Happy New Year!
Tootin’ my own horn here. I’ll be playing my last scheduled gig with the FreeWorld Band this New Year’s Eve. (Check out the video below). The last four years I’ve played with them has been one of the most gratifying on both a musical level and a friendship level. When I moved to Memphis from Nashville in 2018, I was looking for a steady gig with a house band (house bands are sooo hard to find). I had grown tired of the touring and needed to settle down. One night I stumbled upon this great band that had steady gigs in the clubs on Beale Street, the entertainment district of Memphis. I like playing with hard driving bands that have horn sections and an aggressive rhythm section. This horn section is five horns on some nights! This band’s history of playing “Funk & Roll” goes back thirty five years. They are a legend in Memphis and around the world. The song list is over 430 songs and that’s not even counting the requests we play that we haven’t rehearsed. Great touring musicians come to sit in with this band when they are in town. Band leader Richard Cushing manages to keep members of this band working consistently four or five nights a week in one configuration or another. It’s been a great ride, Rich. So, to Richard Cushing, Andy Tate, Chris Stephenson, Will Paladino, Peter Climie and Friedman Steorts; You guys are the some of the best musicians I have ever worked with. To all the Memphis drummers who subbed for me and sat in - thanks! There are some killer drummers in Memphis.
What am I gonna do now? Well, I’m taking a break from playing so many gigs per week. I have some scattered one nighter dates already booked this year, but mostly I needed more time to spend working on Not So Modern Drummer, DrumSellers.com and teaching at Memphis Drum Shop. So, not quitting or retiring - just puttin’ the groove bus into low gear!
Letters to the editor
Don Berman writes - Happy holidays! I am wondering if you or anyone knows anything about the Ludwig Supraphonic snare drum that Mitch Mitchell owned and used when he was using one. I just saw a youtube video where the great Chris Layton says that Mitch's widow gifted Chris with Mitch's personal Supraphonic. I am curious if it has a date stamp on the inside. What date it was made, and if it is an alloy aluminum shell or a chrome over brass. Do you know or do you think anyone in the Not So Modern Drummer community knows?
Readers can contact Don through email - donbseattle@hotmail.com
Jan writes - Hi, I recently found a snare drum in Belgium but cannot find on the entire internet what it is, the hoops nor the strainer nor dampener nor the diec cast lugs. I would be glad if you could identify something of these parts. You'll find some images in attachment.
Thanks, Jan De Gols
Jan can be emailed at jan.degols@gmail.com
Nick writes - Hi George, I am interested in selling my vintage set of original "K" cymbals made way back in Istanbul - the set includes a 22", two 19" sizzle cymbals and a set of 13" hats all original "K"s. I think the hat are the youngest at about 40 years old, I think the 22 must be about 70 years old, but of course, who knows. All I know is I have owned all of these cymbals for 40 plus years. Needless to say I don't take them to gigs anymore. I know these cymbals a very valuable to a good collector, but I'm not sure about the actual price I should put on them. I see your seller's market on line and thought I might try that. But I really would like your thoughts about what the value of these cymbals is before I offer them for sale on your page. Thanks so much for your help.
Nick
P.S. I still have some of the original Notsomoderndrummermagazins saved in my collection
(Watch for the sale of Nick’s Istanbul K Zildjians at www.DrumSellers.com)