Announcement - Competition finalists.

Guru Drums

Senior Member
First up, a huge thank you to all who took the trouble to enter the Guru Drums In-Tense snare competition. We set a tough challenge, one that got you thinking, & presented an inclusive environment allowing all levels of player to stand a real chance of winning. The results are now back in from the panel of judges. Remember, this was judged agains very specific criteria, that criteria excluding video production quality and displays of chops. Of course, each judge made their own interpretation of the criteria, so judging was from a very broad base. In the judging process, points were awarded for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place from each judge. Those scores were added together to come up with the final 5 (one from each category) that will go through to the live draw this Sunday at the Manchester Drum Show.

So, here's the finalists, & also those who just missed out:

Category:

Under 16.

Finalist = Janis Vernier http://youtu.be/yOGbwMWPK1M
Just missed out = Joe Hann https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00n_uIp1__Y

Beginner

Finalist = Siros Vaziri https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I90guspC6Rk
Just missed out = Julius Yang http://youtu.be/D-ue5cpLosU
Just missed out = Erik Anderson http://youtu.be/SQqIvkKRtrc

Experienced Hobbyist

Finalist = Frank Van De Boom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phFtsNPB1gU&feature=youtu.be
Just missed out = Nathan Shiri http://youtu.be/re6xvJlEI-E

Semi Pro

Finalist - Aaron Black http://youtu.be/Q1nMGtnMeS4
Just missed out = Will Sabol http://youtu.be/zCESmwWbPXA
Just missed out = Jim Fernandez http://youtu.be/-ZrvN82TM9c

Pro

Finalist = Ben Clark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq38MVfLTCI
Just missed out = Laurence Clack http://youtu.be/MAW6bohSa8w
Just missed out = Todd Bishop http://youtu.be/MYm8LG1Veqk


Notable mentions go to Jim Fernandez for putting a smile on the judges faces, George Vincent Dunn for using a snare as a bass drum, & Oliver Dowling for an upbeat performance in trying circumstances.

Here's a few judges remarks:

"I also really liked the imaginative entry by Nathan Shiari who almost took this place but I think the bowed instrument put the snare a bit too much on the sidelines"

"What a name for a drummer!! *Name apart, Frank was amazing - a contender for the whole competition for me! *He got a really really good variety of sounds played with musicality and inventiveness. *The beard at the end threw me over the edge!! Top Marks!! *I feel he also has a great respect for the instrument in the same way Ben Clark has. *excellent work :)"

"Jim Fernandez! *Not in my top 3 as per criteria but his approach & humour put a big smile on my face!!"

"Aaron Black, hands down the most inventive in the category for me! *I really liked the range of sounds and the use of the different sticks/mallets/brushes AND tuning forks!! Top work!"

"I thought Ben's performance was superb - excellent use of sounds and musicality. *I felt he really has respect for the instrument and knows how to make it sing! *Really put a smile on my face!"

"I really likes Jannis's expression and variety of sounds using mallets, sticks and hands - it had an orchestral players musicality to it which shows real understanding of the drum"

"As a beginner, Amanda has some great ideas and managed to get loads of wonderful inventive sounds out of the drum! *I liked the flicks & the finger strokes were like orchestral tambourine playing - nice! *I really liked the ethereal stick rolling at the end too!!"

Hopefully you can see that the judges spent some time considering their choices carefully.


Come back to this thread next week for the winner announcement!
 
Good luck finalists!

Thanks for having this contest, it was definitely fun to come up with ideas. I never did get around to drumming with sticks held with my toes and holding two bass drum pedals...
 
Well, one thing is for certain: whoever is lucky enough to have their name drawn out of the hat will be a worthy winner!

What a great competition it has been! Many thanks to the judges who have evidently paid very close attention to all the entries, and of course to Andy and Dean not only for the generous prize, but also for making this competition so accessible to drummers of all abilities.

Good luck, finalists!
 
Well, one thing is for certain: whoever is lucky enough to have their name drawn out of the hat will be a worthy winner!

What a great competition it has been! Many thanks to the judges who have evidently paid very close attention to all the entries, and of course to Andy and Dean not only for the generous prize, but also for making this competition so accessible to drummers of all abilities.

