Drum History

A podcast all about the rich history of the drums - and how they became what they are today! Join Bart van der Zee as he speaks with experts about the curious journey of the ever-evolving drum set.

Music
Music History
History
126
Collectors Spotlight with Terry Keating (Bonzol...
This is a fun conversation with Youtube legend Terry Keating (aka Bonzoleum) about how his long history of collecting drums and tips and tricks he has learned along the way, He is known for his passion and knowledge about John Bonham, but Terry is also extremely knowledgable about a wide range of vintage and not so vintage drums. He is a genuinely nice guy who has worked very hard on building his 61k subscriber YouTube channel and it was a lot of fun to talk to Terry about his personal collecting and pick his brain about a ton of topics.
82 min
127
How the Drum Industry Works with John DeChristo...
John worked for Zildjian for 24 years in a number of roles from artist relations all the way up to vice president of the company. I asked him to teach me how the industry works, and he did a great job of breaking down many roles in the drum world and how they all work together. John has personally worked with brands like Simmons, DW, and Zildjian - but these positions and roles are typically industry wide. This is a good way to learn about how it all works if you are interested in a career, but it is also a fun look at how the brands we all love work.
68 min
128
The John Bonham Episode with George Fludas
George Fludas is a Bonzo fanatic who shares his immense knowledge about John Bonham including a biography of the iconic Zeppelin drummer, a discussion of his touring years with Zep, and a look at what we do and don't know about his famous gear. This is a very long awaited episode that I have wanted to do for a long time and I am very happy that George came on to share a very respectful and interesting look at the favorite drummer of many drummers around the world.
100 min
129
A Look at Billy Gladstone with Chet Falzerano a...
Billy Gladstone was a legendary performer and the maker of some of the rarest drums in existence with only 61 snare drums and 2 drum sets that are still known to be among us today. Chet Falzerano provides a fascinating biography of Billy and tons of info that is only available from his extensive research he did for his book on Gladstone. This episode also features a short interview segment with the owner of the one of the two Gladstone drum sets that still exists - David Wood. He shares the story of how he acquired the kit from Chet and the very cool thing he is going to do with this holy grail kit.
73 min
130
Ted Reed Bio (Syncopation) & 2021 Wrap Up
This is a quick episode where Bart shares a short biography of "Syncopation" author, Ted Reed, and discusses some Drum History Pod info about things that are coming up!
18 min
131
The Snare Drums of Buddy Rich with Tommy Piorek
Tommy teaches us about his amazing period correct collection of snares that Buddy Rich played spanning his career from 1950 to the early 1980's! We dig deep into 15 specific snare drums including Buddy's famous relationship with the forbidden Fibes snare drum that he loved so much, his wood DynaSonic, his on/off relationships with Slingerland and Ludwig, and of course - Buddy playing Trixon! Tommy Piorek is a Buddy RIch expert and has a number of rare Buddy Rich collectibles - but this collection of snare drums was something truly special. This is a great episode that has tons of great Buddy stories and lots of information I haven't heard anywhere else!
71 min
132
Backbeat Drumming in the 40's and 50's with Jas...
Jason Gianni shares audio examples from artists including Fats Domino, Elvis, Ray Charles, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and many more that showcase the evolution of rock drumming from the 1940's to the 1960's. We discuss the drumming of these great artists plus Jason plays examples on his own kit! Jason is an instructor at the Drummers Collective in NYC and a professor at the New School in NYC and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and most importantly - he played drums on the "SpongeBob Squarepants" theme :) He has great knowledge on how rock and roll slowly but steadily evolved from one recording to the next and how it was a process of building that led to modern rock and roll as we know it today.
64 min
133
Drumming Through The Decades with Vicky O'Neon
Vicky teaches us the history of female drummers through the decades in this very in-depth episode that begins 2000 years ago when all the drummers in society were women! Vicky O'Neon is a great drummer, educator, and YouTuber who has created an amazing 12. part series that she was kind of enough to condense all that information in this fun episode. Female drummers have faced countless hardships through the decades but the thing that really struck me in this episode is how unbelievably persistent, hardworking, and talented they are despite all the struggles. We live in a great time now where things have gotten much better but it has been a long and fascinating journey that Vicky expertly teaches.
