Big Drum Thump

Drum and Drummer News and Photos

Category: Sabian

  • Bill Zildjian Wins Lawsuit Against Sabian Cymbals

    Bill Zildjian, son of Sabian founder Robert Zildjian, filed a lawsuit against his family and the cymbal company back in April, claiming that as a shareholder he was owed dividends. At the time, there was some talk that Sabian would be required to “wind up, dissolve and liquidate the company and assets as a whole” if necessary to pay up. That thankfully hasn’t come to pass, but a judge did recently rule against Sabian and award Bill $517,575 for dividends owed plus another $2,500 for court costs. No word yet on whether Sabian will appeal the judgment…or if Bill was invited over for Christmas dinner.

    Update: Bill Zildjian was also awarded five percent interest on the outstanding dividend payments, which amounts to another $200,000. Sabian is definitely appealing the ruling. The lawsuit will likely drag deep into next year and get much uglier because Bill is alleging that “his father Robert misuses company funds for personal expenses and that his brother Andy actively undermines his position and influence on the business. He also claims his father has ignored established business regulations and protocols so as to maintain complete control of Sabian Ltd.”

  • Sabian’s Big Beat Earns Big Cash

    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?

  • Sabian’s APX “Show No Mercy” Tour

    In support of Sabian’s APX series of high-decibel cymbals, drummers Ray Luzier of Korn, Chris Pennie of Coheed and Cambria, and Seven Antonopoulos of Opiate for the Masses are going to hit the road for a mini-tour of the United States. The drummers will be demonstrating how the APX cymbals are designed to cut through hard rock and heavy metal music (i.e., you might be needing some ear plugs for this one). Scheduled stops include the following cities:

    • Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Austin, Texas – Nov. 8
    • Skip’s Music in Sacramento, Calif. – Nov. 9
    • Milano Music in Mesa, Ariz. – Nov. 10
    • Drum Pad in Palatine, Ill. – Nov. 11
    • Fork’s Drum Closet in Nashville, Tenn. – Nov. 12
    • Paradiddles in Spartanburg, S.C. – Nov. 13
    • Sam Ash in New York, N.Y. – Nov. 14

    For more info, be sure to check out the “Show No Mercy” tour page. It includes a handful of APX-related goodies.

  • Sabian Sponsors “The Big Beat” National Drumming Event

    MEDUCTIC, Canada (Sept. 24, 2008) – SABIAN announces it has teamed up with the Five-Star Drum Shops to bring together the largest gathering of drummers ever assembled for a simultaneous drumming experience. Nine Five-Star stores across North America will host “The Big Beat” on Sunday, Nov. 2, to celebrate the joy of drumming and raise money for the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. The Five-Star Drum Shops group is an organization of 37 independently owned specialty percussion stores in North America.

    Each location is attempting to break the Guinness world record for the most drummers playing the same beat at one time (previously set by Donn Bennett Drum Studio, with 533) as well as set a record for drummers playing simultaneously in each location.

    As an official sponsor of The Big Beat, SABIAN will contribute the equivalent of $2,500 to each participating store in the form of artist support and/or giveaways.

    “It’s a privilege for SABIAN to be connected with ‘The Big Beat,’ this year,” said Stacey Montgomery-Clark, vice president of marketing at SABIAN. “We relish opportunities like this in which we can support the percussion industry and in particular the drummer consumer and independent retailer.”

    The Big Beat is the first attempt to coordinate large scale drumming efforts across North America in the hope of expanding each year until drummers across the globe are locked in on one worldwide beat.

    Each location will hold a raffle for participants with the overall winner getting an authentic autographed replica Beatles logo bass drum head. The first 200 participants in each city will receive a goody bag full of drum-related items and each location will also give away prizes donated by the biggest names in the drum industry.

    Drummers of all skill levels and experience are encouraged to participate and contact one of these participating Five-Star member locations for details:

  • Sabian Fierce Hats

    More Jojo-related stuff to drool over, and we ain’t complaining. To go along with Mayer’s Fierce Ride and Fierce Crashes, Sabian has unleashed the cleverly named Fierce Hats. The cymbals measure in at 13″, feature an unlathed surface with jumbo hammer marks, and are described by Jojo himself as having “a raw aspect and a complex darkness that works well in live and recorded contexts.” Yeah, well, just as long as they make us sound like this.

  • Sabian’s Family Squabble

    A family feud between the brothers Zildjian actually created the cymbal company Sabian way back in 1981, and now it looks like another family feud could possibly tear it apart. Bill Zildjian, son of Sabian founder Robert Zildjian, has filed a lawsuit claiming that his father and brother have mismanaged, misdirected, and mishandled millions of dollars in company funds. Unable to sell his shares without dad’s approval, Bill is looking to be bought out by the family or to be paid dividends with interest. Another alternative, according to the lawsuit, is to

    wind up, dissolve and liquidate the company and assets as a whole.

    Yikes. Not surprisingly, the company has denied the allegations and has requested that the suit be dismissed. An official statement should be coming soon.

    Lawsuits take eons, so there’s probably no need to run out and buy Meinl stock just yet. But if you got any cracked Sabians under warranty, you might just want to take care of those now.

  • Sabian’s Dream Spot Contest

    There’s still plenty of time to enter Sabian’s second-annual Dream Spot contest. The winning band will get $10,000 in gear and the chance to play 10 dates on the 2008 Warped Tour. The band’s lucky-ass drummer will also land a one-year deal with Sabian (we’re not exactly sure how many free cymbals that translates to). The details:

    • The contest is open from April 1 to May 23.
    • You’ve got to be an undiscovered band (i.e., Next Great American Band finalists need not apply).
    • You must submit three original songs in the MP3 format, a video, and a brief bio about your band.
    • The winning group will be announced July 1.

  • Sabian’s New OverRide

    Jimmy DeGrasso got Sabian to make him one big-ass ride cymbal, a 23″ monster with an 8″ bell. A Sabian product specialist says about the new OverRide:

    This cymbal is designed to be loud….

    You think?