"…all in the name of….hearing safety!"   Article written by Arny Bailey       Back to Cover

Try to imagine a few hundred ________

drummers getting together to play at the same time all in the name of, among other things, hearing safety!  Although this seems to be a contradiction of terms, it is in fact one of the reasons behind Chris Kimball and Donn Bennett’s yearly gathering of head pounding, cymbal crashing, bass thumping drummers known as The Woodstick Big Beat!

In addition to raising money for aforementioned hearing safety through Rotarians for Hearing Regeneration, this gathering of drummers attempts each year to break the Guiness World Record ® for simultaneous drummers while raising money for school music programs through donations to Rotary Music 4 Life and Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

Where's Waldo?

The event which commenced in 2003 as the brain child of Chris Kimball and originally sponsored by Tacoma Rotary Club #8, began in an airplane hangar in Gig Harbor Washington.  “We set our first Guinness world record with 264 drummers playing together under the direction of Gerard Schwarz of the Seattle Symphony,” says co-founder/co-producer Donn Bennett of Donn Bennett Drum Studio in Bellevue, WA ( http://www.bennettdrums.com ).
Moving to the Tacoma Dome in 2004 and 2005, they set a new world record at 502 drummers simultaneously playing drum sets under the direction of Harvey Felder of the Tacoma Symphony.   In 2006 the event moved to the Qwest Field Events Center where they set the current world record at 533. In 2007 the event was held at the Puyallup Fair Grounds.  “We didn't set any world records, but we had one of our best events ever,” reports Donn.
“We’ve been supported by some amazing celebrity drummers through our 5 years,” says Donn. 

“Celebrity drummers included Tony Coleman (B.B. King), Michael Derosier (Heart), Liberty DeVito (Billy Joel), Scott Rockenfield (Queensryche), Leon Taylor (the Ventures), Alan White (Yes, John Lennon), Kenny Aronoff (John Melencamp, Melisa Ethridge), Greg Bissonette (Ringo Starr, Joe Satriani), Tony Coleman (B.B. King), Jason Finn (Presidents of the United States), Ricky Lynn Johnson (the Wailers), Jeff Kathan ___

(Paul Rodgers, Sir Mix-alot), Bernard Purdie (Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan), Michael Shrieve (Santana), Zoro (Bobby Brown, Lenny Kravitz), Chris Pennie (Dillenger Escape Plan), Bobby Ameen (Paul Simon), John Blackwell (Prince), Scott Mercaddo, Derek Roddy, Carmine Appice and more.  We plan on having 8-10 celebrity drummers this year. Artists scheduled to participate this year include, Matt Cameron(Pearl Jam, Soundgarden) Joe

Celebs at Woodstick Some of the celebs that showed up for a past event.

Plummer (Modest Mouse), Michael Derosier (Original Heart Drummer), Tony Coleman( BB King) and Jeff Kathan(Paul Rogers, Sir Mix A lot) among others.

Past years have been successful not only in establishing two world records, but have raised over $70,000.00 for the charities mentioned.  “The contribution of Woodstick to research on the restoration of hearing will end up benefiting all of mankind through facilitating the development of medical treatments that actually prevent hearing loss and restore hearing through the regeneration of cells in the inner ear that were damaged or lost due to excessive noise exposure, drugs or the normal aging process,” says Edwin Rubel with the University of Washington.

There are several ways to participate in the event.  First, $10 will get you a ring-side seat as a spectator (yes, ear plugs are not only recommended but available at the event for $1).  However, if you’d like to actually bang __

a few tom-toms, you can bring along your kit and be part of the world record breaking attempt and your $10 spectator fee will even be waived if you can provide $50 in pledges!

Of course, for a $125 Gold Package you can reserve your spot in the first 5 rows with an up close view of the stage and guest artists.  You also receive a gift package from the sponsors and a meet and greet with the artists themselves.  If that’s still not enough for you, you can purchase the Platinum Package for $250 which includes all the benefits of the Gold Package plus a drum set provided by Donn Bennett Drum Studio all set up for you at the event!

This year’s event will be held at the Juanita High School Field House in Kirkland, Washington held on November 2nd, 2008. There are several very significant factors that will assure that this year’s event is the biggest and best event ever presented.

The most significant development comes from their alliance with Five Star Drum Shops. This years event will

occur simultaneously in 9 cities across the US and Canada, hosted by a Five Star Drum Shop in each city. The international event will be called the Five Star Big Beat. They will attempt toset a cumulative record for drummers playing simultaneously under the direction of Dr. Brad McDavid, of the U of W marching band via electronic connection between all 9 participating cities. This has never before been attempted but they’re confident they can pull it off.

There are some great prizes including a Beatles logo bass drum head signed

and donated by Ringo Starr himself! Drawings will be held in each participating city. One lucky winner will be drawn to win this priceless piece of rock memorabilia. You can find out where to participate in your area through the following Five Star Drum Shop Locations:

Buffalo Drum Outlet - Depew, New New York
Columbus Percussion - Columbus, Ohio
Donn Bennett Drum Studio – Bellevue, Washington
Drum World – Tulsa, Oklahoma
Just Drums – Toronto, Ontario

Memphis Drum Shop – Memphis, Tenn.
Percussion Center – Houston, Texas
Resurrection Drums – Hollywood, Forida
Stebal Drums – Willowick, Ohio

The affiliation with Five Star has brought dramatic increased industry support. All of the major drum, cymbal and accessory companies recognize the importance of this event and are being extremely supportive of this cause. “We could never attempt to produce an event on this scale with out the support of the drum industry. Expect to see lots more prizes and promotions this year,” reports Donn.
For more information and to register for this great event, please contact:
http://www.bennettdrums.com/ woodstick2008/woodstick2008.htm

Arny Bailey, Chief Editor

Alan White Alan White of Yes at a past Woodstick Big Beat.

MEET THE WRITER - ARNY BAILEY

MEET THE WRITER - ARNY BAILEY

President of In Form, Inc. Media Design and Chief Editor of Weekend Musician is a licensed architect practicing in the Pacific Northwest and weekend musician currently fronting ABOUT FACE, a classic rock cover band and The Grand Delusion a Tribute to the music of Styx and Journey.

In Form Inc. Media Design