Tag: drum channel

I "met" Chad for the first time at the beginning of the year, on the 14th of January, at 11:38 in the morning (I just checked the info of the file, "Date Picture Taken." So not a stalker, then. Just a geek.) and even though I got a photo with him, I don't think this could ever count as a "meeting". It mainly consisted of a nervous "Hey Chad, can I please get a picture?" with a smile and him responding with a blank stare that clearly says "What the hell kind of accent is that?" but still agreeing to take a photo. This mostly two-sentence-bound and extremely one-sided conversation would then be ended with my (still nervously spoken) "Thank you!" and both of us walking in different directions.

My thoughts: "I just got a photo with freakin CHAD SMITH. *MUST* tweet this. Now."

His thoughts: "Australian? British? He must have been British. The hair.. yeah, definitely British."

I have a photo to prove it, with a date and a time and everything. But there was no real life communication. He wasn't my friend afterwards. Heck, he wasn't even an acquaintance afterwards. We live in times where it's possible to admire and respect somebody for ONE thing that they are able to do exceptionally, without them ever knowing the respect or the admiration exists. It is one-sided. It's sad, but the alternative is also impossible, unfortunately. The alternative (being CLOSE and REAL friends with every single person who admires you) is unfortunately not even closely possible. Human beings just aren't wired like that. I've tried that approach many many times, but it always leaves me drained and exhausted. I'm in a position where some people have wanted to take a photo with me also, or maybe even my autograph, so to experience this from the other side is invaluable but also SO surreal. Regardless of that that, I've always tried to make real-world connections, even if it's just for those few seconds that I'm talking to somebody, even if I forget their name a day or two later, and even if we both know we'll never see each other again. As a human to a human, not an "idol" to a "fan" or a teacher to a student.

You have to realise, Chad (any famous person!) probably meets hundreds of new people every month, ALL "wanting" something from him. Something as innocent and as simple as a picture, or something as sinister and as complicated as a "friendship" just for personal gain. That's got to suck.. filtering every single human connection through that criteria: "What does this person want? Me, my heart and my personality, or my fame and my money and my connections?". I don't envy that. I totally understand and sympathise with that.

Now, I'm a shy guy.. I'm never in anybody's face. Unless if it's a girl that I'm kissing (ooooh SNAP!) but you get my point.. I'm always and happily in the background. I wanted to meet Chad (again) and I wanted to take a picture with him, but I didn't expect ANY little thing more than that. Tons are expected from these dudes, day in and day out, and I would have been (and AM) perfectly happy with a handshake and a photo. So after the live show tonight everybody had some supper there at DC, chatted randomly, and just relaxed. Afterwards I asked Chad for a photo, got it, and posted it to my Facebook page. After that most people left. Don, Chad, the members from Outernational (the band Chad performed with) and I stayed behind a little bit longer. What followed was something that meant a ton to me and was something that I never expected. It ranged from everybody just jamming out on random drum stuff of Terry's that was stacked around the DrumChannel studio, to trumpet playing, to talks about Buddy Rich, talks about producers and engineers and mixers, and even chatting about the new RHCP music video that they're shooting tomorrow. I'm not namedropping or saying these things to make you jealous, I'm saying these things because they overwhelmed me a little. I'm a very observant guy, and it was clear as day that this wasn't just a cold and quick handshake and a photo anymore, we were all having a conversation. It wasn't like we were all holding hands and singing Kumbaya either, I'm not trying to romanticise this into some soppy Hollywood cliche.. but it was real. THAT's what blew my mind.

We always picture the people we admire as people who are "far away" and unreachable.. and some cases they very much are and they very much should be. But flip, we're all equally human. It was so cool to have a real life conversation with all these people and have Chad shake my hand afterwards to sincerely say goodbye. I'm not going to be all corny and say that the second handshake made him "feel like my friend" or that we are now BFFs forever (like, oh my goshhhh) but it most certainly made him seem to not be "far away" or "unreachable" anymore. And I appreciated that. We're all equally human. We're all equally human. We're all equally human.

