Drumming 🥁🪘🪇

My newest drum set!

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In the Beginning

I first remember asking Mom if I could turn over the cooking pots on the kitchen floor and banging on them with wooden spoons! When I was about 12, Mom decided my brother and I needed to play a musical instrument. I remember going with her to a music store in town and them asking me what I wanted to play. I said, ‘Drums!’ they said, ‘No – you will learn to play the guitar because you can’t play drums by yourself’ (WTF!!!). That lasted for about two weeks before I quit and took a stand. Eventually, they broke down, and I got a set of Sears drums for Christmas.

Our first performance took place in my garage one evening when my parents were out. I vividly recall a neighbor stopping by and inquiring about the source of the ‘Hawaiian’ noises.

Later, I formed a band with my neighborhood friends. We had various names, such as the Dead Peach, Dark Star, and Second Childhood. In 11th grade, my Sears set was replaced by a professional Ludwig set. It had two mounted toms, a floor tom, Zildjian hi-hats, and a couple of Zildjian cymbals. As a bonus, it came with traveling bags and a large case for the hardware and snare. I remember having a massive 24” ride and the drums had a silver sparkle finish. I ripped off the finish and replaced it with black Naugahyde. I played them with the heads off because I never knew how to tune them properly. 😆

We played anything we could, but think of a mediocre Allman Brothers garage band, and you will get the idea 😏. We played in the jazz band during my senior year as the rhythm section. We got to take a cruise ship trip and perform on it. It was a lot of fun! Our band won first place at the senior high school talent contest by playing an Allman Brothers tune. I had achieved my dream of becoming a rock star!

I graduated from community college and moved to California to pursue college. To make ends meet, I sold my drums. I was broke and didn’t want to lug a set around in college. Additionally, my dreams of becoming a rock and roll star faded away, 🤣. I always thought I’d return to them someday, but I always kept a pair of sticks and a practice pad!

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Some Years Later

In 1997, while residing in Atlanta, I purchased a new set of Ludwig drums featuring a natural Maple finish and Zildjian cymbals. Remarkably, it’s the same basic set that I used in high school! After a prolonged hiatus of over two decades, I decided to resume playing the drums. One significant regret in my life is that I didn’t continue playing, but gradually, over the past two decades, I’ve finally improved to the point where I can at least impress myself, at least 😏.

This set has undergone significant changes over the past two and a half decades! At its peak, it expanded to include bells, a gong, and timbales. However, when I downsized my home about a decade ago, I had to let go of a considerable portion of the kit. Recently, I’ve added chime cymbals, new gongs, and numerous bells and blocks to my collection.

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Current Experiences

Nearly every room in my house now has drums and other cool things to hit! Percussion can be found everywhere except in the kitchen and the bathrooms. I typically play the Gongs and Bells upon daybreak. Often, I hit the hand drums before the crack of dawn!

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Traditional Set

I’ve rebuilt a customized set of traditional drums inspired by my Ludwig set and various stick-oriented percussion instruments, cymbals, and bells. My goal with this set is to produce authentic acoustic sounds that highlight the unique. I usually play this set with rutes or brushes.

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Electronic Set

In the early 2000s, I purchased my first electronic drum set, a Roland TD-10. Over time, I acquired additional pads and incorporated various items, such as election hand drums and low-volume cymbals. A couple of years ago, I significantly upgraded my latest Roland Kit, the TD-50X. I integrated the HD-20 hand drum using a TD-6 trigger, my old TD-10 kit, and a MalletKat electronic mallet instrument to create the impressive setup I have now.

I play this through various mixers, both solo and with recorded tracks. This is the best way to hear myself when playing with records. Switching kits sounds exceptionally cool, and the samples are excellent. The newer snare, ride cymbal, and high hat have sophisticated triggers that mimic the tonal qualities of these instruments quite well. The cross stock is much improved, and the rim shots are very realistic.

Since retiring, I’ve made it a habit to play the drums at least once a day. I now consider it an essential part of my daily cardio and coordination training. The extremely bouncy heads and cymbals have significantly improved my stroke, speed, and placement accuracy.

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Hand Drums

Several years after getting the Ludwig set, I expanded into hand drumming. I got a pair of LP Congas and Bongos and a Remo Djembe. I have added a lot of hand drums since – a Meinl Talking Drum, Doumbeka, Ciuca, Wood Bongos and performance quality Bongo set, an Udu, a Remo Buffalo Drum, a Bombo, an LP Tumba Conga and newly introduced LP Bombo, a set of tabla drums, a didgeridoo, a berimbau, Mienl rainstick, and an African Log Drum. A custom-painted 18″ frame drum hangs on my wall. I have two Cajons – a Meinl acoustic and a Roland electronic.

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I have been working to build up a large set of hand drums for the past few years. The result is:

Mongo Bongo 🪘🪇

The two Roland triggers allow me to play with my feet and add instruments such as Vibraslap, Guiro & Wood Blocks. I can also play loops I create on GarageBand and Audacity. I record my real instruments and play them back electronically. Amazing what a musician can do these days to satisfy the urge to create rhythms!

The El Cajon has a variety of different Cajon and electronic sounds. I can also hit the top with a rute to get additional Cajon sounds. Very cool!

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Sonic 🔔 Energy ⚡️

I embarked on a quest a while back to discover unique percussion instruments and sound effects. What better place to showcase these treasures than my living room? My journey began over a decade ago when I first moved to Florida, where I acquired a 26” Zildjian Gong mounted on a custom-made mahogany stand. Accompanying it were some bells. Since then, I’ve been on a mission to find the extraordinary, seeking out instruments that exude a certain aesthetic. My current collection boasts five gongs and an eclectic assortment of other unique percussion pieces from various regions, including Europe, Australasia, Latin America, and Africa. 

A 26-inch Taoist Breeze Gong, strategically placed between the living room and the rest of the house, serves as a welcoming beacon for visitors.

Only the living room area not occupied by furniture or artwork from my adventures has been taken over by all manner of enlightening sounds! I usually play these when I open the blinds every morning. I wish I could say I’ve mastered playing all of them. At the very least, I can produce a noise from every one of them!

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Notes

I also have a small collection of keyboard instruments and a bass guitar that plays all the notes 😁.

• 2 1/2 octave Yamaha xylophone and 2 octave Musser bells
• Schecter Stiletto Studio-4 Bass Guitar in Mahogany & Bubinga
• Roland 5-octave Juno keyboard
• Mallet KAT

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