Drumming 🥁🪘🪇

Whacking the Triggers

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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 was in my garage one evening when my parents were gone. I remember one of the neighbors stopping by and asking where the ‘Hawaiian’ noises were coming from!

Later, I formed a band with neighborhood friends. We had various names, including the Dead Peach, Dark Star, and Second Childhood. My Sears set was replaced in 11th grade by a professional Ludwig set with two mounted toms, a floor tom, Zildjian hi-hats, and a couple of Zildjian cymbals. As a bonus, they had traveling bags and a large case for the hardware and snare. I remember I had a massive 24″ ride! They came with a silver sparkle finish, which I ripped off and replaced 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 my senior year as the rhythm section and got to take a trip on a cruise ship and play. Big fun! Our band played an Allman Brothers tune at the senior high school talent contest to win first place! Imagine that! I had achieved all I ever would as a rock star!

I graduated from community college and moved to California to attend college. I sold my drums—mostly because I was broke and needed the money, and I didn’t want to lug a set around in college. Also, my dreams of being a rock and roll star faded away 🤣. I always figured I would return to them one day, but I always had a pair of sticks and a practice pad!

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23 Years Later

In 1997, when I was living in Atlanta, I bought a new set of Ludwig drums in a natural Maple finish with Zildjian cymbals. It’s the same basic set as in high school! I started playing again after over a 20-year hiatus. One true regret in my life was that I didn’t keep playing, but slowly, over the past 20 years, I have finally gotten good enough to impress myself at least 😏.

This set has changed a lot over the past 25 years! At one point, it got quite large and included bells, a gong, and timbales. I got rid of a bunch of the kit when I downsized homes about ten years ago. I have recently added chime cymbals, new gongs, and many bells and blocks.

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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 have rebuilt a customized set of traditional drums based on my Ludwig set and many other stick-oriented percussion instruments, cymbals, and bells. With this set, I aim to produce true acoustic sounds that emphasize the unusual. I typically play this set with rutes or brushes.

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Electronic Set

In the early 2000s, I bought my first electronic drum set, a Roland TD-10. Along the way, I bought extra pads and added items like election hand drums and low-volume cymbals. I seriously upgraded the latest Roland Kit, a TD-50X, a couple of years ago. I integrated the HD-20 hand drum using a TD-6 trigger, my old TD-10 kit, and a MalletKat electronic mallet instrument to see the monster I have now.

I play this through several mixers, both solo and along with recorded tracks. This is the best way to hear myself when playing with records. Switching kit 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. Cross stock is much improved, and rim shots are very realistic.

Since I retired, I have usually played at least once a day. That and the extremely bouncy heads and cymbals have helped me develop my stroke considerably.

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

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Gongs & Bells

I have a 26″ Zildjian Gong mounted on a custom handmade mahogany stand together with some bells. A 26″ Taoist Breeze Gong is mounted above my front door to welcome visitors!

I did some custom workwood in my living room and added the capability for bells, chimes, and other unique noises for the two Gongs. Recent additions include a Merkaba Crystal, Indian Gopichand, Kolhapuri Bell Set, 2 sets of tuned bells, Meinl Wood Rattle, and a Mienl Rain Stick.

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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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