By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Patrick Vinnedge is a name to be remembered.
The eighth grade student at Ring Lardner Middle School is making a statement with his drum playing skills.
On Nov. 17, Woodwind and Brasswind, located in South Bend, Ind., hosted the World's Fastest Drummer Hands, Feet and Freestyle competition. This brings out some of the best drum players in the area and allows them to compete for the title of World's Fastest Drummer.
Vinnedge, who has been playing drums since he was 11, took first place in the Battle of the Hands category after he hit drums 896 times in just one minute. The World's Fastest Drummer, Mike Mangini, set the new record after hitting the drums 1,203. Vinnedge is not far off from that record, and he's only 14 years old.
He admitted this competition was not something he was originally going to do.
"My mom saw an article in the paper that the competition was going on. I needed some new drum sticks anyway, so we decided head over there and check things out," Vinnedge said.
When they got there, and with the support of his mother, Vinnedge said he built up the courage to go on stage.
The competition was open to anyone who wanted to join. There was no pre-registration required.
"My first time up, I didn't do so well, but the second time I did. You have to hit the drums with two drums sticks, single stroke, with no drum rolls and you're timed for one minute," he said.
For his first place win, Vinnedge was given a plaque, a pearl popcorn snare drum with a stand and a pair of drumsticks. He also met Mangini personally and was even able to pose for a photo with him.
"I guess we didn't need to buy those after all," Vinnedge said of the drumsticks.
Vinnedge credits his father for getting him interested in drums.
"We had a set at our house for a while one year and one day he said 'come one I'll teach you a rhythm.' That's all it took for me. I have been playing drums since," Vinnedge said.
He said his father has always enjoyed music, playing some drums, but he really enjoys the guitar.
With his first big competition out of the way, and Vinnedge placing first, he said he sees a lot more contests in his future.
"I'm not done. This is just the start."