My Drums, My story
11 posts
• Page 1 of 1
by bongo » Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:28 am
My story, and My drums:
I got my first congas when I was 18, they were cheap Mexican drums, light weight brown mahogany shells, and stamped 'mule skin' on the heads.
My first hand drums were some Ludwig plastic skinned bongos (black oyster pearl, like Ringo’s) I got when I was 15 in 1969.... I totally loved Santana and wanted to learn the Latin stuff, but lived in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and was about as isolated as I could be from that scene. I'd been playing regular drums at that point for 6 years, so at least I had some basics down.
The Mexican congas had chromed crowns with round V dog ears, metal bands down the shell, a leather hand strap handle and a leather shoulder strap (which was real handy). They also had three legs you could pull out and tighten down, so you could play standing up, but I never did, I took the legs out and played sitting. I thought I was pretty good (I could play along to all those Santana songs!) when I headed down to Eugene in '72 and met my first real conga drummer. I soon realized I had a lot to learn...
Those Mexican drums had a nice mellow sound. I called them my '**** kickers' cause they got all beat up; I had no cases for them. They went to the beach, up in the woods, under overpasses, in stair wells, and on the streets. I’d just lay them down flat on their sides on the sidewalk. I hitch-hiked with them, traveled to Europe ... packed one full of clothes like a suitcase and left the other free to play.
The Mexican drums eventually disappeared out the back door of a nightclub when I wasn't looking, but by then I had my Gon Bops which took out some of the sting (just some) of losing them. But before I got the Gon Bops, I bought a set of fiberglass King Congas. The King Congas were loud and ringy and had a pretty black purple finish with subtle pin stripping. The finish was quickly ruined through rough treatment and no cases, and when they got scratched would expose an ugly white under surface. I ended up wrapping them in black electrical tape, trying to make them look better.
By this time I was studying music at Mt. Hood Community College, just East of Portland. For a small college it had a reputation as a decent jazz school and bandleaders like Stan Kenton and Doc Severson would roll through and pull talent from the stage band and put them to work. By this time I had lessons from several teachers and had some fundamentals down. I managed to hold the percussion chair in the ‘A’ stage band for awhile.
During this time I created a way to write conga music I still use today. My idea was based on standard notation and eliminated the use of superscript to tell what tone and which hand to use. The hand was shown by the direction the music staff pointed, right hand pointed down, left hand pointed up. The tones were shown by the note itself, solid black for closed, a hollow circle for open, and an ‘x’ for slap. By convention, I understood that tied solid black eight notes were to be played heel toe, etc. The system worked well for me and I spent time composing on paper, creating rhythms from the ground up, many of which I still use today. Isolated, I began to develop my own style and sound. Long before I’d heard of Giovanni, I was applying western rudiments and working up rhythms based on fast double stroke heel toe in combination with a melody of open tones and slaps.
Some traditional players disapproved of my experimentation and said I was not playing right. What I came to realize, and this took me awhile learn, is there are the folkloric players and there are the band players, and neither is right or wrong. Folkloric players use three guys to play authentic rumba, and are very sticky about observing THE TRADITION. The band player admires tradition but bends the rules, plays all the parts, and gets the gig. I am a band player.
In 1977 I special ordered Gon Bops with cases out of Mel Brown's drum shop in Portland. I got a 9 ¾ inch super quinto and a 12 ¼ inch tumba. Mel made me a deal at his cost, plus trade in of the King Congas, the Ludwig bongos, and two Zildjian cymbals. The Gon Bops were top of the line red oak shells, no bands, with chrome super series hardware (sometimes called the Voodoo crown). The shells normally came with the chrome International Series hardware, which had Cuban style riveted flat bar ears, but I liked the round rod V shaped ears, so ordered it special that way, which actually cost less. I also told them not to put the ugly manufacturer’s plate on the shells. I still remember how those new drums smelled when I first opened the cases, a combination of glue, fresh wood, and raw hide. These were the drums I would play almost exclusively for the next 25 years.
Along the way I picked up a used mint condition Sunset Blvd Valje 10 inch quinto. I didn’t play it much, preferred the sound of the others, so focused mostly on the two Gon Bops. For many years I preformed on just two drums.
