House of Drumming.com

Not sure if anyone here has been a judge at Guitar Center contests, but they often seem to have an agenda. In their guitar competitions, I have seen the judges eliminate those who have obviously studied and mastered music and techniques more than their competitors. The drummer in the vid who apparently won is really good, but I jam with drummers at open mics who are really good to, and can hit that synth pad sound trigger to create ambiance. My guess is that is what distinguished this drummer from the rest, because as a solo or song, in terms of content and technique, it was okay. As someone who is primarily a guitarist and always looking for a good drummer, I would definitely give him an audition to see if you can do Good Times, Bad Times all the way through on the beat.

The finals should be a live playing situation...
4 A list session players playing 1 or 2 songs with the finalists... That would be interesting to see!

I judged this yr and I can relate to the feeling that the more advanced contestants are ousted. I often wonder if it's one of those things where people, other judges, store employees 'weighting' the scores... just don't get it, it's too far above their heads. It's a lesson though, you really have to play for your audience, not for your books.