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Tag: america

14
January 16, 2012 Posted by Cobus in Blog

NAMM 2012

I like cheese.

This time last year I was on a plane, probably half asleep (definitely NOT drooling on myself) and on my way to my very first visit to America. I get a little nervous even just thinking back.. I was anticipating my first visit to NAMM, my first visit to DW, and my first In & Out burger experience.

I arrived in the States on the Tuesday before NAMM, tried getting rest and recovering from jet-lag on the Wednesday (did not work. at all or even close.) and then attended NAMM starting that Thursday. Obviously, for a dude from a small town in South Africa, NAMM is absolutely and beyond overwhelming. The fact that I was jet-lagged to the point of having my IQ knocked down to the intellectual capability of a table did NOT help. I remember the whole thing being a blur.. doing an appearance at TRX Cymbals, having to talk incredibly loud all the time due to the insane volume inside the convention center, signing autographs for pretty much the first time ever and concentrating on not falling asleep. It was awesome, but it was incredibly intense. I'm not an extrovert at heart, and although I love people and conversations I'm not really an out-going attention-seeker.. so being in that kind of environment really stretched me, and it proved to be indicative of what was to come for 2011.

That was a year ago, and I can freakin NOT believe that a year has gone by so fast.. because today is Monday, and in three days NAMM 2012 will be underway. If any of you guys attend I would LOVE to meet you and hang out, you guys make all of this possible and it's always so surreal for me to meet you guys and get to know you a bit better. Sometimes the Internet has this horrible way of isolating people and just making people names on a screen, but meeting you guys in real life totally shatters that and makes it unavoidable that people support my career and dig what I do and are as passionate as I am about all of this. I can never EVER get used to that and I appreciate it so much. So if you're at NAMM this year, please come and hang out if you see me around! I'll be at the DW booth a lot, as well as the TRX Cymbals booth doing some appearances.

If you've been following my story and videos and posts you'll know that 2011 was a very big year for me. I came over to join the guys at Drum Channel as an intern, met some of my all-time favorite drummers, even got to jam with some of them, sold 3,000 copies of The Cobus Method, and experienced more support on my YouTube channel than ever before. I don't feel entitled, I don't feel super proud, but I do feel incredibly thankful and incredibly blessed. You guys are carrying me to unbelievable places and I am very excited for 2012!

And just because you are a trooper and you actually read to the end of this post, I'll give you the low-down: new series is recorded. Post production is underway. The mix is freakin insane and this is the BEST drum sound I have ever gotten, no contest. I might drop a video in the next week or so as a surprise.. but we'll see :) Otherwise the series will hopefully launch early February, but I'll keep you guys posted. I also have another HUGE project underway that I'll announce soon.. something I've been wanting to do for years and something I am very very veeery excited about. It will involve millions of musicians from all over the world and it's going to be HUGE.

Thanks again, from the bottom of my South African heart, for making all of this possible. I appreciate it!

NAMM2012.. amped.

Much love.
Cobus.
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27
June 8, 2011 Posted by Cobus in Blog

The Los Angeles Secret

When I started playing drums, I immediately hit the internet in search of information.. articles, lessons, photos, videos, ANYTHING I could painstakingly download at the monstrously slow speed my old 56k modem provided. One logo that popped up very very fast into this search for drum-related info was the famous DW logo, the one that every single drummer is very aware of. I read about the company, downloaded the pics, listened to the drum sets.. and made the DW logo my PC background. I bought a DW drum key from the local music shop because I just wanted something with the DW logo on it, and at that time I couldn't afford anything but a new drum key.

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Today, I played drums in the DW Showroom for the first time. I messed around on some conceptual kits that haven't been released yet, and I played classic DW kits that have been around for many years. Afterwards I walked out of the showroom, through the DW factory where those kits were made. I made my way through the offices and quickly snatched a peek into the legendary John Good's office. After that I walked over to the building next door, strolled casually through Drum Channel's headquarters, and walked right into my own office; the office I'll be working and playing drums in for the next three months.

For the next three months I will be the Drum Channel Intern :) I'll be helping them with the website and just hang around and be a part of the Drum Channel team. Don Lombardi (the founder of DW) initiated this months ago after my visit to Drum Channel for the live show, and we've been having meetings almost every week since. The fact that I've never had lessons before but that I've been playing for 9 years, created a super unique opportunity which also gave Don the idea of giving me my own show on DC, where I will be taught by some of the world's best teachers, on camera. So in this way I'll be the analogue for anybody taking the lesson: probably struggling with the stuff you would have struggled with, and asking the questions you would have asked.

Then what I'm almost most stoked about of everything.. is that I will be your "inside man" :) I am in the building that I have wanted to see the inside of since I started playing drums, I am surrounded by drum sets and hardware and gear that I dreamt of since I started playing drums.. And the epic thing is, I know that so many people feel the exact same way. So I'm going to use my iPhone or whatever camera I can get my hands on, and take some footage of what exactly goes on in the Drum Channel building: interviewing Tony Royster Jr and Chad Smith and whoever else I see walking around, catching some drum duets, and filming some of the epic gear lying around :) I want to show you guys the stuff I wish I could see if I wasn't here right now.

Keep an eye on my YouTube channels (my main channel and my 2nd channel), keep an eye on my Facebook page, Drum Channel's YouTube channel, and my Twitter page.. because things are about to get pretty wild :) The next three months is such a new chapter to me and I am STOKED to be able to share it through the lens of a camera for anybody who wants to be a part of it.

Much love!
Cobus
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19
June 7, 2011 Posted by Cobus in Blog

America. Again.

So.. a blog post about the flight to the States is boring. One about why I am here and for how long.. boring. But a blog post about grocery shopping? BOOM. Blog post GOLD.

Today was a day of many many firsts. Today I played drums for the first time in almost four months. This means I endured frustration with how my muscles struggled to play what my brain was thinking, and obtained at least one blister. SO much fun and SO frustrating. Tomorrow this continues.. and I'm so stoked to see what will happen to my playing when I get to play drums every day. I haven't been able to do that since 2004.. 7 years ago. Crazy! Appreciate your practice space, people.

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Today I drove an automatic car for the first time. On the wrong side of the road. On a freeway. While jet-lagged. Freakin CRAZY nerve-wrecking.. but such a surreal experience. Nothing can quite prepare you for driving on the wrong side of the road like, well, driving on the wrong side of the road. That little inner voice just kept screaming "RIGHT SIDE! RIGHT SIDE! RIGHT SIDE!" and sometimes it turned into a very audible real-person voice that was mine. Luckily I was alone in the car.

Today I did grocery shopping in America for the first time. I've heard many stories, seen many movies, but nothing could prepare me for walking through the cereal section and not seeing ONE brand name I recognized. Also.. too many choices. Ridiculous. I settled on "Honey Comb" (because I like honey and because the price was right).

Something strange happened while I did the shopping. I was totally out of my comfort zone, searching for bread and cheese and ham and orange juice between brand names that ALL seem 100% new to me. That's a weird feeling; surrounded by nothing familiar, in a different country, alone. But paying for my food in a different currency, then walking to a left-hand drive car, to drive on the other side of the road to my hotel room.. I found this cool sense of peace. I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but it really felt like "it will be OK". I feel at home here.


I'm sure many people are wondering why the flip I am here and for how long, but we'll get to that a bit later on :)

Thank YOU, reading this, for making all this possible.
Much love.

Cobus
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