The Gewa Music France team, in partnership with La Baguetterie, organized their welcoming and it is through this report that I would like to share the highlights of this unforgettable weekend with you all…
Saturday 27 October
12:30 pm, our journey by train to Paris draws to a close at the Hall of the Machine du Moulin Rouge.
Patrice le Roi, our French DW expert, as well as Berhard Weithofer (DW Europe) have been working energetically ever since the early hours of the morning at our stand, giving prominence to the latest unique jewels, just released by the US production Oxnard.
My first rendez-vous is with Esther and John Good at the Brighton Hotel, Rue de Rivoli, around 1:00 pm. The couple is waiting for us at a small restaurant, enjoying a good French lunch of a nice French cheese platter with bread and wine! Thence we left for the Baguetterie, Philippe Lalite’s store. The reunion is warm and continues on into Philippe’s den, his office, both of them plunged into his Unique cymbal collection. The tempo of the weekend is set!
Shortly after, a walk through Pigalle brings us to the Hall. John insists on adjusting and regulating all the drum kits of the exposition, himself. I get to witness this precious moment, gleaning as much information as I can on his tuning and tweaking techniques. As he does this, he states:
« The drum head of the toms is tighter than the hoop. For the floor toms, I tighten them to the same note, preferably on the tone of the natural vibration of the drum shell, that I myself selected, while composing the set. »
My second rendez-vous is coming up: Peter Erskine. We are going to meet at the foot of the hillock of Montmartre, in the hall of his hotel around 6:00 pm. There I find a pleasant and modest man to interview, in the peace and quiet of the soundproofed rooms, ideal for the snare drums of La Baguetterie. Peter offers to give us a lesson on his brush techniques, that we were fortunate enough to film. A true caress! He also tells us a couple of anecdotes that happened to himself and Jaco Pastorius, whom you will find in our interview…
The meeting with the store team lasts until the evening hours and dinner time. A small restaurant, reserved for the occasion, where John Good, Thomas Lang, Gergo Borlai and many other giants of the world of drumming, are waiting for us. A stage set of delicious food and improbable, unforgettable encounters.
Sunday 28 October, the Day of the Bag Show.
10h30, The rally point, where John and I meet, is at our stand where he will be available for all those who are passionate about percussion. Meanwhile, I’m helping Peter Erskine with the preparation of his drum, a DW Jazz Series model, with a Satin Oil Natural finish. The noise of the sound check perturbs him. I offer to talk in a quieter place, on the stairs, leading up to the dressing room… Peter explains, « I like it when the vibration of my drum travels through every element that composes it. I don’t need a silent block between my drums, and my bass drum. Even the cymbals pedals are flat DW bases ….which come into contact with the ground. It’s a change from the sound of my Zildjian cymbals. »
Peter takes out the pillows from the inside of the bass drum, he even asks me to remove the Velcro glued on the wood. He leaves nothing to chance. His drums begin to sound the note: the harmonic is definitely there. It is in this moment that the link between the two men that are John and Paul is made for me, when the wood begins to sing…
1:30 pm, The two musicians that accompany Peter arrive on the stage for the sound check. Stéphane Guillaume on the saxophone and Michel Berrita on the string bass.
The sound of the drum set is very precise; Peter wants it natural, with little acoustic pressure. He asks for his fold-back monitor to be removed, he wants to hear the direct source of the instruments that surround him.
2:15, Frank Drouillac, the Master of Ceremonies, presents John Good. The entire room sings in chorus to wish the society DW a happy 40th birthday. What a welcome! Then, John shares his passion for the wood and presents Peter Erskine as a great artist among the greatest.
2:30, Peter Erskine and his musicians begin to play. He transmits his musicality. Sometimes his drum sticks seem to barely brush the drums and sometimes they strike to create the dynamic and resonance. Us, on the stage, and the audience down below, listen to a moment we know is rare.
3:00, I make my way through the crowd with Peter and John for a signing at our stand, where a dozen French DW artists are waiting for us! Richard Bertin, Jean-Philippe Fanfant, Etienne Gaillochet, Farid Médjane, Roland Merlinc, Matthieu Rabaté, Sébastien Rambaud, Julien Tekeyan, Attilio Terlizzi, Tony Langelotti. I organize the presentations, and for almost two hours, the flashbulbs and the autographs keep on coming. This encounter, with all of our artists and the creator of DW drum sets, is not lacking in emotion and the sharing of secrets of the making.
However, Peter Erskine must leave Paris shortly for the Charles de Gaulle Airport and John Good will leave towards the end of the afternoon for his hotel. He is travelling on with his wife tomorrow for Germany, searching for new types of wood, full of history.
The day finishes off to the rhythm of the drumming demonstrations, which made this addition of 2012 a tantalizing line-up, making this Bag Show an inevitable national event.
