CHECK OUT THE 2011 US DRUMMER LOVE WINNERS

PACIFIC REGION
Mason Amlee (Winner)
Alex Bent (Runner-up)

Besides practicing rudiments and a lot of double kick, right about now, Mason and his band Sun and Souls (formerly Checkpoint Charlie), are in the studio recording their first album with legendary engineer and producer Mike Plotnikoff, and Igor Korochev. Up until this point, the band had been busy writing new songs and shopping for a label deal. Hoping for a summer release, (we’ll give you all a heads up when it drops), Mason says he has crazy amounts of faith in this album, and is pretty confident it’s going to be “big”. As for winning Drummer Love, he thought the contest was an amazing experience, not only because he loves free stuff, but because it was so surreal to see himself in DRUM! Magazine.

Alex Bent (Runner-Up)

After watching Alex’s video, Tommy Lee’s exact words to us were, “this dude is sick”. Well it must be true, because Sick Drummer Magazine went out to a recent show and shot some footage of Alex for an article on him on their website (http://bit.ly/KiXBbQ). He has been very busy since last year, recording for various bands and playing on the Cannibal Corpse Tour with his band Arkaik (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LwGZ4XFV6E&feature=email). If you can, catch him on the road, but if you can’t, look him up on his website. www.alexbentdrums.com. Alex says that even though he didn’t win, he was happy to be chosen to represent Northern California, and that being part of Drummer Love was a great experience.

MOUNTAIN REGION
Lem Williams (Winner)

Not only was Lem the winner of the Mountain Region, he also wins the prize for Most Creative Solicitation of Votes! Lem drove around his home town with his name and the DrummerLove.com address written on his car! When we asked him what this past year has been like, here’s what he told us: “Drummer Love has literally changed my Life. The excitement of watching my votes climb and climb and continue to climb was outstanding! The exposure, the feeling of knowing that people around the country liked you and your drumming so much is just humbling, and a blessing, and makes you feel very good. My life is on an awesome path and I’m now a FULL TIME DRUMMER. Since the drummer love competition I have started my own drumming show called the "SHED", which we are currently starting to travel with it. I also have more offers from bands to play for them, to the point where I’ve had to say NO, which is great! I am currently playing with six bands: Ernest Washington & Rendezvous @ 10, Greggory Goodloe and Light Years Ahead, Sheryl Renee (New York), Michael C Project, Dae Dai and Soulforce, Su Charles (American Idol Hollywood Finalist) and auditioning for Hazel Miller and the Hazel Miller Band. I have done a live video shoot, and traveled to Germany, New York, and Florida, just to name a few places. I have met some amazing people and things are still happening.” Lem offered a bit of advice for our Drummer Love Europe finalists: “Bottom line is be prepared to be busy! busy! busy! ... and never think or assume that you can’t get any better. The contest opens the door but YOU YOURSELF still have to walk through it… marinate on that.”

MIDWEST NORTH REGION
Winford Morrisy (Winner)

We are so proud of Winford Morrisy. There was no doubt in any of our minds that he is an amazing talent – the only one who doubted it was Winford himself. According to Winford, It had been a long road for him with his music - a lot of ups and downs; but thanks to all of you who voted for him, winning the Zildjian Drummer Love Contest gave him a really big moral boost, and now, he finds himself practicing and listening to music every day. Since last year, Winford has also been steadily plowing away at schooling. Currently in his junior year at Liberty University, he is compiling interdisciplinary studies in business, communications, and leadership. Winford says, “I do hope, like most musicians, to tour the world playing the instrument I love. I don’t know how that’s going to happen, or if it will happen, but just in case it does or doesn't, I'm steadily focusing on improving myself and my gift.” We wish you all the best Winford, and know you will be successful no matter which direction you go in!

