Murray Creed is one hell of a guy. The Victoria Drum Festival celebrated its 10th year anniversary this year and what an amazing job he and his team did! There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes, and I am not going to pretend like I even remotely understand what goes into this. However, it is safe to say that the list of duties is indeed plentiful. So why would someone decide that they would like to run a drumming festival?
As Murray explains in this short interview, it was a way for him to celebrate the tenth anniversary of “Groove Studios” in Victoria, Canada and inspire the local drumming community simultaneously. The reality of hosting and organizing an event like this must be a labor of love first and foremost. With all of the conversations I have had with Murray, he and his family are very much committed to making this festival happen for years to come.
So how did it all start?
He and his family take this trip out to Qualicum every so often and this is the time that Murray takes to reflect on the “big picture”. On one such trip, Murray suggested to Tanya, his wife, that they should look into running a festival that essentially would be a mega-clinic. How cool would it be to host an event where the world’s greatest players come and mingle with the drummers in attendance, share their thoughts, and perform?
It, of course, would be amazing for everyone but what goes into making this possible and what are the realities of hosting such an event? That is what this episode focuses on primarily. Murray also talks about the changes the festival has experienced, what plans are in the future, and the response from the people who have attended over the years.
For me personally, this event holds a special place in my heart as well. If it wasn’t for this festival, I don’t think DrumGab would have ever been a thing. It was due to an ad that I saw, sponsored by Drumeo, explaining the requirements to submit a drum solo video that spawned enough interest to commit myself to a refreshed approach to studying the drums in hopes that I could create a solo that would contend and even perhaps win the opportunity to be flown out to Victoria to perform in front of the people in attendance. Long story short, I didn’t win, but I did create this podcast due to the shift in how I spent my time and the new found use of social media within the community. I owe a lot to Murray for making this festival for us and so I wanted to have a special episode just for him.
The next series of interviews, including this one, were all filmed and recorded on location at the Songhees Wellness Centre where the festival was held this year. I hope that you all enjoy this episode and the next three that follow.
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