This footage 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, and Mike Portnoy, all with insanely talented bands playing with them. This was taken from the front row with one camera and an external mic. Anton and I were lucky enough to have gotten there early enough for front row! We sat next to Billy's family and Ronald Bruner Jr's Mom! It was amazing… We hope you enjoy this inside look at a NAMM special event!
John Blackwell is a Grammy winning drummer most commonly known for his work with Prince, Patti LaBelle, Justin Timberlake and his own John Blackwell Project.
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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, John Blackwell, Billy Rymer, Blake Richardson and Ronald Bruner Jr.
Winter NAMM 2014 took place in Anaheim, California, January 23rd – 26th and was one of the best shows we have experienced in recent years.
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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