Other One Kit

This is my other kit (actually my first kit). It's a four piece 1967 Ludwig. The tom is 14" (rail consolette mount), 16" floor tom, 22 x 18" bass drum, and 14" metal concert snare (13" picolo pictured here). Good stuff.

Gig Kit

Folks have asked so I thought I'd post. This is my main gig kit. The brand is Po' Boy Drums (I'm an endorser). It's a natural finish, birch and maple hybrid. The toms are 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16". The bass is 20 x 18", and the snare is 14 x 5.5". I use a double kick pedal and I typically add a 13 x 3" picolo snare on the left as well as a second foot pedal with a jam block. The cymbals are Zildjian, Paiste, and Po' Boy.

Me 'N" Tony

There's me and Tony Chadwick, owner of Po' Boy Drums, at the "Drummin' For Lou" fundraiser for the ALS Foundation.

Back Stage

Here's a shot from back stage at The Toad Tavern (well, side stage really, because they don't actually have a back stage per se', but anyway, you get the idea) from the "Drummin' For Lou" benefit show. That's a lot of drums. Even more drums on the other side of the stage.

Cymbals!

Here's a cool thing. Last Saturday I went to The Toad Tavern to practice a bit before my clinic. I got the drums all set and Tony told me to grab my pick of the cymbals he'd brought down. So I set up a nice array: 20" dark ride, 17" thin crash, 16" dark crash, 14" hats, and a 10" splash. OMG! These cymbals were amazing. The ride has a heavy, dark ring to it. The crashes have a short sustain, but they cut through bright and edgy. The splash has a weird trashy tone that I like. Actually I think the thing that stands out the most to me are the cymbal bells. They have a really unique timber. Even on the crashes, I can ride the bells and the tone is bright, clear, and clarion. Bottom line? I love this gear. So anyway, I played the clinic and when I was done I asked Tony what he wants me to do with the cymbals to set up for the Dave Nezat clinic and he tells me to just keep them! I gotta be careful, I could really get comfortable with this kind of treatment.

Hotel Room Post

It's 12:41 a.m. here in Littleton, Colorado and I have just finished rehearsing the material that I will be presenting at the clinic tomorrow at noon. Hotel rooms are interesting places to practice drumming! You have to use a practice pad and try to play very quietly. I was at Tony Chadwick's house earlier this evening checking out the new Po' Boy line and I must say it was a lot easier to practice there. I am excited to show these things off tomorrow. The Venus is excited too because she knows I'm going to play her favorite song: TVOWA (that homage to art history and anthropology that everyone loves so much). I wonder if it's obvious that I'm wound up and may have trouble getting to sleep? I sure hope I hear that wake up call I scheduled!

I Couldn't Resist

I just couldn't help it. I had to post another picture. A little bit closer in and you can see the grain better. Mmmmm.... grain...

Oh My!

I just got this picture from Tony at Po' Boy. The eight inch tom hasn't arrived yet so this is still just a progress report. But wow! I so can't wait to play this kit. I love the look of the 20" bass with no tom stand. I've always wanted that look. I'll have a pic of the full setup soon.

Progress Report

Wow. Here's a pic Tony sent me of the new bass drum. Very different look on the lugs from other Po' Boy stuff. I like it a lot, and look at that grain. Once you see this with the rims and heads and the toms, you'll drool. I'm so stoked about this. This is the new line and I guess I'll be premiering it next weekend... in what I'm told is going to be a good sized turn out. Hey, no pressure! Damn that's a beautiful drum!

New Kit

Okay, here's the fininsh I'm getting on my new kit. This is a birch/maple hybrid with natural finish.

The bass drum will be virgin, i.e. no tom mount on it. The rack toms will be on seperate stands so that I can change configurations easily to accomodate various canon and fugue ideas. The 20" kick should bring everything down a little bit for ease of movement while still providing a good bottom end. I'm told it should be ready in time for my clinic. Fingers crossed.

The sizes are:

20 x 18 kick, 10 lug

8 x 8 rack, 4 lug

10 x 8 rack, 6 lug

12 x 9 rack, 6 lug

14 x 12 rack, 8 lug

16 x 16 floor, 8 lug

14 x 5.5 snare, 8 lug

If You Have Ears To Hear

I was wathching Terry Bozzio play The Black Page on the new Zappa Plays Zappa DVD and, lo and behold, I noticed that he had earplugs in. Not in-ear monitors, but orange, squishy, foam, industrial variety earplugs. This warms my heart. I have been playing in bands and attending concerts for thirty years and I have no significant hearing loss and I do not have tinnitus. I attribute this to the practice of always wearing ear protection. I always practice with either earplugs or isolation headphones. Whenever I go to a club or a concert I bring earplugs just in case. You can never tell how loud things are going to get. I buy the Aero classic earplugs in boxes of 200 pairs through Amazon.com for $20 a box. I encourage my students to wear them too.

Tiki Man

If you don't have one of these, you should probably think about getting one. It's very Prog. When you push the button, the little Tiki Man pounds on the little plastic animal skulls in a kind of pagan island love groove that's simultaneously invigorating and annoying. If you have small children in the house, they will ceaselessly delight in pushing the little guy's button every chance they get. You will become so irritated with Tiki Man that you will probably remove his batteries. But every now and then, when no one is around, you will put the batteries back in and push Tiki Man's button. You will be enthralled by his rhythmic abandon.

Marty's Mystery Snare

Wow, check this out. My friend Marty, father of one of my students, had this snare that he got from his grandfather. I don't even know what this is except that it's obviously a very old piccolo with sixteen lugs and a wooden shell. Marty had it repaired recently and he sent me these pics. It looks gorgeous. I'm hoping he'll let me play it sometime and maybe even let me use it on a recording. Peace, Marty!

Thumb Ring

I went to the Scottish Highland Games in Phoenix Arizona (he he, that's funny). I saw a lot of kilts. I drank some beer. Some burly guys threw telephone poles around. I got a thumb ring (it could be worse) from a tatoo'ed wench dressed like a renaissance prostitute. My wife didn't mind. So, if you were ever wondering about it... no, it really doesn't interfere with the drumming at all, providing it's loose enough. What it does interfere with is opening beer bottles. I find I have to take it off when I want to twist off a lid.

Random Studio Pic

This is my teaching studio. On the left is a six piece Po' Boy birch kit. On the right is a four piece 1967 Ludwig with a maple picolo snare. Between them is a music stand with the book Fundamental Studies for the Snare Drum by Garwood Whaley. On the far right are a bunch of drum cases. Between the sets is a little table with two pairs of isolation headphones. There is often a cup of coffee on the same little table. Sometimes there is a glass of Jack Daniel's on the little table, but only when the little students aren't there taking their little drum lessons. There is cardboard covering the window because I am Nosferatu and I fear the light of day. In the picture at the top of my blog (the blog profile picture) is a low budget Pearl Export with a pair of Reme Roto Toms. I don't really use that one any more. Wanna buy it?

Happy Butt

Ahhhhh....! My butt is very happy now for I just purchased a new ergonomic pneumatic Roc-n-Soc drum throne. Not just any drum throne, this baby features a big cushy padded saddle seat AND a fancy little lever on the side for to give you a happy ride up and down. Oh the myriad blessings of a truly comfortable drum throne. My butt is filled wity joy.