My drumkit has Arrived

After much, MUCH anticipation and longing and waiting and pining, the LORD has provided me with a set of drums to worship his name with.

I've been acting like I'm a drummer for a few years now, always playing on other drummer's kits. Until this week, all I owned was a stick bag full of junk to hit other guy's drums with. In that bag, I carried my digital camera and a measuring tape. Every time I'd play a kit, I would:

1. take a bunch of pictures of their drums to research later
2. measure all the drums to find out what sizes I liked

because...

1. I have no idea what I'm doing
2. I have no interest in dropping thousands without a clue

So, when the LORD finally provided opportunities and funds to buy pieces of gear, I jumped. Through eBay, the newspaper, and online stores, I have built together the pieces of my personal drumkit over the last 2 months.

I have been at college, and had all the stuff shipped home. After arriving home Friday night, I began checking everything out. I had my friend Phillip Johnson (that's my drumtech if anybody asks) come over Saturday for us to build the kit. Turns out, drums come shipped like this:

Fantastic. I was more than thankful that I ordered mine instead of buying a set from a local store. This allowed me and Phillip to build everything from the ground (carpet) up, doing everything correctly step by step.

I found some drum tuning techniques online, and used this one to do the kick (bass) drum:

I'll be doing a few more posts, but for now, the drums are set up, they are tuned, and they are ready to play. I've gotten in a little playing time this weekend, trying to keep the volume to a courteous level for the home that does not belong to me.

My goals for this kit have been met.

1. a beautiful look that will stick through the future
2. quality hardware that will not wear out through time.
3. a tight setup for a 3x5ft space, as well as easy transportation.
4. a quiet set.

Number four is the most important to me personally. Drums can be mic'd for larger rooms. Drums can be hit harder for outdoor worship. Drums can always be louder. It takes careful selecting and disciplined playing to maintain a quiet set. This set allows me to practice at home, play in small rooms, and be mic'd for anything requiring a larger volume.

I am more than pleased with the drums, and cannot wait to be back in Bentonville to really get to warm them in.

Memory Box Photography

My friend Austin Walker is quite the photographer. Don't let photographers ever tell you "well I've been doing this for a few years now, so I'm pretty good". I'd say it's the complete opposite. Austin has been shooting less than a year, and he's already twice the photographer I'll ever be.

For Aubrey's birthday, I wanted her to have some professional photos taken. I could do it, but that spoils the specialty. I called Austin, and we managed to get his schedule open for about 30mins of shooting. Purrrrfect.

Aubrey was already dressed up, (girls do that on their birthdays I guess) so a photoshoot was natural. Austin met us out at the tracks, and pulled quite a few solid images out of about 25mins of shooting.

Austin will shoot pretty much anything that moves, and some stuff that doesn't. He's a busy man, and he's not free, but he's a heck of a photographer, and could most likely push a button for anything you need done.

Here is his blog:
http://memoryboxphoto.blogspot.com

Here is Aubrey's post:
http://memoryboxphoto.blogspot.com/2009/04/happy-birthday.html

Great job on her photos, buddy.

I love You, LORD!

I am not a singer. That being said, this old song hit me this morning and pushed me through my entire day with a smile. I have been humming it alone all day. I had do something with it. I couldn't find the music for it, so I put this rendition together.

I love You, LORD, and I lift my voice! I have no business singing, but to worship You, my soul rejoices! Take joy, my King, in what you hear! Whether it's good or not, may it be a sweet, sweet sound, in Your ear! I love you LORD!

Musician's Friend

It's settled, MusiciansFriend.com is officially my favorite place to get music gear. If I'm about to buy something, and they sell it, I'll drop it and go buy through them. Here's why:

The "MAP" on my Gretsch drumkit is $650. "MAP" is a term kind of like "retail", it's the going rate on stuff. So, even though my kit technically "retails" at $1000, everywhere sells it for $650. Retail is irrelevant, MAP is the new retail.

The only way to find anything cheaper than MAP is to buy used, or get something on sale. Or find some lunatic place that is really trying to move some drums. Herkimer Music out of NYC is a group of lunatics really trying to move some drums. They had my kit priced at $599, on sale for $499, and a promo going for free shipping.

I know, that's what I said. It IS ridiculous.

I called them, and their lunatic prices had attracted too much business, and were waiting for more Catalina kits to arrive. In June. JUNE? *(I try to be a patient person, but dang)*

So, then I called MusiciansFriend. Last night, at 8pm on a Sunday. Who is open at that hour? I'll tell you who: people who want to sell drums, who AREN'T lunatics.

I spoke with a girl who managed to work some magic for me. I asked her to open up the internet and go look at Herkimer Music's site. She saw their insanely low price, and went to work. After getting it approved with her supervisors, she sold me the exact same kit (the one I've had my eye on) for $499. Then she shipped it for free. Oh, and the best part is, Musician's Friend's prices are not lunatic prices, they are MAP. This is a good thing, for once, because they did not blow out their supply of these drums. They still had a few in the warehouse.

So, in review, I got my kit from a company that prices at MAP. Because of these prices, they had my kit in stock. However, through some price-match voodoo, I got this MAP kit delivered to my door for $499 instead of $650. No tax. No shipping.

Praise the LORD. Have a great day, I. AM. PUMPED.

My Drumkit

Over the past few months, I have been slowly building my drumkit. With patience, I am trying to take it slow and wait for deals on each individual piece of gear. There is A LOT of stuff to piece together to build a kit, and my only goal was just to have it playable when I get to Bentonville rewarding the end of my first semester in college.

In no particular order, I began buying pieces of equipment as I found them available. I'm not sure how most guys do it, but I'm sure some people just get on Music123.com or something and order EVERYTHING at once. I have no interest in dropping over $3,000 in one shopping cart, so I nixed that direction.

Instead, I watched the NWA newspaper, Craigslist.org, and eBay.com for drum gear. Most guys buy everything brand new, but I don't have a problem with a little second-hand stuff. Sure, I want the new cymbals and shells (the actual drum pieces), but what's the difference in a used snare stand and a new one? Unless the guy was an animal and tossed it in the lake every weekend for his boat anchor, why not save $50?

If you remember the color post, you might be wondering the final call on the color choice. I ended up settling on Natural Satin.

Well, I finally ordered the shell pack last night, leaving me pretty much done. Expect a barrage of drum posts for a while. To the non-drumming reading out there, I apologize. I'll mix it up a bit to keep ya'll around. thanks for reading!