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1.) We’re very excited to have some time today with the acclaimed founder of the rightly lauded online platform Drumeo, Jared Falk; greetings and salutations, Jared! Before we dive down the proverbial Q&A rabbit hole, how is the freshly-minted New Year treating you and yours?
Fantastic – thank you!
2.) Staring at the tip-top, congratulations on all of the success you’ve had with Drumeo! For anyone that may not be in the know, can you explain what Drumeo is and how it came into being?
Drumeo is an award-winning online education platform and community for drummers. The essence of the Drumeo brand is to bring everyday musicians closer to their drumming heroes.
To do this, we’ve built courses, curriculums, over 5,000 transcribed songs, tools and more to give drummers everything they need to accomplish their goals (and then some).
3.) When you hit upon the idea for Drumeo, was there anything equivalent to it out there that was also offering some form of online drumming lessons?
My first video was uploaded as a digital download in 2003, so there weren’t a lot of other options available to drummers. Online video wasn’t widely available at this time as most people still used dial-up internet. Because of the lack of streaming adoption, we switched to delivering our education on DVDs from 2005-2010, then slowly switched back to a fully digital platform.
4.) Major congratulations on the upcoming January 25 Drumeo Awards which are set to be streamed live via the Drumeo YouTube channel at 5:00PM PST/8:00 EST! Similar to our second question above, how did you hit upon the idea of creating this extremely popular awards show?
I’ve always wanted to find a way to recognize amazing drummers. Modern Drummer has had its Readers Poll for over 40 years, but as their brand has declined and the Readers Poll awards program lost its meaning – we felt there was a way to go even deeper – to highlight to the public exactly why these drummers have been nominated and create a transparent process.
The awards show is really a byproduct of the awards program. We needed a way to announce the winners, and we thought, hey – we’re a group of content creators that love drumming, and we have a whole team of videographers, producers and editors. It just makes sense!
5.) For those folks tuning into the Drumeo Awards this January 25, what sort of show can they expect and look forward to?
Talking drums with Dave Atkinson and the other amazing hosts is always fun. On top of sharing footage of all the nominees and winners, we’re also giving away over $20k in prizes, including four full drum sets, an electronic kit, cymbals, snare drums and more.
6.) The Drumeo Awards are in its third year. How has this awards show changed during that short period of time? Has it already sort of evolved since its first awards outing?
It’s come a long way. Between refining how we present the awards, we’ve put more into production and set design. We’ve realized how important this program has become in only three years, and it means a lot that it’s been so well received.
Another thing to note is how amazing the industry has committed to the vision of recognizing drummers. I’m so thankful to Yamaha Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Mapex Drums, Aquarian Drumheads, Remo Drumheads, Paiste Cymbals, Roland, Alesis, Tama Drums, Vater Drumsticks, Dixon Drums, Istanbul and Royal Cymbals for their support of the community.
7.) All of the winners of the Drumeo Awards are determined through public voting. Why did you opt to go that route versus having a select jury of judges to determine the winners?
A couple of reasons. We wanted nominees to participate in the process and feel they could have more power in the final decision. They get to engage with the global drumming community and come together over a common goal.
We considered creating a committee of pro-drummers, but we realized it could create a conflict of interest if any of them ended up on the ballot – or it would mean leaving out deserving drummers just because they were on the committee.
But we’re also aware that many of these public voting campaigns can be perceived as a popularity contest, which is why we decided to have a panel select our Legacy Award winners. You don’t need to be a massive name or have a huge online following to win.
8.) Looking ahead to future Drumeo Awards, where would you like to see the show in five years time? Do you have even bigger plans for the show?
I would love to see the awards show happen in front of a live audience. In a perfect world, we’d host the awards show in a theater to conclude a future edition of the Drumeo Festival.
9.) What are you most excited about when it comes to the upcoming January 25 broadcast of the Drumeo Awards? Is there something specific which you’re excited for viewers to check out?
Kyle (co-host)’s sequin jacket. It’s magnificent.
10.) How are the Drumeo Awards similar to other music awards shows? How are they different?
It’s similar in the sense that we have a voting process, and we highlight nominees and winners during the show. We have hosts and trophies, and all the typical awards show fixings.
It’s unique because not only is this the only awards show in the drumming world, but we highlight drummers across every medium. You don’t need to have recorded an album; you could be making an impact on TikTok, or donating drum sets to kids or playing gigs worldwide. In that sense, it’s a much more all-encompassing celebration of what it means to be a drummer.
11.) Final – SILLY! – Question: Best drummer – Jerry Allison, Chad Smith, Ringo Starr, or Gene Krupa?
They’re all very different drummers, so it’s impossible to compare them. But I’m a huge fan of Chad Smith.
