London forum meet up - multi member thread :)

Andy

Honorary Member
Ok, although I'm kicking this thread off, it's for all who attended LDS to chime in with their stories, pictures, & videos. There's plenty of them, so I'm just putting up a few photo's for now - video's tomorrow.

I'll let everyone else chime in with the stories, like why did 6 members end up in Larry's bedroom at 2:00 AM? Why didn't Jojo get his hoops? How did I lose a pair of Yamaha pedals? The tough journey of the cappuccino, etc.

Larry & Grea won't be home for a few days, so keep checking in for new photo's, stories, & videos. Any other photo/story contributions most welcome.

It was really hard work for me, but a lot of fun, & a real honour to spend time with such a wonderful gang of people. Truly - blessed :)

Here goes ---------------

(note) Official forum photo didn't happen on the sunday, so members such as Duncan, Michele, & no doubt others - missing. Sorry about that)


Members - left to right:

Keep It Simple - Juniper - Larryace - Anon la ply - PQleyR - Magenta - Dazzlez - Mr. Madge - David Floegel - Davo London - Dean - Henri.


Thread video consolidation:

Guru artists grooving - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYhrknbotr0&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

After show party - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EmvkPERu_E&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

Sheer forum member lunacy! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_BcvXbcA0&feature=youtu.be&hd=1



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Wonderful kickoff of a much anticipated thread - thank you Andy. Can't wait to see more photos and hear more about the show/meet up. I wish I could have been there.
 
Good morning guys! :)

I have to say, it was one of my best weekends ever! I was at last years LDS and it was already great, but this year.. Wow..

Here's a little diary (I haven't written down anything on these days so this is what I can remember):

Friday:
On Friday I got up at about 3am to catch my train from Nottuln (where I live) to Dusseldorf airport where my plain took off at 8am (german time). Actually it was 7am but some weather issues in London caused the delay.
I arrived at around 8:30 (uk time) at heathrow and took the tube to Kensington Olympia where the Premier Inn is based. Actually I wanted to take a nap and then head to the Olympia venue to meet the guys but soonest check-in time at this hotel is 2pm so I stored my luggage and went straight to the LDS.

Andy picked me up in front of the venue together with Grea (Anon La Ply or Pollyanna)!
We went inside where I met Henri and got to know Dean - the guy who builds the awesome Guru drums.
While Andy, Dean and Henri set up their stand, Grea and me had some smalltalk and tried to look as useful as possible, haha. Actually, it wasn't quite a good small talk since I had to deal with english but Grea did a good job trying to make it as easy as possible for me (as I think everybody did, thanks again! I hope it got better within the days... :) )

After a few hours everything was set up and the drums were ready to soundcheck.
For dinner, we went to the Steak House and later had some drinks at the Hilton hotel bar, where Larry and Grea stayed.

After being awake since 3am we went to our rooms at around 2.30am... Makes me almost 24h awake...


Saturday:
On Saturday the actual show started at 9:30.. We were awake quite early, Andy overslept a bit so we arrived at the venue at around 8:45am if I remember right?
Andy did some fine tuning, fought with his 16" floor tom of the great rock kit.. It sounded pretty horrible.. Eventually he got a new head - bam, problem solved :)

The show was quite loud.. I was thankful for the 30 minutes quiet time each hour. :)

We went to some Masterclasses, main stage acts and hung around at the Guru stand.
I will skip describing all masterclasses and main stage acts and will directly move on the evening, which was some kind of a highlight for me, so it gets a separated section.

Saturday evening:
In the evening we went to the Albion Pub, which was pretty nice.

Yolanda Charles brought some guys and did the opening for the session which went on later.
Andy introduced me to her and got me to do the soundcheck with her, which was a-mazing!! Yolanda is such a nice woman, very down to earth, kind, everything you need! When she enters the stage, she directly owns it. No matter what she does, always smiling.. Wow, just wow!!

We played a few minutes and she said she really liked my playing and asked my if I would be interested to play at Musikmesse Frankfurt with her. I was like "Uh, uhm, uh.. YES???" We exchanged mobile numbers and she said I should call her when I'm in London again. So we will see at the latest by beginning of next year.. I'm so excited!
She also gave me her a copy of her new album which I'm listening to while writing this shitty text :)

One of my greatest experiences... really!!
I think I'm in love <3 :D


Sunday:

Sunday wasn't special at all.. The LDS was even more exhausting than the day before.. Having only barely slept the night before (the adrenalin was still pumping through my veins) I overslept the next morning and I got to the venue at around noon.. (Sorry again Andy, I really wanted helping you carry the cappucino kit to the venue again.)

Andy's voice pretty much gone, our feet killing us we were happy when the LDS was over so we could pack up the stuff and relax...
We had some drinks, went for dinner and got to our rooms pretty early.

Monday - my last day
Monday was my last day in London and we went on some sightseeing with Larry, Grea, Duncan, Henri and Andy. Weather was ok.

We did a nice tour through the Tower of london :) Quiet cool!! photos later.


My journey back... What a nightmare...

