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.
The History of Baldman Percussion with Mike Mck...
Baldman Percussion hit the drum scene in 2018 and took the industry by storm with the Junk Hat! In 6 short years, they have become 2x NAMM best in show winners, created products that are beloved by drummers such as Travis Barker, Matt Chamberlain and Thomas Pridgen, and had a great time doing it.
58 min
2
Cheers to 6 Years of Drum History Podcast!
Thanks to everyone for listening, watching, and supporting the show over the years! Drum History has been an absolute pleasure every step of the way and I am excited to keep learning about the history of the drums!
6 min
3
The Gear of Nicko McBrain (Part 2) with Shane K...
Nicko McBrain is the power behind Iron Maiden and one of the most iconic drummers of all time. Shane Kinney joins me back on the show to share his immense knowledge of Nicko's drums, cymbals, hardware, heads, and accessories. In part 2, we cover his switch to from Sonor to Premier drums, Vic Firth, DW Pedals, and so much more. Nicko had a brief and wonderful return to Sonor drums in the 2010's, but it was not meant to be - he was drawn to the incredible British Drum Co. because of the amazing sound of the drums and his love for everything English!
104 min
4
The Gear of Nicko McBrain (Part 1) with Shane K...
Nicko McBrain is the power behind Iron Maiden and one of the most iconic drummers of all time. Shane Kinney joins me on the show to share his immense knowledge of Nicko's drums, cymbals, hardware, heads, and accessories. We cover his first six Sonor drum sets all the way up to the messy end of the relationship, which left Nicko so angry that he immediately ended his decade-long partnership with Sonor! Part 2 will pick up with his switch to Premier drums in the next episode.
94 min
5
Talking Drums, King Gizzard, and Inspiration wi...
Cav's and I chatted before the King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard concert on 08/25/24 in Newport Ky. We discuss his inspirations, his current set up (C&C and Dream Cymbals), King Gizzard, and his solo projects. Cav's is one of my favorite drummers so this was an absolute honor to speak with him and see the show up from the side of the stage.
19 min
6
The Celebrity Drum Dealer with Donn Bennett
Donn Bennett is one of the foremost dealers of rare and celebrity drum sets in the world! He shares with us how he got into this unique profession, some of his most biggest success stories, and many lessons that he has learned along the way over his 30+ year career. Donn has also built a reputation for himself as being the go-to dealer for the biggest bands in the world who want to liquidate warehouses full of collections. He shares an amazing story about how Aerosmith called him to clear out a HUGE warehouse full of equipment, and how he had to trust his gut and take on the biggest collection he had every purchased. After he did that, even more doors opened and he still continues to grow to this day.
64 min
7
The Studio Drums of Lars Ulrich (Part 2) with C...
The St. Anger Snare is finally figured out! Chris Russio joins me back on the podcast to do a super deep dive into all of the studio drum sets, cymbals, heads, sticks, accessories, percussion and everything else used by Lars Ulrich from 2001 to Today!
82 min
8
1000 Year Old Robotic Drummers!? Al-Jazari's 12...
In this solo episode, I take a deep dive into the 1000 year old automaton drummers that were created by 12th century Islamic inventor, Al-Jazari. These VERY early robots are amazing marvels of engineering and predominantly feature drummers who play kettle drums and cymbals to alert people in Mesopotamia (now Turkey) of the time of day with extremely elaborate clocks. These drummers are direct predecessors to modern day cars and machinery, as Al-Jazari is credited with the creation of turning rotary motion into linear motion with crank and connecting rods, which is essential for making pumps and engines possible. Basically, drummers are at the core of the history of everything :)
8 min
9
The Studio Drums of Lars Ulrich (Part 1) with C...
Chris Russio joins me back on the podcast to do a super deep dive into all of the studio drum sets, cymbals, heads, sticks, accessories, percussion and everything else used by Lars Ulrich from 1982 to 2001! We talk about all of the earliest known recordings of Metallica on his Camco drum set, through all the Tamas, the famous Sabian HiHats, and the iconic Black Album Gretsch drums, up to Load/Reload/Garage Inc. Part 2 will cover St. Anger through to today!
83 min
10
Why Do Drum Brands Sound Different? with Jeff K...
Jeff Kirsch teaches us the real reason why the biggest drum brands in the world sound different from each other, and in some cases, why they sound exactly the same. We discuss brands such as Ludwig, Gretsch, Leedy, Tama, Camco, DW, just to name a few. We talk about the different shell constructions, ply counts, use of re-rings, rise of Japanese builders and the fall and resurrection of the great American brands and a whole lot more!
91 min
11
The Drum Gear of Primus with Tim "Herb" Alexander
Tim "Herb" Alexander joins me on the show to discuss his iconic drum sets that were used in classic Primus music videos such as Jerry Was A Race Car Driver, My Name is Mud, John The Fisherman, Wynona Big Brown Beaver, DMV and much more!
50 min
12
The HUGE Alex Van Halen Auction with Kurt Ekstrom
Alex Van Halen is auctioning off hundreds of unbelievable items that have never been seen by public eyes, plus some of his most iconic drum sets that he played with Van Halen. Kurt Ekstrom joins me back on the podcast to look through this incredible auction and dissect tons of these rare items. Kurt covered all of AVH's career on the podcast last year and this dovetails perfectly with that episode and answers many questions that Kurt and I had with that original series!
73 min
13
A Look at the Gear of Danny Seraphine with Tate...
"Danny Seraphine is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted, world-famous original drummer of Chicago. Tate Berkey has been researching Danny's gear for the last year and has compiled an exhaustive look at all things Danny Seraphine. We cover his earliest drum kits, his time with Slingerland drums, his Zildjian endorsements, and then his switch to Yamaha and DW. Danny is a consummate gearhead and loved to experiment with different sizes, configurations, especially the use of concert toms.
