There are many reasons why you should check out the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show on May 27 & 28 at Rosehill Gardens Grand Pavilion. Here are ten great ones!
The Schack!
The Schack is back. Courtesy of Roland V-Drums, Belgian drum wizard Michael Schack returns to Australia to perform at the SDPS, merging breakneck realtime beats with electronic dance music rhythms. Michael has won several awards, has been nominated for “best clinician/ demonstrator” in international drummer magazine polls and just recently (Feb 2017) received the E-drummer Of The Year award for the third time. He’s also an affiliate instructor on drumeo.com and has contributed to the development of Roland’s V-Drums and E-pads since the early 2000’s. Michael is a ball of energy, whose enthusiasm for music is totally contagious.
The headliners. Virgil Donati & Thomas Lang.
Two of the world’s greatest drummers duelling it out on stage at the same time. Virgil Donati is the homecoming drum king, who started out with pop band Taste in the 70s, rising up through the ranks of the Melbourne jazz fusion scene in the 80s. He then relocated to LA, where he became an in-demand session drummer and joined critically acclaimed bands such as Planet X with Ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian and actually came close to getting the Dream Theater drum gig. He’s also released his own albums, is a wonderful educator and with hard work and immense talent, has become a bonafide international drum legend. His stage buddy Thomas Lang is an Austrian-born, USA based drummer and founding member of prog rock band stOrk, who has played on numerous recording sessions with some of the world’s finest contemporary artists. Individually, they are considered to be among the world’s best. It’s frightening to think of how powerful this duo will be together at the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show when Thomas and Virgil get together on Saturday May 27th. The pair’s Sydney Drum & Percussion Show appearance will be the Sydney leg of their national DW TV Show tour, thanks to DW Drums.
Slim Jim Phantom
Also on tour throughout Australia before he hits the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show, will be rockabilly drum icon Slim Jim Phantom. Since The Stray Cats first etched their name into rock n roll history with their punkified version of rockabilly in the late 70s, Phantom has been able to trade on that name by touring with various rockabilly flavoured projects. There was Phantom, Rocker and Slick with former Stray Cat bassist Lee Rocker and Bowie guitarist Earl Slick. Another is Dead Men Walking with The Damned’s Captain Sensible and The Alarm’s Mike Peters. However the most celebrated is probably The Head Cat which features gun LA guitar picker Danny B Harvey and garage rock legend Lemmy. Courtesy of Pro Music Australia, Gretsch drums endorsee Slim Jim Phantom will be at the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show for a meet and greet session and will also be joining the Australian Musician Pro Drummer Panel for an entertaining Q&A session.
Cajon but not forgotten
Ever seen a cajon ensemble? No not a conga line of creole cookin’ cajun chefs. We’re talking about the cajon (pronounced CAH HON, like a percussive sneeze!), the box-like percussion instrument which originated in Peru. Well if you come to the drum show, you’ll be able to see Mark Byron’s Cajon Cats, a whole bunch of vibrant young musicians playing beats on the cajon at the same time and the results are amazing!
The circle of life
Never played the drums before but harboured a deep, dark desire to do so. Come down to the Sydney Drum and Percussion Show on either the Saturday or Sunday and participate in a drum circle. If you’ve never witnessed a drum circle before, it’s a truly uplifting experience, sharing rhythms with strangers. It’s highly addictive!
The huge pop-up drum shop
You may have been to some of Australia’s finest drum shops and found yourself in percussion heaven but what if a bunch of those amazing stores and the distributors of all that great drum gear set up shop together under one roof for one weekend? Well that’s what you’ll get at the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show when they set up stands side by side, along with a contingent of locally made drum gear. The best thing is that there will be one-off, Sydney Drum & Percussion Show specials to enjoy too.
Learn a thing or two
Even the most successful musicians in the world never stop learning. This is a rare opportunity to learn from the best with the various educational opportunities on hand at the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show. You’ll find sessions on drum stick control, practice advice, information on electronic drums and so much more. Plus there are many hands-on opportunities to play percussive instruments. Parents, pack your kids in the car and beat it down to the Sydney Drum & Percussion Show for a dose of pure musical inspiration. It may be a life-changing moment for them. Kids, get your parents down there to ‘snare’ that kit you always wanted.
Feel part of the local drum community
If our sister event, the annual Melbourne Guitar Show is anything to go by, you’ll not only see some of the best drummers in the world on stage and in session but you’ll find that the whole local drum community will gravitate to Rosehill Gardens to catch up with their drum mates, talk shop and take in the atmosphere with hardly a guitarist or lead singer in sight. It’s the drum community’s weekend to be self-indulgent and shine. Most of the headliners will be mixing it with the public too, attending meet and greets on stands and soaking in the percussive vibe.
See into the future
In addition to the amazing array of established international and local performers at the show, you’ll also get a glimpse into the future with participation from many school-aged kids presenting their percussive best. From the extraordinary DrumFill Percussion Ensemble to the students at the Thomas Hassall Anglican College leading a drum circle, you’re in for a treat
Value for money event
For a very reasonable ticket price, you’re able to spend two whole days at the drum show checking everything out. There are three stages featuring performances and sessions, going-non stop on each day of the show. Plus, if you’re in the market to buy drum gear, you’ll probably save the cost of your entrance fee by enjoying some of the great drum show-only special deals on offer. And the variety of performers will blow you away, from the headline acts, to superb local drummers like COG’s Lucius Borich, Stan Bicknell, Pete Drummond, Jake Taylor Sproule and Ben Ellingworth, plus bands such as That Redhead, featuring the enigmatic Lozz Benson, to the soulful Gang of Brothers, the dynamic Taikoz and Synergy Percussion Ensemble and even the Sydney Conservatorium Percussion Ensemble.
Sydney Drum & Percussion Show ticket info here
