Drums Australia is launching a recurring clinic series, starting with Thornhill’s Ben Maida and Ocean Sleeper’s Daniel Stivens in Nunawading next month.
Thornhill’s Ben Maida and Ocean Sleeper’s Daniel Stivens will share the floor at Billy Hyde Music in Nunawading on Wednesday 2 December, launching The Drum Lab, a new event series from Drums Australia built around live playing, gear talk and time with the local drumming community.
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For Maida, the night is close to a home game. Thornhill first came together at a high school in nearby Vermont, playing battle of the bands competitions before signing to UNFD and growing into one of the country’s biggest heavy acts, with three albums behind them in The Dark Pool, Heroine and last year’s Bodies. The band spent a good chunk of 2026 on the road across North America, the UK and Europe, and “nerv”, which Maida co-wrote, earned an APRA Award nomination this year for Most Performed Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Work.
Stivens has been Ocean Sleeper’s live drummer since 2023, driving the Gippsland metalcore band through support runs with Make Them Suffer and Fit for an Autopsy as well as their own headline shows, including the tour behind this year’s album Peace When I’m Dead. He also co-founded emo pop-punk outfit Dear Reckless, so expect his perspective to stretch a little wider than breakdowns.
Both drummers play Pearl kits, Zildjian cymbals and Vic Firth sticks. On the night they’ll play live demos, take questions about their approach to the instrument and life on tour, and explain the gear they rely on. There’s a meet and greet as well, plus discounted gear from the Drums Australia stable, which also includes Ahead, Big Fat Snare Drum, Code Drumheads and Ludwig.
Things kick off at 7pm and tickets are $15, with the first 25 ticket holders taking home a free Code snare head.
The Drum Lab won’t be a one-off either. Drums Australia plans to run it as an ongoing series, bringing different combinations of its artists and brands to future events.
Find out more about The Drum Lab here
More information on Code Drum Heads available here
