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drumFantasy.08 Recap
 330 drummers, including 80 full-time campers, attended the
second-annual Drum Fantasy Camp August 23-27 at the Hyatt
hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. Campers came from all over the
United States and 10 countries, including: Mexico, Canada,
Aruba, Brazil, England, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Greece,
and Japan!
Our 2008 staff of instructors was exciting and diverse,
including. Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, Horacio
"el negro" Hernandez, Tony Royster, Jr., Jamey
Haddad, Ganesh Kumar, and Dave Brewer.
Opening Day
The camp started at Noon on
Saturday with an opening clinic that featured Steve, Dave,
Horacio, Tony, and Jamey on the same stage! Jamey started
the clinic by playing several Middle Eastern percussion
instruments and demonstrating how he creates electronic
loops.
The rest of the instructors then
joined in to create a completely improvised piece. They
started by using only their hands so that they could listen
to one another and create music.
It was interesting watching each
drummer contribute to this piece in their own way. Over the
next ten minutes, the piece developed in complexity and
musicality as brushes, Talawands, and sticks were added. The
audience loved it.
 After a grand ending to the
song, the instructors came to the front of the stage, sat
down, and began a "roundtable" discussion about drumming and
music. They discussed everything from broad technical
concepts to the bigger picture of creating rhythm and,
ultimately, contributing to the integrity of great music.
Some of the most interesting
moments were borne of the instructors' diverse musical
backgrounds and professional experiences. When it came to
world rhythms, Jamey's insight was invaluable. He said "when
I want to understand the music and rhythm of a particular
culture, I actually visit that place, and sometimes end up
living there!"
This created great contrast with
Steve Smith's experiences learning from and performing with
great Indian masters, and Horacio's incredibly diverse
musical career.
The audience asked questions
and, at the end, was treated to a closing piece performed by
the entire group. In this piece, the dynamics were intense,
highlighted by Tony Royster Jr.'s creative and explosive
playing. The clinic closed to a
 standing ovation for these
great instructors.
As if a three-hour clinic was not enough, the
drumFantasy.08 crew of helpers and campers jumped on
transforming the clinic stage into a concert stage once the
clinic ended!
As drums were taken down people scurried
around, Dave immediately started mixing his drums while
Will Lee and Oz Noy began setting
up for their sound check. Once everything got going, the
band ran through some numbers and then vacated the stage for soundcheck #2: Steve Smith and Vital Information!
Setting up for Steve's band was
no easy task! Not only did the crew have to leave room for
Dave, Will and Oz (who went on second), but Steve brought a
powerhouse lineup to drumFantasy.08! In addition to regular
band members Tom Coster, Baron Browne, and
Vinny Valentino, Steve included percussionist Jamey
Haddad and Kanjirist Ganesh Kumar!
 At 7:30 p.m., the lights went
down to rousing applause. Right before this happened, Steve
told the event organizer, Steven Orkin, that he wanted to
alter the plan a little and just on by himself to open with
a solo. Orkin's response: "LET'S DO THAT!" Steve walked down
the aisle to a standing ovation, and the concert was
underway.
The band played for 90 minutes and wowed the
audience with Vital Information classics, plus plenty of new
songs from Vitalization. Jamey and Ganesh's
contributions to these songs was incredible. Both are
masters, and both contributed konnokol (Indian vocal
percussion).
Once the Vital show wrapped up,
the crew jumped on stage for a quick transformation. A
half-hour later, Dave Weckl took the stage with guitarist Oz
Noy and bassist Will Lee.
Oz is a fresh, cutting-edge
composer and performer. His compositions are filled with
sharp and angular riffs, odd time signatures, and sonic
intensity. The crowd enjoyed seeing Dave in role they
haven't seen him in before. On the last song, he treated
them to a solo over a guitar vamp that Oz looped before
leaving the stage.
The Camp
Saturday was intense, but the campers were
energized when they showed up for classes on Sunday morning!
Each camper was assigned to a group of
approximately 10. Throughout the camp, that group traveled
together from class-to-class together, ensuring that
everyone worked with each teacher. Starbucks in-hand (for
both the campers and the instructors), classes began!
As the campers made their way
through the camp, one thing was evident: no two classes
would be the same. Though musicality was the underlying
theme of the camp, each instructor had a different angle.
