It was great. To be part of the 15th edition of the Basel Tattoo was very unique. Our very first performance at the premier show was quite good and on the second day we already had two shows plus the Tattoo parade that attracted many spectators. I enjoyed it a lot, it was awesome but I was also exhausted by it’s hard kickoff.
The crowd loved our show. It was so crazy and fun to perform with my friends of the Top Secret Drum Corps for the first time in front of a huge crowd. We were really excited because due to the pandemic restrictions we did not have many opportunities to perform. It was rough for all of us. Luckily, we’re now back on track and we are very excited to perform at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo next week.
I’m very excited to drum in the wonderful arena of Edinburgh castle. It’s so crazy to think about it: In 2009, I saw the Top Secret Drum Corps for the first time at the Basel Tattoo and I was stunned by their performance. Ever since, my biggest goal was to join the Top Secret Drum Corps and experience the Edinburgh Tattoo by myself. Now it’s time and Edinburgh is waiting.
During the Basel Tattoo, my biggest highlight was on the one hand that we, as the TSDC, could perform our show in our hometown where friends and family were often sitting in the audience. On the other hand, it was a very exciting experience to connect with other people. Just to name some of them: Grant Cassidy, the drummer from the Red Hot Chili Pipers, and I had some chats and we also drummed together. I also had the opportunity to drum with Roman Lombriser from the Swiss Army Central Band who is a phenomenal drummer and still an important person for the Swiss drumming culture. We’ve met several times during the Tattoo and it was a privilege to talk and drum with him together. These two connections were probably the most interesting ones for me.
After the Tattoo parade, I’ve met two girls and their family from Germany (they were sisters) and they wanted me to sign their t-shirt, so I did. They wanted my autograph (I haven’t done an autograph yet in my life) because they knew me already for my YouTube videos, what a suprise!
At another occasion, I also to a guy from New Zealand and he wanted to know if he could buy a book to learn Basler Drumming and so on. I’ve helped him and in the end, I directed him to my YouTube channel. I went on his phone to YouTube and he had already subscribed my channel. I was honored!
The most entertaining part of the Basel Tattoo would probably be the nights in the Cast Bar. Every group played (sometimes more often than others) its repertoire and obviously live which made it truly great.
But now Edinburgh is waiting for us. One thing I’ll probably miss in Edinburgh: a short afternoon swim in the Rhine.
