Now 38, Falk attended his first drum festival at the age of 15. The short-lived, now-defunct 麻豆传媒映画International Drum Festival included the likes of Frank Zappa drummer Terry Bozzio, Simon Phillips (Toto) and Matt Cameron (Soundgarden).
鈥淚t was game-changing,鈥� Falk recalled. 鈥淎nd now drum festivals have kind of stopped, and so, someone had to re-start it in order to get things going so I thought there鈥檚 no one better than us.鈥�
Fifteen also holds significance in that Drumeo breaks the decade-and-a-half mark this year.
What started as a two-person operation now boasts 40 staffers, 14,000 paid subscribers and close to 1.5 million YouTube followers. Becoming a $10-million operation annually is within sight. 聽
It鈥檚 getting to the point that Falk has little in the way of competitors, not that he looks at the other games in town as adversaries.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all selling drumming, in my opinion, so I don鈥檛 look at these people and think 鈥業 want to crush them, I want them to go out of business,鈥欌�� Falk said. 鈥淲e are battling over the choice of hobbies and this is one of my big initiatives 鈥� getting in front of kids at a young age and show them drumming and present it as an option.鈥�
The online market that Falk is trying to tap in person remains largely vacant in Canada. There are few, if any, drum festivals similar in size, scope and talent anywhere besides Quebec City. They鈥檙e getting fewer and further between, as drum shops have smaller budgets to bring in talent. Not only that, students don鈥檛 even have to leave home for lessons if they don鈥檛 want to.
The preliminary numbers in Vancouver, however, are encouraging. VIP packages offered for $800 are completely sold out, while as of Feb. 7, less than a quarter of the remaining seats were available.
The real feather in Falk鈥檚 cap, however, can鈥檛 be quantified in dollars or cents, nor subscriber counts.
Pick any drummer鈥檚 name out of a hat and Falk likely knows that person, has their number in his phone and has watched them perform from five feet away.
And he does it without ego, seemingly cool as a cucumber the whole time.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if we always do maintain our composure,鈥� Falk counters. 鈥淚鈥檝e had many embarrassing moments with these guys because they鈥檙e my favourite drummers. I think what people like about the videos is that, in some ways, I do think they can relate to us as we鈥檙e like kids in candy stores when it comes to our favourite drummers. We鈥檙e forever students. We always have so much to learn.鈥�
Tickets for the Drumeo Festival are online .
