Wow - wonderful. The audience was entertained by Benny Grebb, Steve Smith and Pete Lockett.
I’d never heard of Benny Grebb before, but I was impressed - a “flowing” version of Thomas Lang (I think they know each other well), he managed to stay musical whilst demonstrating awesome technique. He’s still young but definitely worth looking out for.
On the other hand, the experienced Steve Smith showed us his mastery of the drums demonstrating styles right from the birth of the drumset to the modern day. In particular, he focused on “swing” and explained that really every drummer ought to master this first - it reinforces independence - rock will follow easily. It just so happens I’m very slowly (remember I have a baby now!) making my way through some Colin Woolway triplet lessons, so I may take a longer detour in this area before returning to “straight” rock.
Subtle snare brush work then followed as Steve and Benny performed a duet of Kenny Clarke’s “Salt Peanuts” followed by a duet on the hi-hat only. This resulted in a mini hi-hat battle which included some amusing moments as both made mistakes; but nobody cared.
Pete Lockett (an expert in the area of Indian drumming) joined both Steve and Benny for a trio showdown where East met West; intricate Indian hand-rythms mixed with the power of two drum kits. This illustrated improvision at its best and also how each of them was spurred on by the other two.
The afternoon ended with the usual raffle which included some neat Sonor gear (yes, I walked away empty handed again - one day!). Sonor drum kits were used throughout the afternoon and to be honest, I was surprised by how good they were - even though I’ve always been a DW fan. Wembley Drum Centre put on the event to celebrate they’re now Sonor resellers. The president of Sonor was one of the audience members.
This was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, especially when you’re about to fly to America the next day - more about that trip later!!
