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The Straight 8s play high-energy, traditional rock-a-billy, with elements of surf and swing. Their departing drummer (helluva player and nice guy) played a trad kit standing up. I've always dug the cocktail kits, but never had a real reason to play one... until now.
The music of the Straight 8s is loud and raucous. Most of the work is on the bass, snare, and ride, and I wanted those voices to be powerful. So, I am using a full size snare in a concert stand, and an 18" crash/ride with 19" crash sharing a stand. The cocktail drum is used for bass and floor tom, and does not have any other mounts for auxiliary percussion. Aside from the cocktail drum and reversed Pulse pedal, I'm using snare drum(s), stands, and cymbals that I already use for my other gig.
Murph’s Gear
Dennis Stauffer, owner and mastermind of Phattie Drums in Asheville, NC, built me one of his 24" x 16" cocktail drums using vintage-style beaver-tail lugs. He painted the beast flat black with a few coats of low-luster clear over the top. Even though I am not mounting any auxiliary percussion on the drum, it features four leg mounts for added stability.
I’m currently running a coated Remo Ambassador (top) and a clear Remo Power Stroke 3 head (bottom). I’ve also tossed about 1/2 dozen cotton balls in the drum to help dampen ringing of the bottom head slightly.
The masterful pin-striping that really brings the drum to life, was done by the incredibly talented and creative artist named Igor (based out of Virginia Beach, VA). I just gave Igor a few ideas for color (so my blue Phattie and green Radio King snare would look good with it), and must have mentioned "tiki", "monster" and "pinstripe" in the same sentence.
Igor had carte blanche on the design, and I told him that it was important that he had a good time painting the drum and doing whatever hit him. Dennis drop-shipped the drum right to Igor's shop, and about a week later, I met him in Norfolk to pick it up. Needless to say I was absolutely floored.
DRUMS
ART
I have played Zildjian cymbals since the early-80s (I’ve got the requisite 22” Rock Ride from the era as proof). :-) A few years back I got turned on to the sound and playability of Sabian’s 20” El Sabor crash/ride. This cymbal has a huge unlathed bell that projects like crazy, a nicely defined ride sound, and is actually crashable. It takes a pretty heavy hand to set it in motion as a crash, but it is possible (unlike many other rides out there).
Because I am playing a stripped-down kit, I am trying to keep the cymbal setup as minimal as possible. I am using my tried-and true Zildjian 19” thin crash as my primary crash. I tried using the 20” El Sabor as ride and secondary crash, but it didn’t have a fast enough response time as the second (of only two) crashes.
CYMBALS
So, I scoured the internet for months, and found a great deal on craigslist for a used 18” El Sabor from a nice guy in Austin, TX (thanks again!). The smaller diameter and slightly thinner playing surface at the edge of the cymbal makes it possible to crash it, while maintaining the ride and bell characteristics of it’s bigger brother. The ride definition is slightly diminished, but so far so good (no complaints yet, anyway).
There are numerous ways to accomplish this, but one of the more common is to find a bass drum pedal that lends itself to being reconfigured for the purpose. One of these pedals is the Pulse Pro. It’s relatively inexpensive and has a ton of adjustments that allow the player to dial-in things like pedal travel, angle of the beater, and where the beater strikes the head. Special thanks to John Mettam for his excellent “Converting a Pulse Pro Single Kick Pedal” tutorial on the Cocktail Drum Lounge website.
MISCELLANEOUS GEAR
The Milton Bell Company patented their “Driveway Signal” in 1959. I grew up hearing that familiar “ding ding” sound at gas stations when I’d ride my bike to put air in the tires or get a soda. It was always fun to stomp the black rubber hose to make the bell sound. My guess is that the folks at Milton had no idea their bell would be used as part of a drum-set. It’s the closest I’ll ever come to using electronic drums (although the solenoid/striker is electric, air pressure is used to trigger the bell during performances).
Hear it for yourself!
