NAMM's Fastest Drummer Competition Wrap Up
July 26, 2006
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Matt Smith
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Hensley Souryavong
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On its continued quest to find the Worlds Fastest Drummer®, NAMM International again featured this highly charged interactive phenomenon at this year's Summer Session in Austin, Texas. The contest consisted of two categories, Battle of the Hands™ and Battle of the Feet™. The Preliminary Heats were held July 14th and 15th. Included in the event were technical demonstrations, insight sessions and appearances by WFD Champions and World Record Holders Johnny Rabb (Deana Carter, Tanya Tucker, SheDaisy, Maynard Ferguson), Tim 'The Missile' Yeung (Nile, Hate Eternal, Vital Remains), and Randy Briggs (WFD & DCI Champ).
The top ten Fastest Hands and top ten Fastest Feet then competed the WFD World Finals, on Sunday, July 16th. This year's Finals event featured an incredible performance by the Ten Finger Orchestra featuring Paul Allen and WFD World Champion, Johnny Rabb. Also appearing were winners of the Miss WFD Austin 2006 title, Ivy Lynn and Kristin Maverick!
The Battle of the Hands winner was Matt Smith of Flint, Michigan with a score of 1,030 Singles. At only 16 years old, Matt is the youngest WFD World Champion to date! Daniel Rice placed second (1,001) while Scott Laborde placed third (911). The Battle of the Feet winner Hensley Souryavong with a score of 774 Singles followed by Tom Miller (720) and Toby Phillips (694).
Over $12,000 in prizes were provided by Pearl, Remo, Axis, Pro•Mark, Meinl, Warner Brothers, Drumometer, and DrumRadio.com.
The World's Fastest Drummer contest is sponsored by THE MUSIC EDGE.COM, NAMM's teen promotional initiative. The next WFD World Finals contest is scheduled for NAMM Winter Session in Anaheim, California in January 2007. For more information, visit their web site at www.namm.com.
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