Sometimes we make changes to the issue we're working on and certain articles are revamped or replaced. This article unfortunately had to be replaced with a more recent event. However, we wanted to share it with you, it's still a great read. Enjoy!
Drummers are often the band members posing in the background of photos or positioned at the back of the stage with their drum kits, in a world of their own. They’re essential to the beat of a great song, but cool enough to keep out of the limelight, which is probably what makes them even more intriguing. But, in early spring, drummers were placed right in the spotlight as The Bepo + Mimi Project, a Toronto-based organization that promotes the value of illustration as an art form, mounted the public art show Cut to the Drummer.
The month-long showcase, displayed at the Steam Whistle Gallery in Toronto, featured 50 portraits of 50 drummers by 50 artists. As if that wasn’t cool enough, Cut to the Drummer was actually an event in support of F.U.M.S. for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada Scholarship Program.
The Gala Art Silent Auction was a tremendous success with 30 portraits, ranging in price from $300 to $2,500, being sold in just two hours. Darrin Pfeiffer of 102.1 The Edge and Goldfinger, hosted the opening night gala, along with Aaron Solowoniuk of Billy Talent, who initiated the scholarship fund and also has the condition.
Cut to the Drummer included portraits of famed drummers such as Jeremy Taggart of Our Lady Peace, Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham, ?uestlove of the Roots and Sheila E who has played with Prince and Ringo Starr. Sandra Dionisi, Katherine Streeter, Jon Krause and Fernanda Cohen were some of the illustrators whose work was featured.
According to the exhibit’s press release, the work of the illustrators has appeared in magazines, newspapers and books, on Broadway posters, postage stamps, T-shirts and CD covers.
