BTN Field Trip 2020!

This year’s field trip was a serious doozy.

On Feb 21st and 22nd of 2020, 5 of my students and I embarked on a road trip out to Vancouver to witness 2 days of unescorted drumming glory all thanks to Drumeo.

Chris Coleman, Horcacio “El Negro” Hernández, Anika Nilles, Benny Greb/Moving Parts, Tommy Igoe/WIM Trio, Aquiles Priester, Cindy Blackman Santana, Robert “Sput” Searight/ Ghost Note, Steve Smith/Vital Information and Jojo Mayer/Nerve.

With this unparalleled line up and almost 650 in attendance, this was sure to be a profound musical experience and I can say with a huge smile on my face that it did not disappoint in any way, shape or form.

But before we took part in the Drumeo festival, we had to make a stop at Heartbeat Cymbals HQ!

I LOVE Heartbeat and I love the dudes that run the place. They are so generous every time I take my students and I love their passion for people and for high quality instruments.

The following day, we arrived at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre 20min early to find the bustling of drummers and drum lovers outside the doors waiting to enter. We got in line to receive our passes and when I said we were Bring The Noise Drum Academy the Drumeo team responded with “We’ve been expecting you guys!! So stoked you’re here.” It was lovely to hear that and it made us feel very welcome.

About 10min after that, we were approached by a camera man and an interviewer looking to speak with Eddie who was my youngest student on the trip of 8 years old and was in fact the youngest person to be attending the Drumeo Festival.

Once the doors opened, we were herded in like happy cattle to where our ears and souls were about to be slaughtered by some of the worlds top drummers.

I didn’t know this was going to happen, but Drumeo had brought in about 12 different companies to act as part of an exhibition between all the performances. This included Rufus Drum Shop, Sonor Canada, Promark Drumsticks, A&F Drum Co, Ludwig, Roland Canada, Wood’s Custom Drums, Paiste Cymbals and more. After perusing a while, we made our way into the theatre and found our seats, which were smack dab in the centre and eye level with the performers to come.

Jared Falk (founder of Drumeo) came out and the place erupted. With excitement he spoke of his humble beginnings and the unexpected journey to the here and now. With that, he introduced the MC for the festival who was none other than the great Dom Famularo. If you don’t know who Dom is, he is known as The Global Ambassador For Drumming and has been a profound inspiration to me as a teacher as I navigated teaching for myself.

Chris Coleman kicked off the festival and with his powerhouse performance propelled day 1 into an explosive experience that I’ll never forget. Between each performance, my students and I would run up to the second floor lobby where the artist who had just performed would give out signatures and take photos.

When we’d make our way back in the theatre for the next performer, Dom and Jared would do giveaways based on asking the audience questions. One of the questions was “who is the youngest person here”. I grabbed Eddie who was right beside me and through him into the air, standing him up by my shoulders! We made our way down the aisle and Eddie hopped on stage. They gave him an insanely beautiful 10” splash cymbal that Horcacio “El Negro” Hernández had just finished performing with. We then ran up to the lobby and got it singed by Horacio himself which made the moment that much sweeter.

I didn’t think the day could get much better but I was wrong. One of Drumeo’s finest Chad Kettner came over to me and gifted my students and I with Official Drumeo Festival Drum Skins for the artists to sign. It was wild…we’d walk around the exhibition areas and people would say how awesome our group was and give us gifts. It really made my students feel like rock stars and Im so thankful to Drumeo and the other companies for their generosity.

When day 1 was complete, we took the sky train back to the Air B&B and passed out!

We arose on day 2 feeling rejuvenated and ready for another awesome day of performances, this time bringing along some ear buds! It’s hard to fathom in the moment, but I couldn’t understand how every performer was raising the bar, adding layers and somehow blowing our minds all the more with every note played. It was incredible to meet all of these players that I’ve been learning from for so many years now, even if just for a brief moment!

One of the highlights for me was meeting the legend Dom Famularo. His energy, positivity and encouragement was more valuable to me than I’m sure he knew but being able to introduce him to my students added this crazy feeling like…”oh yea, Im a teacher now, and I brought these kids to witness this incredible festival and …I LOVE MY JOB!

I am overwhelmed with a thankful heart, and not just for these great moments, but also for the “day in day out” of my life. I am so honoured to have this time here to be with these students and use drumming and music as the medium for building relationships. So a massive thank you to guys like Dom who pave the way for young punks like me.

I’ve said over and over again, but thank you Drumeo for your outstanding work. I cannot wait to to do this again.