NORTHEAST REGION
Kenneth Salters (Winner)
Keaton Thandi (Runner Up)

All of you who voted last year, know talent when you see it. Soon after winning Drummer Love, Kenneth Salters went to Belgium to play at a Jazz Festival/Contest with the Quentin Angus Quintet! Not only did his group get 2nd place, Kenneth won the "Best Soloist Award" for the entire festival. Out of all the bands, and all the instruments, they picked Kenneth and his drums! A couple of months later, he travelled to Taiwan with Andy Akiho and played at the International Drum Festival sponsored by Ten Drum. Kenneth says “we played all over Taiwan (Taipei, Tainan) for 10 days! It was an absolute blast!” He also recently played at the Kennedy Center (in NYC) with Andy, in the Terrace Theater. The upcoming months have Kenneth playing in NY, Los Angeles alongside the LA Philharmonic, a jazz festival in Bucharest, the Nardis Jazz Club in Istanbul, back home to South Carolina to be in a wedding, and out to Berlin to record a documentary film score for a project called "Disquieting Nature". Somehow, he still manages to find time to teach 3rd - 5th graders how to play steel pan, and put on a concert after 20 weeks of lessons. Says Kenneth, “it’s lots of work but very rewarding”. I know I’m exhausted just typing this all up for him!

Keaton Thandi (Runner Up)

Then 17 years-old, Keaton blew us all away with his style, playing on a completely broken crash cymbal and with no top HiHat. A year later, he and his band, The Satellite Hearts, have been doing great playing out a whole lot and getting ready to drop their new record (yup – we’ll let you know when). A new fan caught some video of the band playing recently on Market Street in Philly, check them out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXjKPfqoq70&feature=relmfu Things, as Keaton puts it, “should start to get more interesting for us. We've also been talking to a few labels so hopefully something starts to happen in that department.”
Keaton will be graduating High School soon, and come fall will be headed off to college to study Jazz at Montclair State University. He’s excited and is looking forward to being able to fully immerse himself in studying music all the time. Good luck Keaton!

SOUTHEAST REGION
Jacobi Gunter (Winner)

We are so looking forward to seeing Jacobi and his family in the upcoming weeks. After meeting Craigie and Debbie Zildjian at PASIC 2011, in Indianapolis IN, the pair invited Jacobi to visit the Zildjian Factory. Jacobi’s personality is as big as his talent. A truly humble human being, Jacobi has been working on completing his education and doing a tremendous amount community service projects; speaking to youngsters, sharing his gift of drumming by playing for different charity events and donating funds to the less fortunate. His generosity is being recognized by the Mayor of his city, brought to his attention via a fan who voted for Jacobi everyday in Drummer Love! They became friends through facebook, and when his feature in DRUM! Magazine hit the stands, she passed it along to the Mayor’s office. Congratulations Jacobi! Jacobi is also collaborating with a production company in working on a solo project, and is hoping to be part of PASIC 2012 in November.

MIDWEST SOUTH REGION
Mike Talbot (Winner)
Kenneth Benson (Runner Up)
The last stop on our Drummer Love Tour, was the sweltering city of Dallas TX…and though it was sometimes even too hot for Robert’s camera to work, things have heated up even more for our winner, Mike Talbot. According to Mike, “life has been great since winning the contest. A total change as far as work goes. I've been teaching 20-25 students per week at the Zounds Sounds School of Rock here in Dallas. I think winning the contest helped me get in the door there.” Mike also started playing with a great band, Jason Elmore and HooDoo Witch. Besides playing a ton of shows, they are ready to head into the studio to record their new record. US tour dates are on the books with new ones being added daily. Also a Canadian tour is booked for Sept. - Oct., and a few European dates are in the works. You can keep up with Mike at his website, www.miketalbot.net, and maybe catch him on the road. Mike says “Busy is good! I can't thank Zildjian enough for helping me get back on track.” You’re welcome Mike, we’re happy we could help!

Kenneth Benson (Runner Up)
Besides being active on twitter (you can follow him @KennethBensonJr), since the Drummer Love contest, Kenneth reports that things have been great. He’s worked out an endorsement deal with Shed Drums, and has been playing a lot for different artist and sessions; and is about to do a little touring soon. His YouTube Channel is going strong with over 13,000 subscribers, and he’s actually about to partner with YouTube, so be sure to check it out! Congratulations Kenneth!
So that’s the news on our first group of Drummer Love Winners. All of you who voted last year are responsible for bring them a little closer to reaching their dreams. Check back soon, and you can do the same for the finalists in Drummer Love Europe. You can vote once a day, in each Country, until June 18th.