GUITAR CENTER CROWNS DONALD MARPLE OF KEYSER, WV DRUM-OFF GRAND CHAMPION
Angels & Airwaves, Stephen Perkins, “Go Get A Late Pass!!!” featuring ?uestlove & Nikka Costa, Street Drum Corps, Adrian Young, Brooks Wackerman, Shannon Leto, John Sawicki, and Byron McMackin Also Participated
Westlake Village, California, January 6, 2008 – Donald Marple of Keyser, WV was crowned the Guitar Center Drum-Off Grand Champion this past Saturday at the Music Box @ Fonda in Hollywood, CA. Playing in front of a packed house, 20 year old Marple proved he had the skills to be the nation’s greatest undiscovered drummer. He also walked away with a prize package that included a Toyota FJ Cruiser, $10,000 cash, a feature in a Guitar Center ad campaign, a $2,500 Levi’s shopping spree, a custom designed drum kit from Roland TD20 electronic drum-set, a set of cymbals custom printed with the winner’s signature, a one year drum, cymbal, stick and head endorsement deal, and a write up in Modern Drummer magazine valued at more than $40,000.
After four rounds of intense competition, Marple battled it out with Paul Stoot of Everett, WA, Sherman Arnold of Aurora, CO and Ivan Garcia from Oglethorpe, GA to win the title of Drum-Off Grand Champion. Performing a five minute drum solo, Marple impressed the likes of Thomas Lang, Joey Castillo of Queens of the Stone Age, Vinny Appice of Black Sabbath, Ray Luzier of Army of Anyone and Korn, Kenny Arnoff, Alan White of Yes, drummer for Rob Zombie, John Tempesta, Steve Smith of Journey and David Garibaldi of Tower of Power, who had the tough job of selecting the winner among the four outstanding Drum-Off finalists.
The incredible night, hosted by Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction, featured performances by the four Drum-Off finalists as well as Angels & Airwaves, “Go Get A Late Pass!!!” featuring ?uestlove of The Roots and Nikka Costa, Street Drum Corps with special guests Adrian Young of No Doubt, Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion, Shannon Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars, John Sawicki of Stomp and Byron McMackin of Pennywise. Steve Smith of Journey and Dave Garibaldi were presented with the Drum Legends Award by Alan White. Also attending the event were Kirsten Dunst, Matt Dallas and Josh Groban among many others.
Drummers across the country began competing this past September at Guitar Center stores. Beginning with preliminaries in over 213 Guitar Center stores, drummers then advanced on from store preliminaries to store finals. Winners of store finals then went on to compete at district finals at 24 Guitar Center stores nationwide for the chance to advance on to four regional competitions with the winner of each of these regions advancing on to compete, this past Saturday, to be crowned the Drum-Off Grand Champion.
“Tonight marked a life changing experience for four incredible drummers from across the country,” said Dustin Hinz, Manager of Entanglement Marketing, Guitar Center. Guitar Center is proud to provide these amazing drummers with the opportunity to further their careers through showcasing their talent in front of drum legends, industry VIPs and celebrities. Guitar Center’s Drum-Off represents the core essence of our brand; we are a vehicle to achieve dreams.”
“I am so in awe, this has been such a wonderful experience and I am thankful for the opportunity that Guitar Center has provided me” said Marple. “I have met new friends, my idols and this has changed me as a person. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world of drumming. I have no idea where this contest will take me now, but I do know that I want to play the drums for the rest of my life.”
Born and raised in Keyser, WV, 20 year old Marple, began playing the drums at the age of three at his former church Elk Garden Assembly of God. A high school percussion instructor by day, Marple perfects his talents on the drums in a local Christian rock band called High Pressure. Having never had a drum lesson in his life, Marple’s practicing and persistence has paid off with him being crowned Guitar Center’s Drum-Off Grand Champion.