Good luck, finalists!
Did you notice the judge's remark about your entry? :)
 
Well, I have mixed feelings about this. Sure it's nice to see what sounds you can draw from a snare drum, but most of the people opted for playing something a bit too abstract just for the sake of drawing sounds out of the snare drum without in most cases being very musical in a real case scenario. I agree that was the intention of the contest but it might have felt a bit too abstract in my opinion. Reality is, most people would never play such a thing in any tune or live situation, then why see the potential of a Guru snare in these cases?

Same applies when someone is out for buying a snare. He/she is not going to play brushes on the resonant side to see the potential of the snare, he/she will play some rudiments on the snare to evaluate its potential and maybe play a groove on a drum kit to see if it fits well with a kit.

I'm happy to see that the judges took the time to see every video and to write something about it. Shows that they respect the work each contestant submitted.

Jim Fernandez was my favorite :)
 
Great competition !

Thank you for the opportunity.

I won.
I made someone smile............
That's what I like to do when I play the drums for an audience.

.
 
Thanks again for hosting this competition. I had a blast, and it's been inspiring to see everyone else's videos. Can't wait to see which one of the Final Five gets Christmas in June!
 
I've been anxiously awaiting this post all week! While I'm bummed I missed out on the final drawing, I definitely think every finalists deserves their spot. This has been a fun competition that has caused me to think about the drums in ways I wouldn't have otherwise, and seeing all the other entries has been very interesting -- especially Aaron Black's ideas. Thanks again to Guru for putting this on, and for everything you guys do to advance the art of drumming.
 
This has been a fun competition that has caused me to think about the drums in ways I wouldn't have otherwise,
This makes me very happy indeed. There were so many deserving entries, it would have been great to give prizes to all, but alas, we can't afford it :(



Ok, here's the result of the Guru In-Tense snare competition draw at the Manchester Drum show yesterday. All five finalist names were placed in the snare case, folded evenly, & mixed around to ensure fairness. The lovely Elaine Smith (Marketing Manager) at our friends Evans Heads performed the draw duties, & here is the lucky winner - Janis Vernier!

Congratulations to Janis, & a huge thanks to all who took the time & trouble to enter, & to the judging panel who really studied the entries in detail. Look out for next year's competition!

Best regards, Andy & Dean.

Here's Janis's winning entry in the 16 & under category https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOGbwMWPK1M
 

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What a lucky lad - and a deserving winner, as were all the finalists. He must be chuffed to bits!
 
Congrats to Jannis (and his teacher ;-)!
And thanks to the GURU team for organising this superb competition.

I haven't watched all the videos but I think it's great to have a young lad win that prize (as a result of displaying the appropriate skills/creativity demanded).
 
I'm sorry, but I feel I must say something.

I find this coincidentally fishy. There was an entry posted by Mr. Floegel before he was a GURU endorser. After he became an endorser, his submission was removed from the competition. This is all fine and dandy, until the last day to enter we get this:

Ok, I don't know if I'm supposed to post this - but here's an entry from my student (who's not on Drummerworld).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOGbwMWPK1M

He's almost 16, and has made some great progress in the last couple of months!

The video that was submitted for the student by your endorser is incredibly similar to the initial video Mr. Floegel submitted himself, from the way the opening title was laid out, to the performance itself. Both videos were in the exact location, used mallets first, starting off softly and then building to a much louder dynamic, eventually switching to sticks to finish out the performance. A comparison can not be made between the two videos, because, imagine this, Mr. Floegel's initial submission is no longer available for viewing.


Also, it seems to me that allowing Mr. Floegel to submit an entry for his student is in direct violation of contest rule #3:

"3/ Entries from players who have a formal marketing or endorsement arrangement with a drum company are not permitted."

If his student had submitted the entry himself, no problem, but he did not.

I am not trying to stir the pot or claim bullshit, but again it seems coincidentally fishy to me that someone affiliated with a member of the GURU family has won the prize. Just sayin'.
 
Sure I mean, he submitted it through David, and I agree David shouldn't even said he was one of his students since it could have bursted influence on the result. On the other hand it says "Entries" not "Submissions". Strictly speaking, David submitted his student Entry.

I'm sure David guided Jannis in the best way he could to create a snare piece, but which teacher wouldn't? If I asked my teacher he would guide me as well...

The third thing is that it was an Evans representative to draw the lucky ticket so I couldn't believe the Evans representative favored David's student.

I agree it was a coincidence, but I believe nothing more than that.
 
I'm sorry, but I feel I must say something.

