Drummer community & drum marketplace
The first vintage & Custom Drum Magazine, since 1988
John Aldridge is well known in the vintage and custom as "that guy" who engraves most of the engraved snare drums on the planet. John started Not So Modern Drummer in 1988 and it has grown into what you see today. John is also the author of "Guide to Vintage Drums" which is a "must have" book if you are collecting vintage drums. We will be adding all of John's editorials and blogs here as time allows.
If you're new to NSMD, you may not know that it started out as a newsletter between a group of drum collectors for the purpose of sharing info, selling and buying, and general communication about vintage drums. Prior to Not So Modern Drummer's appearance there was very little printed information available on the topic of vintage drums.
Andy Florio, a respected drummer, actor, and historian, had formed an association of "Drumologists" and sent out a newsletter or two himself, but I didn't discover this until I'd already started publishing Not So Modern Drummer. Andy was a wealth of knowledge, having been a collector of vintage gear since the 1960's or earlier. I still have my membership card to the National Association of Drumologists, along with many fond memories of talking to Andy on the phone, deciphering the history of drums!
In 1991, Jack Hutchinson of Jack’s Drum Hutch organized a Drummer’s Swap Meet which was held in a lower level conference room of a Holiday Inn in Loves Park, Illinois. Participants included Rebeats, Randy Rainwater and Bun E Carlos, Chuck Scalia, Joe Luoma, Blair Holben, Jack Brand’s Percussion Express, Skins N Tins, and a couple of others.