101 min
134
The History of Corder Drums with Don Corder
Corder Drums was born in 1979 when Jim Corder purchased the Fibes manufacturing equipment from C.F. Martin after they decided to no longer be in the drum business. My guest is Don Corder, Jim's son, was an employee since day one and helped his dad and brothers learn on the fly and create a drum brand that is now a part of the history of the instrument. Not only is this a great story because of the Fibes and Darwin drums connection, but it is a wonderful story of a family working together to make Jim Corders dreams a reality.
48 min
135
The History of Paiste (Part 2) with Dan Garza
This is the second in our two part series that covers the history of Paiste Cymbals. We pick up in the 1970's when 2002's were king and all the famous European rock bands were representing Paiste. The company also lost its distribution deal with Ludwig in the early 70's and had a period of about 4 or 5 years where distribution in America was slim to none - until Rogers picked up the slack and began selling Paiste's state-side. This and much much more is discussed in this episode, plus Dan corrects a few things from the first episode that came to light in the short time between us recording these two shows.
77 min
136
The History of Paiste (Part 1) with Dan Garza
This is an in-depth look at the fascinating history of one of the biggest names in cymbal making - Paiste! Dan is an expert on the history of the company and teaches us the origin story that dates back to the turn of the century in Estonia with the Paiste family up to the 1970's when Paiste was being played by some of the biggest names in the industry including John Bonham, Joe Morello, Carmine Appice and many more. Part 2 will pick up where this episode leaves off with the 70's rock explosion.
96 min
137
A Look at Basel Drumming with Edith Habraken
Edith teaches us about the amazing drumming culture in Basel Switzerland and the unique style of drumming that the region has made famous. We talk about the construction of the Basler drums and the history of the clubs and traditions that created this unique environment. Edith is a legend in the Basel drumming community and is a great ambassador to the region.
44 min
138
The History of Kent Drums with Dennis Brown (Mo...
The story of Kent Drums is a tale of the American dream as a family travels from Poland to America in the 1940's and starts a drum company that is created to make affordable drums for people who cant afford the big brands. My guest Dennis Brown aka Mouse, is the author of "History of the Kent Drum Company 1946-1977" and is an absolute expert on Kent with first hand information from his interviews with William and Edward Kent. Mouse has a great reason to be connected to the drum brand which you'll hear towards the end of the episode.
65 min
139
Bringing Rudiments to the Drum Kit with Jim Clark
Jim Clark is a 57 year veteran of the drums and an expert at applying traditional rudiments to the drum set for an everyday rock/jazz drummer (like myself). We discuss how drummers like Steve Gadd, Billy Cobham, Elvin Jones and many more are masters of the rudimental method, and how they apply it to commercial music without sounding like a traditional marching band drummer. Jim is a educator, historian, performer and author of books such as "Connecticut's Drum & Fife Tradition" and the brand new "Ten Pieces for Field Drums".
61 min
140
A Look at the Punk D-Beat with Spike T. Smith
D-Beat is a very specific beat that is used in punk music starting in the early 80's in the UK that then grew into its own style of the genre. My guest is Spike T. Smith who is a veteran punk drummer who came up in the D-Beat era of punk in the the UK and has played with greats such as Morrissey, The Damned, Killing Joke, New York Dolls, Steve Ignorant/Crass, Sona Fariq and Sacrilege. He created a great documentary about the history of the D-Beat and he shares the full story with us in this episode!
50 min
141
The Biography of Mitch Mitchell with Kevin John...
