The first London Drum Show took place over the weekend (September 4th and 5th) at London’s Olympia and was very well received by exhibitors and visitors alike. Some 2,000 people over both days (official figures are not yet available) attended the show, which saw some 40 stands including all the major brands attending, from giants such as Pearl, Yamaha and Roland, down to smaller and even start-up companies in the shape of Matt Nolan and Stageworks Gear.
Every aspect of the drum and percussion world was covered, from cymbals and kits to percussion and accessories.
It was a bustling little event (opened by Steve Gadd, no less) that managed to capture the unique atmosphere of one of MI’s more left-field sectors and delivered a sense of community for all that made it to the show.
“It’s tough out there for everyone at the moment, but when someone organises a drum show, you have to be there,” commented Active Music’s Lee Worsely.
“The drum community always stands a little separate from the rest of MI, so this sort of show really captures that culture. We all know each other, we all do similar things, it’s a real community and when we get together, it’s like old friends getting together,” added Yamha’s Darren Power. “The exhibitors and organiser have also brought in some good artists [as we spoke, Dave Weckl was on the live stage] and that is so important in the drum industry. It is a very artist-led business.”
As well as Weckl, the two days saw live performances from the likes of Benny Greb, Ian Matthews, Mike Mangini and Ndugu Chancler.
On top of that, Mikedolbear.com had organised a schedule of masterclasses covering issues such as working with film soundtracks, flamenco percussion and masterclasses from Weckl, Chancler and Craig Blundell.
There was little in the way of new gear per se on show, with most companies showing gear launched at NAMM or Frankfurt, although there were notable exceptions. Notable among these was Morico. The whole stand was ‘branded’ Sound Garden, alerting people to the new, eponymous brand of sound sculptures: hand beaten cymbals, gongs and various semi-tuned ‘hittables’ that look as good as they sound.
Also the Bum Chum silent monitoring system for drummers that sends a (surprisingly pleasant) vibration from the kick drum into the drummer’s throne, possibly ending once and for all the unfortunate occurrences of drummers losing their fundamentals in a monitor mix.
A full report will appear in the next (October) issue of MI Pro.
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