Winter NAMM 2014 took place in Anaheim, California, January 23rd – 26th and was one of the best shows we have experienced in recent years.
This footage of Matt Garstka and Animals As Leaders (Tosin Abasi, Javier Reyes) was taken during the TAMA Drums 40th Anniversary Party, which was attended by the entire Hoshino family. Players included: Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Charlie Benante, Spanky McCurdy, Simon Phillips, Blake Richardson and Mike Portnoy, all with insanely talented bands playing with them.
While each and every performance was amazing, we must say that the performance given by Matt, left the room in awe. He destroyed a room of living legends with his simply remarkable performance. The event was one of those “life moments” and Matt had a big hand in making that possible.
The evening started off with a video history of the brand from the early 1970’s, leading up to today. The room was amazing, equipt with ultra-huge LCD display screens on either side of the stage and the sound was immense. We would like to thank Aaron Vishria for making sure Sick Drummer Magazine had VIP access for covering this stellar evening of drumming.
Each group played for about ten minutes and there were video appearances in between from some who could not attend. Stewart Copeland of The Police was even on scene for a quick speech, and was his usual entertaining self. Closing the event was a five-kit drum circle that featured Rayford Griffin, Blake Richardson, John Blackwell, Billy Rymer, and Ronald Bruner Jr.
You can check upcoming February & March 2014 Animals As Leaders tour dates on their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/animalsasleaders/app_123966167614127
More new gear pictures and news can be found on the TAMA website: http://www.tamadrum.co.jp/usa/news/show/namm2014/index.html
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