VINTAGE SNARE DRUMS NJ
Buy. Sell. Trade. Rent.
HELLO ITS ME
And this is how I decided to spend my retirement..........
I have been a musician since the 5th grade. First on Trombone (they already had too many drummers), then to drums when I was 17 since all the 'cool kids' were in rock bands and I wanted to get it on that. I studied with the late great Carl Wolf from Bloomfield NJ. Carl was 'the man' locally and he was also friends with Buddy Rich who I saw many times and had the chance to meet and get an autograph which I still have to this day. I watched one show from behind the stage and stared at his feet the entire show. Everyone knows Buddy had fast hands but those feet - wow! I have bought and sold equipment (mostly drums and electronics) my entire life and spent countless hours on eBay starting in the mid-nineties. I purchased my first new drum set in 1977 - Slingerland - at Terminal Music on the legendary 48th Street in Manhattan ~ a 5-ply set in gloss Black with the Super Set-O-Matic dual post tom mount.
Playing Trombone allowed to pass the smell test as a 'real' musician. I would read music, arrange charts and as a 'bone player always had a gig somewhere. I have played Drums and/or Trombone in many bands over the years in the NY/NJ/PA area from doo-wop (The Classics, The Duprees, The Drifters) to R&B (The Beltones, Spectrum), to Cover Bands (Trax, The Stop Band, Rhythm of Life/Babe, many others...), to Jazz trios (WineLite, many others...) to Weddings (Just Friends/Time Machine), to Heavy Metal (Blind Driver), Children's Music (The Polar Bear Band), to Big Band (Full Count, many others...) holding down the Contemporary Christian drum chair at Church and currently with The Main Event, Tim McLoone's Holiday Express and my own Classic Rock band "The Groove Sharks".
I have played every rat-hole bar in the Tri-State area, many of NJ's wonderful summer street fairs and festivals, some of the most beautiful catering halls you have ever seen, quite a few shopping malls down the coastline from MA to DE, a number of large outdoor amphitheater festivals, Auditoriums, Elks, Moose, Masons and VFWs, in parades, Hospitals, Long-Term Care Centers, Trauma Centers, Beach parties, on the back of many 18-wheel Flatbed trucks, strip clubs, gymnasiums, plenty of elegant restaurants, a number of churches and yes a house Jam or two over the years.....
I've played on stage, without a stage, on pool tables, on bars, behind bars, on grassy knolls, on blacktop, on the street, on top of stacked cases of beer, inside, outside, on decks, on Football fields, on the beach, around pools and patios, in living rooms, in basements, in backyards, in concert halls - pretty much anywhere these is live music, I think I have a story to tell about it. Story of the year (2018) so far is playing with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Singer Eddie Brigati from The Rascals.
Monk to Metallica - I love it all (except Opera--sorry).... Tower of Power to Avenged Sevenfold, Miles Davis to Myles Kennedy - if you can play, then play on - it's that simple for me.
My professional business career started in 1982 after realizing I did not want to be a music teacher, I went back to school and was a software developer for 10 years. My career progressed into Information Technology (IT) Management inside a number of large Global Pharmaceutical Companies before forming my own Healthcare Strategy consulting firm with my Partners in 2007: Blue Fin Group for which I am still on the Board of Directors, but I have now retired from active consulting.
At this point of the story, you are likely a family member since most other people would have clicked off this page by now, but I thought the context of my background might be interesting for some.
Vintage Snare Drums NJ launched in 2017 as a transition 'hobby' from what I have been doing for many years - which was jumping on a plane every week to one of my client locations (which was amazing, but not as glamorous as they show in the movies...).
Well the hobby quickly grew out of control and the storefront was started. I love music both playing and listening and love, love, love Vintage and Antique drums and percussion. I am into restoring snares for the player not the collector, so everything I do enhances the sound and playing experience but may not always enhance the value ($$$)---- and I am OK with that. Drums are meant to be played, not to be purchased and sit on a shelf and 'flipped' for a higher price some day. I am not a speculator - I am a musician, a husband, a father, a new grandfather, a brother, a cousin, a friend, an uncle and a neighbor you can count on for help in getting out-of or in-to trouble.
I also dabble making some of my own percussion instruments and have fun trying them out at local Drum Circles from time to time.
That's me...Who are you? Drop me a line... or visit me at the beautiful New Jersey Coastline!
Rich