Name of Product: Takin' Care of Business Video/CD featuring *NSYNC drummer Billy Ashbaugh.
Company: Warner Bros. Publications
Websites: http://www.billyashbaugh.com/order.html or http://www.warnerchappell.com
Price: $39.95
Reviewer: Diana Pizzari

"Who is Billy Ashbaugh?" I hear you ask. If you haven't attended an *NSYNC concert in the past couple of years, chances are you have probably never heard of him!

This video/cd is definitely one for the *NSYNC fans. The opening sequence of the video is footage from the *NSYNC HBO special featuring a "drum off" between Justin Timberlake, who uses vocal percussion, and Billy Ashbaugh on his drumkit. After the initial introduction, the program is essentially broken up into 5 different components with each component being revisited a number of times throughout the show.

The V-Room is a drumming room where music is piped in and Billy plays.... and plays.... and plays.... and plays. Unless you know all the words and like to sing along, you will find yourself fast forwarding through most of the songs after the first few bars. The "interactive drum clinic" scenes, which were filmed at a West Hartford school (producer Bob Gatzen's neighborhood), are almost as tedious as watching Billy play in the V-Room. Thankfully the Question and Answer session breaks up the monotony and there are some great insights into professional drumming that can be gleaned from the video. As successful as Billy is, he practises every day to stay at the top of his game and he is determined to keep improving. He is a dedicated drummer who enjoys looking back on his accomplishments.

The highlight of the program is a segment where Billy and his wife Jenie Ashbaugh (also a professional drummer) play the same song, in different rooms at different times. The film has been edited so that it cuts from one drummer to the other after a few bars of music and the result is that the viewer can see how differently the two drummers play the same song and how each brings their own unique voice to the kit. Billy's style is a lot busier while Jenie's is very solid and clean.

Jenie also played at West Hartford and was involved in the Question and Answer session. When asked about what it is like to be a female drummer, Jenie explained that often females have to work harder because drumming is a male dominated field and females tend to be scrutinized more. She said that the extra attention can sometimes be a positive thing but it carries with it additional pressure.

After 15 years of drumming, Jenie offered the following insight:

"Through playing drums I have learned to overcome intimidation. As a female drummer in this male dominated field, I have become more confident and sure of myself as a person. I discovered that if you work hard and believe in yourself, your fellow musicians (whether male or female) will always accept and respect you."

If you've ever wondered what the inside of the *NSYNC tour bus looks like, how Billy sets up his kit in the tiny space at the back of the bus, what Justin and Joey think of their drummer or how Billy and Jenie got together, you definitely need to check out this video. There's also a cd that accompanies the tape so if you'd like to try your hand at drumming along to Digital Get Down, Bye Bye Bye, I Promise You, In the Way, Rockit or Hipotomus, there are drumless tracks you can add your groove to. The "Practice Time Management" aspect of the cd allows you to play small segments of each song over and over again until you have it sounding great. Put all the pieces together and "voila", you'll be banging along to Bye Bye Bye in no time!

*** Look for Drummergirl's interview with Jenie Ashbaugh.....coming soon!!!

We have 10 copies of the Takin' Care of Business Video and CD to give away, courtesy of Warner Bros. Publications, and all you have to do to enter is email us the answers to two simple questions. You will find the answer to Question 1 in this review and the answer to Question 2 elsewhere on the Drummergirl site (hint: check Drummergirl interviews):

You can email your answers to dgcomp@happymazza.com.
Competition closes Monday November 5th. Entries will be drawn randomly and the first 10 correct entries to be drawn will be our winners. (Only one entry per person please). If you are one of the lucky 10, we will email you and ask for mailing details! Sorry to you overseas folk but the competition is only open to US and Canadian residents.