Hello,
Just checking in here - reality check!
I have some news that some of you may find interesting- the 2012 Nashville Drum Show and Snare Drum Olympics has been moved from the original smaller site to the Nashville Fairgrounds Expo Center. We have two nice big buildings, 32,000 square feet, 150 booth spaces in one and room for the concert stage and overflow of 30 booth spaces. One big factor in the expansion is the partnership between Fork's Drum Closet and NSMD. Gary Forkum's standing and influence in the regional drummer community and the drum retail and manufacturing business is affecting booth sales and attendance tremendously.
Steely Dan drummer ( and my former student), Keith Carlock is performing w Wayne Krantz and Nate Wood on Sunday evening 30th, and my band Poco and Gary's band the Midnight Riders are performing Saturday evening the 29th. The $15 daily admission includes festival seating at those performances (bring your own chair or stand). Reserve seat are available for $15 extra. We also have a Drum Set Solo Contest Stage and a Jam Session Stage outside. NashvilleDrumShow.com
The Snare Drum Olympics is shaping up nicely. If you haven't entered our drum(s) yet there is still time. The Olympics is great international publicity for your instruments, and it's cheap! SnareDrumOlympics.com
I've had a lot of vintage dealers and collectors from the Chicago Show have signed up for booths.
Not So Modern Drummer magazine news; The quarterly print magazine has been discontinued and has been replaced by an annual Blue Book of Drums as the main print product for NSMD. The magazine has been converted to a free monthly email magazine with the same content and columnists and is now going out to over 100,000 drummers. Sign up at the the website to get on the free email list. Why was the print magazine discontinued? Subscribers and advertisers had gotten so low that it was losing money, plus our online readers shot through the roof since we introduced the new website last year. The advertisers want to buy primarily online ads so we had to follow suit. When Zildjian cancelled their ad of 20 years I decided it was time to pull the plug. I hated to do it for sentimental reasons. Shortly after the Chicago Drum Show in May we sent out email notices to the subscriber base about the transition and how their subscriptions would be converted. The reaction has been mostly favorable. If you are a subscriber and did not receive notice, please contact me.
I would like to thank David Anfuso for all his help when I took over the magazine in 2008. Between him, Bill Ludwig and John Aldridge I learned most of what I know about the print magazine business. Except for content, the email and online magazine business is a whole different ball game and I hired two people to help me make the transition; Bill Ray my IT guy and graphic designer, and Rhyan Dohrn my niche magazine consultant, both drummers!
