us old guys had it pretty tough.

[atomcorr2]

i was just reading a few threads,and it made me think about the old days. im sure us older guys will remember the days before the internet . when we didnt have anybody to ask any questions to, or when there were only one kind of zildjian cymbals,, and you could only get zildjian and one kind of paiste cymbal, only had a few drum companys making drums .. if you were lucky you could get a catolog from one of the few mail order companys, and ware the pages out over the next few months.

i remember how hard it was to learn how to tune my drums,i was from a small town ,and there was nobody to ask .. had to learn myself .. spent many nights trying to get the sound that i wanted,and really no way to find out how to do it . just trial and error..

anybody remember those days????

[veafer]

I remember the days of playin a gig with a song list of 10, gettin paid 25 bucks and all the food and beer ya could eat and drink. And havin a blast doing it jus cause we were playin. I remember ridin home in the ford ecoline and tryin to stay awake at 4 AM, after having to lug that heavy B-3 that the keyboard guy always said wan't too much to take to the gig......yea, the one he booked that was up 2 flights of steps....and I remember that night I broke 2, count em,2 heads, and of course I didn't have any replacments.(who woulda thunk that ya can break a head why playin gig?)...... jus a couple of the thousands of memories of the long ago past. And there isn't one that I would trade for anything. (well, maybe the one I have about tellin my 1st ex wife that I would give up a life on the road to get a REAL job......HUGH MISTAKE.....lol) yea, life was real tough back then, wasn't it?......

[Quadcam79]

yep I remember, no interwebs...you young guys have no idea how good you have it.
I remember trying to figure out songs, playing the cd over and over and not having anyone to ask for help.

we also walked to school uphill both ways in 12 ft of snow,We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper.My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness, son".I was happier then and I had nothin',There were a hundred and fifty of us living in a shoebox in the middle of the road.

I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our mom and dad would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah.

And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you.

[Church Drummer]

Me and I'm sure some of the other older members on here remember my family getting their first TV set (not that TV wasn't around when I was born, but it wasn't until a little while after I was born that we could actually afford one). These young-uns these days have it so good!!

[old low&slo]

i was just reading a few threads,and it made me think about the old days. im sure us older guys will remember the days before the internet . when we didnt have anybody to ask any questions to, or when there were only one kind of zildjian cymbals,, and you could only get zildjian and one kind of paiste cymbal, only had a few drum companys making drums .. if you were lucky you could get a catolog from one of the few mail order companys, and ware the pages out over the next few months.

i remember how hard it was to learn how to tune my drums,i was from a small town ,and there was nobody to ask .. had to learn myself .. spent many nights trying to get the sound that i wanted,and really no way to find out how to do it . just trial and error..

anybody remember those days????

right with you till tuning the drums,
back then it was 1 head for everything open bass drum and stuck a piece of cloth over the shell then put the drum head over that and tightened and tuning was just makin sure each thud was lower as you worked through the toms lol. and yeah as long as the cymbal had the zildjian stamp it was good to go.
my 1st set was a 3 piece off brand called lido supreme then stepped up to a 4 piece white pearl ludwig with the cymbal and tom mount on the bass drum

[Russ]

drums? heh forget it i was too busy juggling school, part time roadie, and problematic social life. i didn't even get a set till i was 15- before that i was playing pots and pans and occasionally watching my friends play. i was starting to feel age when people asked me what the information superhighway is and why i kept calling it that. i'm probably not that old and wise yet, but for me it's the little things like grunting when i get up and how you can hear my bones cracking when i walk. my ex used to call me mr bones!(i have some names for her too, but i wont mention those here)

one cool thing about older dudes in the music business, is they don't have those infamous high and mighty egos of 16-22 year olds who think they know what it all is and how everything goes. i think email and google has done for the world is just crazy... i still remember the protesting at my high school trying to ban the internet completely- people thought it was too much freedom for kids, that they were looking at dangerous websites promoting acts of hate or violence, women as objects, some kids were even looking up witchcraft and wearing black clothing and makeup to school

it seems not that long ago i would get excited about getting a letter in the mail back from gramms who was in another state telling me how she misses me and wonders when i will visit next. and it was cool cause it was a whole process of getting envelopes, stamps, paper, and sitting down and putting your soul on a paper so she could see into your world. perhaps there are a number of things that are taken for granted, but remembering fondly the old times is something i'll never grow out of.

my greatest fear in the world is not of death, but to be forgotten despite all i accomplish. all we are is all we leave behind.

[john gerrard]

You are soo right about the wealth of information available to young drummers now via the internet. It was like you said for us trial and error. You had Remo Ambs and Dips and that was about your choices for drum heads. Everyone thought that Emps were for marching drums. Actually my first kit, a small Ludwig jazz kit came with calf skin heads. Today the choices are endless.

