Hi Everybody

In this review, I will talk to you about myself. I imagine you, seeing your face change and thinking, “ I hope he doesn't want to talk about himself." Don’t worry. I will not talk about my own life… OUFF. You are really lucky.

On Saturday, April 18, 2005, I took a flight from Montreal Airport to New York to meet Joe Kelley and Gi Dussault, and stay one week in Connecticut. Monday night, we arrived in the studios of W V O F 88.5 Fairfield, Connecticut to broadcast a live interview with the one and only Mr. John Blackwell (Prince and the NPG Drummer). It was a great beginning to the week with this amazing guest. http://www.johnblackwell.net.

Joe introduced me to John and said: “This is Gamillah, the music reviewer from Montreal Quebec. John answered: “Hey! I will be there in Montreal on Thursday, May 5th , 2005 at the Musical Center ITALMELODIE Inc, 274 Jean Talon East, Montreal, Quebec, (514) 273-3224 for a Drum Clinic in collaboration with SABIAN , REMO and TAMA .

Now, let me talk to you about my evening and my meeting with John Blackwell in Montreal. Upon my return to Montreal, I called my friend Normand Désy who has a son that is a drummer. I wanted to give him the chance to meet John. The three of us decided to meet in downtown Montreal prior to the Blackwell clinic.

I had seen on the email poster that the first 100 clients would get a free pair of John Blackwell signature sticks. I decided to be there early. I was in front of the music store at 4:45pm and was the first one in line. After waiting a few minutes, people started to arrive. I talked music with Claude Perreault, a drummer from Montreal. What an interesting and knowledgable person. We talked about music, about what he does and what I do. Plus, we chatted about drum’s competitions in Montreal like DRUM FEST …. Suddenly, I turned my head and guess whom I see. Yessssssss John Blackwell walking on the sidewalk. Cool! I approached John and said, “Hi Mr. Blackwell. I am Gamillah, welcome to Montreal!” He replied “Hi Gamillah, nice to meet you”. He shook my hand, gave me a little pound on the shoulder and said see you inside the store. It was a great moment for me shaking his hand. At 6:00 pm, an employee came to see us and asked for us to come in and take a number for the drawing at the end of the show.

When I arrived at the second floor, I was in front of John Blackwell’s drum set. There were many stools around his drum set and I could choose where I wanted to sit. I was two feet in front of the set, and after only a few minutes, the store was full. Suddenly, I saw my friend and his son behind me. Since I am not a drummer and my friend’s son is, I decided to give up my spot to him. I stood up a little behind him in order to not miss this great performance. A few minutes later, a store employee introduced Blackwell to the audience. John talked a little bit with the people and he started to play the first track on his new release. “I apologize as I cannot give you the title of this tune” John said. After this song, he said “Don’t be shy if you have any questions. Just ask me and I will answer them”. He closed his eyes, entered into his zone and started to jam. Blackwell never opened his eyes during this jam. WOW! He is unbelievable, a very spectacular drummer. This was the first time where I could see his technical skills so close.

I marveled to see his amazing martial arts drumming style. During one segment, John played very fast, dropped the tempo, and then quickley changed the beat again. He made an incredible drum solo hitting all the components of his drum set very fast… Hi-Hat, Snare, high tom, mid-tom, floor tom, the front and back cymbals. All the while he is not watching where he hits. He just goes by the musical feeling pulsing through his body. All the people inside the store started to applaud and whistle. During the jam, I looked around me to see the faces of each person and I can tell you there were a lot of people staring in amazement.

After this song, John opened his eyes and came back to our world. He asked if we had any questions. At that moment, the people started to ask many questions about him and his drumming skills. They also asked about his relationship with Prince, how he works with him, and if he was left-handed or right-handed. Answer: he is left-handed but he can play with both hands. The most pertinent question asked was, ‘’ What do we need to do to become a great drummer like you? ‘’ The answer was Practice, Practice and Practice. Everyday, listen to a lot of music you like and try repeat the same tempo (that is what his father did with him) and after, you will discover your own style. At the end of question/answer segment, John remained seated on his stool. Italmelodie conducted a few prize drawings. You could win: hats, posters, video tape, T-shirts, and the big prize was a Sabian cymbal. I asked my friends what were their ticket #s were. They said # 18 & #19. I told to Alexandre, the son of Normand; I have the feeling that you will win this Cymbal, and I crossed my fingers as they started to call those numbers #18 #19 #18 #19. John picked a number in the bag and he called  # 19.… Yesss sir. I told you Alexandre would win the Cymbal.  He was really happy and so was I. After that, you could stay to meet John, shake his hand, and ask for an autograph. To top the evening off, he gave each of us a pair of John Blackwell signature sticks plus a Remo Drumhead. Just before leaving, I asked John if he wanted to autograph my drumhead and my program. This is what he wrote on my drumheads:

To: My Brothers and Sister
Gamillah
Joe Kelley
&
Gi Dussault
Much Love
God Bless
Peace
John Blackwell



Talk to you soon
Gamillah Music Reviewer.