Christopher “Flood the Drummer®” Norris has never used the drumsticks awarded to him for winning the 2008 Drum-Off Store Championships. He’s considering removing them from the plastic for DrumDuel®.
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For more than two years I served as the drum manager for the Guitar Center in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Under my leadership, the department won two consecutive awards for best drum shop in 2006 and 2007. Additionally in 2006, I was named “Department Manager of the Year.”
All of those accomplishments raised our store’s profile significantly and by the end of 2006 I was negotiating with executives about bringing the Drum Off district championships – which at time included winners from the Cherry Hill, Oxford Valley, Allentown and Pittsburgh locations – to my drum shop.
We made it happen, and our store was the place to be. I met and formed relationships with countless drummers in the tri-state area, many who repeatedly ask me to quit temporarily so I could compete in the Drum-Off, others asked me to never enter so they would have a chance.
For three years I watched amazing drummers – and some not so good – play their hearts out. And though I made plenty of money selling gear to the huge audience our events attracted, part of me really did want to be up on the make-shift stage performing, too.
So when my time at the reigns of Guitar Center’s drum shop came to an end in November of 2007, I began contemplating whether I should come back in 2008 and compete. I talked it over with a mentor of mine and I had a few friends who urged me and said I would be crazy if I didn’t. So after much consideration, I decided I would enter once signs-up began, but my training started immediately. I spent hours on the drums focusing on speed, endurance, agility and creativity. When September rolled around, I entered and I won; beating out nearly 40 other drummers.
It was a great feeling and the prizes weren’t half bad, I got a free 10in A Custom splash and some engraved sticks, among other things.
My training continued, as the district competition were only weeks away. I rehearsed my routine… I was ready!!! The big night came and it was my turn to play and I left nothing on the table. In the three-five minutes they gave us to perform, I played through more than five genres of music, including jazz and rock. When my performance was over the next drummer up to play whispered in my ear: “that was f*cking sweet, to bad the judges won’t understand what you did.”
I didn’t know what he meant, I was pretty damn confident I was going to win. All the drummers finished and the judges tallied their vote: I had a score of 40, the winner had a score of 40.5.
What made the loss easy to swallow was that the drummer who won I had a lot of respect for, but it was still a real salty moment. I was in the parking lot of Guitar Center preparing to head back to the city when the same mentor who encouraged me to compete said “man, listen; don’t let this get you down. Your a great drummer and what you really need to so is organize your own drum competition; at this point you’re beyond playing in competitions.”
I surely didn’t feel that way. I didn’t feel good at all really. I didn’t celebrate my drumming for awhile after that moment; in fact, the drumsticks that I received from winning the store championships have never been used; they’re still in the plastic waiting for the perfect moment to be broken in I guess.
Six years and four jobs later, I’m now the CEO of Techbook Online and am co-organizing DrumDuel®, a head-to-head, multi-level drum competition where winners are decided by ballot. The September 6th event, aimed at getting folks registered to vote, energized about November’s general election and providing a “crash” course in civics, will feature up to 20 drummers battling through a series of challenges focusing on speed, endurance and agility.
And while there’s no chance that I’ll compete in DrumDuel®, a Saturday in City Hall courtyard seems like the perfect place to drum for justice using the drumsticks I’ve never used… Will you be there?
CLICK HERE to RSVP for DrumDuel®
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™