Most of my gigs though were on drum set, and I traveled and played professionally with some good club bands. The Gon Bops always came with me, set to the left of my hi-hats. My band mates liked it when I used a stick in my right hand and played congas with my left, fitting in a simple tumbao into the drum beat. I also would take solos which featured both drumset and conga. I still enjoyed playing congas on the street corner and in the parks with friends, and continued to learn more funk, world beat, and reggae. My folkloric stuff suffered.
The Gon Bops flew on airplanes and traveled by car and through the years became weathered and worn in spite of always being in cases. The glossy finish on the red oak wore off at the pressure points from the hard fiber cases, even though they were foam lined. The chrome hardware started to pit, flake off, and rust was forming in spots. I wondered if this was caused by the salt and sweat of my hands, or if maybe the moisture changes in the air and truck of my car. In any event I was becoming ashamed of the condition of my drums and decided to re-vamp them. I took the hardware off and had it re-chromed. I sanded the shells down to bare wood and finished it in natural oil. My Gon Bops are looking beautiful now, and if they get scratched, all I have to do is sand it out and touch it up with more oil. I am sold on natural oil.
Eventually I started playing three drums and my old set of two Gon Bops became pretty much retired. I now play a set of three vintage International Series red oak Gon Bops, 10 ¾, 11 ½, 12 ¼ inch. About half the time I play a set of three Skin on Skin oak drums, 10, 11, 12 inch. I have gotten so use to the third drum I do not like playing without it. I keep the conga to the left, the quinto in the middle, and the tumba to the right. You just can’t play the melodies with only two drums.
Over the years I learned to use my feet while playing conga. It helped having played drumset with double bass. I developed what I call my ‘Indigenous Kit’, which evolved over time. With my left foot I play Nigerian log drum, or goat toe nail shakers. I use a double bass pedal on a 14 inch djun djun. With the right foot I also play cowbell. With my hands I play three congas and various suspended nut shell and seed pod shakers. I also have two rack mounted didgeridoos within easy reach that have various percussion instruments hanging off them.
The music I play on this roots kit is more composition than solo drums. I can play right foot cascara against a left foot son clave while my hands work the drums, build groove and beat, solo freely across the top. I might mix in a little John Henry, drop in some rock & roll double bass combinations, get down African funky, or syncopate a bell against a guaguanco with left foot rumba clave. The djun djun is a great addition to the conga parts, even a simple four on the floor intensifies the rhythm, and when you add the hollow log it sounds like several drummers.
I tell you this not to brag, but give you an idea of what I’m doing, where I’m going.
As far as my other hand drums, as I’ve gotten older I bought more than I need. I am afraid I have become a ‘collector’ and have stuff I do not really use but just wanted to have. I’ve always said music is not about the hardware, it about what we can do with it. Drums are not meant to be end tables or used to hold plants, and I do not do that. But my household has become a percussion type décor, drums and percussion instruments are everywhere, and for this I both love it and feel ashamed. I use to think so long as a guy has got one good set of drums, that’s all he needs. Then I reasoned it is a good thing to have a backup, a spare set makes sense. Then I lost all reason, hah.
So now, I own the following:
My old red oak Gon Bops: a 9 ¾“ Super Quinto and 12 ¼” tumba, chrome voodoo hardware, no bands, natural oil finish.
A matching red oak 14 ¼” Gon Bop Super Tumba, chrome voodoo hardware, no bands, natural oil finish.
Two Valjes, a 10”quinto and a 11.5” tumba.
LP Valje bongos.
Four Skin on Skin, in white oak with chrome, 9”, 10”, 11”, 12”, natural oil finish.
Four International Series red oak Gon bops 9 ¾”, 10 ¾”, 11 ½”, 12 ¼”.
Sol 13” Super Tumba and a Sol 16” Titanic conga drums, in quarter sawn red oak, natural oil finish.
Sol 44”tall African Congas, in African mahogany, 10”, and 13”, natural oil finish.
Sol Talking drum.
A home made dawn red wood Djembe.
30” buffalo skin Pow Wow drum.
18” buffalo skin Tom Tom.
Lucky for me I never felt to collect drum sets, I only own three and the three snare drums that go with them. Seems a lot of guys get carried away buying snare drums … so far that has not happened to me.
