The 8th annual Woodstick Big Beat Drum Event fundraiser will be held on Sunday, November 7, 2010, according to Chris Kimball of Lakewood, founder of the original event. Hundreds of Northwest drummers will gather at the Juanita Field House in Kirkland, WA where they’ll join drummers in 15 cities across North America attempting to set two new Guinness World Records for drummers playing a song simultaneously: one record for the most drummers playing a song in a single location, the other for the most drummers playing together via live internet connection.
The entire international event will be directed from our Kirkland, WA location with major organization and support from Donn Bennett Drum Studio in Bellevue.
Drummers in Birmingham England assembled 588 drummers in 2008 to beat our previous record of 533 set at Qwest Field in 2006. The November 7 attempt ill hopefully bring the record back to the Northwest where it all started.
Participants stand a chance to win some of the $18,000 in free drum gear and live performances by seven of the biggest names in the drum world. All proceeds will go to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation to purchase musical instruments for underfunded local schools and to Camp Korey, a camp in Carnation, WA for kids battling serious illness.
For more details and to sign up to participate, call 425-747-6145 or online at www.BennettDrums.com. There is a $12 fee for participants and $10 fee for spectators. Doors open at 10 am and the event occurs from 2-4 pm.
In addition to the world record drumming event, seven world class drummers are also scheduled to participate. They are: Steve ”Mad Drummer” Moore (Steve became an international sensation when his “Mad Drummer” video went viral on YouTube with over 7 million hits), Kenny Aronoff, (John Mellencamp, Smashing Pumpkins), Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta), Alan White, (YES, John Lennon, Eric Clapton), Jeff Kathan, (Paul Rogers, Spike and The Impalers), Franki Banali, (Quiet Riot, WASP) and Walfredo Reyes Jr. (Santana, Traffic).