drumFantasy.07 August 17-21
Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ
Drum Fantasy Camp was originally launched in 2007.
Camp Director Steven Orkin had been looking for
teaching opportunities for two of his clients,
Dave Weckl and Steve Smith.
Upon speaking to both, each mentioned that
he had attended the Stan Kenton
jazz camp in high school - seeking out the
opportunity both to learn with the great Peter Erskine. Orkin decided to
create DFC and test it in the country's largest
metropolitan area: New York City.
The experience was incredible. Nobody had any idea
that drumFantasy.07 would attract 109 drummers of
all ages and playing levels from all over the world!
The event was loaded with great musicians and
amazing classes. It also revealed how drummers
always support each other in this kind of
environment. Everyone had a blast!
Steve and Dave were joined by Horacio "El
Negro" Hernandez, Jason Bittner,
Pat Petrillo, Jason Gianni
and Glenn Weber of the New Jersey
School of Percussion.
Students arrived on Friday afternoon. They
registered, and then hopped on a bus over to Seton
Hall for a reception and kick-off concert with Steve
Smith and Vital Information! The crowd was treated
to a fantastic concert featuring Steve, Tom
Coster, Baron Browne, and
Vinny Valentino. Of course, for the
camp, Steve had a few surprises in his back pocket.
On flute, hand percussion, and konnokol, was the
great Ravichandra Kulur. Steve also
invited Israeli percussionist Gilad Dobrecky.
It was an amazing lineup and the camp attendees saw
a very rare and special performance.
Saturday morning saw the beginning of classes.
Everyone was assigned to a group and that group went
from class-to-class together.
It was amazing how people bonded so quickly.
Drummers huddled around cafeteria tables talking
drums and trading concepts with their sticks and
practice pads. The instructors also ate in the
cafeteria. This provided more time for questions and
discussion - as did the the lawn right outside the
classrooms. Steve Smith was seen leading impromptu
lessons out there after lunch, with campers tapping
out odd time signatures and trying Indian konnokol!
The second evening provided campers with another
incredible concert. But this time, it was a double
feature.
The first show was a band put together by Horacio
Hernandez. He brought with him Turkish pianist
Fahir Atakoglu and bassist
Melik Yirimibir. The trio played an
assortment of fascinating tunes.
One special treat: Horacio performed "Lullaby for
Miles" on Mbira and invited Dave Weckl to accompany
him on a snare drum with brushes.
Dave returned to the stage for the second show with
a band he put together exclusively for this
occasion. It featured Tom Kennedy
on a 250-year-old upright bass, George
Colligan on piano, and Ralph Bowen
on saxophones.
Days three through five consisted of daytime master
classes limited to just 15 campers per class. This
gave everyone some quality time with the teachers.
Steve and Dave originally wanted to make sure the
classes were small enough to give each student
personal instruction in addition to the larger
concepts. The hardest part was keeping the classes
on-track time-wise. The teachers wanted to
keep teaching and sometimes went an hour past the
scheduled ending time! This
tradition has continued every year since.
Of course the campers didn't complain.
The last two nights of the camp saw our original Jam
Nights in which the campers got to sit in with an
all-star band. The band was led by guitarist
Vinny Valentino and featured bassist
Baron Browne and singer
Chrissi Poland.
This band had been performing on Monday night in New
York city with a very great drummer - Joel
Rosenblatt. But, on "jam night," it was the
campers who were given the opportunity to
contribute. The Jam Night tradition has continued
ever-since and the band has become a main feature of
Drum Fantasy Camp!
Put to the task of being professional musicians for
the night, each drummer, no matter what their level
of play, was able to hold the songs together. With
two kits on stage and drummers lined up for each
kit, a new drummer would start as the previous
drummer stopped - allowing the groove to flow, and
each drummer to do their thing.
And, each drummer left the stage with a pat on the
back from the instructors, who also jumped in from
time-to-time. This led to some very fun moments.
For example, when the band broke into Van Halen's
"Hot for Teacher," campers were treated to Jason
Bittner's blindingly fast version of the song's
double-bass shuffle. Steve also joined in on the
song, showing a different side of his playing!
Many students also appreciated Steve's groove on
some disco/R&B tunes. He was all pocket - loose and
flowing, and even had to turn his ball cap around to
fit the mood!
Dave Weckl and Horacio Hernandez spent most of the
two nights on timbales and congas, accompanying
campers during their turns on the drum kits. There
were a lot smiles back and forth as campers realized
who was backing them up!
All-in-all, a lot was learned and there was much fun
to be had!
