Under the name JMC Custombuilt, I booked a booth at the 12th annual 2009 Hollywood Drum Show which was organised by Kerry Crutchfield at Raleigh studios.
I loaded up the van and along with my daughter Rachel who was visiting from England we drove the 416 miles from the North Bay down to Hollywood and set up the booth anticipating an exciting weekend.
The show opened Saturday morning and was soon buzzing with a steady stream of visitors all interested to check out the drums be they modern or vintage and also the clinics which were performed by Brian Hitt of REO Speedwagon, Cindy Blackman of Lenny Kravitz and Todd Sucherman of Styx.
I got to know my booth neighbours during the day who were another Englishman, Colin Hilborne of Prentice Practice Pads, and Supernatural Cymbals run by Shawn McCain and Dave Hill who very kindly fitted out the kit with a selection of their cymbals for the show, these guys all became very good friends over the next several years.
The snares and the Purpleheart kit created quite an interest with lots of compliments and questions on how they were made, but the highlight of the weekend for me was a visit to the booth by Todd Sucherman who stopped by for a quick chat and to check out the kit.
So, after a superb weekend we travelled back to the North Bay with new friends and contact information from the drum world in LA which opened the door into exhibiting at drum shows and the start of a new adventure.
