drumFantasy.08 August 23-27
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Cleveland, OH
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.
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.
When the clinic ended, the drumFantasy.08 crew of
helpers and campers jumped on transforming the
clinic stage into a concert stage.
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. Steve Smith and Vital Information 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, Oz, and Will took the stage.
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.
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. Dave was happy to help
everyone understand his tuning concepts.
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.
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 Steve Smith and Vital Information) plus 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
straight ahead jazz 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.
On the final 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. Steve kicked it into
high-gear to match Tony's amazing performance. It
was a fun night.
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...