Stick It To MS started out as an idea to find a new way to raise money for charity and what a great idea it was. There’s nothing better than the noise of hundreds of drummers in a room all playing at once and to top it off, what better than to raise amazing amounts of money whilst getting a guinness world record. So this year they aim to top it all and with your help. We spoke to Rick (creator and founder of S.I.T.MS) to see what his vision was and why he chose what he did.
When did you first start Stick it to MS?
Rick: The idea for Stick it to MS came about in 2008 when I saw a clip on Youtube of an event in the US called ‘Woodstick 2006’. The clip was basically wobbly phone cam footage but showed 533 drummers on full drum kits all playing together http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNhrjUfipXw. Having played the drums since the age of 11 I thought this looked like so much fun and immediately thought that someone should be doing something like this in the UK. I started posting this clip on various social media drum related pages naively expecting that one of the major drum companies would see it and just make it happen. This was not the case but I did get a lot of feedback from fellow drummers claiming, “I’d love to do that!!” As a result, I along with my wife Karen, took it upon ourselves to make it happen.
Why did you pick MS as your charity to support?
We chose the MS Society as a few of us involved in the early stages of planning the event had, and have, family members who suffer with the condition. There are lots of very high profile events for many charities but we felt that we had never seen anything special for the MS Society. What better way to get loud about a charity than a room full of drummers!
Why did you choose drummers?
I don’t like to run marathons and am not particularly keen to jump out of an aeroplane. However drummers are a rare breed and there is a great sense of community in the drumming world. We felt sure that if we held an event for drummers they would not only want to come and be part of the spectacle but they would embrace the charity and do all they could to help raise money.
What was it like to get the World Record?
The most amazing thing about Stick it to MS was the event itself. I watched the day unfold as waves of drummers made their way into the arena. I could not believe that so many people where all coming together for a cause that was so close to my heart and all because of a clip on Youtube. The sight and sound of close to 600 drummers all playing together is something I will never forget and the fact that it was a World Record a nice bonus
How can people get involved with Stick it to MS?
Firstly you must be a drummer, be available on Sunday July 15th and able to get to EventCity (www.eventcity.co.uk) in Manchester. You don’t need to be a pro, you just need to be able to play a basic rock beat and be willing to dedicate a day of your time. Secondly you must register to take part via our website www.stickittoms.com There is a small registration fee of £12.50. Every participant will receive a free drum head from Remo (www.remo.com) Every drummer is encouraged to raise a minimum of £100, If they manage this they will be entered into a Prize Draw and get the chance to win one of the fantastic prizes supplied by our sponsors NATAL drums (www.nataldrums.com)
What is your target for this year?
In 2009 we had over 800 drummers apply to take part but due to the size of the venue we had a limit of 600 spaces. For 2012 we have found a venue large enough to take over 800 drummers and we’d like to smash our previous record by filling every available space. If we hit our target and everyone manages to raise £100 we should be able to raise £80,000 for the MS Society. In 2009 582 drummers raised just over £66,000.
The event this year is taking place in EventCity in Manchester on Sunday 15th July and there are still places open for drummers, but get in fast if you want to take part as places are filling up quickly. Head over to www.stickittoms.com for more info.