But I do have a LOT of small percussion.
So there you’ve got it, my story, my drums.
If you’ve actually read all or most of this, post your thoughts or comments.
:p
Edited By bongo on 1182832170
I got my first congas when I was 18, they were cheap Mexican drums, light weight brown mahogany shells, and stamped 'mule skin' on the heads.
My first hand drums were some Ludwig plastic skinned bongos (black oyster pearl, like Ringo’s) I got when I was 15 in 1969.... I totally loved Santana and wanted to learn the Latin stuff, but lived in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and was about as isolated as I could be from that scene. I'd been playing regular drums at that point for 6 years, so at least I had some basics down.
The Mexican congas had chromed crowns with round V dog ears, metal bands down the shell, a leather hand strap handle and a leather shoulder strap (which was real handy). They also had three legs you could pull out and tighten down, so you could play standing up, but I never did, I took the legs out and played sitting. I thought I was pretty good (I could play along to all those Santana songs!) when I headed down to Eugene in '72 and met my first real conga drummer. I soon realized I had a lot to learn...
Those Mexican drums had a nice mellow sound. I called them my '**** kickers' cause they got all beat up; I had no cases for them. They went to the beach, up in the woods, under overpasses, in stair wells, and on the streets. I’d just lay them down flat on their sides on the sidewalk. I hitch-hiked with them, traveled to Europe ... packed one full of clothes like a suitcase and left the other free to play.
The Mexican drums eventually disappeared out the back door of a nightclub when I wasn't looking, but by then I had my Gon Bops which took out some of the sting (just some) of losing them. But before I got the Gon Bops, I bought a set of fiberglass King Congas. The King Congas were loud and ringy and had a pretty black purple finish with subtle pin stripping. The finish was quickly ruined through rough treatment and no cases, and when they got scratched would expose an ugly white under surface. I ended up wrapping them in black electrical tape, trying to make them look better.
By this time I was studying music at Mt. Hood Community College, just East of Portland. For a small college it had a reputation as a decent jazz school and bandleaders like Stan Kenton and Doc Severson would roll through and pull talent from the stage band and put them to work. By this time I had lessons from several teachers and had some fundamentals down. I managed to hold the percussion chair in the ‘A’ stage band for awhile.
During this time I created a way to write conga music I still use today. My idea was based on standard notation and eliminated the use of superscript to tell what tone and which hand to use. The hand was shown by the direction the music staff pointed, right hand pointed down, left hand pointed up. The tones were shown by the note itself, solid black for closed, a hollow circle for open, and an ‘x’ for slap. By convention, I understood that tied solid black eight notes were to be played heel toe, etc. The system worked well for me and I spent time composing on paper, creating rhythms from the ground up, many of which I still use today. Isolated, I began to develop my own style and sound. Long before I’d heard of Giovanni, I was applying western rudiments and working up rhythms based on fast double stroke heel toe in combination with a melody of open tones and slaps.
Some traditional players disapproved of my experimentation and said I was not playing right. What I came to realize, and this took me awhile learn, is there are the folkloric players and there are the band players, and neither is right or wrong. Folkloric players use three guys to play authentic rumba, and are very sticky about observing THE TRADITION. The band player admires tradition but bends the rules, plays all the parts, and gets the gig. I am a band player.
In 1977 I special ordered Gon Bops with cases out of Mel Brown's drum shop in Portland. I got a 9 ¾ inch super quinto and a 12 ¼ inch tumba. Mel made me a deal at his cost, plus trade in of the King Congas, the Ludwig bongos, and two Zildjian cymbals. The Gon Bops were top of the line red oak shells, no bands, with chrome super series hardware (sometimes called the Voodoo crown). The shells normally came with the chrome International Series hardware, which had Cuban style riveted flat bar ears, but I liked the round rod V shaped ears, so ordered it special that way, which actually cost less. I also told them not to put the ugly manufacturer’s plate on the shells. I still remember how those new drums smelled when I first opened the cases, a combination of glue, fresh wood, and raw hide. These were the drums I would play almost exclusively for the next 25 years.
Along the way I picked up a used mint condition Sunset Blvd Valje 10 inch quinto. I didn’t play it much, preferred the sound of the others, so focused mostly on the two Gon Bops. For many years I preformed on just two drums.
