Wanting something different...
It's hard to believe that it's as nice as it is outside, especially considering it's Nov. 5. It would really be nice if it could be like this all winter long, but my guess is that that's not in the cards. A person can dream, though, right?
The morning has been fairly active already. I've made it over to Volga to interview the owner of that custom bike shop, and I just got done cleaning up my parents' Honda Odyssey a little while ago. Now I'm just sitting here hanging out on their couch and watching TV while Dad goes out to the farm to run some errands. I haven't yet figured out what to do with the rest of the day.
When you have a lot of choices, even if they're good choices, it can get overwhelming and hard to decide what to do. Something inside me is telling me now to take advantage of this nice day and blaze on down to Sioux Falls for a bit. I'd like to go look at some different cars (not that I need another one, but it's always fun to look in any case) and then head to Sioux Falls Music to visit a friend of mine there. I enjoy visiting him, and it's always fun to go down and check out what gear they have down there.
That's something that I've really been pondering lately, and it's been something of a pleasant dilemma for me. What's that, you're wondering? Well, I've been thinking about getting some different drums lately, or at least some new hardware, such as a new double bass drum pedal. I guess what's hard about all this for me is trying to figure out if it's best to hang on to my current equipment (which in reality works fine, particularly for how I'm using it now) or to buy something different. I must admit, though, that my main motivation for wanting to buy something new isn't because what I already have is worn out or doesn't suit me anymore -- it's simply because I think that I'd like to experience something different.
As far as the drums go, what I've been playing for the past seven years is a set of Premier XPK drums. The kit originally included six drums (22" bass drum, 14" snare drum, and 10", 12", 14" and 16" rack toms), but has included seven drums since I added an 8" tom in September of 1999. Other changes or additions that I've made to it have included removal of the stock tom mounting hardware and the installation of Tama StarCast isolation tom mounts, the use of DW stands for mounting the toms, a DW throne and a Pearl el-cheapo double bass drum pedal. It's been a good set of drums altogether, and I'm sure that they would serve me well for years to come if I hang on to them.
The key reason, again, for wanting to get some different drums is simply to have something different and perhaps "better." In delving further, the key reasons that I would like to get something different are that I'd like to explore alternative sounds provided by different drum shell materials supplied by different manufacturers (the XPKs are eucalyptus and birch) and that it would be nice to have a drum configuration that's less complex and easier to haul around. Seven drums and the necessary mounting hardware are a lot to transport from gig to gig (not that I'm using those drums for that many gigs these days), and having all the toms mounted on separate stands makes getting precisely the same setup each time I move the drums a real PITA.
If I do end up buying a different set of drums, I'm thinking that I'd like to buy a line of professional drums made by either Pearl, DW, Gretsch, Tama, Yamaha or Sonor. I'd likely buy a basic five-piece configuration (bass with a tom mount, snare, three rack toms) with the understanding that I could always add component drums if I want. Again, it's not a big rush or anything. It's just an idea that I'm kicking around in my mind right now.
One need look no further than the realm of professional drummers to see that there are those who make significant changes to the equipment that they use, and that there are also those who remain loyal to the manufacturers they endorse (or are they themselves the ones being endorsed? I've never quite figured that out). For example, Neil Peart is someone who has changed brands a few times over the years. In the early 1970s, when he began playing with Rush, I think he used Slingerland drums and Zildjian cymbals. From there, he stuck with Zildjian cymblas, but then started using Tama drums. Next came Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals, and now he's playing DW drums and Sabian cymbals. Todd Sucherman, who's played with Styx for about a decade now, used to play Sonor drums when he toured with the band. He later played Ayotte drums for a while, and now he's playing Pearl Masterworks drums. In terms of people who stick with the same companies over time, Steve Smith (Journey, Vital Information, Steps Ahead) provides a shining example. Since the late 1970s at least, he's played Sonor drums and Zildjian cymbals. Regardless of what one does, it probably all comes down to simple personal preference and desire.
I'm kind of going through a similar thing with cars now, too. As with the drums, there's nothing wrong with what I have now, but I am thinking that it would be fun to experience something different. Then again, at its basest level, my motivation could be what motivates many of us to want for more...I may simply want something that's shiny and new. On the other side of the coin, however, I have to remember that, in time, the shininess and the newness tend to wear off, and then I may be back at square one. My quest for something shiny and new is probably akin to what Peart wrote when he penned the lyrics for Rush's song "Available Light"; by always looking for something new, I, in effect, "chase the sun around the world..." In other words, I may be chasing after something that I can never catch. Or if I can catch it, once I do capture what I'm after, I find that I'm right back where I started.
Anyway, I'm starting to ramble, so maybe I'd better cut this thing off. To make a long story short, an ongoing philosophical argument that I've been having with myself is whether it's OK to, from time to time, long for something different, even if it's material things like drums and cars and when what you already have is fine. I can't think of any rational reason why a person shouldn't strive for something new or different (and certainly not just with material things; experiences and sensations would fall into this category, too) so long as he or she has the means to do so, but I am aware of maxims that say things like "wanting what you have is better than having what you want." It's probably one of those things that one needs to decide for oneself, and that will probably come naturally through patience, experience and maturity.
