The Tama “Catalyst”

My first drum kit was purchased when I was around 13 years old. It was a 1974 Slingerland Black Marine Pearl 5-piece kit: two rack toms, a floor tom, kick, and snare, all with top and bottom heads. It had previously belonged to my uncle, who purchased it while in college. It cost me $1,000.

In 1986, my house burned to the ground, destroying everything inside. However, as I was returning home from a gig the night of the fire, my drum kit was spared because it was packed in my car (an ugly Yellow Ford Fiesta). In a strange coincidence, out of my large collection of tapes and vinyl that remained in the house, the only item spared was the cassette in my car stereo: the album Premonition by Survivor.

I’m not sure where I got it, but I had a drum catalog, probably from the late 70s or early 80s, that I could have easily stared at for hours. I wished I could get my hands on one of those giant kits. The wood finishes, especially the lighter colors, always pulled me in. Even better were the “monster” kits that had three rows of toms layered on top of each other. One thing was for sure: they wouldn’t fit in my little Fiesta!

The 1980 Ford Fiesta

The 1974 Slingerland Drum Kit

Since my Slingerland kit was in rough condition after years of playing, I put it in storage and used the majority of my insurance money to purchase a Ludwig Rocker II Power-Plus 9-piece kit (1986). Looking at the catalogs versus looking at my budget made me realize that what I wanted didn’t quite match up with what I could get.

I wanted a large kit, and at the time, the Ludwig Rocker II series was the affordable option. The inside of the shells were sprayed with “Lud-Cote,” a speckled finish that looked like ugly OSB paneling. The drums were very loud, which was fitting at the time.

At the time of purchase, I could afford the kit but not the cases to protect them (lesson learned). They lasted around 13 years, but after years of abuse, they began falling apart. The cheap plastic wraps split and cracked. The cast hardware, which was incredibly heavy, began to crack and break. Eventually, I gave most of it away to a bandmate for his daughter to play.

I took a break from the drum kit to study various world percussion instruments, a journey that lasted over fifteen years and turned into a career. After a while, though, I began to miss having a kit to play. I visited a friend at a local Sam Ash Music one day and found a cheap, used Tama Swingstar kit. It was $600 (cymbals & hardware included).

The biggest mistake I made was trading in my vintage Zildjian cymbals during that transaction. Since I wasn’t sure how much I would be playing the kit or what application it would serve, I let them go. Aside from sporadic practice in the basement, this was a practical purchase at a price I could justify without making a major investment. For perspective, I had spent that much money on a single drum prior, so it seemed quite affordable.

I did keep the 8″ & 10″ toms from the damaged remains of the old Ludwig kit (cracked wrap, missing tension rods, rust, and all). I also held on to my 1980 Slingerland Magnum snare with the annoying (and expensive to replace) “Slapshot” strainer to assemble a “Frankenkit.” I added a few cheap cymbals and a very nice Roc-n-Soc throne.

Not long after that, I became frustrated with bands and travel. I was tired, suffering from burnout, and starting a family, so I retired from the road. My daughter likes to play the kit once in a while, and now I have a son on the way. :)

I have always been fascinated with recording studios and used to do session work years ago. I really enjoyed it. After buying a house, I decided to start buying gear to set up a simple home studio in the basement. I already had an old AudioMedia III sound card and a copy of Pro Tools (v5.x) that came with it. Over time, I assembled enough bits and pieces to begin the learning process.

In my “top-notch” studio, I had home-made mic stands (broken camera tripods, PVC pipe, etc.), a collection of 30+ year-old microphones pulled out of storage (a few SM58s and some terrible junk), mics draped over plumbing pipes, plenty of duct & hockey tape, no studio monitors, no room treatment, and only two inputs with a cheap/broken Samson mixer.

It didn’t deter me in the least. Home recording and writing music became my obsession.

I began working with a handful of friends on songs (despite us living in different cities or countries) as well as my own solo material. There have been equipment upgrades along the way, new mics, recording hardware, various drum heads, a DrumDial, a Pearl snare, a DW double-kick pedal, piles of sticks, two sets of monitors, and some actual room treatment.

In that time, only one cymbal has broken. Sticks? Well, quite a few more than that.

Was I inspired? Over the last four years, I have worked on over 700 songs, created thousands of mixes, and vacuumed piles of wood chips from the carpet around the kit. So, the answer is YES!

All of that time in the woodshed has been the most rewarding creative experience in my nearly 40 years of playing music. I have released various projects (thanks, Bandcamp!), made new friends and fans, written well over 100 songs, and learned volumes about audio engineering, mixing, and mastering. I have never been happier as a musician.

…and thanks to this cheap, used, dusty old Tama drum kit I call “The Catalyst” that helped start it all.

Epilogue: A Drumming Lineage (2026 Update)

Four generations later and almost 100 years of drumming lineage, passed down through the decades, continues.