The Meinl festival features a unique concept: each artist performs a clinic on the main stage and gives a masterclass in a smaller and more intimate setting. Also part of the event are autograph sessions (including one with Lamb of God sticks man Chris Adler), a tour through the Meinl factory, and an exhibition of Meinl\'s range of cymbal series.

Nick D\'Virgilio (US)
Hailing from California, US Nick D\'Virgilio opened this year\'s Meinl festival. Nick, Meinl endorser since 2001, is best known as drummer and lead singer of Spock\'s Beard, and drummer with Tears For Fears. With typical patterns and sounds Nick took prog rock into the 21st century, proving to master the genre. Both with and without back-up tape, Nick drummed and sang very confident despite the high technical level that prog rock demands, including a homage to Genesis. A great performance to start the festival with.

Nick\'s experience as drummer and lead vocalist offered great material for his masterclass later that day. Nick explained several breathing exercises, did a vocal solo over drums, surprised with a different version of a song he had previously played during his clinic, and emphasized to get out of your comfort zone when you practice.

Nick D\'Virgilio plays Mapex drums, Vic Firth sticks and the following Meinl cymbals:

14\" Mb20 Heavy Soundwave HiHat

16\" Byzance Traditional China

17\" Byzance Brilliant Thin Crash

12\"/14\" Generation X Trash Hat

18\" Byzance Traditional Thin Crash

20\" Mb20 Heavy Ride

19\" Byzance Brilliant Medium Thin Crash

18\" Byzance Traditional China
An image of the setup is included in Nick\'s Meinl photo book.

»» Nick\'s Meinl 2007 photo book

Flo Dauner & Roland Peil (Germany)
Meinl artist since 2001, Flo Dauner has studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, US. Along with percussionist Roland Peil, Flo has been delivering fat grooves for Die Fantastischen Vier since 1993.

Percussionist Roland Peil, Meinl artist since 1999, has studied with Jose Luis \"Changuito\" Quintana. Roland hit the stage with a full equipment setup.

Flo and Roland showed the Meinl audience how well drums and percussion fit in modern grooves. Flo\'s creative breaks and great timing, were answered by Roland\'s well-balanced percussion.

In his workshop, Flo covered hip hop grooves and playing with a click track.

Flo Dauner plays Tama drums, Agner drumsticks, Roland electronics, Beyer Dynamic microphones, Tatze-tools accessories and the following Meinl cymbals:

17\" Byzance Traditional Thin Crash

14\" Byzance Traditional Medium HiHat

12\" Generation X Safari HiHat

8\" Classics Bell Powerful

20\" Byzance Traditional Medium Ride

18\" Byzance Traditional Thin Crash
An image of the setup is included in Flo\'s Meinl photo book.

»» Flo\'s Meinl 2007 photo book
»» Roland\'s Meinl 2007 photo book

Trevor Lawrence Jr (US)
First call studio drummer for hip hop, RnB and rap, Trevor Lawrence Jr has worked with Snoop Dogg and Alicia Keys among others. A Meinl endorser since 2006, Trevor performed extremely steady and with tremendous power, making clear what his workshop, the lost art of studio drumming, would be about.

Trevor plays DW drums, Pro-Mark sticks, and the following Meinl cymbals:

16\" Generation X Synthetic Crash

12\" Generation X Safari HiHat

14\" Byzance Extra Dry Medium HiHat

17\" Byzance Brilliant Thin Crash

14\" Generation X Filter China

20\" Mb20 Heavy Bell Ride

19\" Byzance Brilliant Medium Thin Crash

18\" Byzance Brilliant China
An image of the setup is included in Trevor\'s Meinl photo book.

»» Trevor\'s Meinl 2007 photo book

Derek Roddy (US)
Earlier this year Derek Roddy became Meinl endorser. Best known as extreme metal drummer, Derek showed he is well capable of much more, including fusion and Latin. He played both with and without back-up music. His performance was very technical and musical, with impressive control of sound colors and great dynamics. One of the festival\'s highlights!

Roddy has recently released his first book, \'The Evolution of Blast Beats\'. He is currently playing with Today Is The Day. They will start touring the US next week, and visit Europe in Spring 2008.

