Guitar Center, a Westlake Village-based musical instrument retailer, held its annual Guitar Center Drum-Off Grand Finals at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on Jan. 14. The event was the culmination of a five-month search for “the next great undiscovered drummer,” company officials said. Out of the 4,500 contestants nationwide, five finalists performed at the Grand Finals in hopes of taking away the title of Drum-Off champion. In a prepared statement, Maria Brown, manager of music and entertainment marketing at Guitar Center, said the company celebrates drummers annually by giving aspiring musicians the chance to take their careers to the next level. Also in attendance that night were veteran musicians such as Metallica’s Robert Trujillo and James Brown’s drummer Jabo Starks. Actor Jack Black and his band Tenacious D were one of the evening’s performers. The event concluded with the announcement of the contest winner, 21-year-old Boston-native Jean-Pierre Didier Bouvet. Bouvet’s grand prize package included $25,000 cash, a custom drum kit, several endorsement deals, a feature in Modern Drummer magazine and a trip to New York to record at the Converse Rubber Track Studio. Bouvet said he was honored and humbled by his win. “For Guitar Center to put a contest like this on, it’s fantastic,” Bouvet said. “I’m honored just to be hanging out backstage and meet all these drumming legends.”
