vintage rewind: Vic Firth Stockpad, first generation, 1990s

A few months ago, a fellow was selling a first generation Vic Firth Stockpad online. He wanted to trade for a first generation Slimpad, but no one offered him anything.
I got in touch with him last week and asked if he wanted to sell the pad. We agreed on a price and yesterday it arrived.

I had one of these pads when they first came out and used it in my studio lessons back in the day, until a student slipped it under his coat when my back was turned and slipped out with it.

Vic Firth still offers both the Stockpad and the Slimpad, but they are different today. The rubber used is a nylon and gum rubber blend, rather than the pure gum rubber surface used in the earliest edition of these pads. The nylon-gum rubber blend has a different feel and response, slightly more sluggish than pure gum rubber offers.

The nylon was added to the mix to keep the pad affordable. But it is different.

Here's the first generation Stockpad, with 1/4" gum rubber surface.

It is lighter than the current edition. A lighter wood base was used, and while it has pock marks and paint chips from years of use, it's still solid.
Today's base is wooden particle board, and when it chips, dents appear right away. Over time, particle board fatigues dramatically around the edges; solid wood holds on a bit longer.

And the playing?

Well, it feels more organic, with a livelier response than the newer versions of the pad.
And the first generation of this pad is very, VERY hard to find.
Which is why I was very glad to find another one and buy it.

I made a quick and dirty video while I played it the first time.

The fellow who sold this to me is still looking for a first generation Slimpad, with its thinner 1/8" gum rubber surface. If you know of one, drop me a note in the comments, include contact info and I'll pass it along to him.

dreams and discipline: a promise to myself

Dreams first:

Recognizing that a great deal of what I dream of cannot happen because of the global pandemic, here's what I dream of lately:

-- A gathering of drummers meeting up at a park, perhaps at a large picnic table, to woodshed on solos and etudes (old school and new school), to gather around a shared love of drumming and hopefully to agree to meet up aggain on a monthly basis.
-- A group of drummers who'd like to make it a regular thing with the goal of performing at civic events (but completely avoiding protests), and to inspire other drummers to consider taking up rudimental drumming themselves.

Of course, there's also the fact that Portland, Oregon isn't exactly a hotbed of rudimental drumming activity.But this is MY dream, so I'm ignoring that for now.

I have this dream because I love rudimental drumming, I have a lot to learn, and I know that playing with others would help me improve faster than playing in the vacuum that is my home.

But since I cannot change the demographic, and I certainly cannot change the reality of the current time, I've chosen to take on this discipline for the meantime:

1. Beginning each morning with five to ten minutes of Rudimeditation, without fail. If I need to get up early to make time for it, so be it.

2. Begin working out of two books that I love: The NARD Solo book, and the massive collection of Charley Wilcoxon's All American Drum Solos (which is now back in print and available at Steve Weiss Music - you're welcome). Between these two books, I will have plenty of material to practice while I remain stuck at home.

I plan to work up solos one at a time and then post the ones I like the best on my blog, and also on YouTube. And I will welcome comments and enthusiasm from any of you who are also lovers of rudimental drumming.

This promise to myself won't win me any awards, and that's not the point.
I've been unemployed since the shutdown began, unable to tour as a singer-songwriter. I've taken a few online students here and there (for both drums and guitar), I've tried out and compared various practice pads and sticks and Even got to offer a drumline workshop (via Zoom) for a Honk! band up in Seattle. But I miss the regularity of playing with and for other people.
So this is one way I'm addressing that, while also fulfilling my need for renewed discipline.
It's good to have goals.
If you want to share your own drumming dreams and goals in the comments below, I'd love to hear from you.
Happy drumming!

Rudimental Drummers Chop pad: A first look

Today, I took delivery of a Chop pad from Rudimental Drummers, a company based in The Netherlands and making pads one at a time. They offer several different models to suit many different kinds of drumming.

After a series of back-and-forth emails with Rene Van Haaren, one of the co-owners, about my drumming style and preferences, I was able to make an informed decision and get the pad most suited to my needs.

