The Drums

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billems
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Joined: 05/11/06 18:00

The Drums

#1

Post by billems »

The Drums
By Bill Stieger

The drums made of pots and pans.
The drums that sat under the Christmas tree (beside it, actually).
The drums that forced me to live in the basement.
The drums that drove my father insane.
The drums I kicked out of a barn window.
The drums I puked on.
The drums that played for strippers.
The drums I nearly sold to bail out a stripper.
The drums I covered with shelving paper.
The drums that played for the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald the day of the shipwreck.
The drums on which I learned to play jazz.
The drums on which Art Blakey wrote: “To Bill, who I will not forget 12/5/76.”
The drums that never sounded good.
The drums that traveled with me by train.
The rock drums with the one headed bass drum into which I exploded firecrackers.
The drum set I abandoned on stage during a performance.
The drums a bandleader held as a cash hostage.
The drums I played while watching a saxophonist pull a knife on the bandleader.
The drums that were kicked by a horse.
The drums with the floor tom legs that always collapsed.
The drums I had an anxiety attack while playing.
The drums to which recording engineers taped sanitary napkins.
The drums they said were too small for a rock band
The same drums the same band accused me of playing too loudly.
The drums on which I played the longest tune in my life while jamming with Woody Herman’s band.
The drums to which I’d attached an ashtray.
The drums with reminders written on the heads.
The drums I left outside, in subzero temperatures.
The drums I played as I watched my girlfriend leave the club with another man.
The drums I sat behind as I was fired.
The drums a man died in front of.
The drums I played while watching fistfights on the dance floor.
The drums a cop helped me load, after toughs at South St. Paul HIgh had threatened “the hippy.”
The drums I played for my first jazz gig--at the Blue Note, the North Side club with the bullet holes in the ceiling.
The drums I spent my life playing.
My Drums.

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Brooks
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Location: Idaho

Re: The Drums

#2

Post by Brooks »

“Hey buddy, how late does the band play?"
"Oh, about half a beat behind the drummer."

Perry Palin
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Re: The Drums

#3

Post by Perry Palin »

And those of us who spent our years sitting in a comfortable office for regular hours and with a regular paycheck thought we had it tough.

billems
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Joined: 05/11/06 18:00

Re: The Drums

#4

Post by billems »

Perry Palin wrote:
04/11/21 10:00
And those of us who spent our years sitting in a comfortable office for regular hours and with a regular paycheck thought we had it tough.
Yeah, but, oh, the memories. I'll be in the rocking chair, not forlorn about having had no love life. Shee!

barebo
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Location: Central NY State

Re: The Drums

#5

Post by barebo »

Amen! Memories recounted like that can't be bought with a stash of cash. The stories you could tell...

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thegubster
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Location: Minnesota!

Re: The Drums

#6

Post by thegubster »

"The Blues"...those Drummer Blues!!!

Yer welcome Billy. :hat

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WF70
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Re: The Drums

#7

Post by WF70 »

A fine essay
On drums
On life

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RWHoffhines
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Joined: 02/11/10 19:00

Re: The Drums

#8

Post by RWHoffhines »

BASS SOLO!!!!!!

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Skeet1969
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Joined: 08/28/13 20:23

Re: The Drums

#9

Post by Skeet1969 »

As a lifelong drummer since 1975, playing pro from early 90's to mid 2010's in around NYC - (jazz and rock) I heard and felt every word of this post. Great stuff, and thanks for sharing.
Mike B
PS: "The drums with the floor tom legs that always collapsed" - terrible Walberg and Auge hardware on my original 60's Gretsch always did this.

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