The longest drumming session by an individual was set in 2011 by Steven Gaul, who clocked a record breaking 121 hours of snare snapping in Ontario, Canada. A human drum machine, Gaul kept at it from the 5th though the 10th of August of that year, playing night and day. No one has yet to top his marathon drumming, but it seems competition is looming these days.
As of Thursday, June 20, 2013, Andrew W.K. of the "Party Hard" fame set a record of his own that could give Gaul a run for his money. Setting the new world record for "Longest Drum Session in a Retail Store," W.K. played from 7 p.m. Wednesday evening until the same time on Thursday, without stopping, clocking a full twenty-four hours of drumming inside the Oakley store in New York's Times Square.
W.K. did not party hard all by himself though. He was accompanied by Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Zac Hanson, and even (who knew?) Cuba Gooding, Jr., among others to help him power through the vampire shift of MTV's O Awards. They're the same folks behind the Flaming Lips' record breaking streak for playing the most cities in a twenty-four hour period (eight shows in eight different cities).
He trained for the drum-a-thon by practicing with weights instead of just drumsticks in hopes that by the time the moment came, it would all feel a lot easier than he was prepared for.
For those who missed the sometimes less than titillating twenty four hour session, the shaggy haired, toothy grinned rocker didn't slow down for much of anything. There was a brief stint with tacos (reportedly six of them) and those with his best interest in mind ensured fluids and regular vital checks. The slowest W.K. came to petering out altogether was a little after noon on Thursday as he mechanically tapped the same two drums in an ephemeral haze hidden by what will become trademark sunglasses in the photos and videos of this event.
The haze didn't last long though. As the session came to a close, W.K.'s pace rose to a gallop as he beelined toward the twenty-four hour mark, rounding out the session with confetti and a very Rocky Balboa-esque robe.
So what motivates a born partier to drum for a full straight day? Well, aside from that one photo opportunity with Lil' Bub, the cat, he told MTV, "a hot pizza just out of arm's reach... have a fan waft the odor and aroma, and that may tantalize me as a rich reward; at the end of the 24-hour period, I get to bite down on that pizza pie."
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