Drummer finds Shania gig 'awesome'

[Steve F]

Found this today in the Ottawa Citizen:

Drummer finds Shania gig 'awesome'
One of 12 chosen to play with superstar

Tony Lofaro
The Ottawa Citizen


Tuesday, September 30, 2003

http://media.canada.com/scripts/locate.asp?id=620580e0-f976-4c7d-9cfd-be8e26705673

CREDIT: Lou Di Millo

Anthony Di Millo, age 13, says he was nervous about performing with Shania Twain, but once he got onstage, he was thinking, 'hey, this is really cool.'

Anthony Di Millo and his teenage bandmates have played before crowds of 500 people, but that simply doesn't compare to standing next to Shania Twain in front of 18,000 screaming fans.

Anthony, 13, a drummer for the Ottawa band Simply Wow!, was one of 12 drummers picked to play onstage Saturday night at Ms. Twain's sold-out show at the Corel Centre. The Grade 8 student was picked from among 30 drummers to help perform (If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here!

It's a thrill the young drummer will not forget.

"It was an awesome, amazing experience," said Anthony, who attends St. Joseph High School in Barrhaven and has played the drums since he was four years old. "She smiled at me when I was onstage with her."

He said he got a little nervous while waiting backstage with the other drummers. He said he was so excited that he went blank and had to ask one of the drummers about what to do in the routine.

"Before I went onstage, my heart was beating a hundred miles an hour. Then they called us up and I started walking up the aisle and I was kinda nervous, but once I got onstage I said, 'Hey, this is really cool.' "

Anthony said the 30 drummers auditioned Saturday afternoon in front of some of the band members. After the 12 drummers were picked, they were brought to the arena stage to rehearse the number again.

Ms. Twain showed up for a sound check afterwards, holding her baby, Eja, and performed snippets of several songs before leaving the hockey arena. She was dressed casually in sweats and said hello as she walked by Anthony and some of the other drummers.

Anthony's father, Lou, who got a free ticket to the concert thanks to Ms. Twain, said he was happy his son had a chance to share a stage with a music superstar. "I was very, very proud of him. I had tears in my eyes watching him perform onstage," he said.

The younger Di Millo said the weekend experience has made him a big fan. "I think Shania is great. After that concert, I'm listening to her CD all the time."

[jen]

DANG I knew I should of kept up with my drumming lessons:D

THANX FOR THE ARTICLE.....so cool they got to see Shania holding EJA!!

[kirppu]

Such a cute story! :D

So, they are doing the local drummers again.. I wonder how they pick them?
Who makes the initial background check to choose who get to audition in front of the bandmembers?
And how do they always have time the day before to hold the audition?

[FV]

Originally posted by jen
DANG I knew I should of kept up with my drumming lessons:D

LOL!:BL
Thanks Steve for the article!:D I am sure those drummers will remember that night....:cool:

[skatergirl]

Hey-that is so cool- I know that drummer. He lives where I live in Barrhaven & he played at our Ottawa Exhibition this summer & also at our local fair recently. The lead singer of Simply Wow is only 10 & has a country twang to her voice (watch out Shania!)

Another thing about the drummers. My daughter takes singing lesson at the Nepean School of Music (sings Shania of course) & 2 of the drum teachers from her music school got chosen to play with Shania also.

Apparently they sent their BIO in & 30 people got picked from their BIO. They only auditioned on Saturday afternoon & were only told who was selected at 5PM before the show! They told me they had no idea how they were picked since they all played at the same time. They wanted a mix of young, old etc..

They gave tickets to all the drummers & a guest (floor seats- row 16- which is a row they added ) Cool

They have a great pic of the 2 guys playing next to Shania at the concert at the studio -I requested a copy to share with you guys. Hope they send it so I can post a copy.

