Last night my husband, Paul Hamilton, and I went to one of Rich Redmond's CRASH Drum Clinics last night at the Civic Center in Peoria, IL. (Rich Redmond is the recording/live drummer for Multi-Platinum Country Recording Artist Jason Aldean and many others.) 

It was an outstanding event  hosted by The Moon Dog Drum House from Galesburg, IL. Rich's presentation was full of great equipment information and technique demonstrations, while being highly entertaining and truly inspirational. I suggest you watch his site for a CRASH clinic near you!  You will love it!

Of course I enjoyed his compliments and endorsement of his Great Leather Drumstick Bag:)

      

Our good friend and awesome drummer, Nick Fairley, the infamous (and deservedly so) Rich Redmond, and myself, Dena Hamilton. 

I received another copy of Rob Shanahan's book and realized a blog post is way overdue!  

"Volume 1 - Through the Lens of Music Photographer Rob Shanahan" 

with forward by Ringo Starr

Trust me and buy this book! You'll be buying more for gifts, it's that wonderful.  

I can't say enough good things about Rob's first compilation work! If you love music and art, you are going to love Rob Shanahan's many photographs of colorful and accomplished musicians.

The paper and hardback cover are slick and classy, the book itself is large so you get to appreciate the details in Rob's photographs, it's priced extremely reasonable, and more than anything - these are fascinating and opportune shots taken by an amazing photographer, artist, and musician (it takes one to know one!).  

And BONUS!  Rob offers a comment about each photograph, whether about taking the shot or his personal experience with the musician or band.  This insider's collection is presented on separate pages so as not to interfere with your experience of the photographs. The layout is very cool and makes for a super enjoyable read!

FYI - 

I discovered Rob Shanahan and Volume 1,  because Rob is a Great Leather Drumstick Bag™ drummer!  But it's only a matter of time, before music and photography lovers everywhere know the name "Rob Shanahan."

 

10"x13" hardcover, with 224 full-page images of the biggest names in the music industry.

Behind the scenes, in the studio, onstage, and backstage, this unique collection of many
never-before-seen photographs is certain to please music and photography fans alike.
PLUS artist quotes, personal anecdotes and photo shoot highlights all bound together in this awesome collectible coffee table book.

http://www.robshanahan.com

http://youtu.be/ezWN4U6B2qE

With ALAN CARVER

Bonjour from Montreal

 Hi Dena, I just wanted to say thanks again for the super stick bag. For everything that relates to drumming, I only buy the best gear around. Indeed, your stick bag is a superb piece of equipment due to its quality and practicality. I simply cannot go to a gig without it. I sent a picture with my band mates. Continue the good work; BYE!

Alan Carver

Random Ride   

Thanks for the cool photo, Alan!!!  (Loved the review too:)  

Dena

Dena!!! 

I got the bag and it is amazing! I used it for the first time yesterday!! Awesome! I am beyond flattered to be in such great company. I will send you pics of me with it asap. In the meantime. Here is a picture for your site. Thanks again!!! 

Rich Redmond

Drummer/Producer/Speaker
Jason Aldean/Sessions

www.richredmond.com

Very cool, Rich. Nice to talk to you and thanks for helping spread the word!

Dena

Hi Dena, We received the bag yesterday and it is beautiful. Tia is really happy and loves it.I am really glad we went for the mahogany colour it,is gorgeous . Thanks also for the lovely coin purse,I love it.
Thanks so much for all the extra effort. Diana X

When Diana first ordered her son's drumstick bag, she sent me this:

Hi, Yes all the way in New Zealand,my son has specifically requested your bag as his drum tutor at the local uni recommended it!.

This was a pretty cool thing for me to hear!  It really made me feel good to know that a university professor in New Zealand was recommending the Great Leather Drumstick Bag!

I've enjoyed getting to know some of my owners a little bit from conversations we've had and I like sending good thoughts towards a specific drummer while I'm sewing up his bag:)

With JOHNNY RABB

MEINL Drum Festival in Mexico City - July 13, 2011


Hi Dena,
People flipped over the bag and mutes.
Here is end of Fest with crowd in background ....

 

Here's a story sent in by drummer and jazz enthusiast, Richard Hoe.
Enjoy!

About half-way through U.S. Navy boot camp, in Great Lakes, IL, in 1957, the men in my company got a 12-hour pass. Most of us went to Chicago, and I was the first one out of the door. I had prepared for the trip to Chicago by checking the jazz listings in the paper and, once I got to to the city, headed directly to the Blue Note, where I caught about three sets of Duke Ellington (I was 17, but my driver's license had the birth date off by one year in my favor; I had no trouble getting in and was actually just a few days away from being eighteen). I didn't meet the Duke that evening, but I did get to visit with the trumpet player, Shorty Baker, during a break. Shorty was very kind. I was of course mesmerized by the great Ellington orchestra, and particularly enjoyed its then fairly new drummer, Sam Woodyard, whom I always thought was the perfect match for the band.

Six years later, I was back in Manhattan (not Kansas) courting my wife, who lived at 400 Central Park West. One day, I was helping my future mother-in-law carry in some stuff from her car and she pointed out a man, a few hundred feet away, to me, saying, "There's that nice man. He and I seem to be on the same shopping schedule and he often holds the door and helps me get my bags on the elevator." (I need to digress here and remind readers that food shopping in big cities by apartment dwellers is much different than shopping in most places--in New York City, most of us used personal fold-up carts and/or lugged bags through streets, over curbs and so forth; in other words, food shopping is a hassle.)

I recognized him immediately. "Do you know who that 'nice man' is?" I asked.

"Why, no," she answered.

"It's Duke Ellington," I told her. She couldn't believe it.

After that, I saw him a number of times, starting in 1964 and up until the early 1970s, sometimes sharing the elevator--he was few floors above my in-laws' apartment. My wife and I were married in 1964 and continued to live in Manhattan until 1975, although we stopped going to 400 Central Park West in late 1973 or early 1974 (the Duke died in 1974) when my in-laws retired and moved to Florida. He was a genuinely nice fellow.

Richard Hoe
July 8, 2011


How cool to have a personal remembrance of Duke Ellington!
Thanks for sharing, Richard.

I have a drumstick bag for sale that is slightly irregular in color and tannage. It is British Tan regularly $229 and I am selling it for $149 (yes- it's true!) without a personalized name label.  This is a great opportunity!  If you have any questions, contact me asap - first come, first serve.