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"The reflection is not me, he's mean and that's not me"
--Lou Mars (Lyric from 'Reality')
January 18th 2012
Story by Lou Mars
Lou Mars January 2010 - Photo by Chico Enterprise Record |
Two years ago today, my marathon drumming event came to an end. The effort produced a 5 day four night, 108.5 hour(s) non stop drumming performance. Below is a very small sample of the many messages I received shortly thereafter.
Mike McGrail January 26 at 5:54pm
Lou,
I know you don't know me...I watched quite a few hours of your assault on the world record...shared it with everyone I could. It was inspiring. I have been training at Crossfit Cape Cod, supplementing with Crossfit Endurance, and eating paleo since Sept. I am running the Boston Marathon in April of 2010 to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Association. It is my first marathon, but watching your passion and effort made running 26.2 seem possible. I figure all I have to do is run for 4 hours...I can do this. I just wanted you to know...
Sent: Monday, January 18, 2010 8:57 PM
Lou,
I am so proud of you man. You were absolutely amazing! I followed you the whole time. You blew the previous second place guy out of the water! I am also willing to put my money on the fact that you stayed on beat for many more hours than the guy who did 120 hours. The whole online chat community believes you are the real winner! Crack open a bottle of champagne and take some naps and be proud of yourself bro. Great job!
-Steve
I just wanted to say what a great effort you did I was inspired to say the least I came down with my daughter and watched for a while my daughter was amazed and I think you helped planting the music even more she loves music very much and I think its really important to see the next generations play and experience music my dad played and I started when I was 8 yrs old myself and I am 52 and playing everyday and I am so thankful for the gift of music
I hope we can meet some day soon and talk in person I have been with Lori Lugenbeel for the last few months and she has told me what a great person you are and from what I have seen she is right
Take care heal and rest !!!
January 15th 2012
What Musicians can learn from Tim Tebow
Story by Lou Mars
Random passengers on Flight 316 posing as Tebow |
First things first, this is 'not' an article about football or Christianity. And, if you do not know who Tim Tebow is, than you haven't read a newspaper, online headline, turned a TV on etc., within the last two months. Yesterday Brady and the New England Patriots won the NFL playoff game. However, Tim Tebow won the audience, even though his team lost.
What does that mean?
It means that winning isn't everything! Gasp! How un-American of me to say. As a matter of fact, many so called losers enjoy longevity in the spotlight much longer than their winning predecessors. We are raised to win, but what really 'sells' is the underdog persona. This was explained to me by a psychiatrist friend of mine after I came up short for the "Guinness World record for Marathon Drumming" at 108.5 hours. I needed 120 (12 hours short). My friend described the underdog persona passion of Americans' as: "The majority of Americans have lost more than they have won. Therefore, it is much easier for the masses to identify with the individual making a strong heartfelt effort, but falling just short; than the perfected champion."
My January 15th, 2010 Guinness attempt was a good example of this philosophy. Due to the way I came across in interviews 'prior' to the event, and how I performed during the event, resulted in 48,000 plus world wide people tuning in to watch my effort live online. This number does not reflect additional viewer ship received from a national syndicated radio show nor the CBS/NBC daily news that was also covering the attempt.
The number of live viewers captured at the event has yet to be matched by any other Guinness effort within the same category. American marketing has been all over this approach for years. Films like Rocky, Rudy, Raging Bull, and many more tell such stories and were huge hits at the theater box office. I remember when tennis star Andre Agassi lost over-and-over again to Pete Sampras, only to find himself on heavy rotation with Canons' "Image is Everything" commercial campaign. Even though Agassi lost, he was more sellable which equates to marketable. Sampras was nowhere to be found, but he did have a trophy.
The reality is that in America "Winning isn't everything" but "marketability for increased sales is." Recently on American Idol, singer Adam Lambert lost in the final rounds. However, since the show aired he has received more press and air play than the champion. This has occurred in all but one season of American Idol, where the runner up has out performed the winner, after the show has aired.
So what does this mean for the average musician. It means that perfection and a winning record isn't everything. You don't have to be the best guitarist, drummer, vocalist etc. But you do need to be sellable. This can mean that you are unique, highly charismatic or just have a big heart that shows like Tebows'. And like Tebow, you will have people that you will equally turn off.
That my friend is show biz.
January 1st 2012
Rock drummers 'are top athletes'
Story by BBC News
Playing the drums for a rock band requires the stamina of a Premiership footballer, research suggests.
Blondie's Clem Burke
took part in the study |
Tests on Clem Burke, the veteran Blondie drummer, revealed that 90 minutes of drumming could raise his heart rate to 190 beats a minute.
Despite rock's reputation for unhealthy living, Dr Marcus Smith, from Chichester University, said drummers needed "extraordinary stamina".
A hour in concert could burn between 400 and 600 calories, he said.
Clem Burke, who provided the beat for hits such as "Heart of Glass", "Atomic" and "Call Me" was invited to take part in the eight-year project by Blondie fan Dr Smith.
It is hoped that the results could help develop outreach programmes for overweight children who are not interested in sport.
Burke was connected to equipment to measure his heart rate and oxygen uptake, and the levels of lactic acid in his blood.
He found that during a performance, his heart averaged between 140 and 150 beats a minute, peaking at 190, levels comparable to other top athletes.
However, Dr Smith said that while top footballers were expected to perform once or twice a week, drummers on tour would be doing it every night at a different venue.
Drummers burn 4-600 calories per hour |
He said: "Footballers can normally expect to play 40 to 50 games a year - but in one 12 month period, Clem played 90-minute sets at 100 concerts.
"Footballer find playing a Champions League game once every two weeks a drain, but these guys are doing it every day when they are on tour.
"It is clear that their fitness levels need to be outstanding - through monitoring Clem's performance in controlled conditions, we have been able to map the extraordinary stamina required by professional drummers."
The project was conducted jointly by the University of Gloucestershire and the University of Chichester.
A dedicated "drumming laboratory" is now being built at the Gloucester campus and it is hoped that other professional drummers will be tested.
Dr Steve Draper, from Gloucestershire University, said: "This is the first facility of its kind in the world."
Professor Edward Winter, a specialist in the physiology of exercise at Sheffield University, said that the challenge of playing the drums should not be underestimated.
He said that at 190 beats per minute Clem Burke was probably exceeding the maximum heart rate predicted for a man of his age.
"Rock drumming in particular is very energetic, and to add to this, these guys are playing in a hot environment - you'll see them literally dripping with sweat."
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Posted January 21, 2010 at 2:43 pm