The Senators and DCUK help set a World Record

Steve Wright the 2009 Drum Major and member of the Senators Drum and Bugle took charge of 582 kit drummers during the “Stick it to MS” largest drum ensemble world record attempt which was held at the National Indoor Arena Birmingham, England on Monday 13th July 2008 at the culmination of the National Guitarfest and Drumfest events.

The previous world record consisting of 533 drummers was set at "Woodstick 2006" at the Qwest Event Centre, Seattle, Washington, USA, on 13 May 2006.

Steve’s task was to conduct and keep in time the 582 musicians which as you can imagine was no mean feat. In order to this he adopted a larger than usual conducting style so that all the drummers could follow the beat and stay in time during the record attempt..

In order for the attempt to qualify as a world record the Guinness organisation guidelines of what constitutes a drum kit had to be fulfilled (1 Bass Drum, 1 Snare Drum, At least 1 Tom Tom, Hi Hat Cymbals inc stand, 1 Crash or Ride Cymbal) and the ensemble had to play a set pattern of beats for a minimum of 5 minutes

Steve had opportunity to mix during the day with many of the participants along with some of the more high profile drummers and celebrities taking part in the attempt including Karl Brazil (James Blunt), Don Powell form Slade, Mike Joyce from The Smiths and celebrity actor and drummer John Thomson from the Fast Show, Cold Feet and Coronation Street where he was able to answer questions that arose about the Drum Corps and Marching band activity in general. 

With all this coming in the middle of our activity’s “National Marching Music Month” it was a great opportunity to spread the word about Drum Corps to a wider demographic and provider yet another example of how interaction with different styles of musical styles can interact.

Rick Prince one of the event’s organizers paid tribute to Steve and his efforts by saying “It was great to have someone from a Drum Corps background conduct ‘our massed drum corps’ I have always been a bit of a closet snare drummer myself and having seen Corps like the “Blue Devils” in the US I knew that a drum corps style conductor was exactly what was required to make the attempt stick together to the satisfaction of the Guinness adjudicators.”

The next date in the diary for Steve and the Senators will be an appearance at the Drum Corps United Kingdom Show scheduled to be held Victoria Park, Warrington, Cheshire on Sunday 19th July 2009.

Well done Steve on your achievement and also for representing The Senators and Drum Corps United Kingdom whilst being a participant in the successful world beating record attempt. 

Watch video clips on YouTube