Random thoughts from a random drummer
Forum
Pandemic Drumming Update
Thanks for the Donations
Slingerland, World Max, Wuhan, Attack, Cannon product
Forum on NotSoModernDrummer.com?
I don’t trust Facebook. I won’t go into the whys and wherefores of that but the short answer is that the gobs and gobs of drum info/photos/communications/conversations that I and others have “stored” on FB pages/groups/forums for two decades is not safe there. I have no control over it, can’t search it adequately, can’t tag it or categorize it, no way to hard copy, etc. Not to mention the privacy issues of my personal info and the cesspool of political and racial hatred that FB has become. I also predict that FB will go the way of myspace or be majorly hacked at some point. But, the reason I mention this is because I want to start a forum on Not So Modern Drummer’s website that is more user friendly for the drummer community. The free software that was available when I tried to start a forum earlier this decade was not up to par but there are good free forum platforms now. If successful, I could migrate the FB Vintage and Custom Drums group and other groups to it. Before I commit to this (like I really need another ball to juggle) I am assessing the demand for an audience for this forum and I also would need a core group of NSMD’ers to help me get this jump started. Please reply to this email or email me at George@notsomoderndrummer.com if you want to participate in any way.
Pandemic Drumming Update:
My gig with the FreeWorld Band started up again in June, after being off since the middle of March. We are playing our regular Friday and Saturday night gig at the venerable Rum Boogie Café on Beale Street here in Memphis Tennessee. I’m glad to be back playing but it’s weird. We are playing early evening 7-10 instead of 9 to 1. We had to downsize the band a bit because we have too many members (8) to fit on the stage at 6 feet apart. I walk into the gig with a mask and only take it off when I’m behind the drums. We have to be 15 feet from the audience, so the dance floor is closed and customers are not supposed to walk around with drinks. Anyone walking around must have masks. People cannot stand at the bar. Our pay was reduced just a bit but that was offset by free food and drinks. Attendance? In June and July it was down 80-90%. I remember one night where our first set was played to no one but the bartenders and waitresses. A typical night was 2 -6 people at the start of the gig. Then we would end up with 20 people by the end of the final set. Before the pandemic, we were used to walking in to this night club at 8:30 with a packed house of 200 people waiting to hear this particular 34 years old band! Quite a change. It has picked up lately. I would say attendance is now at 25% of what it was before. But the people are enjoying the music and we are enjoying playing. It’s more of a concert than a party.
The band’s Sunday late night gig at Blues City Café has been stopped since March and we are awaiting further notice on that one. My Saturday and Sunday church gigs never stopped. We were doing video streaming for a while but in-church services/with streaming started back this summer with very limited attendance.
I did start teaching in person at Memphis Drum Shop in July, with masks, social distancing and sanitizer in place. My friend, owner Jim Pettit, took advantage of the down time in the spring to install silent stroke heads and low volume cymbals on the kits in the three studios, and did a little redecorating with new brighter paint, and installed big mirrors in front of and to the side of each kit. He also put in some new very heavily padded thrones in the rooms. It’s a pleasure teaching in those well equipped studios. Thanks, Jim.
What’s your gig situation like? Please let me know in the comments below.
I’m still in self-imposed lockdown except for those weekend gigs. Georgetta and I occasionally go out to eat at restaurants where we can sit outside or VERY safely social distance from other diners. We both still work from home.
Donations
I want to shout out and thank some people who have recently donated to Not So Modern Drummer via Paypal and Patreon;
-Samuel Pascal donated $25 via Paypal.
-Doug Brucher, who donated $50 on paypal, says, “George, I appreciate all your work. The beat goes on ! Keep at it buddy ! Doug Brucher”.
-Joseph Bonnville donated $15 via Patreon.
-Guy Story signed up for a $5 monthly donation via Patreon in June and
-Mark Drury signed up for a $5 monthly monthly donation in May.
Thanks, Y’all! These donations and the small amount of advertising revenue we have really helps to offset the cost of keeping NSMD online and in your email inbox.
Drum Building parts and drum accessories
IN my drum shop and drum building businesses, I have had decades long relationships with two very established drum manufacturing and distribution companies: WorldMaxUSA and Cardinal Percussion (formerly Universal Percussion). Though I don’t run a drum shop anymore, I am resuming sales of their products via Not So Modern Drummer and DrumSellers.com. All these companies will drop ship directly to you at no extra charge and I can meet other dealer’s prices.
Cardinal Percussion (formerly Universal Percussion)
I am a dealer for all of the products that were manufactured and/or distributed by Universal Percussion: Attack Drum Heads, Wuhan Cymbals, and Cannon parts. Jim Bickley, who was vice president of Univeral Percussion bought the product assets of the business and rebranded it as Cardinal Percussion. I personally like the line of Attack heads that were the Terry Bozzio models, which use the same Dupont Mylar film that Remo does. They have added a two ply model similar to the Remo Emperor heads. Here is a list of a many of the Cardinal Products that I sell:
BOOKS:
ALFRED PUBLISHING
HAL LEONARD PUBLISHING
JOEL ROTHMAN PUBLICATIONS
LUDWIG MASTERS PUBLISHING
MEL BAY PUBLISHING
TRY PUBLISHING
BUCKAROO CLEANER
CARDINAL PACKAGED ACCESSORIES (formerly CANNON brand)
COLOR STICKS BY PERFETKION
DANMAR PERCUSSION
DRUM DOTS
EVANS DRUM HEADS
FIRESTIX
GROOVE JUICE
HOLZ
INNOVATIVE PERCUSSION
KELLER HOOPS & SHELLS
KICKPORT
LUG LOCK
PROMARK
PROMUCO PERCUSSION (John Bonham drum sticks)
PURESOUND
REAL FEEL
REGAL TIP
SOUND OFF
TUNE-BOT
VATER
VIC FIRTH
WUHAN CYMBALS AND GONGS
I will be listing a few of these products on DrumSellers.com. If you have any questions about any of the products above, I can send you prices and information.
WorldMaxUSA drum building parts: I am a dealer for all WorldMaxUSA products including all their drum building shells and metal parts, and the Black Dawg line of snare drums. Please visit www.WorldMaxUSA.com to see their impressive inventory of products. Contact me for prices on any items.
Slingerland parts from the nineties:
I recently visited the warehouse of Slingerland parts in Jonesboro Arkansas that John Ollis bought. This inventory was bought in the Gibson bankruptcy auction and is not associated with the new DW Slingerland venture. The inventory includes parts such as lugs, strainers, hoops, stands, heads, pedals?, shells and drum finish wrap, etc. These parts are from the nineties and early 2000s era when Slingerland was based in Nashville TN and Conway Arkansas. I have access to this inventory and will publish a list in the near future of available parts. These parts are being sold as New Old Stock, not new Slingerland official parts.