Drum Daze 2011 Part 2

In my last post I showed you some pics of Drum Daze 2011 in Columbus, Ohio. I am proud of myself for taking such clear pictures of the artists on stage and I want to finish this post by showing you the remainder of them.

First up is Todd Sucherman. My cousin and I decided to go to the balcony section of the theatre so we could get the best view and not have too many people sitting next to us. Afterall, this isn’t a concert, it’s a clinic. So we wanted the freedom to move and go in and out of the theatre. Because of this decision, we were able to get a pic with Greg Bissonette.
  Todd played some tracks he recorded with Styx and basically just showed the crowd his drum parts. Even though he was agreat player, I was a little disappointed because I was hoping he would give us some cool tricks or new information. One thing I’m finding out is that most clinics are not about giving new information, but just about performing. Although that is a great lesson in and of itself, it doesn’t quench a drummer’s thirst for knowledge.

I was impressed with Alex Acuna as he came out and showed his ability to play multiple rhythms at one time. Alex spoke about his culture’s way of thinking and speaking rhythmically and demonstrated this by playing three rhythms simultaneously. He had a cowbell on a foot pedal and played it with his left foot. He was playing a cajun with his left hand and held shakers in the other.

I love to hear Latin rhythms because they are layered together with many things going on at one time. It really is a feat to pull some of them off. Alex did this as though it was natural. He also got the crowd involved in clapping along with him and made his performance fun and energized. An attitude not afforded by some of the players.

Here are some more pics from the rest of the day. I hope you enjoy them and let me know what you think of them.