FIRST DRUMSETS EVER

Recently I have been rummaging through a bunch of VHS video tapes so that they can finally be thrown away, and was delighted when I found video footage of the first two drumsets I ever owned, or more accurately, were bought by my dad for my brothers and me to knock around on in the playroom.

The first kit was a blue-sparkle Royce kit that consisted of a 20" bass drum, a 12" tom, a 16" floor tom and a matching 5-1/2" wood snare.  It was a cheap, Chinese import piece-of-junk but suitable enough for a beginner's kit.  My brothers and I often fought over who got to play on it, but on Thanksgiving when my cousins came to visit, none of us got a turn.  Cousin Greg always arrived for our family feast equipped with his electric guitar, and after dinner my brother John would bring out his guitar and they would "jam" all afternoon while Cousin Robbie played the drums.  We also had a bass guitar in the house that I would sometimes pluck around on for a little while, but we mostly sat around and watched Robbie and Greg, who were a little more skilled on their instruments.

Of course Robbie, Greg and John played extremely loud, which would alert friends in the neighborhood like Steven Holladay, who would come over to watch.  He is featured in this video as well.

Before anyone views this video, I must issue a few disclaimers to put it in the proper context.  First of all, you must remember that at the time this was taken (the late seventies), home video cameras had only recently been invented.  Prior to this, moving picture cameras photographed silent film, which had to be taken to a developer and processed before it could be viewed.  The ability to record video directly to a VHS tape and watch it instantly was a fascinating new concept.  Naturally this exciting, unexplored medium tended to inspire rampant tomfoolery within young adolescent boys, who found it incredibly humorous to see themselves acting retarded on television.  That is why, upon realizing that the camera is focused on them, they immediately break out into spasms of uncontrolled idiocy, flailing about violently and mugging at the cameraman.  Before you judge them too harshly, just remember that these youngsters were only being filmed for their own private entertainment, and had no intentions of posting such stupidity on YouTube for the whole world to see.  Back then we acted like idiots, but only for the benefit of ourselves and our closest friends and family, not the whole freaking internet.

Also, please do not laugh at any of the clothing or haircuts that these fine young men happen to be wearing.  Their attire may appear rather ridiculous and tacky now but believe me, in the late seventies this style of dress was totally cool and acceptable.  All kids looked like this.  You just wait.  If you think Justin Beiber haircuts, pants hanging off your ass so you're underwear shows and tattoos covering the length of your arm are still going to be incredibly stylish in thirty years, you're in for a rude awakening, dude.

Finally, if the cinematography seems a little lacking here, just remember that video cameras at this time were huge, about the size of a breadbox, if said breadbox was filled with fifty pounds of bread, and so they had to be mounted on a tripod at one end of the room.  Cameras were not little hand-held devices that a ten-year-old could run around with and capture amazing footage reminiscent of "The Blair Witch Project," which tends to make most people vomit from motion sickness.  The camera used for this video was much too heavy and bulky to be lugged around.  This is why the cameraman's only option is to swivel the camera atop the tripod in a single location, instead of moving about the room filming from various angles.

Anyway, roll the clip.....

I uncovered another video clip that features my second kit, the silver-sparkle Slingerland.  In this footage it can be seen that before we got rid of the blue Royce kit, we actually combined the two sets to form a larger arrangement.  Unfortunately I can't remember what kind of snare came with the Slingerland kit and it cannot be seen in this shot, so this must remain a mystery.  I also have no recollection of what happened to these drums, whether we sold them or trashed them.  Anyway, here is a rather humorous "solo" by me, as filmed by my younger brother.

So there you have it.  Those are the earliest examples of drumsets I have played.  I hope you enjoyed this as much as me.  In my day, we fought over the drumsticks, not the game controller.  But if I remember correctly, whenever Robbie left after Thanksgiving, all the drumsticks would be broken...