152 min
14
The Lessons of Robbie Gonzalez with Rob Hart
Rob Hart takes us through audio clips of his former mentor and teacher Robbie Gonzalez which gives us first hand knowledge and ideas of this great mind of drumming. Robbie Gonzalez was a Berklee professor, prolific recording artist, and performed with greats like Al Di Meola. This episode features many great recordings of Robbie performing live and also working in the lesson room with Rob Hart. This is a continuation of the "mentors series" that Rob has been doing here on Drum History Podcast. The other episodes include clips with Mike Clark, Steve Smith, Tony Williams and more to come.
66 min
15
The History of Recording Drums with Jay Petach
Jay Petach takes us through the history of recording technology, dating back to the 1800s with early tech such as the Phonograph, Edison's Cylinders, and everything that led up to the eventual use of magnetic tape followed by computers, which allowed for multi-track recording of musicians as we know it today. Jay teaches us how drummers used to be "mixed" by placing them in the back of the room, how a full drum kit (plus a band) would be recorded on a 2-track system, the rise of gates, reverbs, and effects on drums, and so much more!
55 min
16
New Temporary Schedule and New Studio!
Hey everyone! I am launching a temporary bi-weekly show schedule with two new episodes per month. We are currently in the midst of an attic renovation which has bumped me out of my normal Drum History Studio for the next month or two. It has been chaos recently with having a newborn and i've got some new stuff going on with traveling to California for work but this has pushed things a bit over the edge where scheduling has been very tricky.
5 min
17
Ellis Tollin: Drumming's Unsung Legend with Ant...
Ellis Tollin is a world class performer who played on hit records, started a very successful music store in Philadelphia called Music City which hosted countless performances of greats such as Louie Bellson, Max Roach, Art Blakey, and many more. Ellis is known as being the father of the Drum Clinic, and he was also close personal friends with Buddy Rich. This episode shines a light on his rise as a performer at the peak of the Jazz explison, his need to pivot after arthritis made his drumming career come to an end, his involvement with the Rogers Drum Company and the Dyna-Sonic snare and his passionate feud with William F. Ludwig.
65 min
18
The Budget Guide to "Sleeper" Drum Gear with Ge...
Gerry shares with us drums and cymbals that are often overlooked and under marketed, but sound just as good as the equipment that is 10x the price. "Sleeper Gear" by definition is drum gear that you might walk right past at a music store or never even consider trying, when in reality it sounds great and can be found at a bargain price.
64 min
19
(The Vault) The History of Gretsch Drums with J...
(First Aired Feb 2019) "That Great Gretsch Sound" has been around since 1883, join me as I talk with John Sheridan about the full history of this iconic company!
53 min
20
Drums & Demons: The Tragic Journey of Jim Gord...
Jim Gordon went from being the first call drummer of his generation who played on hundreds of hit records, to becoming a victim of the chemicals in his brain that caused him to murder his mother in a schizophrenic episode. Joel Selvin describes his Jim Gordon's life and his book perfectly with this description: "The blazing rock opera of the greatest drummer of all-time, Jim Gordon, from the legendary Wrecking Crew to redefining rock on the Seventies’ biggest hits and outrageous tours, and ultimately to the most shocking crime in rock history—a story of musical genius, uncontrollable madness, and the big fill"
54 min
21
Who is Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Drummer?
Did you know that Alfred Hitchcock used a drummer on the set of the 1963 classic thriller, 'The Birds'? The real question is: who is this mystery drummer, and how/why did Hitchcock employ a percussionist to perform during the filming of the movie? I have been researching this topic for the last few weeks and have made some amazing discoveries about the on-set drummer, and great information that goes beyond just this topic. Alfred Hitchcock is one of the best filmmakers of all time, and he knew the power that drums can have on people. Find out everything I have learned about it in this episode!
16 min
22
A Look at Alex Van Halen's Gear (Part 2) with K...
(Part 2 Covers 1985-2015) Alex Van Halen is responsible for inspiring a generation of young drummers to pick up drumsticks because of his virtuosic playing and HUGE drum sets. Kurt Ekstrom joins us on the podcast to guide us through each and every one of Alex's iconic drum sets and all the accessories and details that make them absolutely one of a kind works of art!
103 min
23
A Look at Alex Van Halen's Gear (Part 1) with K...
Alex Van Halen is responsible for inspiring a generation of young drummers to pick up drumsticks because of his virtuosic playing and HUGE drum sets. Kurt Ekstrom joins us on the podcast to guide us through each and every one of Alex's iconic drum sets and all the accessories and details that make them absolutely one of a kind works of art!
133 min
24
(The Vault) The History of Sabian Cymbals with ...
Andy Zildjian is the president of Sabian Cymbals and takes us on a very fun journey through the history of the company that dates back to its founding in 1981 by his father, Robert Zildjian. This episode features tons of great information about his famous family in general and we discuss the factors that caused the split in the family and become the iconic Sabian cymbals that we know today.
59 min
25
Designing a Mega Drum Set with Mike Mangini
Mike Mangini is famous for being an incredibly talented drummer and teacher, but also for creating some of the most elaborate and breathtaking drum sets of all time. He breaks down his first kit, which he used with Extreme, consisting of RotoToms in an 'Apex Shape.' Then, we jump to his 2010s Dream Theater kit, which was a modern marvel of drum set engineering. After that, we discuss his current kit, used for his great new album, 'Invisible Signs,' and learn about the WHY and HOW he creates the design and shape of these kits.