Contestants crowded the Beatnik Rhythmic Analyzers booth in San Antonio last Saturday in the Alamodome to see if they had what it took to be named among the "World's Most Accurate Drummers." It was Revolution member Jonathan Leal who won the event for a second year in a row, improving on his score from last year and taking home his very own Beatnik Rhythmic Analyzer as a prize.

Jonathan Leal was named the World's Most Accurate Drummer in San Antonio.
Competitors played an unchanging two-bar rhythm for two minutes on the official Beatnik Rhythmic Analyzer electronic drum pad. Once finished playing, contestants were awarded a carefully calculated score which graded their accuracy. A perfect score was 800 points, but the highest scores of the day were in the 700s, with the Beatnik Rhythm Analyzer detecting accuracy to the 512th note.

Kaelin Thistlewood enters the contest.
Leal, a native of Alamo, Texas, said, "I tried it last year, and I wanted to see if I had improved on my timing. It worked out pretty well." Leal improved on his score from 2007, raising it from 719 to 737. This is the highest score to date in the World's Most Accurate Drummer contest, which debuted at the DCI Eastern Classic in Allentown, Pa. last year. Dan Bell and Kaelin Thistlewood came to see the DCI Southwestern Championship from the Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas, and both took a try at the Beatnik World's Most Accurate Drummer contest. They were interested in seeing how they matched up against each other. Bell said, "We used to drum together in the Air Force Academy. We just walked up to the booth. I didn't know anything about it, but it looked like it would be something fun to try and we decided to figure out who was best. Turns out [Kaelin] won." Both men were also members of indoor drum lines, and Thistlewood complimented the Beatnik's form and function, saying, "It's really easy to play. I can definitely see how it helps." The World's Most Accurate Drummer contest presented by Beatnik Rhythmic Analyzers will be held again at the upcoming DCI Southeastern Championship in Atlanta and in Bloomington, Ind. for the 2008 Drum Corps International World Championships. Learn more about Beatnik Rhythmic Analyzers at Tuners.com.