Gig

Here's a photo of a gig we did Saturday at a place called the Olmos Pharmacy, a very historic bar and resteraunt in San Antonio, Texas. We shared the bill with our friends from a band called Exit 314, who opened for us. This is a jam we did at the end of our set with Bruce (second guitarist from left) and Eric their lead vocalist/harmonica, who for some reason is not in this photo. We had a great crowd and the bar did so well, they ran out of Miller lite beer, ha, ha.

Cool!! Kit looks great mate.

I remember your singer from your last visit too. Tell her she has an Aussie fan!!

FWIW.....running out of "lite" beer is NOTHING to be proud of.

Well you have to understand, Miller lite is a very popular beer here in America, so most bars stock up on it. The gig started at 9:00 pm and ended at 12:30 am and a bar that normally makes between $700 -$1,000 on band nights selling beer and wine made $1,500 this night. Needless to say, they were quite pleased.

JPGR said:

Well you have to understand, Miller lite is a very popular beer here in America, so most bars stock up on it. The gig started at 9:00 pm and ended at 12:30 am and a bar that normally makes about $700 -$1,000 on band nights selling beer and wine made $1,500 this night. Needless to say, they were quite pleased.

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It may be popular mate, but that doesn't make it right!!

Come on Mark.....I want results mate, not excuses. If I told an Aussie promoter that we'd "done well last night because the crowd drank the venue out of 'lite' beer".....I'd be hung, drawn and quartered....and unlikely to ever work again.

Of course, I'm kidding but you couldn't pick that last time round so it's unlikely that you will again this time. So let's leave sensitivity at the door and chat about your drums shall we?
How long have you had them? Are you happy with them? Will you keep this kit or are you still looking to trade? And most importabntly, have you told your singer she has an Aussie fan yet??

Oh, you were joking....ha, ha....

Anyway, no, I will not tell her she has an Aussie fan, you see, she is already a diva with an ego the size of Texas, we don't need her inflating to the size of Australia.

I've had the kit for a few months, I did a lot of work on them to make them look presentable and they sound great.The drummer from Exit 314 used them, so I got to sit back and listen to them being played in a live setting. He plays a Gretsch Catalina maple kit and I heard him play those at a gig they had a few months ago, the Rogers blew them away. You can't beat good old American made drums.

Yes, I will be keeping them.

JPGR said:

He plays a Gretsch Catalina maple and I heard him play those at a gig they had a few months ago, the Rogers blew them away. You can't beat good old American made drums.

Yes, I will be keeping them.

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I play Cat maples....for what they are, they're great drums....but I'd never stack them against Rogers, Luddies or indeed "real" Gretsch. They are what they are mate....a good all-round intermediate kit, nothing more, nothing less.

How do the Rogers compare with some of the vintage Luddies you've had now? I've only had experience with vintage Ludwigs myself.....Rogers are a rareity in this part of the world. Whilst occasionally available, if I've ever seen them on ebay et al, they've been well out of my price range (as much as 3 or 4 grand Aussie....sometimes more....for a one up, one down, mid to late 60's kit). Are they "worlds apart" tonally....or is there a common sound that tends to run through most of the kits of that era?

Well, I like both, but there are some differences. The 60's Ludwig toms are a bit warmer than the Rogers that I've owned, I think because Rogers used more maple in their shells and Ludwig had rounder bearing edges. The Rogers kick drums sound bigger, more modern sounding than the Ludwigs with similiar heads. Rogers drums are a bit heavier and have superior hardware, the swivelmatic tom arm works as good as any modern tom arm I've used and it's made of steel, even the ball, no plastic on this puppy.

You can't go wrong with either, but for now, I'm a Rogers guy.