The Drum Shops
When I was a kid, drums were sold in music stores, drum
catalogs (like Sears) and from user-friendly drum stores. Every major city had
at least one great drum shop- typically a rather small, cramped space with drum
sets wrapped in plastic and stacked side by side. Perhaps one or two of the kits
were set up.
There may have been 30 cymbals, ten different kinds of
sticks, lots of parts and a couple of tons of ambience. The descriptive word
here was clutter. Oh, they were great. I still get thrilled when I see pictures
of Chicago's Frank's Drum Shop with the mountains of now vintage Ludwig, Rogers,
Gretsch and Slingerland Drums and the "then used" drums that are now
antiques.
Drum stores had a life force all their own and no drum
department of any music store could match it. Such a shame that so few are left.
For those lucky enough to live near and shop at a real drum store, I salute your
good fortune.
Drums weren't commodities back then; they were musical
instruments with souls. I really miss the great drum shops. Sometimes what looks
like progress, is anything but progress.
If you'd like to see some of
the vintage drums sold in the great drum shops, then I invite you to get a copy
of my book,
"The Great American Drums".
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