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WFD
Modern
Drummer Festival 2003
16th
Annual MD Festival – Saturday
The winner of MD's Undiscovered Drummer Award in the under 18 age category this year was Mike Orris, Jr. from Sparks, Nevada and he played his butt off! After which, Ron Spagnardi presented him with a pair of drumsticks engraved with "Undiscovered Drummer 2003" and his name. Mike has only been playing drums for 5 years and he's a natural. He told me "My main influences have been Buddy Rich, Neil Peart, Marco Minnemann, Chris Penny, and Danny Carey." From more on Mike, check out his two bands at the following Web sites: eightimesover and Existence.
Tiger Bill with Mike Orris Jr.
Hip Pickles
With an act as unique as its name, this three-man drumming dynamo blends
singing, choreography, humor, and audience participation with precision
drumming. The group
consists of Chet Doboe, Chris
Scherer, and Jeremy
Fischer who hail from
Long Island, NY. They first appeared at MD's Festival in 1993 and were
so popular that they were asked
to return
again in 1995. Since their first appearance at the 1993 Fest, the Hip Pickles
have appeared at major Drum Festivals all over the world and also
on TV. 
You've got to see these guys to believe them. (And you will see them. Hudson Music videotaped the entire Festival this year for release toward the end of the year.) Talk about precision drumming not to mention some serious hours of practice! The Hip Pickles are an extremely high-energy act. Their shtick includes fancy footwork (ala STOMP) combined with rhythmic chanting combined with incredible displays of drumming that gives the word "precision" new meaning.
Check out the photo below where these guys are each playing one double-stroke portion of a closed roll in turn. It is so clean that it sounds like one person playing a continuous roll!
Hip Pickles perform behind their mini-drumsets
The Hip Pickles entertained the audience with about a dozen routines without so much as repeating the same thing twice. They are an ideal combination of skill, creativity, and entertainment. To hear them for yourself check out their CD, "Hip Pickles-Out of the Jar." (Hip Pickles was sponsored by Sabian Cymbals, Pro-Mark Drumsticks, Remo Drumheads, and Gibraltar Hardware.)
The Hip Pickles: Chet Doboe, Chris Scherer, and Jeremy
Fischer
Door Prizes
and Awards
Between each artist's segment, while Rick's stage crew sets the stage for the
next performance, there is an intermission where MD gives away door prizes to
lucky
Festival goers
whose ticket numbers are called (this year they even included some copies of
my
book "DoubleDrum: A Double Bass Drum
Text" with the door prizes).
In addition, Rick Van Horn presented Robert Zildjian of Sabian with Modern Drummers 2003 Editor's Achievement Award.
Modern Drummer Magazine also received an award from Sonor Drums
for their leadership in and contribution to the percussion industry.
Nathaniel
Townsley
Nathaniel, who started his
career
playing Gospel music in church bands at the age of three, has worked with
artists like Mariah
Carey,
Stevie Wonder, Dru Hill, Public Enemy, Chico DeBarge, Joe Zawinul, and others.
He
is
currently
on tour with jazz bassist Richard Bona. Nathaniel was first profiled in MD
in March of 2000 in an "Up & Coming" story and now, three years
later, he makes his debut at the MD Fest.
Nathaniel opened his segment by sharing some of his practical experiences with the drumming audience. Then he brought out Ron Long on bass and Shedrick Mitchell on Hammond B3 organ (complete with Leslie cabinet) and proceeded to do his thing. If you haven't heard of Nathaniel Townsley before, remember his name. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more from him in the future. (Nathaniel was sponsored by GMS Drums, Paiste Cymbals, Pro-Mark Drumsticks, and Evans Drumheads.)
Nathaniel Townsley
Matt Wilson
Matt first started making noise in the New
York jazz scene in 1992 through his work with Cecil McBee, Dewey Redman,
Lee
Konitz,
and
others.
In
1996 he
released
his debut CD, "As Wave Follows Wave" to critical acclaim for
both his drumming and composing skills. Since then, he has released three more
albums
and all have met with similar success.
At the MD Fest, Matt performed his own jazz and latin compositions featuring Andrew D'Angelo on alto sax and bass clarinet, Jeff Lederer on saxes and clarinet, and Martin Wind on bass. Showing his sense of humor, he closed with a rock tune he wrote during which he lampooned a "Rock Star Drummer" complete with long-haired wig, muscle t-shirt, and drumming gloves. The audience cracked up. (Matt was sponsored by Zildjian Cymbals & Drumsticks and Remo Drumheads.)
The "Subtle" Matt Wilson
The "Rocker" Matt Wilson
Steve Smith
This Festival appearance marked the fourth time Steve has played at the MD
Fest, which is more than any other artist. And, I have to say, Steve is
one of my favorites.
Before his performance, Rick Van Horn presented Steve with a plaque from Modern
Drummer for his excellent two-disc DVD, "Drumset
Technique/History of The U.S. Beat" from Hudson
Music.
Steve Smith working the Snare Drum
Steve opened his segment at the front of the stage, seated behind
a snare drum, and he started playing some brush
chops. 
He then switched to sticks for a demonstration of the various sounds you can get out of a snare drum before making his way to his drumset, which was set sideways to the audience so they could clearly see Steve's hands and feet in action. To top it all off, Steve brought out the members of his group "Vital Information" to perform, featuring Baron Browne on bass, Tom Coster on keys, Frank Gambale on guitar, and special guest Bill Evans on sax. They played three tunes, "RattleTrap" written by Bill, "A Little Something" written by Frank Gambale, and concluded with a group composition called "Over and Out." (Steve was sponsored by Sonor Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Remo Drumheads, and DW Pedals.)
Steve Smith
Mike Portnoy
In 1995, when Mike first played the MD Fest, he was a relative newcomer. Eight
years later he returns to the MD Fest as one of the most recognized names
in drumming.
Mike's work with
his group Dream Theater has assured him a place in music history.
But, never one to rest on his laurels, Mike constantly works on
numerous side projects. And although Mike is widely known
for his voluminous drumsets, he opened his MD Fest segment playing a basic
4-piece kit specially made by Tama as a clone of the kit Ringo originally
used with the
Beatles
back
in 1963.
To go along with the kit, Mike brought out his latest band, "Yellow
Matter Custard" to play some of the Beatles' greatest
hits. The band featured Matt Bissonette on bass, Paul Gilbert on guitar,
and Neal Morse on guitar and keyboards.
Mike Portnoy behind the custom made Tama drumset
clone of Ringo's original Beatles kit
The audience was on its feet at the end of Mike's Beatles set but Mike was just beginning. The stage went dark and Mike's gear disappeared to be replaced by his usual monster sized kit and, as an unexpected surprise, he was joined by his Dream Theater band featuring John Myung on bass, John Petrucci on guitar, and Jordan Rudess on keyboard. Needless to say, the audience went wild. As shown in the photo below, Mike gave everyone an unorthodox but extremely satisfying view of his chops as he played with his back to the audience. (Mike was sponsored by Tama Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Pro-Mark Drumsticks, and Remo Drumheads.)
Mike at home behind his monster kit
So ended the performances for Festival Saturday. For more photos of the Festival artists drum gear and even some backstage goings on, click the following link.
-- Page 3 of 5 --
Click for Pics of the Artists Drums and Percussion
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