Derek Roddy plays Sonor drums, Vater sticks, Axis pedals, and the following Meinl cymbals:

16\" Byzance Brilliant China

10\" Generation X Filter China

8\" Soundcaster Custom Splash

14\" Generation X Filter China

14\" Byzance Brilliant Medium HiHat

18\" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash

10\" Soundcaster Custom Splash

17\" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash

22\" Byzance Dark Spectrum Ride

12\" Byzance Traditional Mini Hat

10\" Byzance Traditional Mini Hat

20\" Mb20 Rock China

18\" Soundcaster Custom Medium Crash

12\" Generation X Filter China
An image of the setup is included in Derek\'s Meinl photo book.

»» Derek\'s Meinl 2007 photo book

Ralf Gustke (Germany)
Germany\'s best kept secret with international allure, drummer Ralf Gustke has been Meinl artist since 2006. According to Ralf, solo drummers without the context of music, leave out a crucial element. But he proved himself wrong with his performance, as Ralf was truly making music in his drum solos.

He plays just as easily break beats as fusion, and is always rolling and grooving. The way he incorporates multiple accents on the smaller cymbals into his playing, are a beautiful add-on to his grooves.

Ralf\'s masterclass, about microtiming and groove metamorphosis, was massively attended.

Ralf Gustke plays a Yamaha Oak Custom drum kit, Protection Racket baggs, Sennheiser and the following Meinl cymbals:

13\" Byzance Brilliant Fast HiHat

16\" Byzance Traditional Medium Thin Crash

8\"/10\" Generation X Electro Stack

8\" Byzance Traditional Splash

10\" Byzance Traditional Splash

18\" Byzance Jazz Thin Crash

10\"/12\" Byzance Generation X Electro Stack

22\" Byzance Extra Dry Medium Ride

14\" Byzance Brilliant Fast HiHat

19\" Byzance Brilliant Medium Thin Crash
An image of the setup is included in Ralf\'s Meinl photo book.

»» Ralf\'s Meinl 2007 photo book

Meinl Achievement Award
The Meinl Achievement Award was a new addition to the festival. Norbert Saemann handed out the first Meinl award to Bernard Castiglioni. The founder of drummerworld.com was honored for his contributions to the global drum community.

Wolfgang Haffner (Germany)
Wolfgang Haffner\'s motto is \"Groove macht Spass\", and fun it was to hear him grooving! One of the latest additions to the Meinl artist roster, Wolfgang is an internationally acclaimed musician who has played with many artists, including Michael and Randy Brecker, Larry Carlton, Bill Evans, Roy Hargrove, Robben Ford, the NDR and WRD big bands, and Nils Landgren.

Recently Wolfgang released a new solo album, dubbed \'Shapes\', once again proving why he is one of Germany\'s top drummers. On September 25th, Wolfgang\'s international reputation will be underlined by a 60 minute portrait on WRD television, titled \'You are the captain - der deutsche Schlagzeuger Wolfgang Haffner\' (part of WRD\'s series Jazzline).

Wolfgang\'s play is a good example of \'less is more\', while at the same time he is very capable of applying his technical abilities when necessary. An outstanding performance with intense grooves.

Wolfgang Haffner plays a Yamaha Oak Custom drum kit, Vic Firth sticks, Remo Drum heads, Beyerdynamic mics, and the following Meinl cymbals:

10\" Byzance Traditional Splash

14\" Byzance Jazz Medium HiHat

18\" Byzance Jazz Thin Crash

10\" Byzance Traditional Mini HiHat

20\" Byzance Extra Dry Medium Ride

20\" Byzance Jazz Club Ride

20\" Byzance Jazz Sweet Ride
An image of the setup is included in Wolfgang\'s Meinl photo book.

»» Wolfgang\'s Meinl 2007 photo book

Wolfgang Haffner & Ralf Gustke (Germany)
After Wolfgang\'s solo clinic, Ralf Gustke returned on stage to join Wolfgang for the festival\'s final performance. While Wolfgang reached for his mallets as weapons of choice, Ralf decided to open playing bare handed.

Having a huge dynamic range, both drum masters built up tension carefully and took the time to move towards the grande finale. They challenged each other, taking the audience along on their percussion trip. With a spectacular musical dialogue, the Meinl Festival 2007 ended with a blast.

Next year\'s festival will take place in the weekend of September 6 and 7, 2008. This year\'s line-up boasted an enormous amount of creativity. It will be a challenge for Meinl to top this edition of their drum festival next year.

Video\'s of the festival will soon be available on Meinlcymbals.com.