And all you have to do to win is sign up for the Alesis newsletter. The October issue is about to drop, and we’re told it’s almost exclusively for drummers. Don’t thump around the bush with this, because one lucky-ass subscriber will win an iMultiMix 8 USB. Read all about the prize here…or better yet just give it a quick eye-humping below.

The DC fellows have posted the first part of their MD Fest review. They’ve included a bunch of on-the-scene pics (including the one below) and impressions. Very cool stuff…and completely envy inducing because King even managed to snag one of Will Calhoun’s sticks. Dude!

Did you dust off your passport for the Fausto Cuevas masterclass a few days ago? If so, you might want to just stay in the U.K. because the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance is hosting another masterclass on October 23, this time with Kasabian drummer Ian Matthews. Doors open at 7 p.m.

It might not be as orgasmic as playing real drums, but making beats on a drum machine is still a shitload of fun. With Akai’s new XR20, you can even take the shitload of fun on the road. It’s billed as a “portable beat production station” loaded with 700 sounds geared toward R&B and hip-hop beats. Other key features of the XR20 include:

• 99 preset patterns and 99 user patterns
• Backlit LCD
• Bright, glowing, backlit pads that follow the beat
• Microphone input and headphone output
• Pattern Play Mode (different patterns can be triggered from individual pads)
• Drum Roll/Note Repeat feature
• $499 MSRP

Meinl has given the drummingverse a major treat by posting this new vid of the superbly grooving Benny Greb. The performance was captured at this year’s Meinl drum festival, and it features a tune from Greb’s upcoming CD. Two more videos will be released over the next few days. We’ll of course embed them all here at BTD for your viewing pleasure.

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Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy is hitting the road, and we got the lowdown on their October tour schedule.

Thursday, October 2
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Sonoma State University
Warren Auditorium
1801 E. Cotati Ave.
Rohnert Park, CA 94928
2:00 p.m. workshop, 7:30 p.m. concert
For ticket info: 707.664.2324

Friday, October 3
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
The Jazz School
2087 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA 94704
8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. concert/master class
www.jazzschool.com

Saturday, October 4
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Special Guests: The Wally Schnalle Quintet
Live @ the Burro
6651 Brisa Street
Livermore, CA
925.550.1955
Doors 7PM * Show 8PM
www.myspace.com/burninburro
www.myspace.com/sectionentertainment
Click here to buy tickets

Sunday, October 5
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society
Douglas Beach House
Miramar Beach
Half Moon Bay, CA
4:30pm
650.726.4143
www.bachddsoc.org

Monday, October 6
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Pioneer Place on Fifth
22 5th Ave South
St. Cloud, MN 56301
320.203.1233
www.ppfive.com

Tuesday, October 7
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant
1010 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403
612.332.1010
www.dakotacooks.com

Wednesday, October 8
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
The Algoma Club
107 Algoma Blvd.
Oshkosh, WI
For info call The Water City Grill
920.232.3004
www.watercitygrill.net

Thursday, October 9
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Jim Snidero, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Martyr’s
3855 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
773.404.9869
www.martyrslive.com

Saturday, October 11
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
The Jazz Kitchen
5377 N. College Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317.253.4900
www.thejazzkitchen.com

Sunday, October 12
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Gilly’s
132 S. Jefferson St.
Dayton, OH 45402
937.228.8414
http://hometown.aol.com/gillyjazz/myhomepage/business.html

Monday and Tuesday, October 13 and 14
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Nighttown
12387 Cedar Road (top of Cedar Hill)
Cleveland Heights, OH 44106
216.759.0550
www.nighttowncleveland.com

Wednesday, October 15
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Lebanon Catholic School
1400 Chestnut St.
Lebanon, PA 17042
717.273.3731

Thursday, October 16
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Sheraton Reading Hotel
Gerald Veasleys Jazz Base
1741 Paper Mill Road
Wyomissing, PA 19610
610.655.6374
www.geraldveasleysjazzbase.com

Friday, October 17
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Cecil’s Jazz Club & Restaurant
364 Valley Road
West Orange, NJ 07052
973.736.4800
www.cecilsjazzclub.com

Saturday, October 18
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Cecil’s Jazz Club & Restaurant
364 Valley Road
West Orange, NJ 07052
973.736.4800
www.cecilsjazzclub.com

Sunday, October 19
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Cheney Hall
177 Hartford Road
Manchester, CT 06040
box office: 860.647.9824
www.cheneyhall.org
Concert sponsored by
Dynamic Percussion
575 Main St.
Manchester, CT 06040
860.647.8887
[email protected]

Monday, October 20
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
The Devereux
37 Devereux St.
Utica, NY 13501
315.735.8628
7:00pm all ages show
For info and tickets contact: Kelly Yacco: 315.272.3865 [email protected]

Tuesday, October 21
Steve Smith Master Class
Utica Radison
200 Genesee St # 1
Utica, NY 13502
7:00 p.m.
For info and tickets contact: Kelly Yacco: 315.272.3865 [email protected]

Wednesday, October 22
Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy
Featuring Andy Fusco, Mark Soskin, Baron Browne and Walt Weiskopf
Scullers Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston, MA 02134
617.562.4111
www.scullersjazz.com

Damn, there’s a whole lot of drumming going on over at Taye. Here’s the latest from some of their artists:

The new concert DVD from Neil Peart and the fellows won’t be released until November 25, but a sneak peak of the song “Far Cry” was shown on VH1 last night. Try not to slobber on your monitor.

