Four digitalDrummer Hall of Famers, three E-drummers of the Year, and the godfather of electronic percussion in Germany. Those luminaries are among the artists in the debut digitalDrummer E-drum Labs at the first Europe Drum Show which will open its doors at Neue Messe Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance in Germany on March 29th.
After a successful first run at the UK Drum Show in Liverpool last year, the E-drum Labs will return for two days in Germany, bringing together some of the world’s top e-drummers and the latest electronic percussion gear.
One of the most popular performers at the Liverpool show, three-time digitalDrummer E-drummer of the Year and Hall of Fame inductee Michael Schack returns to the show with his high-energy demonstration of live DJ drumming, using the new Roland 7 Series drums and his trusty SPD-SX Pro.
Another E-drummer of the Year, Oli Rubow, has also composed a special DJ set for Friedrichshafen, using electronics combined with acoustic drums. His trademark is the use of audio processing and FX to modify acoustic percussion instruments, and he will demonstrate his innovation at the show.
Current digitalDrummer E-drummer of the Year and Hall of Famer Ralf Schumacher is known internationally for his e-drum videos. A drummer for whom actions speak louder than words, Schumacher will show his chops on an Efnote kit, which he will also be demonstrating throughout the show at the Efnote booth.
E-drum veteran Steven Fisher, now the face of Medeli E-drums, is well known in Europe as a Roland demonstrator and for his subsequent role at Yamaha Drums in the US. Fisher, who has been recognised with a digitalDrummer Hall of Fame accolade for his contributions to the development of Vdrums in their early days, will be showing the versatility of the latest Medeli kits and how to get the right sound for any drumming performance.
Fellow Hall of Famer and Roland alumnus Mike Snyder has also been confirmed for the show, where he will demonstrate the new Zildjian Alchem-E kit on which he has been working for the past couple of years. Snyder is another true e-drum pioneer, having launched one of the first external drum trigger products, contributed to the development of Roland’s Vdrums, and then to ATV which he led in the US.
American Adam Tuminaro joined the Alesis marketing department last year after doing a number of video reviews. Tuminaro is best known as OrlandoDrummer, his YouTube drum teacher persona, and he will bring his huge presence to the fore at the E-drum Labs, with Alesis’s latest Strata kits.
In a special treat for visitors, Sibi Siebert, the godfather of e-drums in Germany, will be appearing live in Friedrichshafen with the Simmons gear he made famous as part of the Twelve Drummers Drumming band in the ‘80s. Siebert went on to become the face of Simmons in Germany, working with many iconic artists and bands and representing the company at music trade shows and clinics. We’ve coaxed him back onto the stage to show how the original Simmons sounds remain relevant today – and to show off the latest generation of pads for the ageing kits still around today.
E-drum Labs producer and digitalDrummer founder and editor Allan Leibowitz says the dedicated performance stream was a natural progression for Europe’s leading drum show. “Electronic percussion is on the rise, and more drummers are now starting their drum journeys with an e-kit – be they kids getting their first kit or mature drummers wanting to play at home silently,” he explains.
“We had an enthusiastic reaction to the E-drum Labs on debut last year in Liverpool, with fans lining up half an hour before the doors opened for some sessions. And audiences weren’t disappointed, with demonstrations of the latest gear and applications of various tech solutions, from Abelton to wireless triggering.”
Visitors to the Europe Drum Show will enjoy the best of the UK Show alongside some great local and international performers, showing the very latest gear which has not previously been seen publicly in Europe.
For more information, check out the E-drum Labs pages on the show website.