Previous Drum-Off winners have gone on to enjoy successful music careers, record albums and tour the world with noteworthy artists. Drum-Off Champion 2002, Cora Coleman, is currently performing with legendary recording artist Prince. Eric Moore II, Drum-Off 2003 Champion, has also achieved notoriety by performing with psychedelic funk band Sly and the Family Stone as well as singer Bobby Brown.
Partners for Drum-Off 2007 include: Levi’s, DW, Evans, Vic Firth, Remo, Zildjian, Pearl, Roland, Sabian, Tama, Gretsch, Pro∙Mark, and Modern Drummer. About Guitar Center
Guitar Center is the leading United States retailer of guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards and pro-audio and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates more than 200 Guitar Center stores across the U.S. In addition, our Music & Arts division operates more than 100 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site, www.musiciansfriend.com <http://www.musiciansfriend.com/> . More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's Web site at www.guitarcenter.com <http://www.guitarcenter.com/> .
The Guitar Center logo is a registered trademark of Guitar Center, Inc. Other brand or product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
Showtime with NOTMTV and STREET DRUM CORPS! Go back stage, to sound check and to the performance at SDC's incredible collaboration with John Sawicki of Stomp, Shannon Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars, Adrian Young of No Doubt, Byron McMackin of Pennywise, Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion and of course the SDC gents: Frank Zummo, Bobby Alt, and Adam At.
NOTMTV joins STREET DRUM CORPS for their last day of rehearsal before the big show last Saturday @ the Drum Off Grand Finals and for the in-store appearance at the Guitar Center in Hollywood.
Take a moment to check out some of the highlights of the night as captured by our photographers Robert Knight, Marc Lemoine, and Ryan Hunter.
The Marquee of the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood
Angels and Airwaves 'warming up' for their set: Atom Willard, David Kennedy, Tom DeLonge, Matt Wachter
Frank Zummo, Adam Alt, & Bobby Alt of Street Drum Corps featuring John Sawicki (Stomp) before makeup and costumes
Adrian Young, Atom Willard, Drum Off Champ: Donnie Marple, Stephen Perkins, Byron McMackin, Brooks Wackerman
Drum Off Winner Donnie Marple with emcee of the show and incredible drummer, Stephen Perkins
Street Drum Corps with Shannon Leto (30 Seconds to Mars), Adrian Young (No Doubt), John Sawicki (Stomp) and contestants Ivan Garcia, Donnie Marple, Paul Stoot, & Sherman Arnold
Street Drum Corps ready to hit the stage featuring: Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion), John Sawicki (Stomp), Byron McMackin (Pennywise), Adrian Young (No Doubt), and Shannon Leto (30 Seconds to Mars)
Go Get a Late Pass!!! featuring ?uest Love of the Roots and Nikka Costa
Drum Off Judges: Trevor Lawrence Jr. (Snoop Dogg), John Tempesta (The Cult), Ray Luzier (Korn), Thomas Lang, Vinny Appice (Black Sabbaith, Dio), Kenny Aronoff, Bermuda Schwartz ("Weird Al" Yankovic), Joey Castillo (Queens of the Stone Age), and Drum Off 2003 Winner Eric Moore
Former Drum Legend recipient Alan White (Yes) with 2007 Drum Legend inductees Steve Smith (Journey) and Dave Garibaldi (Tower of Power). We were fortunate to have these incredible drummers also judge this years competition!
