Several years later I had the opportunity to work at the same club as the Tony Williams Lifetime when they were touring and playing the music that was on the “The OLD Bum’s Rush,” recording. He already had the big yellow Gretsch kit by this time with the 24” bass drum and multiple toms. Each night over the course of the week the band gelled better and on the final night it was truly amazing. The entire night was smoking; one tune would have been worth waiting the week to hear, let alone the whole night.
Read moreSung and Unsung Heroes: Brian Dunne
Holding everything together at “Live From Daryl’s House” and keeping it “in the pocket” (with his baseball cap always on backwards), is the rather quiet and unassuming Brian Dunne on drums, who, for more than seven years, has been the rhythmic force behind “Hall & Oates”.
Read moreMore Fun with Stick Control
I like to mix things up with Stick Control. Here I’ve moved the figures to the snare and bass and laid a ‘funk’ ride pattern over top. These can all be played at the same tempo but the feel changes depending on where you put the hi-hat.
Attack Drum Heads Review
I had a lot of fun playing with both the Royal1 and ProFlex1. I’m not sure if anything has changed, but they seemed so much better than many of the earlier Attack drum heads I had tried a few years ago. These heads were more versatile, open and dynamic than I expected. I can’t personally answer the question about durability but will continue to play them and see how they hold up. I should note that drummer, Rick Meadors, recently posted on drumforum.org about his experience with the Royal1 drum heads stating that, “Attack's coating is darn near indestructible in my experience… I've had that head on that snare for about 8 months now and have played it A LOT! Probably close to two dozen gigs plus a lot of playing at home during the past few months.”
Read moreMike Clark: Words of Wisdom - Chapter 23
“I was just thinking about all the great jazz artists that didn't get a break -- and are still bringin' it and growing. They are heroes in my book. I was lucky to get a bit of love that has lasted me a lifetime”.
Read more1928-29 LUDWIG & LUDWIG MARBLE PEARL FAMILY
Ludwig & Ludwig introduced Marble Pearl in 1928 and per Rob Cook’s book Drum Colors The Rebeats Color Swatch Book. This finish was listed from 1928-29, pretty short-lived and very rare. Personally I love the “ugly” finishes from the 1920s-30s.
Read moreDrum History Podcast - Episode 6 - The History of Leedy Drums with Rob Cook
Rob Cook, founder of the Chicago Drum Show and Author of "The Complete History of Leedy Drums" and "The Leedy Way", gives us the complete history of the Leedy Drum Company. The amazing story begins with U.G. Leedy producing snare stands in his apartment in Indianapolis and evolves into becoming the largest manufacturer of drums in the world. Rob also teaches us about George Ways involvement in the rise and fall of Leedy.
Read moreKelli Rae Tubbs's Back In Time Video Series - Pedal Cymbals
Part 2 uncovers another piece of the puzzle of how cymbals made their way from the orchestra to the rock band: the bass drum pedal and a device called a "clanger."
Read moreGuide To Vintage Drums - Leedy Strainers 1923 - 1965
1929-1930 was an important time for the Leedy Manufacturing Company. After the company was sold to Conn, the entire operation was moved from Indianapolis, Indiana to Elkhart, Indiana. The new Leedy company immediately introduced several important design changes which placed them firmly on the cutting edge of drum technology.
Read moreLudwig's Use of Paper Labels in 1971/1972 - Date Stamps and Date Codes
Ludwig's Use of Paper Labels in 1971/1972 - Date Stamps and Date Codes - Rick Gier sheds light on this mystery.
Read moreFrom Editor George Lawrence
Pearls of wisdom and other worthless jewelry from the editor of this magazine.
Read moreThe History of Famous Drum Company
It all started at George’s Drum Shop, my retail store in Jackson Mississippi from 1985 - 1987. Joe Partridge was my right hand man there, doing minor repair and refurbishing jobs like taking the old wrap off of drums and re-wrapping them (actually burning the wrap off of the old volatile pre-OSHA drums - the more sadistic customers wanted to be called when we did that so they could come watch!) Joe would also drill holes to put new hardware on some of the customers’ drums. We didn’t actually build any drums at that store, per se, just sold typical name brand drums and repaired then. Joe and I would start building drums separately in the years after that first shop .closed. But, I had some foil stickers made that looked like drum badges with the name of the store and a cool looking drum. So that was as far as we got with the drum building in those first years - badges!
Read moreFrankie Banali dead at 68
Not being a “metal guy”, I am not very familiar with Frankie’s drumming. As I search around the internet for some insight into Frankie Banali’s drumming and history - something more than the Rolling Stone or Billboard obituaries -I ran across this quote on DrummerWorld.com. “I remember him telling me that his day wasn't complete if he didn't listen to Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes or Tony Williams. He was a huge jazz fan, which many people may not know.” Frankie
Read moreRIP Charli Persip
Charli Persip, whose career as a leading jazz drummer included close associations with Dizzy Gillespie, Randy Weston and many others — along with nearly 40 years at the helm of his own big band, SuperSound — died at Mt. Sinai Morningside in New York City on Sunday.He was 91. His daughter, Jean Elliott, confirmed his death.
Read moreKelli Rae Tubbs' Back In Time - Sound Effects, Episode 5 - Railroad Imitation with Bill Ludwig III
As a drum historian, Kelli has been collecting vintage and antique drum equipment, method books, photographs, and literature, creating a fine collection of resource material for a deeper understanding of the role her peers from 100 years ago played in the development of the drum set and how those innovations shaped the music we all listen to today. To help document her research, she has created a series of videos that address specific historical drum equipment.
Drum History Podcast: Episode 5 - Long Live The Speed King with Vincent Leef
Vincent Leef of Vitalizer Drums (formerly Polyphonic) is keeping the legacy alive by restoring Speed Kings and making them play like new. He shares the whole story of the pedal with us in this episode - from the journey through world war 2 through the 60's and 70's with Bonham and Ringo to its decline in the 2000's, and finally the current revitalization
Read moreFrom editor George Lawrence
So, I just received an email notice from Reverb.com about their selling fee increase from 3.5% to 5% on August 4, 2020. If you weren’t aware of it, Reverb was sold to Etsy for 275 million a year ago.
Read moreSung and Unsung Heroes: Meytal Cohen
n 2015, with the help of a crowdfunding campaign, Meytal was able to release her first album, “Alchemy” which peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.
Read more1929-30 LUDWIG & LUDWIG 5 x 14 DeLUXE ENGRAVED STANDARD-SENSITIVE MODEL
--For those of you that are not familiar with 1920s-30s “Sensitive” models, all that you have to remember is that the “Sensitive” mechanism is the set of snares that are internal and under the top head with the exception of the New Era-Sensitive that has two sets of internal Sensitive mechanisms.
Read more1940-41 Super Gene Krupa Radio King [1st Clamshell strainer] 8 x14
This is an 8“ x 14“ Slingerland Model 156 Super Gene Krupa Radio King snare drum in Black Diamond Pearl. Very special thanks to Brooks Tegler for his wonderful document explaining everything about this drum! Also, thanks to Mark Cooper of coopersvintagedrums.com; a great, educational vintage drum site.
Read more