22/12/2006

SF Marketing Shows Off Mapex and Stagg
at the 2006 Montreal Drum Fest

Two of Mapex’s endorsers, Dom Famularo and Liberty DeVitto, came to Montreal for the 2006 edition of the Drum Fest which took place on November 11 th and 12 th 2006. On the Friday night before the Drum Fest began, Liberty gave an intimate master class at UQAM University where he discussed his experiences with Billy Joel and how he incorporated different techniques into classic Billy numbers. During his class, Liberty invited audience members onto his drum set to help him demonstrate different drumming techniques. The following day, Dom and Liberty performed at the Drum Fest, held at Salle Pierre-Mercure in downtown Montreal.

Dom started their performance with a motivational speech addressing how drummers can and should find their voice through drums and encouraged these drummers to explore different genres of music. Dom, true to his character and ever the entertainer, delivered a humoristic speech, keeping the audience enraptured throughout. He then performed a fantastic solo, and received overwhelming audience applause.

Liberty then came on stage and spoke about the fact that, despite a lack of formal training, he has always gone by the mantra of playing with the music and making his sound harmonize with the message of the music. His New York attitude and humor were greatly enjoyed by the audience. He followed his speech with a demonstration of different rock styles, playing along to different Billy Joel tracks. His show provided the audience with the opportunity to truly see what it takes to play in a band and how exactly one “plays with the music”.

Liberty and Dom closed the show with a short but impressive drum duet, bringing the audience to their feet in a thunderous standing ovation. Dom and Liberty both played on Mapex Saturn Series drum sets during their performances. “Dom and Liberty have a huge amount of energy which comes out on stage,” explains Sami Kizilbash, Mapex Product Manager at SF Marketing. “The audience response was fantastic! We look forward to their next visit as well as another successful Drum Fest.”

After Dom Famularo and Liberty DeVitto’s performance on Saturday afternoon, SF Marketing gave away two prizes: a Stagg DH 20” Heavy Exotic Ride Cymbal with a Deluxe Stagg Caddy Bag, and their latest snare – the G2 Black Panther Limited Edition Stainless Steel Snare with the Black Panther carry case.

Mapex drums and Stagg cymbals shared a booth in the exhibition hall at the Drum Fest. There, they displayed new products for the attendees to try out. The following products could be found in the booth:

• Mapex Pro-M 4 piece classic kit
• Black Panther G2 Tribal Snare
• Stagg Classic Series cymbal line

Furthermore, drum enthusiasts visiting the Drum Fest’s exhibition hall had the chance to cast their ballots in a raffle all weekend in the Mapex and Stagg booth. The grand prize was a Stagg YR Series student cymbal set including 14” hi-hats and an 18” crash/ride with an 18” bag. At the end of the weekend the lucky winner was Sylvain Chamberland from Pincourt, Quebec. Sylvain is a professor of Presentation Design at CEGEP du Vieux Montreal (CVM), and is also a member of “Prof Fusion”, an active music group consisting of CVM professors.

Over the course of the weekend, and mainly between the exhibition shows, Drum Fest visitors came to take a look at the Mapex/Stagg booth and test the Pro-M Classic Kit along with the range of Stagg cymbals–from the Single-Hammered Series to the 2006 Classic Series. Many drummers who tried out the Mapex drum set received some Mapex goodies (either a baseball cap or a t-shirt). Before their show, Dom and Liberty had also visited the Mapex/Stagg booth where they took pictures with fans and signed autographs.

Miles Chen, Artist Relations Coordinator for Mapex Taiwan, also came into town for the event and was thrilled to participate in his first Montreal Drum Fest. In conclusion, the 2006 Drum Fest was truly enjoyed by all attendees and performers, really bringing to Montreal a Drum event to remember. We think we speak for all when we say we’re looking forward with enthusiasm to next year’s event!