[via Blabbermouth]

Hmmm….What do you get for the drummer who already has everything? Maybe Protection Racket’s new Drum Mat Bag. From the press release:

A whole lot of fans think so (nearly 13,000 so far have petitioned to have Death Magnetic remastered…and you know how goddamn lazy people are about activism), but Lars predictably disagreed yesterday on Blender’s blog:

Looking out for all of us drummers-on-the-go (not to mention all of us drummers-living-in-small-apartment-buildings), HQ Percussion has unveiled the RealFeel Bass Drum Practice Pad. It’s designed to work with both single and double pedals, and it can fold flat to fit in any travel bag or even a backpack. The foam rubber beater pad was selected for its resistance to wear, soft and unobtrusive sound, and its realistic rebound that will allow drummers to practice foot technique without compromising the feel they’d obtain from a real drum. Hell yeah! It retails for $79.99.

Primarily known for its line of budget acoustic drums, Performance Percussion has entered the sub-$1,000 electronic market with the new PP900E. The kit features five drum pads, a kick pedal, and three cymbal pads (including a hi-hat pad and control pedal). The drum module comes with 215 high-quality voices and 20 preset kit sounds. The entire package retails for about 800 bucks, but we did find one U.K. store selling it for $662.13. At that price point, you’re going to be sacrificing a whole lot of sound quality and feel…but it beats the hell out of playing on telephone books.

Before he made a name playing drums in Alkaline Trio, Derek Grant went by the name of Reaper and sang for a band called Dead End. He says on his MySpace page:

For a period of about three years I answered only to the name Reaper. My hair style changed slightly, but I still retained all of the b-movie mentality of those early days (I ask myself now, has it ever gone away?) The tapes I had made found their way into the hands of some older musicians who wanted to start a band, and so Dead End was born….I continued to write new material and when we could, we would borrow devices to record. Thus, documenting the rise of Reaper—through puberty and beyond (you can actually here my voice change throughout these recordings.) After a few short years of playing parties, roller skating rinks, and punk clubs the band drifted apart.

He recently found some of those old Dead End tunes and has made them available for free download here. The MySpace entry also includes artwork and a short synopsis of each song.

[via Buzznet]

Our dude in the trenches caught some surreptitious iPhone pics of Tokyo Police Club’s gig at the Fonda. Drummer Greg Alsop was a little too busy to stop and smile.

Remember the awesomeness of 88 Boadrum? Well, last year’s equally awesome event, 77 Boadrum, was caught on film and will have its international premiere in New York on October 13. The documentary clocks in at 89 minutes and is in Japanese with English subtitles (we’re assuming the drumming itself doesn’t need any translating). Check out the press release below:

Because we’re all still reeling from the Travis Barker news, MTV has kindly posted the full-length videos of Trav and DJ AM performing at this year’s VMA show. The duo played with Katy Perry, Lupe Fiasco, The Ting Tings, Kid Cudi, and (our sticks-down favorite) LL Cool J. Check out their version of “Going Back to Cali”:

• DJ AM And Travis Barker’s Full VMA Performances
• Celebrity News

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:

• Buffalo Drum Outlet - Depew, N.Y.
• Columbus Percussion - Columbus, Ohio
• Donn Bennett Drum Studio - Bellevue, Wash.
• Drum World - Tulsa, Okla.
• Memphis Drum Shop - Memphis, Tenn.
• Percussion Center - Houston, Texas
• Resurrection Drums - Hollywood, Fla.
• Stebal Drums - Willowick, Ohio
• Just Drums - Toronto, Ontario, CA

Need some protection for your drums but can’t afford heavy-duty pro cases? Kaces has unveiled a 4-piece set of drum bags that cost a totally reasonable $169.95. Available in three common configurations (two fusion, one standard), these new gig bags are made with a durable nylon exterior, are double-stitched and reinforced at all the stress points for long life on the road, and feature tough luggage-grade zippers and extra long handles for easy transport. A snare bag in one of seven options is also available for $43.95.

Fausto Cuevas, the percussionist in Stevie Wonder’s band, is giving an exclusive masterclass at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance on September 29. Want to go? Of course you do, but you’ll have to dust off your passport for this one: the ICMP is located in London. Cuevas has also played with Julio Iglesias, Celia Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, Al Jarreau, Roy Hargrove, Britney Spears, Queen Latifah, and Sheila E, so dude will definitely put on a great show. Send us some bloody pics if you manage to make it.

Well, dammit. Another MD Fest has come and gone, and we still haven’t managed to swindle and scheme our way into one (next year we are totally getting all Mission Impossible about it). Thankfully, Hudson Music set up a preview site of the event and posted some frighteningly good teaser vids of each drummer’s performance. The complete DVD is scheduled to hit shelves sometime in 2009 (which is only around 10 million seconds from now).