So You Think You Can Drum!

Last evening was the first annual drum contest in Washago. Drummers competed at the Lion's Hall for modest prizes. The turn out was better than I expected and the talent was insipiring. I simply went to observe and support the cause. My primary goal was to see what the crowd liked in a drummer. The non-drummers in the crowd are watching more than listening and its those people that a drummer needs to entertain.
Seven guys entered the challenge, no girls unfortunately. There were two judges - I was surprised to see that Rob Frost Murphy was one of them. It was good to see him again, it had been a few years so we a quick chat to catch up.
At 6PM the fun started, first up was Wayne Hill. He listed his favourite band as Tower of Power. He played a lot of double rolls with accents and rim-shots. His chops were mature and well conditioned, his bass foot was quick and consistent as he worked his way through the solo. It was a very clean and precise performance, but did not display much flash or change up the rhythm at all.
The third performer was Aaron (hope I spelled it correctly). He said his favourite drummers were Neil Peart and John Bonham (interesting eh?). He added an open snare drum to the stage kit and started playing steady quick notes on it while adding flavour with his other appendages. I could hear a definite Bonham influence in the solo. He built up the piece nicely with lots of single and double rolls around the kit and decent bass drum technique. His solo hit a crescendo near the end followed by a denouement - where he went back to the opening open snare pattern but much softer. Very nicely done.  This ended up as the winning performance - which I could not disagree with.
Second last on the stage was a young fellow named Nate. He did not list Neil Peart as his favourite drummer, but mentioned a couple of older folkish rock bands (for the life of me I can't remember). He started his solo with brushes, playing a nice swing while tapping his hi-hat foot on the off beats. That's a classic pattern that requires some practice. I looked away for a second for some reason, but when I looked back up, he was playing sticks. I didn't hear or see the transition. He kept up the swing on the hat and ride and embellished nicely against the rhythm while keeping that hat tapping on the off beat. His time-keeping was very good and I enjoyed the fact that he used a style unlike others in the competition. His chops needed some polishing, but that comes with mileage. He is obviously off to a good start in his percussive journey.  Nate did not place but I felt he was top three. I actually named his my winner for the 'Audience voting'.

A note of interest to me was that at least 4 of the entrants listed Neil Peart as their favourite or one of their favourites.
Overall, I had a great time, met a few new people, won a door prize and came home with a set of drum sticks 'just for showing up'.
Thanks to the Doug (the host), Rob (judge) and Steven Henry for showing up at the end just to play and show off his great head of hair (and smooth grooves).
Looking forward to the Second Annual 'So You Think You Can Drum' next year. I promise to enter.