My mother always blamed my kindergarten teacher for the reason I play.  See there was too many sheep in the Christmas pageant and there had to be someone to play the little drummer boy. Que my entrance.

 

        At the age of 10, and after watching a senior in high school for almost a whole year, annoying my folks about it, they caved and allowed me to get lessons. Dad went out and bought a 2nd hand Maxwin by Pearl kit. It was cheap, old, used, and butchered to hold together, but it worked. Over the years I begged and saved and managed to add, upgrade and start again. And that was the real fun. 

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       I have had many of kits. Even a Roland Electronic. (TD20) Some cheap knock together and refurbishments, and others mind blowing custom kits. Bigger than anyone needed. I have had old rusty 2nd hand kits to brand new Tama Star Classic or Pearl Masterworks kits. And to this day I love collecting. I have lost count of the kits I have bought and sold in the last 3 yrs alone.

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           I love restoring drum kits. It’s like a deep weird psychological hiccup. Some people see pets they want to rescue or even other humans. Me, Its drums kits. Because I believe EVERY drum kit can be saved and reused.

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But over the years I did notice one thing that holds a lot of us back.

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       Standing in a Drum store in Late 2017, I realized this is just not fair. Why, especially do beginning drummers always have to choose between quality gear at ridiculous eye watering prices or something more affordable but will only last 3 months before falling apart? 

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​         And in Australia, it seems there is such a mark-up on some of these products, that it almost requires a home loan just to get a nice drum kit. And I'm not talking about a monster, 20 piece custom kit, just a basic 4 or 5 piece shells. Or a decent Hybrid/ Electronic drum kit.

 

 Sometimes I wonder, if these stores want to sell you a kit in the first place.

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        One thing that has increased is the use of reselling. EBay, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and various other trading places have had a massive increase in the amount of gear bought and sold each week on these sites. With the increase in YouTube tutorials and a lot more open communication about how to fix things, people are now realising 2nd hand gear with a bit TLC can go a long way.

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          So I started to look at what does a beginner really need. Well, sticks is a good start, a stick bag and a practice pad. This is the start of duCKdrums. A beginner pack. Then I looked into drums kits. A lot of local companies have started to release a cheaper, beginner series of drums. But no one does half kits. Compact shell combos which collapse inside each other and are ideal space savers for beginners. And they can be affordable. And don’t get me started on carry cases!!

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             What about when you clean your drum gear, especially cymbals, and the logo gets washed away?!?! I see so many drummers who only really half clean a cymbal cause they don’t want to mess with the logo. Same goes for skins. You can save your skins as well. It’s just a little wise use of some household goods and BAM your gear is back to a shinny brand new look. ( which lets face you feel better about playing and the gear sounds way better)

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       And then there is the electronics. So many drum companies are trying to catch up to each other with “hybrid” drum kits. It looks like a normal acoustic kit, but its actually a e-drum kit. Plug and play. For the cost of a small island. !!!! It doesn’t have to be this way.

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     My mission is to open up the options for drummers. Not just beginners, but the intermediate and semi pro as well. People looking for quality, simple, easy to use gear, at a affordable prices. Products that fill the need for drummers who love their gear and want to make it last, reuse it and play with the passion we all feel when we first start the “rock star” dream.

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       With every crack of the snare. Every swipe of a cymbal. Every thump of a kick drum.  Feel the pulse. Feel the beat. Feel the heart of all life. Drumming, in its pure form, is life. Call it a philosophy.   A Drum-Fill-Osophy

 

BEAT. LIVE. PLAY

 

Drumming is everything.