The morning has been fairly active already. I've made it over to Volga to interview the owner of that custom bike shop, and I just got done cleaning up my parents' Honda Odyssey a little while ago. Now I'm just sitting here hanging out on their couch and watching TV while Dad goes out to the farm to run some errands. I haven't yet figured out what to do with the rest of the day.
When you have a lot of choices, even if they're good choices, it can get overwhelming and hard to decide what to do. Something inside me is telling me now to take advantage of this nice day and blaze on down to Sioux Falls for a bit. I'd like to go look at some different cars (not that I need another one, but it's always fun to look in any case) and then head to Sioux Falls Music to visit a friend of mine there. I enjoy visiting him, and it's always fun to go down and check out what gear they have down there.
That's something that I've really been pondering lately, and it's been something of a pleasant dilemma for me. What's that, you're wondering? Well, I've been thinking about getting some different drums lately, or at least some new hardware, such as a new double bass drum pedal. I guess what's hard about all this for me is trying to figure out if it's best to hang on to my current equipment (which in reality works fine, particularly for how I'm using it now) or to buy something different. I must admit, though, that my main motivation for wanting to buy something new isn't because what I already have is worn out or doesn't suit me anymore -- it's simply because I think that I'd like to experience something different.
As far as the drums go, what I've been playing for the past seven years is a set of Premier XPK drums. The kit originally included six drums (22" bass drum, 14" snare drum, and 10", 12", 14" and 16" rack toms), but has included seven drums since I added an 8" tom in September of 1999. Other changes or additions that I've made to it have included removal of the stock tom mounting hardware and the installation of Tama StarCast isolation tom mounts, the use of DW stands for mounting the toms, a DW throne and a Pearl el-cheapo double bass drum pedal. It's been a good set of drums altogether, and I'm sure that they would serve me well for years to come if I hang on to them.
The key reason, again, for wanting to get some different drums is simply to have something different and perhaps "better." In delving further, the key reasons that I would like to get something different are that I'd like to explore alternative sounds provided by different drum shell materials supplied by different manufacturers (the XPKs are eucalyptus and birch) and that it would be nice to have a drum configuration that's less complex and easier to haul around. Seven drums and the necessary mounting hardware are a lot to transport from gig to gig (not that I'm using those drums for that many gigs these days), and having all the toms mounted on separate stands makes getting precisely the same setup each time I move the drums a real PITA.
If I do end up buying a different set of drums, I'm thinking that I'd like to buy a line of professional drums made by either Pearl, DW, Gretsch, Tama, Yamaha or Sonor. I'd likely buy a basic five-piece configuration (bass with a tom mount, snare, three rack toms) with the understanding that I could always add component drums if I want. Again, it's not a big rush or anything. It's just an idea that I'm kicking around in my mind right now.
One need look no further than the realm of professional drummers to see that there are those who make significant changes to the equipment that they use, and that there are also those who remain loyal to the manufacturers they endorse (or are they themselves the ones being endorsed? I've never quite figured that out). For example, Neil Peart is someone who has changed brands a few times over the years. In the early 1970s, when he began playing with Rush, I think he used Slingerland drums and Zildjian cymbals. From there, he stuck with Zildjian cymblas, but then started using Tama drums. Next came Ludwig drums and Zildjian cymbals, and now he's playing DW drums and Sabian cymbals. Todd Sucherman, who's played with Styx for about a decade now, used to play Sonor drums when he toured with the band. He later played Ayotte drums for a while, and now he's playing Pearl Masterworks drums. In terms of people who stick with the same companies over time, Steve Smith (Journey, Vital Information, Steps Ahead) provides a shining example. Since the late 1970s at least, he's played Sonor drums and Zildjian cymbals. Regardless of what one does, it probably all comes down to simple personal preference and desire.
I'm kind of going through a similar thing with cars now, too. As with the drums, there's nothing wrong with what I have now, but I am thinking that it would be fun to experience something different. Then again, at its basest level, my motivation could be what motivates many of us to want for more...I may simply want something that's shiny and new. On the other side of the coin, however, I have to remember that, in time, the shininess and the newness tend to wear off, and then I may be back at square one. My quest for something shiny and new is probably akin to what Peart wrote when he penned the lyrics for Rush's song "Available Light"; by always looking for something new, I, in effect, "chase the sun around the world..." In other words, I may be chasing after something that I can never catch. Or if I can catch it, once I do capture what I'm after, I find that I'm right back where I started.
Anyway, I'm starting to ramble, so maybe I'd better cut this thing off. To make a long story short, an ongoing philosophical argument that I've been having with myself is whether it's OK to, from time to time, long for something different, even if it's material things like drums and cars and when what you already have is fine. I can't think of any rational reason why a person shouldn't strive for something new or different (and certainly not just with material things; experiences and sensations would fall into this category, too) so long as he or she has the means to do so, but I am aware of maxims that say things like "wanting what you have is better than having what you want." It's probably one of those things that one needs to decide for oneself, and that will probably come naturally through patience, experience and maturity.
posted by DrummerScribe | 11:55 AM
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