I got my tube back to Heathrow at 5pm to be safe, which was a very wise decision.. The tube had an issue so we stopped somewhere and I had to find another route, which is quite easy in London, thanks to the tube maps.
When I arrived at the airport, the displays said my flight was delayed from 7:35 to 8:00 ....
I got a bit nervous as I had to catch my connecting train from dusseldorf back to Nottuln.. 8pm was fine though, I'd have about 20 mins left to catch the train.
BUT, hey, why so easy?? Another delay of 30 minutes destroyed my plans.

Back in germany I missed my train by 2 minutes. I could see the backlights. That was 10:53pm - already pretty late actually as I had to work the next day (today).
My planned arrival at home was somewhere between 11:30pm and 12am..

I checked the train schedule and.. f***k o** man..: "The next train from Dusseldorf to Nottuln: 2:42am" .. A pretty long ride as it was some crazy route and I would be at home at 5:30am...
I haven't had a choice, so I waited for about 3 hours and 48 minutes at dusseldorf airport for my train..
Finally it came, I got on it, got home and fall to bed...
What a journey...


Thanks again
Andy, thanks again for inviting me to the event! As I said before, it was one of my greatest weekends ever!

It was so great to meet all you guys I barely knew before. I had a great time, great laughs and I also think my english really improved. I had less problems with all the different accents after a few hours and you all were so patient with me. :))


THANK YOU!


Photos will be added later!
Who finds spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or whatever can keep them :)
 
So glad you guys had a great time! Keep those pics coming.

Andy: Can you give us a label on the forum pic letting us know who everyone is? I think I've got most but would like to have a name for every face :)

Can't wait to hear and see more.
 
Wonderful kickoff of a much anticipated thread - thank you Andy. Can't wait to see more photos and hear more about the show/meet up. I wish I could have been there.
Ha the post I was going to do.
So glad you guys had a great time! Keep those pics coming.

Andy: Can you give us a label on the forum pic letting us know who everyone is? I think I've got most but would like to have a name for every face :)

Can't wait to hear and see more.

I think Andy is in the red jacket and black fur hat.

David, that's amazing news on the hook up with Yolanda, good luck.
 
..

Wow, all of you in living colour!!!


How nice, great to see the meet up finally. Looks like a happy bunch.
I recognize Andy, Grea, Duncan, Henri and Phil.. cant connect faces and names of the rest.
Grea, you're looking so hot in all that red !!
Is that you, Madge - in the Madgenta ?

Keep the the pics & vids coming!


PS- Henri, what do you have in that little bag? truffles?
( David, my advice: avoid Heathrow- always )



...
 
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Members - left to right:

Keep It Simple - Juniper - Larryace - Anon la ply - PQleyR - Magenta - Dazzlez - Mr. Madge - David Floegel - Davo London - Dean - Henri.


Here's the first video up :) The Guru artists laying down grooves when everyone else was blasting chops. Shame our artists had to do this in the middle of a crazy loud chopfest, but it was the only time they could play. No preparation, just get up & groove.

Clip 1 - Matt Cowley. Clip 2 - George Cook. Clip 3 - Michele Drees. Clip 4 - our guest Guru artist, our very own, David Floegel!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYhrknbotr0&feature=youtu.be&hd=1


I'm preparing a second video of the after party jam session (some seriously good playing), & another video featuring general forum member stupidity :)
 
Excellent. Nice photos. Happy that they still sell Coke in glass bottles there. Probably not made with junky high fructose corn syrup too..

Hope the reception for Guru drums etc. was great.
 
Is that guy on the right holding a bag of dead clams?

Also, I love London and seeing those pics brings back some heartfelt memories of my trip there. Did you guys go in the Eye? Up in the Tower Bridge? The tower is so cool,my wife and went alone and wandered there. I sat in that white throne but wasn't sure if I was allowed. anyone take the train to Windsor? bus trip to Stonehenge and Bath? man I wish I was there!
 
I've just managed to get home. I'm just pleased I took the high-speed train, rough is the only word I can use to describe how I'm feeling right now!

I had a great time. I don't have many photos but I will upload them after a cup of tea and a lie down.

There are no words to describe how great a weekend it's been. Thank you everyone.
 
We had the best time, so so SO much fun to meet other DWers, all of whom are even nicer in real life than on here, and Mr Madge felt welcome - he really enjoyed himself :)

Is that you, Madge - in the Madgenta ?

Yes, I thought it was appropriate!

PS- Henri, what do you have in that little bag? truffles?

Henri wanted caeks so he got caeks. Sparkly ones, that sadly got a bit squashed in transit.
 
Hello! I really enjoyed the pics from the show and forum get togethers, even though I'm new and just meeting you all. Looks like a great time, and makes me want to run away for a fun weekend at a drum convention too!

Someone mentioned a group jam session video - can't wait to see that!
 
I'm enjoying reading through the information shared.

Looks like a great time was had by everyone!
 
