Well whats up LGM. man Carlitos put it down last night no doubt about it. But Real talk Jarome flood ripped it. His solo made since and was jaw dropping from the beginning till the end. This years comp. was really hard. There were alot of good and ripping drummers. But real talk Jarome took the cake. as judges and people who have won in previous years. The judges are some of the music business most profound drummers of today. Lets see. Thomas Pridgen judged.. Thomas Lang. Trevor laurence..johnathen (sugar foot ) moffit. My self. Carmine Appice. it was about 15 judges. real talk from all different styles of music. this year was no joke. jarome earned that $25,000. And real talk the boy is raw.....
Ok, so here's a mini version of the competition. Real talk, the competition was crazy!! The first cat that went up was this guy Anthony Burns from Michigan man this cat was fast and he was Chris Coleman's god son or something like that, so imagine LOL!!! Cat was real dope. He had great speed and some really nice tricks. Then it was this cat Tim "Figg" Newton from San Diego this dude is crazy too. Very clean and heavy hitter ala Aaron Spears. He had some dope grooves, in particular he did this groove in 7 that was straight killer. Next was Ramon and man you look at this kid and you say how do you get so much power out of that 5 foot stature LOL!!! Homeboy is just straight up talented and did some really nice stuff too. Then Jerome went up and he was on. He just played with conviction, had the crowd behind him all the way and he just had it. I knew Jerome before from last year and he's a great guy. Really humble and trust me it was his year. God knows all things man, because him winning this competition is a testimony because he told me some personal stuff and Saturday night was an accomplishment and his outlet to the music scene. Great guy and a great spirit. Then I went up and I played well. I dropped my stick, but I don't think that's the reason I lost to be honest. I just didn't have the crowd like Jerome did, but I feel like I played really musical and tried to sound different than everyone else, but I have some work to do for next year and we'll see what happens. Then the last cat was Sherman Arnold who is from Colorado, but I didn't really hear him play because I was taking my stuff down to the dressing room. However, from what I hear he played well, but stole some licks and ideas from someone
Right Mr. Moore LOL!!! (and no it wasn't Eric's licks)!!
The set up was amazing. It was time efficient too unlike when you compete at the store finals, districts, etc. There are two sets up and while the first cat is playing, the second cat is setting up opposite of the stage from the guy who is playing. And so on and so forth. I didn't really get to appreciate Jerome's playing because I was setting up, but from what I saw and heard the dude was straight up on that night.
The VIP party was cool. Met alot of cats, Eric is really cool and funny as heck. He's got a way with the ladies too LOL!! Na, I won't blow up his spot, but like Eric said, many cats out. Ronald Bruner Jr. was there, Kenny Arnoff, Danny Carey, etc. However, you see the good, the bad and the real ugly!! Man, cats were really high, drugged up, etc. It just really opens up your eyes and shows you that the music scene is not the prettiest, but man besides that the experience was AMAZING and would not trade it for anything. If you got any questions, just ask, I'll try to respond as throughouly as I can. This was just from my perspective. Take care and God Bless.
Carlito