To learn a song you wore the needle out of your record player along with wearing out the 45 or 33 by picking it up and playing the same section over and over and scratching the crap out of it.

The only chance you had to see your favorite big time drummer is if you got lucky enough to see him do one, maybe two songs on television. Today with Youtube you can see as much of anyone you want to any time you want to.

Yes todays young drummers are very lucky to have so much available to them. And it shows because there are some really great young drummers out there that are way more advanced at their age than we were in our time. John

[Larrysperf]

I can remember not being able to afford new sticks so used tap to hold them together. Carrying around huge PA system and key board amps
Loading stuff into old plymouth andstuff hanging out trunk. But to tell the truth we had so much fun. Wouldnt change a thing

[rmandelbaum]

I remember when a lacquered kit was a 2000 dollar dream item, now 500 bucks or less you can have what I only dreamed of when I was young.

[backtodrum]

I remember when a lacquered kit was a 2000 dollar dream item, now 500 bucks or less you can have what I only dreamed of when I was young.

That is for sure, and the $500 dollar kits have better finishes than the $2,000 kits of yesteryear!

[Reverend D.]

or when there were only one kind of zildjian cymbals,, and you could only get zildjian and one kind of paiste cymbal, only had a few drum companys making drums .. if you were lucky you could get a catolog from one of the few mail order companys, and ware the pages out over the next few months.

How can I forget? Yup.

right with you till tuning the drums,
back then it was 1 head for everything open bass drum and stuck a piece of cloth over the shell then put the drum head over that and tightened and tuning was just makin sure each thud was lower as you worked through the toms lol. and yeah as long as the cymbal had the zildjian stamp it was good to go.

I remember those cloths. I would make em out of shetts because the felt ones would stretch out and tear over time.

one cool thing about older dudes in the music business, is they don't have those infamous high and mighty egos of 16-22 year olds who think they know what it all is and how everything goes.

I remember that ego as well.

To learn a song you wore the needle out of your record player along with wearing out the 45 or 33 by picking it up and playing the same section over and over and scratching the crap out of it. The only chance you had to see your favorite big time drummer is if you got lucky enough to see him do one, maybe two songs on television. Today with Youtube you can see as much of anyone you want to any time you want to.

I used to play my cassettes over and over when learning songs, long before cd's were invented. Oh yeah, and the only way to get a concert shirt was to actually GO To The Concert.

[Drum N Bones]

Rev D. I hear ya on that one man.... I remeber going to a gig (not as a player, merely a roadie) squashed in the back of an old Holden HT Panel Van. We had AC/DC cranked up as far as the old ghetto blaster would go. We didnt have no in dash stuff mate, she ran on batteries. By the time we got to the gig man my back was killing me from gettin slammed around from that old coast road...good times but I got more you know what that nite than I ever got in my life.

Crazy days man...crazy days.

[Drum N Bones]

Rev D. I hear ya on that one man.... I remeber going to a gig (not as a player, merely a roadie) squashed in the back of an old Holden HT Panel Van. We had AC/DC cranked up as far as the old ghetto blaster would go. We didnt have no in dash stuff mate, she ran on batteries. By the time we got to the gig man my back was killing me from gettin slammed around from that old coast road...good times but I got more you know what that nite than I ever got in my life.

Crazy days man...crazy days.

[armyoflarry]

I'm glad that I got the best of both worlds. When I started drumming (in the 80's) you took lessons, and figured stuff out for yourself. In the 90's I started to marvel how much info I had access to, and it really helped me to grow as a player, and hear all kinds of different music to expand my musical horizons.

The people growing up in this age, I hope they see that there are many advantages to what they have now, but do not discount the old ways because those are the things that make you want to fight for what you love, and really appreciate it.

[atomcorr2]

amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dave0549jv]

yep I remember, no interwebs...you young guys have no idea how good you have it.
I remember trying to figure out songs, playing the cd over and over and not having anyone to ask for help.

we also walked to school uphill both ways in 12 ft of snow,We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper.My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness, son".I was happier then and I had nothin',There were a hundred and fifty of us living in a shoebox in the middle of the road.

I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our mom and dad would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah.

And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you.

Why, when I was your age, this used to be ALLLL Orange groves, FARRR as they eye could see! Would anyone like some ribbon candy?

[gonefishin]

i was just reading a few threads,and it made me think about the old days. im sure us older guys will remember the days before the internet . when we didnt have anybody to ask any questions to, or when there were only one kind of zildjian cymbals,, and you could only get zildjian and one kind of paiste cymbal, only had a few drum companys making drums .. if you were lucky you could get a catolog from one of the few mail order companys, and ware the pages out over the next few months.

i remember how hard it was to learn how to tune my drums,i was from a small town ,and there was nobody to ask .. had to learn myself .. spent many nights trying to get the sound that i wanted,and really no way to find out how to do it . just trial and error..

anybody remember those days????

wOW, you just brought back many memories from days gone by. I remember each and every thing you just mentioned.

yep I remember, no interwebs...you young guys have no idea how good you have it.
I remember trying to figure out songs, playing the cd over and over and not having anyone to ask for help.

we also walked to school uphill both ways in 12 ft of snow,We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper.My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness, son".I was happier then and I had nothin',There were a hundred and fifty of us living in a shoebox in the middle of the road.

