If you like drumming, huge spectacles of coordination or just really, REALLY loud beats in perfect time, head to Lakewood on Nov. 5 for the 20th anniversary extravaganza known as Woodstick.
No, not Woodstock, but this annual musical pack of pachyderms has a bit of that do-it-yourself rock-and-roll feel to it.
For two decades, Woodstick has creatively explored the joys of bringing hundreds of drummers together in a room to play along with each other to a conductor.
The final result is big, impressive, and according to founder and Centralia High School graduate Chris Kimball, a whole lot of fun. Since the first Woodstick he launched in 2003, the event has grown, set three world records, and raised thousands of dollars for charities benefitting people around the world.
Along the way, they’ve had celebrity drummers join in from bands such as Styx, REO Speedwagon, AC/DC, Chicago and more. This year’s celebrity band will be Northwest favorites Spike and the Impalers. The celebrity instructor will be Gregg Bissonette, who plays with former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band.
The Centralia-born Kimball first started drumming when he was 4 years old. His father, Ken Kimball, the music instructor at Centralia College, made him a set of homemade drums from Folgers coffee cans. The younger Kimball added cymbals from the metal tops of Tinker Toy cartons. His mother, Audrey, had to scour the neighborhood for replacement plastic lids, as Chris quickly bashed hers to pieces.
Audrey tells me she was always happy to hear her son drumming. She’s still Chris’s most devoted fan, having attended every Woodstick since the first one in 2003. She’ll be there this year at age 92, tapping her toes. After her son was dubbed “the father of Woodstick,” she decided to think of herself as “the grandmother of Woodstick” from then on.
“I have enjoyed every performance over the years with great delight — something most people could not possibly understand,” Audrey, who still lives in Centralia, told me by email. “It’s very loud — earplugs are a must! The decibel level is matched however, by the sheer joy of the musicians of all ages and skill-levels gathered together to celebrate their love of all things drumming.”
Chris has played across the United States in a variety of ensembles, from jazz and symphony to gospel and show bands. In one tour he performed for troops stationed in Greenland.
“That was pretty cool,” he said. “Actually it was very cool. It was freezing when we got there. We were issued parkas when we arrived, it was so cold.”
Kimball got the idea for the original Woodstick as a way to raise money for Rotary International’s ongoing effort to eradicate polio across the world. Over the years the event has focused on other charities. This year the money raised will go to The Coffee Oasis, which helps at-risk youth. (You can learn more and donate at www.bit.ly/Woodstick-Donations-2023)
I had to ask if the final result isn’t just a little cacophonous — all those drummers in one room?
“You’d think so,” Kimball said. “But when people follow the conductor, it sounds like a whole bunch of drummers playing the same beat. It’s amazing.”
You’ll have a chance to make up your own mind and tap along to the rhythm next weekend in Lakewood. Do yourself a favor and beat feet up for the 20th anniversary of a Northwest original, brought to you by one of Centralia’s finest.
Dad joke of the week
I came up with this one on the fly and told it to my seventh-grade son and his buddy, who both guessed the punch line before I got there.
Q: What do you say to a Dalmatian after finding him in hide-and-seek?
A: You’ve been spotted.
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This article has been updated to correctly list the date of Woodstick as Sunday, Nov. 5, and to correct an instance of misspelling Audrey Kimball's first name.
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Brian Mittge can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.
If you go: Woodstick
The 20th anniversary Woodstick celebration will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5, at Clover Park High School in Lakewood.
The cost to attend with your drum kit is $20. To listen and watch, the entrance fee is $5.
All attendees are given a pair of ear plugs upon entrance, as the show “is deafeningly loud,” creator Chris Kimball said.