I got the Chop pad (which, in my exuberance, I mistakenly call a Marching Band pad in the video below), which is medium tension and comes with a Mylar head. It's built on a hardwood base with real tuning lugs, and you can choose a regular or curved "stick saver" rim. And while it's loud enough to give you an idea of how clean your playing is (or isn't), it's quiet enough that I can practice behind a cloised door and not bother Sweetie. (If you want a louder version of this pad, order the Marching Pad, which comes with sound vents for more volume, and can be used for ensemble practice.)

RD also offers pads to approximate the feel and response of traditional rope-tension drums, high-tension Kevlar (drum corps) drums and others. I really appreciate the time Rene took to receive my questions and provide clear, helpful answers that made it easier for me to decide what pad to order.

Best of all, the turnaround time was pretty much as promised: about seven to eight weeks on average. (That stands in stark contrast to two other companies which have had trouble delivering their very popular products in the turnaround times promised. One, Xymox, remains in business but continues to be plagued by extremely long turnaround times, made worse by the COVID pandemic. The other, Drumslinger, appears to have closed up shop for good.)

Below is a preliminary video of me chopping out a few bars of "Downfall of Paris" and being shocked at just how GOOD this pad feels and sounds. But yeah, this pad is THAT good.

I expect to make some videos later on as I put this thing through its paces. Stay tuned.

The loneliness of the long-distance drummer

I'll admit it.
I'm lonely and bored.
It's been five months since I lost all my gigs, and five months since I've been able to make music with other people. I haven't played with my community band since February, and don't know when we'll see each other again in a musical context. I don't know when our band will ever play together again.

I miss making music with and for other people in real time and space.

I have had lots of time on my hands, to think about what kinds of music I want to make, and why. Obviously, I'd like to go and play out again as a singer-songwriter; but I'd also like to drum.

I've pondered the possibility of starting some kind of adult beginner drum line, but without the politics -- just getting together and playing drums, street beats and corps-style drum features and the like.

But if those with years of drum corps experience can't get it together to start a bonafide Senior Corps in a pre-pandemic Portland, what makes me think I can do any better now?

The likelihood is that I probably can't, which is why I've hesitated sharing the idea with friends.

The truth is that, with everything so dire right now -- with racism driving people apart and politics becoming positively caustic, and a global pandemic leading to hunger, homelessness and worse -- I just don't know what I'm doing here.

Why am I chopping out on a pad?
Is it useful to anyone?
Or is it just wasting time that I could spend doing other things?
Sorry.
The pandemic is getting to me.
I'm lonely and bored and really miss playing with other people in the room.
..::sigh::..

If you're in Portland and reading this, and you have ANY interest at all in pondering an adult drum line, let me know by dropping me a note in the comments. Let me know if you're on Facebook and I'll reach out to you there.

Thanks and happy chopping!

Wilcoxon solo: #77

If you want to explore old-school rudimental drumming, I suggest checking out the huge book, All-American Drum Solos by Charlie Wilcoxon. These solos are short and sweet -- two solos per page -- and they are packed with as much or as little challenge as you want.
When thumnbing through this book to see what I want to try next, I remember some good advice from drumming friend and instructor extraordinaire Kevin Donka: when you see someone playing a piece you have yet to master, remember that you can learn it, too, if you just keep practicing and working at it.

That is how I came to sign up to record myself playing this solo for the Wilcox Rudimentasl Challenge group on Facebook.

It took awhile to work this one up. It forces me to work on my weaker left hand as I perfect the timing of single-stroke triplets, and paradiddles that begin on my left hand. And while the final result may seem slow, it took me literally weeks of regular practice to get it worked up to that speed comfortably.

Kevin Lehman, coordinator of the Challenge, is saving up all the videos (including this one) and will compile them into one place where they can be viewed online, so drummers anywhere will be able to access the library and learn from the hundreds of drummers who've taken on the challenge. I'm glad to be among the drummers whose videos will become part of what promises to be a useful learning resource.

If you feel inspired to try working up a solo of three from this book, know that the book is hard to find used, and rather expensive new.
I was lucky to find a used copy at Powell's last year.
However, if you have a Google or Facebook account, you can download a pdf of the entire book to your computer, and open up any page you like on your screen:
https://www.academia.edu/10713061/Charley_Wilcoxon_The_All_American_Drummer_150_Rudimental_Solos