Cast of TV show "Kyle XY" and Josh Groban
Stephen Perkins (Janes Addiction) emcee of the show
Tony Kanal of No Doubt
Cora Coleman-Dunham (drummer for Prince and 2002 Drum Off Winner)
Kirsten Dunst (actress) and ?uest Love (The Roots/Go Get a Late Pass!!!) backstage
Street Drum Corps take the stage
Frank Zummo of Street Drum Corps along with Adrian Young (No Doubt), Byron McMackin (Pennywise) and Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion)
Bobby Alt of Street Drum Corps behind the kit
Adrian Young during the Street Drum Corps set
SDC featuring Byron McMackin, John Sawicki, & Brooks Wackerman
Go Get a Late Pass!!! featuring ?uest Love of The Roots
?uest Love playing drums for the Go Get a Late Pass!!! project
All 4 of the Drum Off contestants played incredibly well. A BIG congratulations to them for making it all the way to the finals. It takes a tremendous amount of talent to make it through the different tiers of the competition starting off with over 4,000 competitors and passing through the ranks to be able to showcase at the Grand Finals.
Check out the photos below! More coming soon.
Drum Off Contestants: Paul Stoot, Donnie Marple, Sherman Arnold, Ivan Garcia
Today, Friday January 4th, an amazing list of drummers from Guitar Center's upcoming Drum-Off finals got together for once-in-a-lifetime in-store signing. Hundreds of kids endured a drenching downpour for the chance to meet some of today's top drummers. Adrian Young (No Doubt), Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion), ?uestlove (The Roots), Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiction), Shannon Leto (30 Seconds to Mars), John Sawicki (Stomp), Byron McMackin (Pennywise), Atom Willard (Angels & Airwaves) and The Street Drum Corps.
Check out the pics!
The Line
More Line
Stephen Perkins, Adrian Young, Adam Alt.
?uestlove
106.7 KROQ
Atom Willard
It's A Long Line
Drum Off '02 Champ, Cora Coleman (Prince) & Atom Willard
Feast your eyes on yet another rehearsal with Street Drum Corps working on their set for the Drum Off Grand Finals tomorrow night! Check out the below video as Adrian Young joins the gents to hammer away at his parts.
Mr. Adrian Young will be on the good ol' radio this evening chatting about his involvement with Drum Off, No Doubt, and all things Adrian!
Tune in to Loveline tonight @ 10pm PST to hear him with Dr. Drew and Stryker. You can listen online as well, check the website : http://www.lovelineshow.com/
Thanks to NotMTV and Street Drum Corps we can catch yet another glimpse of the behind the scenes build up to the SDC project coming up at the Grand Finals this Saturday, January 5th.
Take a peek for yourselves and enjoy your New Years Eve!!!
News
GUITAR CENTER CROWNS DONNIE MARPLE DRUM OFF '07 CHAMPION
FRI JANUARY 11 @ 12:36 PM 1 Comment | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Posted: 4 months ago
Angels & Airwaves, Stephen Perkins, “Go Get A Late Pass!!!” featuring ?uestlove & Nikka Costa, Street Drum Corps, Adrian Young, Brooks Wackerman, Shannon Leto, John Sawicki, and Byron McMackin Also Participated
Westlake Village, California, January 6, 2008 – Donald Marple of Keyser, WV was crowned the Guitar Center Drum-Off Grand Champion this past Saturday at the Music Box @ Fonda in Hollywood, CA. Playing in front of a packed house, 20 year old Marple proved he had the skills to be the nation’s greatest undiscovered drummer. He also walked away with a prize package that included a Toyota FJ Cruiser, $10,000 cash, a feature in a Guitar Center ad campaign, a $2,500 Levi’s shopping spree, a custom designed drum kit from Roland TD20 electronic drum-set, a set of cymbals custom printed with the winner’s signature, a one year drum, cymbal, stick and head endorsement deal, and a write up in Modern Drummer magazine valued at more than $40,000.
After four rounds of intense competition, Marple battled it out with Paul Stoot of Everett, WA, Sherman Arnold of Aurora, CO and Ivan Garcia from Oglethorpe, GA to win the title of Drum-Off Grand Champion. Performing a five minute drum solo, Marple impressed the likes of Thomas Lang, Joey Castillo of Queens of the Stone Age, Vinny Appice of Black Sabbath, Ray Luzier of Army of Anyone and Korn, Kenny Arnoff, Alan White of Yes, drummer for Rob Zombie, John Tempesta, Steve Smith of Journey and David Garibaldi of Tower of Power, who had the tough job of selecting the winner among the four outstanding Drum-Off finalists.
