Pearl superstar Donati wows Dublin

Earlier in their series of drum clinics, music superstore X Music have brought notable LA session drummers like Thomas Lang and Journey’s Steve Smith to Ireland. In the conclusion of their 2009 sessions last week, Planet X drummer VIRGIL DONATI offered a brilliant insight into what is required of a drummer in the modern era. This rare opportunity for Irish drummers to see one of the world's top stickmen in action, was made possible by the people at Pearl Drums. It was riveting stuff.

Donati has played drums since he was three, been a professional since the age of 15 and a drumming academic at 21 – if not a God, he is at the very least an extremely senior High Priest within the profession. The guy’s technical ability is legendary: he can handle different beats with his two feet simultaneously and make it look like a doddle. No wonder he pulled such a large and enthusiastic crowd to the megastore beside the Red Cow. Donati is usually found behind a Pearl/Sabian hybrid kit of some sort, and that combo was what he had come to X-Music to celebrate. He did it in style.

The event was described by the store’s Ronan O’Reilly as ‘a very academic session’, high on technical information. Holding the sticks in the traditional style, Donati is like a drummer striving for enlightenment. He has spent the best part of his life developing his craft, and even now puts in a five-hour daily practice session to maintain it. That’s what the top level pros have to do: drummers of Ireland, you have been warned. “For drummers like Virgil,” O’Reilly elaborates, ‘“the equipment may be important, but it doesn’t seem to be about that any more, so much as it’s about the lifestyle. He would be in that class of drummers who believe that even their diet would affect their playing. Herbal tea and macrobiotic food are a far cry from the heroin-shooting antics that drummers are historically associated with. “Virgil is also an academic of the profession, totally knowledgeable about different styles. It was really interesting to hear him run through the theory behind the kit during the master-class.”

By the end of the session, no one was in any doubt: they had just been listening to an extraordinarily gifted drummer who has done the hard work. “It was inspiring to listen to him,” one local drum warrior told Hot Gear. “I picked up some technical stuff, but most of all I realised that dedication is where it’s at.”

Pearl will be hosted yet another master-class with internationally renowned Irish drummer Conor Guilfoyle demonstrated his talents behind his own Pearl kit at The Music Show, in the RDS, on October 3.

Also at the Music Show, putting the ‘demon’ in ‘demonstration’, the KMI Distribution stand at The Music Show will also showcase the famous Demon Drive. The Demon may not mean a lot to you if you’ve never sat behind a towering cage of snares, cymbals and bass drums, but the Eliminator Demon Drive is the frontier pedal for bass drums, based on ‘skateboarding technology’. Tailor-made to fit your feet, the belief is that it delivers an unprecedented level of control. If you want to see just how, get to The Music Show and start drooling... As the man said, it’s not to be missed!