Thomas Lang Drum Clinic

**Derek DeFields** · May 18th, 2004, 05:01 PM

I really can't think of any reason NOT to pay for a clinic unless it's someone just spamming you about product the whole time. (like a Roland "Clinic" or something)

I'm going to the Thomas one for sure. I thought his clinics last year at NAMM were great.

**Vdrummer** · May 18th, 2004, 05:33 PM

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Big box stores have an advantage - they can clear out a room and have the artist do his thing. If there isn't room for everyone, or if kids are checking out amps nearby, well, it was cheap or free.

We are a large drums-only independent with a ton of inventory (100 custom snares, 100 kits, 1000 cymbals, 2500 heads, 500 models of sticks, etc). We have a main store and a showroom warehouse area with something like 70 kits set up on display. We've done clinics where we tore them down, rented seats and sound and did them in our shop, but it completely disrupted business for a few days and still cost us a fair amount.

Now we do them at other venues and while people who come who haven't seen the shop don't get the benefit of checking it out, (so though we lose out on one of our primary reasons to do them), it's less labor intensive and slightly less disruptive to the shop's primary function - service and sales. Unfortunately, we can't pay all the costs ourselves and have to charge. Some stores do them and don't know what they're getting into, or save money and do them somewhat half-@$$ed. We go all out for the artists and the customers, making sure there's enough seating, good sightlines, and pro sound. We take good care of the artists to help insure they put on a good performance and want to come back. We have raffles and often have to twist company arms to get the swag/products to giveaway so some of the people leave with sticks, t-shirts or maybe a pedal or cymbal.

I'm glad lots of you have no objection to paying when an artist appeals to you. Keep it up and over time you may see more and more clinics in your areas. Our goal is not to make money with clinics (wouldn't that be nice), it's to put on a memorable event while hopefully coming close to covering our costs.

Videos and DVD's are great, but obviously you can't ask them questions. Vinnie showed a few of us the non-alternating flam drag thing he was working on at a GC clinic he did fifteen years ago, and Steve Smith first described and then slowed down a fill I asked him about seven years ago at one of our clinics. Both, it turned out, were what you guys around here refer to as the "Blushda".

Brad

**FuseU1** · May 20th, 2004, 01:31 AM

$10 is nothing compared to what you get to witness.
Good points from the 'inside,' Brad, thx.

Brad - any way the hosting nightclub can put 'wristbands' on the legal age patrons, or something worked out of the sort, allowing the underage to see the show AW? They used to do this frequently around here [Or is it worth it]...

I rem the days when clinics were free, which was great. But it's different now; costs need to be absorbed somewhere...& one will likely pay as much or MORE for those CDs &/or DVDs that they want to get.

I say support your 'heroes' & the guys that painstakingly bring them to you.

Small price to pay to see heavy talent.

[Oh, & BTW - ..."charge for autograph session?!"] [img]eek.gif[/img] [img]confused.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_down.gif[/img]
I betcha I know a couple of whom those might be...

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 19, 2004 10:35 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

**Vdrummer** · May 20th, 2004, 03:27 PM

The wristband thing is really up to the club. It's their liquor license, etc.

The autograph thing is too bad. It's a bit like the artist is saying "I need X amount of money to come here and pretend to care about my fans, who made me what I am in the first place."

It's even weirder because Virgil Donati happened to be in the store that day, hanging with us behind the counter, chatting with anyone who wanted to speak with him, sign autographs, etc, for free - while the guy we paid signed autographs and posed for photo's with the rest of the people. Just a different mindset, level of player and person I suppose. Bravo Virgil.