The incredible night, hosted by Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction, featured performances by the four Drum-Off finalists as well as Angels & Airwaves, “Go Get A Late Pass!!!” featuring ?uestlove of The Roots and Nikka Costa, Street Drum Corps with special guests Adrian Young of No Doubt, Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion, Shannon Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars, John Sawicki of Stomp and Byron McMackin of Pennywise. Steve Smith of Journey and Dave Garibaldi were presented with the Drum Legends Award by Alan White. Also attending the event were Kirsten Dunst, Matt Dallas and Josh Groban among many others.
Drummers across the country began competing this past September at Guitar Center stores. Beginning with preliminaries in over 213 Guitar Center stores, drummers then advanced on from store preliminaries to store finals. Winners of store finals then went on to compete at district finals at 24 Guitar Center stores nationwide for the chance to advance on to four regional competitions with the winner of each of these regions advancing on to compete, this past Saturday, to be crowned the Drum-Off Grand Champion.
“Tonight marked a life changing experience for four incredible drummers from across the country,” said Dustin Hinz, Manager of Entanglement Marketing, Guitar Center. Guitar Center is proud to provide these amazing drummers with the opportunity to further their careers through showcasing their talent in front of drum legends, industry VIPs and celebrities. Guitar Center’s Drum-Off represents the core essence of our brand; we are a vehicle to achieve dreams.”
“I am so in awe, this has been such a wonderful experience and I am thankful for the opportunity that Guitar Center has provided me” said Marple. “I have met new friends, my idols and this has changed me as a person. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world of drumming. I have no idea where this contest will take me now, but I do know that I want to play the drums for the rest of my life.”
Born and raised in Keyser, WV, 20 year old Marple, began playing the drums at the age of three at his former church Elk Garden Assembly of God. A high school percussion instructor by day, Marple perfects his talents on the drums in a local Christian rock band called High Pressure. Having never had a drum lesson in his life, Marple’s practicing and persistence has paid off with him being crowned Guitar Center’s Drum-Off Grand Champion.
Previous Drum-Off winners have gone on to enjoy successful music careers, record albums and tour the world with noteworthy artists. Drum-Off Champion 2002, Cora Coleman, is currently performing with legendary recording artist Prince. Eric Moore II, Drum-Off 2003 Champion, has also achieved notoriety by performing with psychedelic funk band Sly and the Family Stone as well as singer Bobby Brown.
Partners for Drum-Off 2007 include: Levi’s, DW, Evans, Vic Firth, Remo, Zildjian, Pearl, Roland, Sabian, Tama, Gretsch, Pro∙Mark, and Modern Drummer.
About Guitar Center
Guitar Center is the leading United States retailer of guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards and pro-audio and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates more than 200 Guitar Center stores across the U.S. In addition, our Music & Arts division operates more than 100 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site, www.musiciansfriend.com <http://www.musiciansfriend.com/> . More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's Web site at www.guitarcenter.com <http://www.guitarcenter.com/> .
The Guitar Center logo is a registered trademark of Guitar Center, Inc. Other brand or product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.
****Photos Available Upon Request****
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WEB-O-SODE # 4 & SPECIAL CLIP WITH STEPHEN PERKINS
WED JANUARY 09 @ 09:32 PM 0 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Posted: 4 months ago
Showtime with NOTMTV and STREET DRUM CORPS! Go back stage, to sound check and to the performance at SDC's incredible collaboration with John Sawicki of Stomp, Shannon Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars, Adrian Young of No Doubt, Byron McMackin of Pennywise, Brooks Wackerman of Bad Religion and of course the SDC gents: Frank Zummo, Bobby Alt, and Adam At.