Most of my gigs though were on drum set, and I traveled and played professionally with some good club bands. The Gon Bops always came with me, set to the left of my hi-hats. My band mates liked it when I used a stick in my right hand and played congas with my left, fitting in a simple tumbao into the drum beat. I also would take solos which featured both drumset and conga. I still enjoyed playing congas on the street corner and in the parks with friends, and continued to learn more funk, world beat, and reggae. My folkloric stuff suffered.
The Gon Bops flew on airplanes and traveled by car and through the years became weathered and worn in spite of always being in cases. The glossy finish on the red oak wore off at the pressure points from the hard fiber cases, even though they were foam lined. The chrome hardware started to pit, flake off, and rust was forming in spots. I wondered if this was caused by the salt and sweat of my hands, or if maybe the moisture changes in the air and truck of my car. In any event I was becoming ashamed of the condition of my drums and decided to re-vamp them. I took the hardware off and had it re-chromed. I sanded the shells down to bare wood and finished it in natural oil. My Gon Bops are looking beautiful now, and if they get scratched, all I have to do is sand it out and touch it up with more oil. I am sold on natural oil.
Eventually I started playing three drums and my old set of two Gon Bops became pretty much retired. I now play a set of three vintage International Series red oak Gon Bops, 10 ¾, 11 ½, 12 ¼ inch. About half the time I play a set of three Skin on Skin oak drums, 10, 11, 12 inch. I have gotten so use to the third drum I do not like playing without it. I keep the conga to the left, the quinto in the middle, and the tumba to the right. You just can’t play the melodies with only two drums.
Over the years I learned to use my feet while playing conga. It helped having played drumset with double bass. I developed what I call my ‘Indigenous Kit’, which evolved over time. With my left foot I play Nigerian log drum, or goat toe nail shakers. I use a double bass pedal on a 14 inch djun djun. With the right foot I also play cowbell. With my hands I play three congas and various suspended nut shell and seed pod shakers. I also have two rack mounted didgeridoos within easy reach that have various percussion instruments hanging off them.
The music I play on this roots kit is more composition than solo drums. I can play right foot cascara against a left foot son clave while my hands work the drums, build groove and beat, solo freely across the top. I might mix in a little John Henry, drop in some rock & roll double bass combinations, get down African funky, or syncopate a bell against a guaguanco with left foot rumba clave. The djun djun is a great addition to the conga parts, even a simple four on the floor intensifies the rhythm, and when you add the hollow log it sounds like several drummers.
I tell you this not to brag, but give you an idea of what I’m doing, where I’m going.
As far as my other hand drums, as I’ve gotten older I bought more than I need. I am afraid I have become a ‘collector’ and have stuff I do not really use but just wanted to have. I’ve always said music is not about the hardware, it about what we can do with it. Drums are not meant to be end tables or used to hold plants, and I do not do that. But my household has become a percussion type décor, drums and percussion instruments are everywhere, and for this I both love it and feel ashamed. I use to think so long as a guy has got one good set of drums, that’s all he needs. Then I reasoned it is a good thing to have a backup, a spare set makes sense. Then I lost all reason, hah.
So now, I own the following:
My old red oak Gon Bops: a 9 ¾“ Super Quinto and 12 ¼” tumba, chrome voodoo hardware, no bands, natural oil finish.
A matching red oak 14 ¼” Gon Bop Super Tumba, chrome voodoo hardware, no bands, natural oil finish.
Two Valjes, a 10”quinto and a 11.5” tumba.
LP Valje bongos.
Four Skin on Skin, in white oak with chrome, 9”, 10”, 11”, 12”, natural oil finish.
Four International Series red oak Gon bops 9 ¾”, 10 ¾”, 11 ½”, 12 ¼”.
Sol 13” Super Tumba and a Sol 16” Titanic conga drums, in quarter sawn red oak, natural oil finish.
Sol 44”tall African Congas, in African mahogany, 10”, and 13”, natural oil finish.
Sol Talking drum.
A home made dawn red wood Djembe.
30” buffalo skin Pow Wow drum.
18” buffalo skin Tom Tom.