[FV]

Originally posted by skatergirl
Another thing about the drummers. My daughter takes singing lesson at the Nepean School of Music (sings Shania of course) & 2 of the drum teachers from her music school got chosen to play with Shania also.
Awesome!:Bthumb

[Steve F]

Originally posted by skatergirl

Another thing about the drummers. My daughter takes singing lesson at the Nepean School of Music (sings Shania of course) & 2 of the drum teachers from her music school got chosen to play with Shania also.

Cool!:cool:

They have a great pic of the 2 guys playing next to Shania at the concert at the studio -I requested a copy to share with you guys. Hope they send it so I can post a copy.

Hope they do!:)

Steve

[skatergirl]

Here are the pics of the Ottawa drummers although they are small- if anyone knows how to resize them please do!

Here is a link to my album to view them bigger :

http://community.webshots.com/album/93062494QIsAAz

http://thumbs.webshots.com/s/thumb4/6/25/55/93062555otmHDT_th.jpg

http://thumbs.webshots.com/s/thumb4/6/31/25/93063125iLOZpN_th.jpg

http://thumbs.webshots.com/s/thumb4/6/32/44/93063244KEVtGn_th.jpg

http://thumbs.webshots.com/s/thumb4/6/33/48/93063348OZXiFe_th.jpg

http://thumbs.webshots.com/s/thumb4/6/27/12/93062712ZXgaPx_th.jpg

[Dave_Boston]

I'm shooting to get onstage for tomorrow's show here in Boston.....

Here's the email I recieved.....

<hr><b>
Dear david,
Be On Stage With Shania!


How would you like to be a part of Shania Twain's band during her concert next Tuesday? Well here's your chance! Shania and Country 99.5 are looking for drummers to drum on stage with her for one of her songs during the show. 30 participants will be asked to come to the Fleet Center on Tuesday Oct 7th to try out and only 12 participants will be chosen. We will randomly select 30 people from all entrants and those 30 will attend the try-out! Drummers must bring their own self-containted (harnessed) drums with them to the try-out. No uniforms. This could be your chance to be up on stage with the one and only Shania Twain! 30 contestants will be notified this Friday.

If you would like to enter to be one of the 30 contestants to try out
Click Here!

Thanks for listening,
Mike Brophey
Program Director

</b><hr>
So I goto the site and fill out the form and received this a few days later....

<hr>
<b>
Hi Dave
I just wanted to say Congratulations because you have been chosen as one of the 30 contestants to try out for the chance to play with Shania!

Here is the information

You must be able to make the try-out next Tuesday, October 7th.

You must bring with you your drum. It cannot be a drum set, it must be held. No uniforms please.

Once you are there part of Shania's crew will be judging the contestants and will chose 12 drummers to play a song with Shania on stage!!

If you are chosen you will receive ONE ticket to the show!

Congratulations! See you Tuesday

Country 99.5 Promotions
</b>
<hr>

So I'm guessing the song is
"(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here"

correct?

and what can I do to improve my chances?

I can play the drums.
I worked in theatre so getting on stage is no problem for me.
What should I wear?

<B>I need to get onstage because i got my daughter and her best friend tix to the show and I want to surprise them by being on stage!</b>

thanks

-dave

[FV]

Originally posted by Dave_Boston
I'm shooting to get onstage for tomorrow's show here in Boston.....
WAY TO GO DAVE! :D

So I'm guessing the song is
"(If You're Not In It For Love) I'm Outta Here"

correct?
YEP! :)

and what can I do to improve my chances?

I can play the drums.
I worked in theatre so getting on stage is no problem for me.
What should I wear?

<B>I need to get onstage because i got my daughter and her best friend tix to the show and I want to surprise them by being on stage!</b>

thanks

-dave
Practice the song at home...several times..if you have the SHANIA LIVE VHS or DVD watch how the drummers did it on stage with Shania...;) that may give you an edge...just have fun with the band members who will be teaching you what you will have to do for the audition.. when you play it, just have fun as you play it..
Regarding the outfit.....my opinion is to be casual, a pair of jeans, a nice pair of sneakers, and a fun tshirt/shirt/sweater..type of thing...nothing too out there...but in my opinion good colors are always welcome..I am not sure wearing a Shania tshirt will necessarily help you get on stage..
Have fun with the drums and GOOD LUCK! I will be in the audience cheering for you!:JP :Bthumb
PS. be sure your daughter takes lots of pics of you!!!!!!!!HEY1

[ShAnIaTwAiNkIxAsSAAF!]

