A podcast all about the rich history of the drums - and how they became what they are today! Join Bart van der Zee as he speaks with experts about the curious journey of the ever-evolving drum set.
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In this solo episode, I take a deep dive into the 1000 year old automaton drummers that were created by 12th century Islamic inventor, Al-Jazari. These VERY early robots are amazing marvels of engineering and predominantly feature drummers who play kettle drums and cymbals to alert people in Mesopotamia (now Turkey) of the time of day with extremely elaborate clocks. These drummers are direct predecessors to modern day cars and machinery, as Al-Jazari is credited with the creation of turning rotary motion into linear motion with crank and connecting rods, which is essential for making pumps and engines possible. Basically, d...
Episode • 23 July 2024 • 9m and 22s
Chris Russio joins me back on the podcast to do a super deep dive into all of the studio drum sets, cymbals, heads, sticks, accessories, percussion and everything else used by Lars Ulrich from 1982 to 2001! We talk about all of the earliest known recordings of Metallica on his Camco drum set, through all the Tamas, the famous Sabian HiHats, and the iconic Black Album Gretsch drums, up to Load/Reload/Garage Inc. Part 2 will cover St. Anger through to today!
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<...Episode • 9 July 2024 • 1h, 23m and 50s
Jeff Kirsch teaches us the real reason why the biggest drum brands in the world sound different from each other, and in some cases, why they sound exactly the same. We discuss brands such as Ludwig, Gretsch, Leedy, Tama, Camco, DW, just to name a few. We talk about the different shell constructions, ply counts, use of re-rings, rise of Japanese builders and the fall and resurrection of the great American brands and a whole lot more!
Jeff is a master drum builder and a staple of the custom drum builder scene in the USA. He always...
Episode • 25 June 2024 • 1h, 32m and 17s
Tim "Herb" Alexander joins me on the show to discuss his iconic drum sets that were used in classic Primus music videos such as Jerry Was A Race Car Driver, My Name is Mud, John The Fisherman, Wynona Big Brown Beaver, DMV and much more! I am a longtime Primus fan and I learned a TON from this conversation. Tim is a 3x grammy nominee and multi-platinum recording artist who has not only helped shape the world of modern rock and roll with Primus, but also has shared the stage with Puscifer and A Perfect Circle.
Tim...
Episode • 11 June 2024 • 51m and 27s
Alex Van Halen is auctioning off hundreds of unbelievable items that have never been seen by public eyes, plus some of his most iconic drum sets that he played with Van Halen! Kurt Ekstrom joins me back on the podcast to look through this incredible auction and dissect tons of these rare items. Kurt covered all of AVH's career on the podcast last year and this dovetails perfectly with that episode and answers many questions that Kurt and I had with that original series!
Here is a link to the auction: https://www.backstageauctions.com/catalog/alex-van-halen-highlights...
Episode • 28 May 2024 • 1h, 13m and 31s
Danny Seraphine is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted, world-famous original drummer of Chicago. Tate Berkey has been researching Danny's gear for the last year and has compiled an exhaustive look at all things Danny Seraphine. We cover his earliest drum kits, his time with Slingerland drums, his Zildjian endorsements, and then his switch to Yamaha and DW. Danny is a consummate gearhead and loved to experiment with different sizes, configurations, especially the use of concert toms.
We cover Danny Seraphine's entire career in this episode, and Tate doesn't leave any stone...
Episode • 14 May 2024 • 2h, 32m and 58s
Rob Hart takes us through audio clips of his former mentor and teacher Robbie Gonzalez which gives us first hand knowledge and ideas of this great mind of drumming. Robbie Gonzalez was a Berklee professor, prolific recording artist, and performed with greats like Al Di Meola. This episode features many great recordings of Robbie performing live and also working in the lesson room with Rob Hart. This is a continuation of the "mentors series" that Rob has been doing here on Drum History Podcast. The other episodes include clips with Mike Clark, Steve Smith, Tony Williams and more to...
Episode • 23 April 2024 • 1h, 6m and 59s
Unravel the captivating journey of recording technology with Jay Petach as your guide, spanning back to the 1800s when pioneers like Thomas Edison introduced groundbreaking inventions like the Phonograph and Edison's Cylinders. Delve into the evolution leading to the revolutionary use of magnetic tape and the advent of computers, propelling us into the era of multi-track recording as we recognize it today.
In this enlightening episode, Jay Petach, a distinguished professor and seasoned audio engineer, offers invaluable insights drawn from his extensive experience. He regales us with anecdotes of the bygone era when drummers were strategically placed...
Episode • 9 April 2024 • 56m and 24s
Hey everyone! I am launching a temporary bi-weekly show schedule with two new episodes per month. We are currently in the midst of an attic renovation which has bumped me out of my normal Drum History Studio for the next month or two. It has been chaos recently with having a newborn and i've got some new stuff going on with traveling to California for work but this has pushed things a bit over the edge where scheduling has been very tricky.
I think what I am going to do is revert back to my original format f...
Episode • 26 March 2024 • 6m and 1s
Ellis Tollin is a world-class performer who played on hit records, started a very successful music store in Philadelphia called Music City, which hosted countless performances by greats such as Louie Bellson, Max Roach, Art Blakey, and many more. Ellis is known as the father of the Drum Clinic, and he was also a close personal friend of Buddy Rich. This episode shines a light on his rise as a performer at the peak of the Jazz explosion, his need to pivot after arthritis made his drumming career come to an end, his involvement with the Rogers Drum Company...
Episode • 19 March 2024 • 1h, 5m and 43s
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