03/01

LOS ANGELES, CA- January 24, 2001 — A packed house, flashing lights, 14 contestants and a small device known as the Drumometer captured the attention of the audience at the inaugural World's Fastest Drummer, Extreme Drumming Event. The sport-drumming event was held at West L.A. Music's West Los Angeles location. In a blur of hands and feet, two finalists captured their title of Fastest Hands and Fastest Feet, and also grabbed incredible prize packages. West L.A. Music in conjunction with the WFD, the World's Fastest Drummer Organization, DW, Mapex and Remo sponsored the event to find the world's fastest drummers in two competitions, fastest hands and fastest feet. Participants vied all month long at the store to qualify for the finals held January 23, 2001. Five finalists in each division were chosen to compete in the final Extreme Drumming Event for the title and prizes, in front of a cheering audience. Prizes for the finalists were furnished by Axis, Pearl, Zildjian, Aquarian, AKG, Johnny RaBB, Mainline, Audix, and E-Pad. Capturing the fastest time in the feet competition was Dean Cuadra, with a final score of 815 beats in 60 seconds. Scott Truelove came in second place, and Andre Island pulled in a close third. The Fastest Hands title went to Glen Sobel, drummer of the newly signed band, Beautiful Creatures. Sobel scored an astonishing 1009, single-stroke hits in 60 seconds. He is only the fifth person to break 1000 strokes in qualifying action. Capturing second place was Dan Barnot, and placing third was Harry Schned, M.D.

Scoring for the event was tabulated using the Drumometer, a device that measures single-stroke hits on a drum head via an electronic trigger. The Drumometer as well as the WFD are collaborative efforts of Boo McAfee and Craig Alan. Their hope is that the WFD will blossom into a whole extreme drumming movement, increasing national interest in drumming. "This started off in Boo's [McAfee] school, the National Percussion Institute," states Johnny Rabb, Guinness Record holder and defending champion of the Fastest Hands Challenge, to the audience. "And now check out what's going on. Everyone is in this room to share extreme drumming. This is what we want to happen every year. To see Growth, and for musicians to really get into extreme drumming." "It is something that is going to continue to grow," says Glenn Noyes, West L.A. Music Drum Department manager. "Any time there is a challenge, drummers, musicians, love that kind of stuff. I think this is something that you'll see over the years that will get bigger and bigger."

Hosting the Extreme Drumming Event and also serving as judge was drummer, Rikki Rockett of Poison. Rabb, and Tim Waterson, defending Fastest Feet champion were on hand to demonstrate their personal techniques for developing and increasing hand and foot speed. Both individuals also took their turn at the Drumometer in an exhibition round to defend their current records. A special highlight of the evening was an impromptu jam session between defending champion Rabb, and special guest, drumming legend, Zoro. The duo laid down a tasty groove, and quickly mesmerized the whole room as they traded licks. Both artists are currently collaborating on a drum project aptly dubbed "Drum Brothers". Rabb explained that the project was created to explore the way two drummers can play together and listen to each other without "stepping on each others feet."

For video footage of the event see http://www.westlamusic.com/wlam/frames.htm

For more info on Extreme Sport Drumming see www.extremesportdrumming.org