It was a good day. I feel blessed.
Much love.
C

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

Listing everything that has happened since I arrived in the States will occupy a short novel and very very very much of your time and my time :) I am sure you will find out about the "big things" sure enough, but for now I'll just stick to the past few days..

First US clinic.. incredible. I was incredibly nervous at first, but after the first few moments I felt a lot more comfortable and the crowd was just SO accepting. I played a few songs, and explained three techniques/patterns that I have used for years and LOVE using around the kit (and of course in MANY of the covers!). Afterwards I opened the floor for questions and without fail, epic question after epic question was asked. They asked about the kind of stuff I have been wanting to answer for SO long, so it was suchhh a cool experience. I ended up with a very welcoming AND intelligent crowd, which made for one of the coolest live experiences to date.

Drumchannel appearance.. one of the craziest days of my LIFEEEEE thus far. I have been looking up to Tony Royster Jr for a very very long time (as many of you know, he's my favorite drummer) so when he walked into the studio during soundcheck, I immediatly felt intimidated just sound checking the friggin mid tom. Haha sitting here in this hotel room typing this, I even get all stoked again just thinking back at the sound tech saying "ok now please sound check the whole kit, just play something." with Tony standing there. Sheeeeeeeesh. Strangely enough, it didn't feel that bad and I didn't drop the sticks (or poo my pants, you know). Right after that I officially met Tony and Terry (Bozzio) in the studio control room, and with an absolute shock found them to be totally normal and SUCH humble guys. Terry immediatly felt like that cool and soft-spoken uncle you always hope comes for a visit, and Tony felt like that friend that has always lived next door to you (and just happens to play drums for Jay Z). I don't mean to sound corny (or disrespectful) but it was an INCREDIBLE eye-opener. Earlier that day John Good also took me on a tour of the factory, where I was totally shocked to find not a single cookie-cutter "assembly line" vibe, but an actual person at EVERY stage of the process. I always pictured a company as big as DW to be "cold" (know'm sayin?) and friggin HUGE in all aspects of the word, so it was such a surprise to see such a personal touch EVERYWHERE in the factory. Friggin CRAZY day.. one of those days where you can't fall asleep the night before, or the night after.

The second clinic yesterday was just as friggin aaaaaawesome. My favorite part by FAR is afterwards, chilling with everybody and meeting the people face to face. Overwhelming and sooooooo humbling. You guys have no idea how much it means to me to hear all the nice things you have to say, it takes a while to sink in but it means so SO much. Thank you!

YouTube Headquarters visit.. in. friggin. sane. My friend Carol Gunby (who I met at the YouTube SA launch in Johannesburg) took us for some GoogleFood™ in their friggin ridonk cafeteria, and showed us around the building. Such a cool place! The whole building had an incredibly open and warm vibe, loved being there. My inner nerd (which is 99% of me, just covered by a 1% layer of drumming-ness) geeked out like a mofo at being in the actual YouTube Headquarters building.. haha it was very very cool.

Tomorrow I'll be leaving America (epic sad face) and flying to Canada (epic stoked face) to start working with Jared Falk and his homies at FreeDrumLessons.com on a product I am doing with them.. very very excited! America has been increeeeedibly good to me (like I can't even explain here) so I am sad to leave, but I am very excited and hopeful to come back. I am stooooked about Canada, and will post another blog entry when I have settled in there.

One thought very prominently stays in the back of my mind.. it is because you are reading this, and it is because you maybe dig the way I play drums, that i am typing this blog post from a hotel in America. You guys made this possible and I appreciate more than the English language allows me to. If you can, please come to a clinic or appearance so I can shake your hand or give you a hug and give you a big personal THANK YOU.

Also.. In 'n Out burgers owns all other burgers I have ever eaten.

Much love. ~ç