Check out the video: http://www.notmtv.tv/?x=watch&v=drum04
NOTMTV talks with Drum Off emcee and drummer from Janes Addiction, Stephen Perkins before the show starts.
Check it here: http://www.notmtv.tv/?x=watch&v=drumoff05
If you missed any of the videos you can watch them all at NOTMTV! http://www.notmtv.tv/?x=viewMedia&vid=364
WEB-O-SODE #3 WITH STREET DRUM CORPS AND NOTMTV
WED JANUARY 09 @ 09:09 PM 0 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Posted: 4 months ago
NOTMTV joins STREET DRUM CORPS for their last day of rehearsal before the big show last Saturday @ the Drum Off Grand Finals and for the in-store appearance at the Guitar Center in Hollywood.
Check it out! http://www.notmtv.tv/?x=watch&v=drumoff03
MORE PHOTOS FROM THE DRUM OFF GRAND FINALS
WED JANUARY 09 @ 04:05 PM 0 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Posted: 4 months ago
Take a moment to check out some of the highlights of the night as captured by our photographers Robert Knight, Marc Lemoine, and Ryan Hunter.
The Marquee of the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood
Angels and Airwaves 'warming up' for their set: Atom Willard, David Kennedy, Tom DeLonge, Matt Wachter
Frank Zummo, Adam Alt, & Bobby Alt of Street Drum Corps featuring John Sawicki (Stomp) before makeup and costumes
Adrian Young, Atom Willard, Drum Off Champ: Donnie Marple, Stephen Perkins, Byron McMackin, Brooks Wackerman
Drum Off Winner Donnie Marple with emcee of the show and incredible drummer, Stephen Perkins
Street Drum Corps with Shannon Leto (30 Seconds to Mars), Adrian Young (No Doubt), John Sawicki (Stomp) and contestants Ivan Garcia, Donnie Marple, Paul Stoot, & Sherman Arnold
Street Drum Corps ready to hit the stage featuring: Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion), John Sawicki (Stomp), Byron McMackin (Pennywise), Adrian Young (No Doubt), and Shannon Leto (30 Seconds to Mars)
Go Get a Late Pass!!! featuring ?uest Love of the Roots and Nikka Costa
Drum Off Judges: Trevor Lawrence Jr. (Snoop Dogg), John Tempesta (The Cult), Ray Luzier (Korn), Thomas Lang, Vinny Appice (Black Sabbaith, Dio), Kenny Aronoff, Bermuda Schwartz ("Weird Al" Yankovic), Joey Castillo (Queens of the Stone Age), and Drum Off 2003 Winner Eric Moore
Former Drum Legend recipient Alan White (Yes) with 2007 Drum Legend inductees Steve Smith (Journey) and Dave Garibaldi (Tower of Power). We were fortunate to have these incredible drummers also judge this years competition!
Cast of TV show "Kyle XY" and Josh Groban
Stephen Perkins (Janes Addiction) emcee of the show
Tony Kanal of No Doubt
Cora Coleman-Dunham (drummer for Prince and 2002 Drum Off Winner)
Kirsten Dunst (actress) and ?uest Love (The Roots/Go Get a Late Pass!!!) backstage
Street Drum Corps take the stage
Frank Zummo of Street Drum Corps along with Adrian Young (No Doubt), Byron McMackin (Pennywise) and Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion)
Bobby Alt of Street Drum Corps behind the kit
Adrian Young during the Street Drum Corps set
SDC featuring Byron McMackin, John Sawicki, & Brooks Wackerman
Go Get a Late Pass!!! featuring ?uest Love of The Roots
?uest Love playing drums for the Go Get a Late Pass!!! project
Nikka Costa singing for Go Get a Late Pass!!!
