You may have noticed that there was no issue last month, so this is the combined November/December 1920 issue. Why? Because I had a bout with Covid 19 starting in the second week of November. For two weeks it knocked me flat on my back with horrible symptoms like debilitating fatigue, brain fog, no appetite/taste/smell, weight loss and the runs. Then it took another week or so to get my strength back. I couldn’t go back to work or play drums until the beginning of December. The health department and doctors tell me mine was a mild to moderate case. I don’t think I would have survived a severe case. Fortunately it did not attack any of my pre-existing medical conditions. It’s not a hoax. A hoax doesn’t kill 325,000+ U.S. citizens in less than a year. It’s a nasty and unpredictable bug, so do anything and everything you can to avoid it in the air and on surfaces: mask up, social distance, wash your hands, avoid gatherings and avoid the mask-less. Get the vaccine. You know the drill. Better safe than sorry. There is no cure yet. I hope you don’t get it. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Stay vertical.
*There were several articles submitted and several regular features that didn’t make it into this issue. I ran out of time. I’ll get to them next month. I did finally complete Mark Cooper’s article on Leedy Strainers that was started in August.
A couple of new features were added over the last two months.
*George’s Picks that is about my favorite new and old instruments and drum gear that I recommend to fellow drummers.
*VintageDrumReference.com, was added to the resources link on the NSMD site: Adam Kozie’s site that was created to share information about the minutiae of vintage drums and parts. And another site added in in resources-
*Gideon Waxman’s DrumHelper.com has a lot of information about many aspects of drumming and a great article titled The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Recording Drums, a very thorough tutorial with great videos and pics.
If you haven’t checked out DrumSellers.com recently, you will be pleasantly surprised. It is growing by leaps and bounds. Lots of new listings from drum shops and well known manufacturers. The industry is finally catching on to the value of a niche marketplace with a captive audience of nothing but drummers.
*Explorer’s Percussion
*Daytona Beach Drum Shop
*A&F Drums is listing their new nickel plated hardware stands and clamps. Read Bob Campbell’s review of A&F in this issue.
*TRX Cymbals is listing their unique hand crafted Turkish cymbals
*Drum Builder Sam Singletary has listed some of his excellent snare drums and raw shells.
We are always looking for new writers. If you are interested in writing an article or two, or even a regular column, please submit them to us. If you can write on Facebook about drums, you can do it here too. The difference is Facebook is ephemeral, while NSMD is an institution. Your writing won’t get lost in the feed here.