Hope the reception for Guru drums etc. was great.
Very good reception - thanks :)

man I wish I was there!
Me too, so I could bore you to death on the finer art of wind chime technique ;)

There are no words to describe how great a weekend it's been. Thank you everyone.
& thanks for your help + support Duncan. Much appreciated.

We had the best time, so so SO much fun to meet other DWers, all of whom are even nicer in real life than on here, and Mr Madge felt welcome - he really enjoyed himself :)
That's great to hear. Your better half is a great guy. Clearly a man of considerable patience ;) ;) ;)

Hello! I really enjoyed the pics from the show and forum get togethers, even though I'm new and just meeting you all. Looks like a great time, and makes me want to run away for a fun weekend at a drum convention too!

Someone mentioned a group jam session video - can't wait to see that!
Video of the after party jam up tonight (if it loads in time :( Features David doing the soundcheck! As a general observation though, what a wonderfully warm post. Thank you!

I'm enjoying reading through the information shared.

Looks like a great time was had by everyone!
a good time indeed, but tough work for some. This was special. I find it incredible that Larry & Grea made it over here. Never thought that would happen! David made a big effort too, & all pitched in on breaking the exhibition stand down. I really appreciated that, so a big personal thanks from me to Henri, Grea, Larry, Ben, David, & Duncan. The same crew ably assisted in breaking down the backline kit, & hauling it back from Larry's hotel room early next morning. Again, a big help :) Thanks guys!
 
Your better half is a great guy. Clearly a man of considerable patience ;) ;) ;)

He is a saint, it's true, but I make it worth his while, I assure you ;)

He's asked me to say Hi to everybody he met. He commented on what a nice bunch of people you all are :) I count myself very lucky to have met you.

Video of the after party jam up tonight (if it loads in time

I look forward to catching that tomorrow. It's past my bedtime now and I'm still shattered, even though I slept for 13 hours on Sunday - more hours of sleep in one day than I've had in the past three weeks!
 
Well... this was Drummerworld History!!!!

This will never happen again... a once in a lifetime opportunity... and the best bit? I was part of it :)

First and foremost, let me thank my dear friend Andy, he organised it all, did the LDS threads, provided all the backpass for the invited drummerworld guests, bought us diner and drinks, allow all of us to have a taste of those fabulous Guru drums and bought tickets to visit the Tower Of London, man you middle name is "generosity" and you first name is "love"... you're a very special man Andy, I'm so happy to be your friend :)

...like why did 6 members end up in Larry's bedroom at 2:00 AM?

Jeez Andy.... this is a public forum :)

Why didn't Jojo get his hoops?

A true classic... it's gonna be one of the best drumming joke in the drumming world... err, I won't tell it in case Jojo can read this :)

Official forum photo didn't happen on the sunday...

... and we all know who's fault it was eh? The cameraman, the photographer and the journalist were there on time, but... one very tired DW member suffering from jet lag wasn't there!

So it was delayed to 4pm, but at 4pm the cameraman, the photographer and the journalist were busy somewhere backstage in the show, so it didn't happen.

Andy introduced me to her and got me to do the soundcheck with her, which was a-mazing!!

Ab-so-lu-te-ly amazing... David you were on fire, feel, taste, creativity, musical, chops... the whole deal!

... ha, yes, Yolanda was great too :)

she said she really liked my playing and asked my if I would be interested to play at Musikmesse Frankfurt with her. I was like "Uh, uhm, uh.. YES???"

That's the best news of the entire show for you David... you're a damn lucky drummer, but you fully deserve it.

She also gave me her a copy of her new album which I'm listening to while writing this shitty text :)

Since I was there with David... I got one too, I did listen to the album about 3 times now... this is serious funk, the musicianship on that album is phenomenal... and Yolanda is on lead vocal as well, it's a real gem of a CD :)

PS- Henri, what do you have in that little bag? truffles?

No... they're welsh caeks made specially by Madge for the Guru stand upon my request :)

Is that guy on the right holding a bag of dead clams?

No my Old friend, they're live Caeks!

Mr Madge felt welcome - he really enjoyed himself :)

Wonderful... I really enjoyed the company and humour of Mr Madge :)

...that sadly got a bit squashed in transit.

...that happily got swallowed in seconds after the photoshoot = very yummy... thanks again Madge :)




...it's also the year I met Yolanda Charles...
 
All of this just makes me look forward to the get together at uncle Larry's next fall. Wanna meet my fellow co- conspirators :).
 
Wanna meet my fellow co- conspirators :).

I can assure you Mary, it's a real feel good factor... even if the member is slightly different than you imagine him/her to be (physically or his/her personality).

When I met Grea... she was every bits as I expected her to be... except taller than I imagined, and funnily enough, I had no problem with the Aussie accent :)

Grea said that the difference between meeting in real life and the virtual world of the forum was minimal... except for Ben!!! (He's not the person you think he is, even when he's playing the drums, haha...)
 
Wow....what a blast. How cool. Very envious. Definitely something I'd loved to have been a part of.

David F.....not surprised you got offered a gig at all mate, always been impressed with your playing. Let us all know how it pans out.

Hope you enjoyed aeting the caeks Henri.
 
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