Sonoma native lives a dream

With feet moving like pistons over the bass pedals and a drumstick tapping loosely to keep the beat, Scott DeMartini breathed steadily in his soundproof studio, where his wife, Tina, and their two-year-old son, Luc, stood witness to a passionate pursuit.
Generating a stiff symphony of rapid percussion, DeMartini had the poise of an Olympian in the midst of setting a new track record. His feet, spread shoulder-width, hit the petals reflexively, at a rate of 900 beats per minute, generating a lightning-fast fidelity that is rivaled by only one other person in the world.
It’s passion that compels this Sonoma native toward the pinnacle of heights in the realm of “extreme sports drumming.”
It is also passion that keeps the electrical contractor on a plane of love and gratitude.
“Family is first in my life,” said DeMartini, who spends as much time as he can at home with his son and stepdaughter, Ella, who have both taken up the sticks. “Drumming is just a passion of mine, something I’ve done off and on since I was nine.”
Four months ago, in Anaheim, the 43-year-old took his longtime fervor to the pressure-lit stage of the Anaheim Convention Center, where he participated in the NAMM “World’s Fastest Drummer” competition, striving to be crowned the drummer with the world’s fastest feet. While there, he competed head-to-head against the greatest drummers in the world.
“It’s something I saw in 2005, and I remember saying, ‘I want to try that.’ So I did.”
A man whose commitment is matched only by his work ethic, DeMartini trained at home for two years, applying a hard-working regimen to his winning philosophy.
“The competition really tests you physically,” said
DeMartini, who keeps himself in good shape and often practices his drumming with ankle weights.
“The Fastest Feet competition is a timed 60-second event,” he said, pointing to his DrumOmeter, a piece of equipment that counts foot percussions on a digital screen.
“If you flinch, or double-tap even once, you’re disqualified,” he said.
Armed with strong belief and the fortitude of two years of hard work, he made the January venture down to Southern California, stalking his long-desired dream of validation amidst a sea of enthusiastic fans.
DeMartini was the oldest competitor at age 43, but he did not let that get to him.
“My wife was forced to stay home, so I went down there alone. I didn’t know what to expect, walking in there, getting in line to try out. A few minutes later, I hit 887, and the crowd reacted. It was an unreal feeling.”
He owed it to the crowd – the audience as well as the multitude of fellow competitors and music icons he befriended during the four-day competition.
“The people were unbelievable,” he said, reliving the moment. “They made me feel really welcome.”
Over the course of the next three days, DeMartini would hold second place, behind Canadian sensation Mike Mallais, whom he would befriend.
“The guy is unbelievable,” said DeMartini of the Canadian. Mallais would end up setting the new world record for “fastest feet” at 1,034 strokes, four more than the enduring six-year world record.
“I told myself before the last day, ‘I just want to get second. If I hit 900, I’ll be happy.’”
On Jan. 22, the last day of the competition, when the top 10 finalists battled it out for the highest mark, the Sonoma native tapped out a perfect 900 to the numbing cheers of the still-enlivened crowd, securing a second-place finish in the “fastest feet” competition, as well as beating his personal best.
“It was a 900 – not a 901, or an 899, but a 900.”
Pointing to a group of framed pictures in his studio of the rock stars he met during and after the event, he focuses in on a picture taken of himself and Louis Belson.
“He’s a jazz legend,” said DeMartini. “One of my heroes, and there I am shaking hands with him.”
In another picture, Journey’s Steve Smith, smiling, rests his hand on DeMartini’s shoulder, just like an old friend.
“It was a dream come true. Really.”
At home in Sonoma, Scott DeMartini jams with Luc, who plays alongside him on a small drum set. A more haphazard stylist than his father, the boy might just grow to be a legend. It must be nice to see his son take up an early interest in music, one that might set him on his own road of exploration – as it did his father, when he rose to greet the cheering crowds in the Anaheim Convention Center that, for four days in January, housed music’s biggest stars.
“I can’t wait for next year,” said DeMartini, as he stared at his smiling wife, Tina, and then at his son, who still sat tapping away on his drums, consumed by the enviable imagination that some adults still encounter in the passion-lit corners their minds.