Big Drum Thump

If you got the skin-beatin’ skillz, then you can win Sabian’s Most Warped Drummer Contest.

Why should you care? The contest gives aspiring musicians the chance to upload a video to showcase their talents and be judged by Sabian artists on the Warped Tour, which is cool because maybe one of those Sabian artists will take you on the road and let you spit shine his/her sticks.

But why should you really care? One grand-prize winner will get airfare and accommodations for one to Boston, two all-access passes to the Boston Warped Tour stop, a meet and greet with Sabian’s big-time artists, a Sabian Performance Pack of cymbals, and a Sabian Bacpac cymbal bag set. That’s like, um, 8 billion dollars worth of stuff.

Visit www.mostwarped.com to upload your video. Voting ends June 14, 2010.

Remember that Dixon drum contest we reported on way back in July? Lou Mars came out on top, and besides getting a new Demon drum kit from Dixon, he won the chance to play for a panel of music insiders and pros. The entire event was taped for the A&R channel and will be showing until January 31, 2009. If you don’t have OnDemand, we’ve embedded a video of the program below, courtesy of Dixon’s blog. It’s fun watching Lou get his groove on (and it’s even more fun watching his leg spasms), but frankly the video is most notable for whipping out some of the best homespun drumming advice we’ve heard in quite a while. Near the beginning, producer Ken Deans says this in response to the question, “What does it take to be a great drummer?”:

You just want to play honest. If you’re a great Ringo Starr-type player, don’t try and be Neil Peart. And if you’re a Neil Peart player, don’t pretend that you’re going to be Charlie Watts. Do what you do.

On November 2, 2008, Sabian sponsored the “Big Beat” event, held at nine Five-Star percussion shops across North America. With 1,286 drummers participating, the event raised a total of $45,503 for charity, $17,183 of which went to the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation for the purpose of supplying musical instruments to deserving children in Big Beat cities.

Ain’t drummers just completely bloody awesome?

Want to win a DM5 Pro kit with a set of Surge cymbals? Well, if you already got some Alesis gear, all you have to do is make a video of yourself performing with or demonstrating it. Just fill out the form here and upload your vid to YouTube between now and January 11, 2009, to enter the contest. Videos must cover current (not legacy) Alesis products to win, preferably from the company’s new products page. The winner will be notified via email live from the Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA, on January 15, 2009. Be sure to check out your competition on Alesis’s video gallery and YouTube page.

Now this is the kind of contest that gets our full thump of approval. Custom drum manufacturer MapleWorks is looking for its next endorser, and it could be you if you got the skillz. To enter the contest, upload a video here of your best drumming performance. It can be from a live show, a rehearsal, or even better just a video of you playing drums in your garage, basement, or bedroom. If you choose to upload a video of a live performance with your band, the video must be focused on you playing the drums! Have your friends and family vote for you every day to get yourself in the Top 5. The winner gets an endorsement deal with MapleWorks and a custom 3-piece kit worth $3,100. The last day you can enter is January 16, 2009.

[via Drummer Connection]

Wake, thumpers, from your turkey comas, and click in this direction to win a drum set courtesy of DRUM! magazine, Gretsch, Sabian, Gibraltar, and Evans. The prize you’re clicking for is a Gretsch Catalina Mod outfitted in an exclusive G-Tube graphic finish. If you win the 4-piece kit, you’ll also take home a complete set of heads, cymbals, and hardware. That almost makes up for it being called the “Totally Tubular Giveaway.”