 Steve Smith's classes focused on
historic elements of groove, how we arrived where we are
today in music, and how one can build a foundation of good
playing. Dave Weckl's classes also addressed foundation -
how to play more musically by listening to other musicians.
This subject attracted a special
guest instructors: singer Chrissi Poland! Chrissi and Dave
worked together at the 2008 Yamaha Groove All Stars concert
at NAMM. Chrissi knows a lot about what makes a drummer
effective in a group, and shared her feelings about what
drummers need to pay attention to in the studio and in a
live setting.
Dave's class attracted one more
guest teacher - Tony Royster, Jr.! In the middle of one of
Tony's classes, he began to address drum tuning concepts and
procedures. He told the class that he always wanted his
drums to sound like Dave's, so without wasting another
moment, he took his class on a "field trip" to Dave's class
and asked him to explain his approach. In less than 10
minutes, Dave cleared up many obstacles that drummers face
in this daunting task!
 As mentioned above, diversity
was a key to the 2008 camp. In one class, Jamey Haddad was
teaching his class about various Middle Eastern percussion
instruments, while also showing the class how he approaches
straight-ahead jazz with incredible touch. The whole class
got involved.
Right around the corner from
Jamey's class was Ganesh Kumar, a master on the Kanjira.
drumFantasy.08 was very luck to have this very special man
at the camp. Ganesh brought with him this very small
instrument, yet created a world of sound, and demonstrated a
command of rhythm and music that transcended all musical
backgrounds.
Of course, none of the campers
were familiar with this instrument, but Ganesh showed them
everything. Not only did he introduce the Kanjira, he taught
Indian konnokol and related it to Western music and time
signatures.
Then, on Sunday and Monday,
Ganesh and Steve Smith taught an "optional" class at 4:30
p.m. where they both played together, demonstrating the
compelling konnokol structure. Campers walked away with
mind-blowing concepts of time and feel, and were treated to
world-class playing by these two instructors.
Jam Nights
 The three "Jam Nights" at Drum
Fantasy Camp highlight the incredible experience of the
event. Campers get
to sit in with Vinny Valentino and Baron Browne
(of Vital Information) plus New York singer
Chrissi Poland.
This year, "Jam Nights" were
held in a large conference room in the main camp area.
Previously, they had been held in an auditorium. The idea
for 2008: make the "Jam Nights" one big "hang" for all the
campers, with food, drink, and plenty of fun.
Throughout the three nights, campers chose
from a list of songs they wanted to play. The list included
plenty or rock and r&b tunes, plus some of Vinny Valentino's
music, and songs from the Vital Information
album Vitalization.
 The order that campers played in depended on
the group they were in. Everyone got to play, and many were
accompanied by the instructors on various percussion and a
second drum set (pretty cool to look over and see an
instructor playing along with you!)
On the first night, Dave and
Horacio did a jam at the end of the night, with the entire
camp erupting into applause! On the second night, Steve
Smith, Jamey Haddad, and Ganesh Kumar took everyone on an
incredible rhythmic journey with an ambient backing track
created by Vinny Valentino, Chrissi Poland, and Baron
Browne. Then, Tony Royster took everyone on a wild ride
through a Jackson Five tune and a straigh ahead tune with an
exciting extended solo!
Finally, on the last night, all
of the instructors took turns trading solos etc. for one
grand finale! Then, everyone went out for drinks at
Wonderbar on East 4th street, right behind the hotel (the
youngsters were welcomed, too).
The Last Day
Everyone packed up and brought their bags
down for the last day. But there was one more exciting event
that evening: a concert at Cleveland's Nighttown restaurant
featuring Vinny Valentino, Baron Browne, and Tony Royster,
Jr.! This gig was the perfect way to close drumFantasy.08...
 The band grooved to lots of
Vinny's music, including a few songs on the Vital
Information release, Vitalization. Tony tore
it up all night, creating deep pocket grooves with Baron,
and exploding through several solos with great showmanship.
During the second set, Vinny
invited Steve Smith to sit in for a few songs. As a
"reminder" of how these songs were to be played, Steve
kicked it into a gear many in attendance had seen, including
a pounding 16th note double bass groove. Jaws were on the
floor!
After the show, campers hung out one last
time, exchanged e-mail addresses, and made their way back to
the hotel for a good night's sleep and a journey home with
memories that will last a lifetime...
>>Click
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drumFantasy.10<<
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