I find this coincidentally fishy. There was an entry posted by Mr. Floegel before he was a GURU endorser. After he became an endorser, his submission was removed from the competition. This is all fine and dandy, until the last day to enter we get this:



The video that was submitted for the student by your endorser is incredibly similar to the initial video Mr. Floegel submitted himself, from the way the opening title was laid out, to the performance itself. Both videos were in the exact location, used mallets first, starting off softly and then building to a much louder dynamic, eventually switching to sticks to finish out the performance. A comparison can not be made between the two videos, because, imagine this, Mr. Floegel's initial submission is no longer available for viewing.



Also, it seems to me that allowing Mr. Floegel to submit an entry for his student is in direct violation of contest rule #3:

"3/ Entries from players who have a formal marketing or endorsement arrangement with a drum company are not permitted."

If his student had submitted the entry himself, no problem, but he did not.

I am not trying to stir the pot or claim bullshit, but again it seems coincidentally fishy to me that someone affiliated with a member of the GURU family has won the prize. Just sayin'.

Polack,

I can just confirm that I was present at the draw and there was absolutely nothing fishy about it. The Evans rep chose the entry without looking and there was an even mixing of the submissions in the case.
 
Oh dear, I thought this would cause some trouble...


@MrInsanePolack: Please let me reply to your comment.

I find this coincidentally fishy. There was an entry posted by Mr. Floegel before he was a GURU endorser. After he became an endorser, his submission was removed from the competition. This is all fine and dandy, until the last day to enter we get this:

Yes, I created an entry and I became a Guru Endorser quite soon after submitting my video.
I was NOT a guru endorser until 8th of April (when we did that guru promo video).
So I had NO contract with any company then.
I removed my entry because Andy talked to me short after I uploaded the video saying He might se a conflict, 1) due to the upcoming guru sessions and 2) because he's thinking about getting me to become a guru endorser.

So yes, no problem at all with my entry.

Jannis's video was published on the last day is simply explained: He was pretty busy with school and his band work.


The video that was submitted for the student by your endorser is incredibly similar to the initial video Mr. Floegel submitted himself, from the way the opening title was laid out, to the performance itself. Both videos were in the exact location, used mallets first, starting off softly and then building to a much louder dynamic, eventually switching to sticks to finish out the performance. A comparison can not be made between the two videos, because, imagine this, Mr. Floegel's initial submission is no longer available for viewing.

Yes, we must admit, the video is pretty similar to my initial video but Andy said there's no problem with videos being similar.
And since my video was removed there is no similar video anymore.
Of course (!) I helped my student to develop ideas and try to get the best out of his video. Who wouldn't?


Also, it seems to me that allowing Mr. Floegel to submit an entry for his student is in direct violation of contest rule #3:

"3/ Entries from players who have a formal marketing or endorsement arrangement with a drum company are not permitted."

If his student had submitted the entry himself, no problem, but he did not.

I am not trying to stir the pot or claim bullshit, but again it seems coincidentally fishy to me that someone affiliated with a member of the GURU family has won the prize. Just sayin'.

As stated before, rule #3 is not violated.
It was not when I submitted my video neither is it violated now.

My student did indeed submit his own video:
- He got his own youtube channel
- He posted it to the Guru FB page himself
- He filled out that email form on the guru page himself


Seriously, the only thing I did for that video was:
- Letting him in my studio
- Letting him use my snare drum
- Figuring out ideas (I didn't say "Play that, play that", I just said "think about using mallets, dynamics, fingers, think of some kind of "patterns ... etc etc etc")
- Filming it
- Syncing audio and video

Oh yeah, and I posted it on drummerworld because he's not registered on drummerworld.


As Grolubao and BacteriumFendYoke mentioned, the final "decision" (if you can name it that) was made by the Evans Marketing Manager not anybody of Guru.


I can understand that this whole thing seemed to be a bit suspicious but I can't do more than expressly repeat that there was no "cheating" or what so ever at all...



Bestest
David
 
it seems coincidentally fishy to me that someone affiliated with a member of the GURU family has won the prize. Just sayin'.

There must have been quite a few entries by people affiliated in some way to a member of the Guru family, so the chances of one of them winning would have been commensurate. Andy and I have become friends in real life; let's pretend that my entry was good enough to win: if I had (hah!) would you have thought it was fishy? I sincerely hope not.
 
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