GOOD VIBRATIONS
Armed with only buckets and drumsticks, a group of five local teens has become a global sensation. We caught up with the Beat Street Drummers to learn the secret of their success.
Armed with only buckets and drumsticks, a group of five local teens has become a global sensation. We caught up with the Beat Street Drummers to learn the secret of their success.
WORDS KARL PUSCHMANN / PHOTO ALAN GIBSON
The beat thunders through the Historic Village, its rhythmic pulse grooving and full of joy. Then, as suddenly as it started, it stops – a one-minute blat of head-nodding bounce and skilled exuberance.
The drums were booming out from the village’s iconic live venue, The Jam Factory, but when I enter, there’s not a drum kit, conga, bongo or percussion instrument to be seen. Instead, carefully positioned in two rows, are five bright-orange Mitre 10 buckets.
These humble buckets are the instruments of choice for Elliot (14), Tristan (15), Daniel (17), Lucas (18) and Noah (18), better known as the Beat Street Drummers.
“The buckets are a way for us all to play together at the same time,” explains Elliot.
“And they’re unique,” adds Tristan.
“People like that,” says Lucas. “Once we set up our social media page, it grew real quick.”
It certainly did. The group, who all met through school and drum courses, have been jamming together for just over four years, but only got more serious with the Beat Street name and Instagram page last year.
“We originally started at one of our houses, just jamming and playing along,” recalls Daniel. “Then we created the Beat Street social media accounts on TikTok and Instagram, and people just loved it.”
The young group quickly became a viral sensation thanks to their fun and impressive choreography – lots of stick twirls and big arm raises – their infectious,cacophonous rhythms played at mind-boggling speed, and their decision to play covers of popular chart hits, like 2014’s Changing by Sigma and Paloma Faith.
That video alone clocked up more than 1.4 million views, but it’s far from their only viral hit. Collectively, they have 22 million-plus views and a loyal fan base of more than 700,000 followers.
“It was our improvs that went viral at first,” says Lucas. “People liked the buckets, but it was the small things that caught their attention – the angles, location.”
“We did a video in a shed on a barnyard and there was a tractor in the background,” says Daniel. “It was quite Kiwi New Zealand.”
“Yeah, people just kept commenting things like, ‘I love that backdrop!’,” laughs Noah. “It’s the little things that make it.”
The secret, they reckon, behind their viral success is that they’re just having fun. The videos aren’t big, over- thought affairs or calculated for maximum engagement.
instead, “something that shocked a lot of people was that our biggest video took us about 20 minutes to choreograph and film,” says Daniel. “Filming our videos is quite quick. I think that comes with the chemistry and the length of time we’ve been together. We have similar thought processes and ideas.”
Beat Street Drummers’ online success has now transferred into the real world, with the group starting to travel the country to perform at music festivals in front of thousands of fans. They’d wanted to play live since the beginning, but weren’t quite sure how to go about it.
“It was hard to think how we were going to get to play at bars or club nights or anything because we’re just drums,” says Daniel. “It seemed like a tough sell.”
Now, however, festivals are coming to them, asking them to play. It’s a dream result. When the quintet gets going, it’s a thoroughly unique experience, with the lads knocking out complex polyrhythms and beats at speed in perfect unison. It does beg the question, how many plastic buckets do they go through?
“We haven't broken any yet!” says Elliot. “We've had these since we started.”
“Yeah,” nods Noah. “It’s the sticks, though. They break a lot.”
Having played together for so long, they’re now relaxed and comfortable when they perform.
“Initially, we had to focus on what we were doing, but then as time went on, it was less about that focus and more like having fun,” says Lucas. “Naturally, we got better and better as we played, so it’s just turned into a fun thing that we look forward to doing.”
Noah grins and says, “We don't really put in as much practice and effort as we did in the beginning, because that work’s already been done.”
The group is enjoying the overnight success that has come after five years of work together, and is excited about what the future holds.
“We all love music,” says Daniel. “We’ve grown up in houses with music, and we play music. It’s our passion. And we're really tight friends as well.”
Then, he inadvertently reveals the true secret of their success.
“Lots of bands are just bands,” he says. “We’re friends and family first – then we’re a bandafter that.”