Lucky you... I did take drum lessons for one year back in grade six... I'm kicking myself now for not keeping "UP!" with it... I perfer the fiddle now... wear a cowboy hat! Kymm

[kirppu]

Was Dave lucky?

[Dave_Boston]

lucky? lol

Only 11 drummers showed up! they needed 12. We hung out for an hour before they took us backstage, then one of fiddlers (Roddy Chiong - what a character! - http://www.roddyonline.com/) taught us the licks. They were pretty simple and we ran it twice with a tape. Then he took us out on stage with the band (no Shania :(), set us up on the stage. The stage was in the center of the Fleet Center. I was told exactly where to stand, and to not move from that spot, or I might get knocked over by Shania!. We ran through the song once w/ the band and that was it. They gave us our free ticket (we had to leave the building, then re-enter with the audience.) The show absolutely rocked. 2.5 hours of electricity! Highlights of the show, she come onstage in a Redsox Jersey and jeans w/ sequins, Then later she had on a Yellow/Pink Tube top. For the encores she was dressed in a Bruins Jersey. She sang one song from the audience, announced a birthday for an older gentleman, brought 2 little girls up on stage to sing (that was interesting:rolleyes: ), then she had the spots and cameras point to a gentleman who then proposed...awwwwwww.....

It is an experience I'll never forget. Thanks for all the support.

-dave

I'm the one right behind Shaina.

i'll put more photos up later.

[Jud]

Great, lucky You!
Did it succeded your surprise to your dauther and her best friend?

[Debbie]

Dave that is fantastic. Not many people can say that they performed on stage with Shania Twain!!!:D

[Dave_Boston]

Originally posted by Jud
Great, lucky You!
Did it succeded your surprise to your dauther and her best friend?

Oh Yeah! They were totally shocked.

Afterwards all my daughter could say was "wierd. It was really weird".

Today, after talking to the neighbor who took her to the show, she said she almost broke down into tears when she saw me on stage. Then proceeded to scream...""thats my dad!, thats my dad!" over and over.

LOL

Today, she told her friends at school and they didn't believe her, but tomorrow she'll take in the pictures as proof. lol


-dave

(enjoying my 15 minutes of fame ;))

[kirppu]

That's great Dave!
I would call you lucky ;) hehe :D

Looking forward to seeing more pics! :D

[FV]

Way to go Dave!:BL I saw you...you were pretty cool! The guy to your right was a bit lost..and was looking at you often for guidance..you were really great on stage!:Bthumb

[Dave_Boston]

I've put all the images that I have up here.....

http://www.cotse.net/users/dcrowley/shania/

these are the small versions of the images.

to get the larger versions(), go here....
http://www.cotse.net/users/dcrowley/shania/images/

-dave

[woody03]

great shots dave! i dont think i saw you, where i was sitting the gentleman with the american flag shirt was facing me! but overall that added to the great performance last night. Great JOb:)

[skatergirl]

Hy Dave,

Way to go....to be on the same stage as Shania must have been a thrill!

Thanks for sharing your pics also!!!

BTW- Are you in any of the pics with the group of drummers? Is that you in the brown shirt? Great shots of the drummers!

[olgap]

Great pics Dave,

CONGRATS!!! Your daughter must be so extremely proud!!

Did you gat to meet Shania at all, or was getting on stage with her all you got? However most people don't even get that, so way to go.

Sue, I think I know Anthony from Ottawa too, if it's who I'm thinking of, I went to school with his older cousin. Could it be him?

Way to Go Dave, we're all proud of you!!!

:) ;)