Vic Firth Email Club Newsletter, Issue #21
The latest news & events from the
world's largest manufacturer of drumsticks and mallets
10/02
Contents Of This Issue's Newsletter
1. Product Showcase: Blades, Hannum Corpsmaster® Sticks
2. Artist Feature: Thom Hannum
3. Education in Action: Tommy Igoe's "Groove Essentials", Bands of America Grand National Championships
1. Product Showcase
Blades
Blades are a sharp new addition to Vic Firth's line of brushes and special effects products. The tapered design of this unique plastic implement creates a typical stick sound and gives the player the added ability to create a variety of "slapping" effects as well. Drummers can use the entire surface for a full and "fat" sound on drums, or just the edge for a clean and crisp sound on drums or cymbals. Either way, the feel is light and fast with great balance, allowing the player to explore a full range of dynamic expression.
Blades are made from a high-density copolymer plastic with terrific memory characteristics for durability, even when force is applied for a heavy "slap". The material is also abrasion resistant to withstand rim shots. While Blades were originally designed for drum set, this unique model could be an excellent choice on virtually all percussion membranes.
The Vic Firth Blades were awarded the Musikmesse International Press Award for the most innovative drumstick product of 2001. The MIPA is an organization made up of 51 magazines worldwide. The awards were presented to the winners at a special MIPA Party/Awards Ceremony held during the Musikmesse, held in Frankfurt, Germany.
Check out the Blades here:
http://www.vicfirth.com/product/NEWPRODUCT/BLADES.html
Thom Hannum Corpsmaster® Sticks
Ready to start the indoor season and looking for the Perfect Pair® of sticks? Thom Hannum's line of signature sticks offers a variety of sound possibilities and is designed specifically for the indoor arena! The Thom Hannum Indoor sticks are a scaled down version of his outdoor model. If you love the feel, balance and sound of the outdoor model and desire those qualities for the indoor arena, the Thom Hannum Indoor sticks are for you! Even through aggressively played passages, these sticks will help produce lower volume levels and better clarity with more defined highs. Ultimately, these sticks were designed to play very fast and produce a quality sound on cymbals while offering great control and response, especially at low dynamic levels.
(STH2) L = 16 1/2", Dia.=.660"
Thom's Piccolo stick combines a full-sized marching shaft with an exceptionally short taper and a very small tip. The result is a stick with the highest level of clarity and defined highs. With this model, you can expect very unique timbre possibilities. These sticks have been designed to explore new sounds in the marching activity with an emphasis towards orchestral techniques and special effects.
(STH3) L = 16 5 /8", Dia.=.690"
2. Artist Features
Thom Hannum
D.C.I. Hall of Fame member Thom Hannum is best known for his work with the DCI World Champion Cadets of Bergen County and Star of Indiana. Thom is a member of the design team for the Tony Award winning show Blast! as well as Blast II: Shockwave.
Mark Wessels, Vic Firth's Director of Internet Activities, had the chance to sit down with Thom and discuss his early years in drum corps, his evolution as a percussion instructor and arranger, along with the controversies surrounding the "perfect drum score" and 1993 Star of Indiana.
Listen to Thom's Interview Here!
http://www.vicfirth.com/artists/hannum.html
3. Education In Action
Tommy Igoe's "Groove Essentials"
In our most ambitious project to date, Vic Firth has teamed with Tommy Igoe to create the "Groove Essentials" - 47 drumset grooves that every serious drumset player should know. Ranging from Rock, Funk and R&B to Jazz and World, these grooves cover a broad range of styles required in today's musical repertoire.
Initially conceived as a 22 x 36" poster to hang in private studios and band rooms, the project expanded dramatically when we filmed Tommy performing each groove, as well as giving his unique insight into its application. Quicktime video and audio clips of these "mini-lessons" are available on the Vic Firth website for you or your students to check out - as are downloadable handbooks of the styles for the practice room and private lesson studio! Tommy Igoe has been a first call New York City studio musician for the last 15 years and also continues to perform the drumset parts he created for the Broadway smash The Lion King. He has performed internationally and has recorded with artists as varied as Lauryn Hill, Art Garfunkel, Stanley Jordan and the New York Voices. Recently he has brought his teaching experience to various educational endeavors such as the Getting Started On Drums DVD series from Hudson Music and the "Groove Essentials" poster from Vic Firth. He also maintains a successful solo career with his band in NYC. More information can be found at TommyIgoe.com.
Go to Tommy Igoe's "Groove Essentials" page here:
http://www.vicfirth.com/education/drumset/GrooveEssentials.html
Purchase a Groove Essentials poster in the Vic Firth Online Store!
http://www.vic-firth.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?
* Vic Firth and Lassiter High School Number One in the World!
Lassiter High School claimed the championship title at the Bands of America Grand National Championships, held in Indianapolis this past weekend. With performances by more than 90 bands from across the nation, the BOA Grand Nationals is widely acknowledged as the pinnacle of events for the nation's marching band activity.
Winning the Outstanding Music and Outstanding General Effect captions, Lassiter uses Vic Firth products exclusively. According to Mike Lynch, percussion caption head, "Vic Firth sticks and mallets are unsurpassed in quality and craftsmanship. And to pull off this year's show required us to have an extensive selection of sticks, keyboard mallets and special effect products. With Vic Firth, we were able to find the product for each musical situation that helped us produce quality sounds. Quality products and a superior level of commitment by everyone on the Vic Firth team is obviously why they are number one in the industry. We are very happy to be a part of the Vic Firth team!"
Vic Firth would like to congratulate ALL of the participating members and instructors of this year's Bands of America Grand National Championships! Check out Vic Firth's salute to BOA 2002 with pictures and exclusive "in the lot" video clips from Indianapolis HERE:
http://www.vicfirth.com/news/BOA2002.html
All of us here at Vic Firth are excited to bring this email newsletter to you twice monthly to better keep you informed of the hottest new products, the best in the web's percussion entertainment and educational content, and to give you the opportunity to register for our monthly prize giveaways. If you have friends or students who could benefit from joining the VF Email Club, please forward this to them, or tell them to sign up at: http://www.vicfirth.com/emailclub.html
Copyright 2002 by Vic Firth Incorporated
The #1 Drumstick in the World
For more information, please contact Vic Firth Inc. at www.vicfirth.com or phone: 781-326-3455; fax: 781-326-1273
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