Juan Carlos Mendoza wins GC's 2012 Drum-Off

24th US drum champion wins $25,000 plus endorsement deals

Juan Carlos Mendoza, a music teacher at McGinnis Middle School in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, has won the 24th annual grand finale of Guitar Center's Drum-Off competition. The grand finals took place last night at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California.

$25,000 cash,



a custom drum kit plus endorsement deal (winner's choice: DW, Gretsch, OCDP, Pearl, or Tama),



a complete set of cymbals plus endorsement deal (winner's choice: Meinl, Sabian or Zildjian),



a drumhead endorsement deal (winner's choice: Evans or Remo)



a stick endorsement deal (winner's choice: Pro-Mark or Vic Firth)



a Roland TD-30KV electronic drum kit and PM30 Roland SPD-SX



a Shure Deluxe Drum Mic Pack with 7 mics

It was Juan Carlos' second trip to the finals; he also represented the Northeast region of the US in the contest in 2008.This time the 31-year-old drummer took home the grand prize, consisting of (among other things):

Comments winning finalist Juan Carlos:

"For me, more than anything, winning the Drum-Of finals means great publicity for the school district. It brings some positive energy into this town. I want to give these young kids a strong musical foundation once they get to high school."

The grand finals featured not only a riveting competition between the five grand finalists, but also a series of sets by some of the world's biggest drum icons including Steve Gadd, John Blackwell, Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste, Keith Carlock, Gerald Heyward and Darren King.



About the Guitar Center Drum-Off competition

The Drum-Off, the biggest competition for drummers in the United States, is organized by Guitar Center, a chain of musical instrument retailers with 239 locations throughout the US.



Past winners of the event include Cora Coleman-Dunham (Prince, Beyoncé), Tony Royster Jr. (Jay-Z), Eric Moore II (Suicidal Tendencies) and Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta).