OLD LUDWIGS AND SLINGERLANDS

After posting an old clip from a performance at a "Miss Hammond Pageant" (my former high school), I was inspired to do a little further research on the matter, and discovered a pretty good photograph included in the 1985 annual:

Unfortunately, Sally Dubose got "clipped" in the picture, but I do get a pretty "clear" view of the old Ludwig Vistalites I used to play.  Since this was the 1985 pageant, which I believe took place during the winter basketball season, that means I was in fact a Senior that year, and Cynthia and Sally were juniors.

The previous year my brother John and I played for the same event with Douglass Key and Wes Weathersbee.  That time we played a song by The Doors, "Riders on the Storm," and I still had the second drumset I ever owned, a silver-sparkle Slingerland kit.  Here is a photo from that performance, which appeared in the 1984 annual:

My Slingerland kit was a four-piece that included a 20" kick, 12" tom and 16" floor tom, and as evidenced by the picture, I added the 6-8-10 set of roto-toms over the hi-hat to my left.  At the time I didn't like this kit either, not realizing it was a vintage Slingerland set that would be quite valuable in later years.  In the 80s, rock drummers subscribed to the "bigger is better" concept, and I wanted a huge, 24-inch double-bass Ludwig kit with tons of toms like Alex Van Halen.  Needless to say, I would love to own a vintage silver-sparkle Slingerland kit now.

A funny bit of history that goes along with these photos:  In the top example, my brother John is wearing dress slacks with a vest and tie.  Because only Douglass is visible in the bottom picture, you cannot see that unlike the rest of us, John showed up that year dressed like an 80s rock star, wearing shorts, a gaudy sleeveless shirt, a bandanna tied around his wrist, mirrored sunglasses and an earring in his left ear.  This absolutely horrified my mother, who remains embarrassed about his appearance to this day, often recalling the occasion with the line, "You remember that year your brother got up onstage wearing that ridiculous outfit..."  For this reason the next year, although Cynthia and Sally look pretty 80s in their attire, John is dressed quite formally, almost like we're playing a wedding or something.  Despite this reformation however, my mother has yet to forgive him for his outlandish get-up the year before.

Lucky for him there is no video footage of this performance, so even though our rendition of "Riders on the Storm" was excellent and well-received by the audience, his poor choice of costume remains only a regrettable memory in my mother's mind.  No one else remembers his appearance, nor would anyone even know the story if she would quit telling it.