I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night half an hour before I went to bed, drink a cup of sulphuric acid, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our mom and dad would kill us and dance about on our graves singing Hallelujah.

And you try and tell the young people of today that ..... they won't believe you.

LOL Quad, you whipper-snapper.........wearing out the CD, those things werent around when I was a kid growing up.

Me and I'm sure some of the other older members on here remember my family getting their first TV set (not that TV wasn't around when I was born, but it wasn't until a little while after I was born that we could actually afford one). These young-uns these days have it so good!!

We had a TV in our house, it was that new technology full color set........the only problem was that cable wasnt invented yet and there werent any remotes either.

You are soo right about the wealth of information available to young drummers now via the internet. It was like you said for us trial and error. You had Remo Ambs and Dips and that was about your choices for drum heads. Everyone thought that Emps were for marching drums. Actually my first kit, a small Ludwig jazz kit came with calf skin heads. Today the choices are endless.

To learn a song you wore the needle out of your record player along with wearing out the 45 or 33 by picking it up and playing the same section over and over and scratching the crap out of it.

The only chance you had to see your favorite big time drummer is if you got lucky enough to see him do one, maybe two songs on television. Today with Youtube you can see as much of anyone you want to any time you want to.

Yes todays young drummers are very lucky to have so much available to them. And it shows because there are some really great young drummers out there that are way more advanced at their age than we were in our time. John

I remember those days.Listening to some old 45's or 78's until I was old enough to buy some 8-tracks.

I remember when a lacquered kit was a 2000 dollar dream item, now 500 bucks or less you can have what I only dreamed of when I was young.

I remember a buddy in high school buying one of those fancy Ludwig Vistalite sets in see-thru blue. Most beautiful thing I ever saw.

[MisterMixelpix]

I'd say the dawn of the internet has made drumming crazy easy in comparison. The ability to throw on your isolation earbuds and pick apart a song while reading the tabs and IM'ing someone in another time zone about it sure beats when I was younger and playing guitar, sitting there with a CD or tape and just trying to pick it out.

[BillTrib]

I got one for you guys! I started playing in 76 15yrs old in my brothers band (country). VFW's, Am Legions, Small bars, you know the deal, 45-50 bucks a night. Now foreward 30+ yrs. After moving to Nashville played pro for several years then got married did the family thing, retired from misic in 92. Drove a truck for 12 yrs. Just got back into music again a few yrs ago and guess what?????? Playing again in VFW's Am Legions, Bars. $50 a night and loving it all over again!!!!!!!!! Oh and by the way.....THE SET LIST HASN'T CHANGED EITHER!! Still playing Haggard, Jones, Twitty!

[gonefishin]

THE SET LIST HASN'T CHANGED EITHER!! Still playing Haggard, Jones, Twitty!

Why change a good thing........LOL

WElcome to the board and back into drumming again.

[armyoflarry]

I got one for you guys! I started playing in 76 15yrs old in my brothers band (country). VFW's, Am Legions, Small bars, you know the deal, 45-50 bucks a night. Now foreward 30+ yrs. After moving to Nashville played pro for several years then got married did the family thing, retired from misic in 92. Drove a truck for 12 yrs. Just got back into music again a few yrs ago and guess what?????? Playing again in VFW's Am Legions, Bars. $50 a night and loving it all over again!!!!!!!!! Oh and by the way.....THE SET LIST HASN'T CHANGED EITHER!! Still playing Haggard, Jones, Twitty!

Well, from hearing what they are calling country music these days, I wouldn't change the set list either! They don't make country music like they used to.

[pastor_bob]

We had a TV in our house, it was that new technology full color set........the only problem was that cable wasnt invented yet and there werent any remotes either.

Aw GF, surely you know that TVs always came with remotes! When I was growing up, the remote that my dad most often used was, "Bob, go change the TV to channel 2."

[freakychris]

Why, when I was your age, this used to be ALLLL Orange groves, FARRR as they eye could see! Would anyone like some ribbon candy?

HAHAHA!!!!

[gonefishin]

Aw GF, surely you know that TVs always came with remotes! When I was growing up, the remote that my dad most often used was, "Bob, go change the TV to channel 2."

Hahaha............we used to get hollered at if we spun the dial too fast.

[atomcorr2]

Aw GF, surely you know that TVs always came with remotes! When I was growing up, the remote that my dad most often used was, "Bob, go change the TV to channel 2."

lol my family had that same type of remote.. only its name was Tom...