Lucky for me I never felt to collect drum sets, I only own three and the three snare drums that go with them. Seems a lot of guys get carried away buying snare drums … so far that has not happened to me.
But I do have a LOT of small percussion.
So there you’ve got it, my story, my drums.
If you’ve actually read all or most of this, post your thoughts or comments.
:p
Edited By bongo on 1182832170
- bongo
- Posts: 94
- Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:14 am
- Location: Corvallis, Oregon
by bongosnotbombs » Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:57 am
Hah, I went to college in Euegene! I know
Oregon pretty well...
Seems like you enjoy those old school drums, Valje,
Gon Bops....
I'm in SF now, man I wish Sol and Akbar were still here, Valje too
for that matter!
Oregon pretty well...
Seems like you enjoy those old school drums, Valje,
Gon Bops....
I'm in SF now, man I wish Sol and Akbar were still here, Valje too
for that matter!
-
bongosnotbombs - Posts: 2865
- Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 4:17 am
- Location: San Francisco, Ca
by CongaTick » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:16 pm
Wow, Bongo. Don't know about others, but the breadth of your experience and abilities and the perc inventory you've acquired overwhelm me. My path begins in the 70's, leading to my 4 drum setup +bongos, in comparison, a somehwat pathetic "collection" of undistinguished tubs. I'm still working on left hand independence/fludity sufficient to get me to a satisfactory double stroke, much less four-limb playing of multiple instruments and rhythms. Nonetheless, this does not diminish "your story", a delightful and fascinating account. I'm sure we would all love to hear/see a vidclip.
- CongaTick
- Posts: 1256
- Joined: Sun Dec 29, 2002 3:49 pm
by GuruPimpi » Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:48 pm
Bongo!
You took my breath away. Nice to know all this things. I feel your pride and devotion to music and everythin that comes along with...
Yes, you should write a book, like bobr said.
P.
You took my breath away. Nice to know all this things. I feel your pride and devotion to music and everythin that comes along with...
Yes, you should write a book, like bobr said.
P.
It's about liberating yourself, man!!!
http://www.myspace.com/odfranclnamozgani
http://www.myspace.com/perkakns
http://www.myspace.com/strojmachine
http://www.myspace.com/robertjerele
http://www.myspace.com/odfranclnamozgani
http://www.myspace.com/perkakns
http://www.myspace.com/strojmachine
http://www.myspace.com/robertjerele
-
GuruPimpi - Posts: 487
- Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 2:12 am
- Location: Slovenija
by BATZONG » Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:09 pm
Thanks for sharing your story, Bongo!
Would it be possible to see at least a few pics of your setup?
Those old GB's are the real deal, IMHO... They are to congas what Gretsch is to drums... BTW, what drums (drumset) do you play?
I like your aproach to percussion, particularly that unorthodox aproach, free from the "folcloric" boundaries.
Daniel.
Would it be possible to see at least a few pics of your setup?
Those old GB's are the real deal, IMHO... They are to congas what Gretsch is to drums... BTW, what drums (drumset) do you play?
I like your aproach to percussion, particularly that unorthodox aproach, free from the "folcloric" boundaries.
Daniel.
- BATZONG
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 3:01 am
- Location: Guadeloupe, caribbean
by bongo » Wed Jun 27, 2007 4:54 pm
Thank you all for your kind comments, it is good to know it is not a vacuum out there, that people appreciate me telling my story.
I have some photos of my setup on myspace.com/bongodoggie. There is a photo that shows the foot pedal setup, taken from above. If you scroll down the comments there are also photos of me performing and I think sometimes I'm using the Gon Bops, sometimes the Skin on Skin.
Soon I'll try to post some sound files that let you hear me play. They will be all live, no over-dubs. I've a number of old recordings, but want to make some new ones for you
Peace to you all,
Bongo
I have some photos of my setup on myspace.com/bongodoggie. There is a photo that shows the foot pedal setup, taken from above. If you scroll down the comments there are also photos of me performing and I think sometimes I'm using the Gon Bops, sometimes the Skin on Skin.
Soon I'll try to post some sound files that let you hear me play. They will be all live, no over-dubs. I've a number of old recordings, but want to make some new ones for you
Peace to you all,
Bongo
- bongo
- Posts: 94
- Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:14 am
- Location: Corvallis, Oregon
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