Meinl Cymbals recently had the chance to welcome George Hines, founder and owner of the US music store chain George's Music (10 locations in Pennsylvania and Florida) to its home base in Gutenstetten, Germany. George and his wife Lisa were in Europe in early August and took the time to visit the company and see its home base. A good time was had by all and of course it was all followed up by a dinner at the incomparable Fiedler Haus. 

The floods began last month in Pakistan's north-west after heavy monsoon rains and have since swept south, swamping thousands of towns and villages in Punjab and Sindh provinces.

About one-fifth of Pakistan's territory is underwater and an estimated 20 million people are affected.

"I am shocked about the current situation in Pakistan. Millions of people have lost their home and are now suffering from this historic tragedy.", says Mr. Meinl. "We decided to help our Pakistani friends and partners without any hesitation. Our donation will be evenly distributed to families that are still living under open sky."

Response from our Pakistani contact: "We are working day and night to rehabilitate the victims. We will soon settle these sufferers and build a New Pakistan. Please remember us in your prayers."

Gustav Strobel has been Meinl's first ever employee who started to work for the company in September 1964 until his retirement in November 1992. We will always remember him as a hardworking, reliable, and loyal employee.

Gustav Strobel has died on August 20, 2010 at the age of 76 years.

In loving memory
Reinhold and Ingrid Meinl

Boyce Avenue, a Florida-based band popular for its strong acoustic roots and melodic rock sound is giving away a Meinl Cajon. Go to http://www.boyceavenue.com/meinl/signup.htm to view contest details. A bit about the band -  In 2007, in an effort to share their music and ideas with the world, the band decided to start filming and posting videos on YouTube of their own songs and some of their favorite songs by other artists. Some of the first few videos they posted included acoustic versions of songs such as Justin Timberlake’s “LoveStoned”, Rihanna’s “Umbrella”, and Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida”, among many others. The videos began to resonate instantly with YouTube viewers. Over the course of 2007 and 2008, the band amassed millions of views and over 100,000 subscribers to their YouTube channel. To date, the band has accumulated over 165,000,000 views on YouTube, with the total number of subscribers approaching 300,000, making their channel one of the most frequented worldwide on YouTube. Many of the videos on their channel showcase the band's usage of the Meinl Cajon. During this time, the band continued to record and produce original music for what would eventually become their full-length debut album, but also took aim at expanding the scope and reach of their live performances. n early 2009, the band performed for an estimated total of 25,000 fans over four headline shows in the Philippines. On the heels of its whirlwind success in the Philippines, the band returned to the United States to commence its first U.S. headline tour. The tour saw sold out shows in such major markets as Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, with other shows near capacity. And the rabid fan base that the band had developed online proved not to be intangible. On the strength of its U.S. and Philippines tours, the band embarked on its first European headline tour in the fall of 2009. The band’s loyal international following was evident again as the band sold out shows in multiple territories, including Germany and the United Kingdom. Most recently, the band returned to the Philippines in early 2010 to play festival shows with Kris Allen and the Jabbawockeez, playing to an estimated 18,000 people in two nights. And the band’s Spring 2010 European tour has already seen the band playing to larger rooms in all territories, with several shows sold-out in advance.

As of the end of 2009, the band had finished recording a full album of original music, had produced and financed the entire project on its own, and had developed a plan to release the album independently through its own label, 3 Peace Records. At that time, they were approached by Universal Republic Records to partner in the release of the album. The band, impressed with Republic’s excitement about the music and the band’s wanting to remain extremely hands on with their music, videos, and websites, signed with Universal Republic Records (Jack Johnson, 3 Doors Down, Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat) in November of 2009. The band’s major label debut album, All We Have Left, was on June 15, 2010. Currently, the band is touring Europe and preparing its next nationwide headline tour of the United States. Launching with this U.S. summer tour, the band will remain on the road through the end of the year, with repeat touring in Europe, and plans to enter new international territories, including Canada, South America, Asia, and Australia.

Meinl Percussion is pleased to welcome David Cossin to its family of percussion artists. Currently, David is on the road with Sting. David is a specialist in new and experimental music. David has worked across a broad spectrum of musical and artistic forms to incorporate new media with percussion.  
David has recorded and performed internationally with composers and ensembles including the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Steve Reich and Musicians, Philip Glass, Yo-Yo Ma, Meredith Monk, Tan Dun, Cecil Taylor, Talujon Percussion Quartet,and the trio, Real Quiet.  Numerous theater projects include collaborations with Blue Man Group, Mabou Mines, and director Peter Sellars. David was featured as the percussion soloist in Tan Dun’s Grammy and Oscar winning score to Ang Lee’s film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 
David has performed as a soloist with orchestras through out the world including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestra Radio France, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Sao Paulo State Symphony, Sydney Symphony,  Gothenburg Symphony,  Hong Kong Symphony, and the Singapore Symphony.  
Most recently, David is happy to be performing with Sting on his latest world tour, Symphonicity. This tour will be throughout this summer and fall.
David's ventures into other art forms include sonic installations, which have been presented in New York, Italy and Germany.  David is also an active composer and has invented several new instruments, which expand the limits of traditional percussion.  David is the curator for the Sound Res Festival, an experimental music festival in southern Italy and also teaches percussion at Queens College in New York City.

The world famous Concord Blue Devils have been a Meinl Percussion artist for years now. At the head of their percussion section is Jim Wunderlich. Jim is now entering his fifth year as the Front Ensemble caption head and arranger for the thirteen time DCI World Champion. The Blue Devils percussion section received the 2007 & 2009 Fred Sanford Award for Best Percussion Performance. Recently, Jim launched his own percussion and marching band website. Click here to check it out.

Come to Just Drums in Midlothian, Virginia on Saturday, June 26 from 12:00pm to 5:00pm for MEINL DAY, as Meinl Percussion joins Just Drums in hosting a great percussion showcase. A huge hand percussion selection will be on hand for you to sample. Instruments from many genres will be present – Latin, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, and Eastern. It’ll all be here. Meinl representatives will be on hand to demonstrate and answer any questions. Get free consultation from Just Drums and Meinl to find the right percussion for you. Get the percussion bug! Come participate in a Drum Circle at 3:00 pm. Instruments will be provided (and on sale). Live Performance – 4pm
A live performance by Chris Thomas and Shane Fowlkes will be at 4:00 pm to demonstrate the percussion instruments. Don’t miss it!