Tag: Los Angeles

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

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