4/19/2006

WILL CALHOUN'S FIRST CLINIC TOUR WITH MAPEX

Will Calhoun’s first MAPEX clinic tour started on 3rd of April, right after Frankfurt MESSE. Accompanying Will were Frank Rohe, Product manager of M & T (German distributor of MAPEX) and Miles Chen,  Artist Relations and PR coordinator from MAPEX headquarters in Taiwan.

Will’s tour included 3 clinics in Germany:  DrumHouse (Waldkrich-Kollnau), Sesson Drums (Walldorf) and PPC Music GmbH (Hannover), and  2 clinics in Holland: Drum World (Ittervoort) and the JM Music Factory (Neede). Some of the clinics were held in small towns, but that did not mean a small turn out. Every clinic was packed with young drummers, local drum teachers and children with their parents.

Will started each clinic with a non-stop drum solo, lasting at least 20 minutes. This is an opportunity for clinic participants to see his technique, which is absolutely astounding. All participants were impressed by his versatile beats and groove which combined with musical ingredients from Asia, Latin American, Africa and other places around the world. Will has the ability to grab hold of your emotions and inspire you with his playing. After the solo, he played with music and improvised an incredible melody.

During Q&A many drummers had questions about grip. Will responded that his first teacher told him that your grip is what is natural and comfortable. He did not have a special or specific way to grip. He said the important thing for young drummers is support and enthusiasm. A good private teacher can focus on the focus exclusively on the drummer’s responses and help them to learn more easily and systematically. This kind of one-on-one relationship will build a strong foundation for future drum education.

Will was also asked about why he switched from Sonor to MAPEX drums. Will explained that the sound of Mapex drums is very well-suited to any of his bands, from Living Colour and Headfake to his Jazz band. He spent almost 8 months trying the drum set that MAPEX sent him and was very satisfied with the quality and sound, so he decided play MAPEX. Will also appreciates the strong support provided by MAPEX for international artists.

The afternoon before his last clinic in Neede, Will went to visit the local MAPEX dealer and found a mini drum set. He used the stick and hit on its floor tom and snare and was shocked and impressed by the resonance and “correct sound.” The drum set as a MAPEX V series. Will thought the sound was so right and that the set was good enough for any of his Jazz gigs at night clubls. He played around for 10 minutes on that drum set and decided to take it to the clinic to use as his second drum set.

In clinics, Will used: 2 bass drum s(20” and 18” ), 2 toms (10” and 12”), 2 floor toms (14” and 16”), one 14” wood snare, 3 boom stands, and one boom stand with out bass added  on to the 18” bass drum mount. Will set up his Hi-hat very close to the 18” bass drum, and uses a multi-clamp to attach the Hi-hat on the 18” bass drum (the base of Hi-hat stand needs to be removed). Will also used a MAPEX single pedal for the 18” bass drum, no whole on it. He used his own double pedal for his 20” bass drum.

Since Will uses a lot of electronics for his clinics, a transformer is required. In the clinics he usually used 5 microphone: only 2 over head, 2 for each different bass drum, and one for  the Hi-hat and snare drum. Will paid attention to every detail when preparing for each clinic. He knows very well that every venue has its own characteristics and the only way to make sure everything is right is to arrive early and prepare appropriately. That’s why Will and the others always arrived   about every tiny details for the quality of each his drum clinic, and he knew very well that each different venue had it’s own characteristics, so the only way to make sure everything is prepared appropriately is to arrive earlier. That’s why WILL and MAPEX clinics team (Frank and Miles) arrived at the venues 6 hours before the clinics started, to make sure things were set up right.

Personally experience Will’s clinics :
Budapest and  Hungary at the end of April
New Zealand 23-25 of May
Indonesia 27-30 May
United States June
France and Canada September

For more detail please keep checking MAPEX news for updates.