Mitch Mitchell was a successful child star on BBC before he ever became a drummer, then he changed gears to become a drummer full time and had a gold record with Jimi Hendrix by the time he was 20. This is an amazingly in-depth look at the life of one of the most swinging rock drummers that ever sat behind the kit. My guest is Major Kevin John Simon who is the founder of the very successful Mitch Mitchell Fan Club. He is an absolute expert on Mitch, his kits, and every important milestone of his prolific career,
105 min
142
A Look at Nelson Drum Shop with Bryson Nelson
Bryson Nelson has created a shop that not only is a mecca for vintage drum lovers, but also a place where drummers of all levels can come and enjoy the community that is very unique to our drum world. He shares the story of how he started his shop and the joys and pressures that comes along with starting a brand from scratch, Bryson has a very young family and has been dealing with health issues that has been pulling him away from his shop recently, while simultaneously he is expanding into a much bigger shop in East Nashville - enjoy this episode!
47 min
143
Desert Island Drums with Bob Henrit
Bob is a world class collector who has been a drummer in bands such as the Kinks. The Daybreakers, Argent and worked as a session/live drummer with musicians like Roger Daltrey and Don McLean. When he wasn't on stage, Bob was visiting mom and pop music stores across the world trying to find rare and unique drums and take them back home to the UK. Bob shares his "Desert Island Drums" that are his absolute favorites and most important to him in his extensive career. This episode is chocked full of rare and unique information from a living legend.
67 min
144
The History of French Drumming with Josh Harmon
66 min
145
A Look At Bearing Edges with Jeff Kirsch
Jeff is a great drum builder in Portland, Oregon who has a deep understanding of bearing edges and drum building in general. He spends majority of this episode discussing everything you need to know to understand how edges work, but we also talk about wood plys and other great information throughout.
70 min
146
Louie Bellson and Tuxedo Bags with Ron Weinstein
Ron Weinstein had a 40 year relationship with Louie Bellson and was the inventor of the iconic Tuxedo Bags. He shares the story of how he created the bags which revolutionized drum cases in the 1980's, and how his friend Louie Bellson rocketed his brand forward by attaching Louies celebrity to the brand . The best part is that Louie didn't ask for a dime and Ron tells many great stories that paint picture of how much of a gentleman the drumming legend really was. This is real drumming history that is not widely known, enjoy this great drum history!
58 min
147
A Look At Animal Skin Drumheads with Jeff Stern
Jeff Stern owns and operates Stern Tanning Co. which acquired the United Rawhide Company of Chicago in 2001 - the former largest manufacturer or drumheads in the world before mylar became king. United Rawhide was the primary drumhead provider for Slingerland, Gretsch, Rogers, and Ludwig. Jeff teaches us the start to finish process of how a tannery works and creates high quality drumheads, plus lots of great information about how, when, and why you would want to use a calf or goat skin drumhead.
57 min
148
Can You Copyright A Drumbeat? with Kurt Dahl
Kurt is a drumming entertainment lawyer who breaks down the age old question - can you copyright a drumbeat? We discuss famous songs like "We Will Rock You", "Billy Jean", When The Levee Breaks", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", and many more. Kurt also tells us how song credits work and how we can protect ourselves and get what we deserve as drummers plus tons of other great information. Kurt is the drummer for the very successful rock group, One Bad Son, and has some serious real world experience with his own band and many of his high level clients.
63 min
149
The History of Fibes Drums with Tommy Robertson
Tommy has been the owner of Fibes Drums since 1994, and he is the perfect person to tell us about the history of this iconic brand that dates back to 1965. They are very sought after and beloved drums that are the gem of many collections and we learn about the different eras and owners of the brand. They pushed forward both the technology of Fiberglass drums and Acrylic drums which helped shape the sound of drummers of the 60's, 70,s 80's through to today.
63 min
150
The Science of Why We Love Drums with Dr. Krist...
War drums, Primate communication, Indigenous peoples' sacred instruments, and hippie drum circles! Kristen tells us why we are hard wired to love the drums the way we do through her in-depth scientific research that begins 7000 years ago with the earliest drum and ends up today with blistering heavy metal drummers using the primal rhythms to make us feel the fear that our early ancestors felt. This is a really unique episode with a great perspective from a non-drummer who can help shed some knowledge on why we love this great instrument!
52 min