This is a 5 person mega episode all about the history of Simmons Drums, the iconic hexagonal electronic drums that changed the face of music in the 1980's. The sound, look and spirit of Simmons drums can be heard on most every recording of the 1980's across all genres including rock, pop, rap, metal, and everything in between!

(EP80 - 12/2020) Cocktail drum kits date back to post World War 2 in an orchestra pit in England where space is at a premium and the drums needed to grow taller, as opposed to wider. the "stand up drum set" evolved from there and became a staple of jazz lounges, street performers, comedy acts and many great drummers who wanted a unique look and feel to the drums they play.

Rob Hart was fortunate enough to take lessons with the great Steve Smith for over 20 years and he recorded many of them on his Sony Walkman or Steve's studio rig! Rob shares 7 great clips from his lessons with Steve Smith that cover things such as playing in odd time signatures, perfecting your hi-hat foot, maximizing time on your drum set and much more! Rob Hart has taken lessons with many great players and we will cover more on future episodes of this mini-series, but this particular episode gives you a glimpse of what it was like to take lessons with Steve Smith at his personal recording studio in the mid 1980's!

Independent Drum Lab has become one of the most innovative brands in the drum industry since its launch in 2015. Josh Allen used his Industrial Design Degree at Ludwig to create many innovative designs and products, but he then decided he wanted to go off on his own and create INDē Drums. This is a an interesting episode with a unique point of view from a truly innovative person in our industry.

John Densmore of The Doors is truly a drumming icon of the 1960's and his Ludwig Mod Orange Drum Set is just as important in the history of Rock and Roll. My guest is Kurt Ekstrom who is a diehard fan of Densmore and also extremely passionate and knowledgable about Mod Orange drums. This episode is both a look at John Densmore's life and career with The Doors and a deep dive into his drum gear. We talk various drum kits, cymbals, hardware, heads and everything along the way including Kurts hunt for what happened to the famous Mod Orange drum set!

Alfonso created and shipped the first "Acoustically Formatted Drum Kits" in 1991 which was a game changer in the electronic drum world, and helped shaped the e-drum industry since then. He has been a staple of the drum industry for over 30 decades, but flys under the radar as much of the work he has done involves triggering the drums for some of the biggest names int he drum industry. What you see on stage might not be what you are actually hearing! Al talks all about that process and many of his patents and innovations in the world of electronic drums. Al is full of interesting stories and is a very cool guy that I think everyone will learn a lot from his incredible experiences!

We live in a golden era where independent cymbal makers are creating more beautiful instruments than ever before. Timothy Roberts joins me this week to share his take on the landscape of indie Cymbalsmith's and gives us tons of great information on the the background of the current indie movement, the difference between makers, what you should be looking and listening for in a boutique cymbal, the art of modifying existing cymbals, and tons of other great info.

The history of bass drum head art dates back over a century ago when pipe bands would paint the name of their town and group on the calf skin head. This evolved over time with beautifully painted scenic paintings that were sold directly from the major manufacturers in catalogs, then drummers began adding initials and band names to the heads and the rest is history!

Part 2 covers the cymbal series including the 602's, Giant Beats, 2002, 404, 505, Signature, and many more. We discuss the USA and European distributors of Paiste Cymbals, plus the more affordable lower line cymbals that are still collectible and cymbal care and cleaning.

Pat Petrillo shares tons of great info including what it is like to be featured on the cover of Modern Drummer, his Instagram series about breaking down actual sticking of Ringo's parts, and we discuss his great new album, "The Power Station Sessions". Pat also gives us a history lesson on the nuances and differences between R&B and Funk drumming and we discuss some of the great products that he has developed for our industry over the years!

This episode is a deep dive into the nuances of collecting Vintage Paiste Cymbals with Dan Garza, a die hard Paiste enthusiast and the moderator of the Paiste section on Cymbal.Wiki. We cover everything from the different alloys that are used in production, the variations in serial numbers, production techniques, and all the cymbal lines up to the 70's (that will continue on in part 2). Dan also talks a lot about what makes Paiste so special and different from the other major cymbal manufacturers and why some lines have become so extremely valuable over the years. Stay tune for Part 2!

Anthony has been on a mission to discover as much as he can on the history of the legendary Covington era of Rogers Drums! Anthony and his Rogers friends are using state of the art techniques to test the species of each ply on various shells to determine the make up of the shells, and he is utilizing the research that the generation before him has compiled. This has allowed him to put together a comprehensive look at the Rogers drums that were made in the small town of Covington, Ohio between 1954 and 1968. This small town was producing some of the finest drums in the world at this point and was beloved by some of the greatest players in the world such as Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson!

Vincent gives us a deep dive into the history of the American made Zildjian Cymbals from 1929 up through the 1990s. We talk about all the various stamps through he generations that can be used to identify vintage A. Zildjian cymbals, along with notes on the hammering, lathing, and bell size that can help you determine collectibility and value of a vintage Zildjian cymbal. Vincent shares his 9 step process of determining if a cymbal is a good purchase which includes everything from the shape of the cymbal to the source you purchase it from, and everything in between.

Enjoy this classic episode from 2020! We are lead to believe that the bass drum pedal was invented in the USA, and that the drum set as we know it today was first created in the states - but Fritz shares examples that show many revolutionary drum inventions that were first created in Europe. We also discuss brands like Sonor, Trixon, Paiste, plus drumming and drum building in communist countries and many other great facts and stories along the way. Fritz is a veteran in the drum industry and has owned and operated DrumHouse Freiberg since 2001 in Germany. He brings a very unique knowledge base to the show and shares lots of information that I have never heard anywhere else. Check out the DrumHouse here: https://www.drumhouse.com/ Enjoy this episode!

