Our First-Ever Drum Clinic: Kyle Smith at West Coast Drum Shop

We've been building up to something like this for a while. On March 4th, 2026, it finally happened — Dialtune's first-ever drum clinic, with Kyle Smith (aka The Arizona Drummer) at West Coast Drum Shop in Bellevue, WA.

Just a room full of drummers, honest conversation, and a lot of time behind the kit.

Who's Kyle?

If you don't know Kyle — he's a professional session drummer with over 20 years of experience and the creator behind The Arizona Drummer, a YouTube channel with more than 100,000 subscribers and 1,400 videos. More importantly, he's part of the Dialtune artist community. Not because of a traditional endorsement deal — that's not how we do things. Kyle plays what he loves, tells the truth about gear, and helps us build better drums by actually using them in real situations.

That feedback loop — play, learn, share, improve — is exactly what this night was built on.

If you want to go deeper into Kyle's world, check out his Behind The Kit series on YouTube — an ongoing interview show where he sits down with professional touring drummers from across the industry. Past guests include Mike Sleath (Shawn Mendes' drummer), Jarvis 'JEB' Barnes (Tate McRae's drummer), Lady Gaga's drummer, and many more. Honest, musician-to-musician conversation that's hard to find anywhere else. Worth subscribing for alone.

What He Covered

Kyle kept it practical. Every topic was something you could walk out the door and actually use.

Your own style. This one hit differently. Kyle talked about what it means to develop and own your personal voice as a drummer — not just copy what you hear, but find what's actually yours.

Showing up right. And then there's something you don't always get in a clinic: what it means to be a good artist to work with. How you carry yourself, how you communicate, how you show up — that stuff matters just as much as what you can play.

Charting. Kyle broke down how to chart music — how to map out a song's structure so you can read it, remember it, and navigate it confidently, even under pressure. It's a skill that separates working drummers from everyone else, and he made it feel approachable for all levels.

Learning fast. He walked through how to pick up a new song in a short amount of time — and he didn't just talk about it. Kyle had the audience shout out songs he'd never heard before, listened once, and played them on the spot. Then he broke down exactly what he was listening for: the patterns, the cues, the structure. It's the kind of skill that saves you when you land a last-minute gig and need to be tour-ready in days, not weeks.

The Kit

Kyle played our brand new Dialtune Drum Set — which had just started shipping. 100% North American maple shells, our patented cable tuning system, quick-release hoops, and independent dials for the top and bottom heads on every drum. One of the first times anyone outside our team had played it live in front of a crowd.

It held up. Kyle made it sound great. That's all we'll say.

Support Kyle

If this clinic inspired you — or if you've been following Kyle's work and want to show some love — head to his affiliate page and use code ARIZONA at checkout. It's a direct way to support him while getting yourself a Dialtune drum.

One Night, A Lot of Drums

A massive thank you to Will and the entire team at West Coast Drum Shop in Bellevue for opening their doors and making this night possible. Will has been an incredible partner — the kind of person who genuinely cares about the drum community and creates space for things like this to happen. We couldn't have asked for a better home for our first clinic, and we're grateful for everything he and the shop bring to this scene. If you want to catch more events like this one, check out their events page — it's worth bookmarking.

To everyone who came out: thank you. This was our first clinic — and it won't be our last.

We build drums. Players make them matter.