Angels and Airwaves takes the stage
Tom DeLonge of Angels and Airwaves
Atom Willard and Tom DeLonge of AvA
Angels and Airwaves on stage
CONTESTANT PHOTOS FROM THE DRUM OFF GRAND FINALS
TUE JANUARY 08 @ 07:54 PM 0 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Posted: 4 months ago
All 4 of the Drum Off contestants played incredibly well. A BIG congratulations to them for making it all the way to the finals. It takes a tremendous amount of talent to make it through the different tiers of the competition starting off with over 4,000 competitors and passing through the ranks to be able to showcase at the Grand Finals.
Check out the photos below! More coming soon.
Drum Off Contestants: Paul Stoot, Donnie Marple, Sherman Arnold, Ivan Garcia
Drum Off 2007 Champion: Donnie Marple
Sherman Arnold
Paul Stoot
Ivan Garcia
VIDEO: DRUM-OFF '07 CHAMP DONNIE MARPLE
TUE JANUARY 08 @ 11:41 AM 3 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Posted: 4 months ago
First video of Donnie Marple's winning performance. Simply amazing. Photos coming today, too!
PHOTOS FROM DRUM-OFF IN-STORE SIGNING
FRI JANUARY 04 @ 11:48 PM 0 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Drum-Off Fam,Posted: 4 months ago
Today, Friday January 4th, an amazing list of drummers from Guitar Center's upcoming Drum-Off finals got together for once-in-a-lifetime in-store signing. Hundreds of kids endured a drenching downpour for the chance to meet some of today's top drummers. Adrian Young (No Doubt), Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion), ?uestlove (The Roots), Stephen Perkins (Jane's Addiction), Shannon Leto (30 Seconds to Mars), John Sawicki (Stomp), Byron McMackin (Pennywise), Atom Willard (Angels & Airwaves) and The Street Drum Corps.
Check out the pics!
The Line
More Line
Stephen Perkins, Adrian Young, Adam Alt.
?uestlove
106.7 KROQ
Atom Willard
It's A Long Line
Drum Off '02 Champ, Cora Coleman (Prince) & Atom Willard
Stephen Perkins and Frank Zummo
Bobby Alt
Mars Army
Adrian Young
Brooks Wackerman, Cora Coleman, Atom Willard
Adrian Young & Stephen Perkins
Shannon Leto
?uestlove
Shannon Leto and his oldest fan
A group of monster drummers
Byron McMackin and Brooks Wackerman
John Sawicki
?uestlove, Byron McMackin & Brooks Wackerman
Yes!
Adrian & Perkins
Signing Sticks
Web-o-sode #2 with NOTmtv and Street Drum Corps
FRI JANUARY 04 @ 06:36 PM 0 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Posted: 4 months ago
Drum Friends,
Feast your eyes on yet another rehearsal with Street Drum Corps working on their set for the Drum Off Grand Finals tomorrow night! Check out the below video as Adrian Young joins the gents to hammer away at his parts.
http://www.notmtv.tv/?x=watch&v=drum0ff2b
Adrian Young of No Doubt on Loveline Tonight!!!
THU JANUARY 03 @ 02:39 PM 0 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Posted: 4 months ago
Hey Everybody,
Mr. Adrian Young will be on the good ol' radio this evening chatting about his involvement with Drum Off, No Doubt, and all things Adrian!
Tune in to Loveline tonight @ 10pm PST to hear him with Dr. Drew and Stryker. You can listen online as well, check the website : http://www.lovelineshow.com/
MORE BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE GRAND FINALS WITH NOTMTV AND STREET DRUM CORPS
MON DECEMBER 31 @ 08:25 PM 0 Comments | LOGIN TO POST A COMMENT
From: News
Drum Folks and Friends,Posted: 4 months ago
Thanks to NotMTV and Street Drum Corps we can catch yet another glimpse of the behind the scenes build up to the SDC project coming up at the Grand Finals this Saturday, January 5th.
Take a peek for yourselves and enjoy your New Years Eve!!!
(Click the link below to view the video)
http://www.notmtv.tv/?x=viewMedia&vid=364
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