(Part 3) Paul Wells is a Professor of Jazz Drums at Juilliard and he is also a fanatical fan of Neil Peart and his drum sets. This is part 3 of a 3 part series that covers all of the drums, cymbals, hardware, heads, and percussion that helped Neil Peart be one of the best drummers in history. This episode covers Neil's switch to DW drums, his work with Freddie Gruber, his switching to Roland V-Drums and the many iconic kits that were from the last part of his career!

Rob Birenbaum is the founder of Drum Headquarters in St. Louis, MO and HQ Percussion, which famously produced the iconic RealFeel practice pads and Sound Off drum mute pads. This is a great story of how Rob started as a salesman/drum teacher at a local Missouri drum shop and took that knowledge and created his own shop which became a dominate force in his area, and became the top Tama dealer in the state in the 1980's. Rob then took advantage of a business deal that made him the owner of what became RealFeel practice pads. It was not an easy road though, Rob had to spend lots of money and time to get the pad dialed in to be what became the famous octagonal pad. He later sold the company to D'Addario and learned many valuable lessons about business.

(Part 2) Paul Wells is a Professor of Jazz Drums at Juilliard and he is also a fanatical fan of Neil Peart and his drum sets. This is part 2 of a 3 part series that covers all of the drums, cymbals, hardware, heads, and percussion that helped Neil Peart be one of the best drummers in history. This episode covers Neil's introduction to electronic drums that he used with the Tama Candy Apple Red Kit and throughout his career, his love of samples, his evolving Ludwig white, blue, and black kits, and info on his personal small Gretsch kit he used at home - and much more!

Paul Wells is a Professor of Jazz Drums at Juilliard and he is also a fanatical fan of Neil Peart and his drum sets. This is part 1 of a 3 part series that covers all of the drums, cymbals, hardware, heads, and percussion that helped Neil Peart be one of the best drummers in history. This episode covers Neil's very first drum set as a child, up through his iconic Candy Apple Red Tama kit that became famous as a banner hanging on drummers walls around the world.

The list of legendary drummers that played with the late Wayne Shorter is absolutely incredible. Mark Griffith takes us through each album and stage in Waynes career and which iconic drummer was involved at any given time. Just to name a few, he played with people such as Art Blakey, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Elvin Jones, Ndugu Chancler, Peter Erskine, Bryan Blade, Jeff Porcaro and that is just barely scratching the surface. Mark is the Editor in Chief and Director of Content/Education for Modern Drummer and he has tons of great first hand experiences with many of these drummers who all held Wayne Shorter in the highest regard possible.

Beginning with the Revolutionary War, we learn the role of drummers in the Military and the purpose they served as a form of communication and a way to keep the troops unified. Then we take a deep dive into the Civil War and learn all about the importance of the Fife and Drum Corp on both sides in the war that divided the country.

Bob Cianci, the author of "The Great Rock Drummers of the Sixties," takes us on a trip down memory lane to explore the iconic drummers who revolutionized the sound of rock music in the 1960s. Through fascinating anecdotes and historical insights, Cianci shares his personal experiences and extensive research on drumming legends such as Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Charlie Watts, and many others. I gained a newfound appreciation for the crucial role that drummers played in shaping the sound and culture of rock music during this transformative decade from this great conversation with Bob Cianci!

Bruce Becker has written a brand book that takes the iconic "Syncopation" by Ted Reed to the next level and gives Bruce's signature teaching approach to one of the top selling drum books of all time. Bruce's new book is called "The Ultimate Guide to Syncopation: Concepts for the Development of Motion, Melody, and Independence. Bruce starts the conversation by reminiscing about his former teacher Freddie Gruber, and then we dig into the Why, What and How of creating his book and accompanying videos.

Jared Falk is the founder of Drumeo which has grown to be one of the top platforms for online education in the world. Drumeo is not only a great source of online education on drumeo.com, but the brand is also a giant across social media and YouTube as with millions of subscribers and followers. Drumeo has changed the way online lessons are presented and is responsible for creating countless new drummers which helps our entire industry grow. Jared and I discuss his early beginnings with filming lessons on his families farm, utilizing the internet to sell lessons on eBay, and then taking full advantage of YouTube to explode onto the scene and become the Drumeo we know today.

Rob Leytham uses Neuro-Rhythmic Trauma Therapy to help children regulate their emotions with the power of drumming. He uses brain science and his 35 years of drum teaching skills to help kids avoid the normal punishments and suspensions that they would normally face. Not only is his classroom full of Djembes and percussion instruments, but Rob's passion has spread to the entire faculty at Ridgeview where many teachers use percussion to help calm troubled students and the impact has been enormous. Rob has now expanded to traveling around the country to speak about the power of drumming to help regulate kids who need help.

ASBA Drums is an iconic French drum brand that dates back to 1927 with a very interesting history. Damo and Saúl share the full story of this brand which began as just an accessory company, and grew to be a fully formed drum brand that made literally everything in house. They created drum heads, they had a foundry and made all the hardware and metal drum shells and the wood shells and everything else along the way. The company had a great long run but unfortunately went out of business in the 1980's. Fortunately though, the brand is back alive as of 2017 with a whole new lease on life and is making the same great quality drums that they are known for, including the iconic Caroline bass drum pedal.