So, it was suggested to me that I should start a blog to keep a record of all the zany things that happen in the course of my travels as a drummer, drum tech*, drum writer**, drum builder, drum consultant, and soon-to-be drum documentary film maker. My drum saga is epic, dear reader, but I won't bore you with the specifics... yet! Right now I'm just gonna see if I can post a pic from a job I did last weekend.
Right on!! It worked! I don't know about all y'all, but I get downright tumescent when I look at a well set up drum kit. There's a certain balance... Takes me back to my youth, circa 1974, sitting in Detroit's Cobo Hall, 12th row, waiting for The Faces to take the stage. Kenny Jones' kit is proudly perched at center stage, partially obscured by the billowing smoke of the sweet-leaf being torched by the many slack-jawed "freaks" in anticipation of the moment when the house lights will dim and Rod Stewart and the lads will jauntily rock-jog onto the stage, sit down at the drums, strap on their git-boxes, grab the microphone, and commence to ROCK. The red crystal lights of the Fender amps, the spinning Leslie speaker, the preliminary tap, tap, tap of the snare drum - all these sights and sounds are burned into my mind like a tatoo. Made quite a big impression on me. You can substitute The Who, Bowie, Zeppelin, P McC and Wings, Johnny Winter, Frampton, Queen, Mountain, and J Geils for the Faces, it doesn't really matter. It was the sense of expectation followed quickly by the rush of energy and the whoosh of sound that hooked me. I memorized those stages, especially the drums. I knew I wanted to live in that world, breathe that air, rock that frickin' crowd! That adolescent dream of mine was strong enough to become a reality a quarter century later. I have played on some of those same stages and worked in some of the same studios as my idols did so many years ago. Sometimes, when I get together with the two childhood friends of mine who also landed in this meshuganah buisness we call "Music", we will reminisce about those days of old and then laugh in amazement that we have somehow carved out a livelyhood doing what we dreamed of doing when we were 13. I hope I never grow up from being that kid sitting in the audience, waiting for the band to start playing.
* A "Drum Tech" is basically someone who tunes drums for studio and stage work. I maintain a large collection of vintage, custom, and current drums that I use for studio gigs as a Drum Tech. More on this later...
** As a "Drum Writer" I've written three books about drums, drummers, and music history. I also write for two drum magazines: DRUM! (in the US), and Rhythm (in the UK)
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