The Hat and Beard Drum Shops

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Neal Pert

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I appreciate the rise of these hipster drum shops which seem to cater mostly to indie musicians. In my mind, they are the "Hat and Beard" drum shops.

So, I'd say there are at least 3 types of shops. I mostly want to talk about the last one.
  • The "Five Star" Shop: DCP is probably the king of these. But, like, Dale's, Memphis, etc. These places stock everything and seem to work with the larger manufacturers pretty extensively.
  • Your Father's Vintage Shop: Here I'm thinking old guys who sell old drums to old guys, though obviously that's not completely true. Maxwell's is probably on top but also seems to want to be all three kinds of shop.
  • Hat and Beard Shop: They all kinda look the same-- Revival, Wood and Weather, Hawthorne, Philadelphia Drum-- and they're all obviously Very Online, especially on Instagram. If you feel like your drum set isn't complete without yak toenails or chains or old jingles on every surface, this is your shop. You can only buy old drums and new drums that look and/or sound like old drums at these shops. Mismatched drum kits seem to be the rage. They use the word "curated" to describe what they do, as if they're doing it any differently from each other. They are presently engaged in the truly regrettable practice of driving up the price of Slingerland drums. They're also probably doing cymbal mods and/or making "found percussion" items in the garage out back.
So, can we call 'em the Hat and Beard drum shops? Please?
 
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Since you asked politely, I see no reason not to push this.

I personally have never seen an actual hat and beard drum shop. With that description, I feel I have.

I'd like to be the first person on record to use the term "hat and beard drum shop" apart from the originator of the term, Neil Pert

Your legacy is ensured now
 
Sure seems like there isn't much chance of competing with Sweetwater, Memphis, DCP et al. for anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit. All that's left is used/refurbished/vintage/boutique. My guess is the H & B group is just small operations who work with other small operations to bring to market the unique sounds and innovations the big drum and cymbal companies aren't producing, as opposed to being niche just for the sake of being niche.
 
there are also "Hat and Beard (and flannel shirt)" bike shops too...you can only get fixies, townies, and certain elite mountain bikes there. These have been getting bad raps for years...and if y ou don't walk in with some kind of craft coffee, you get ignored...
 
Hat and beard lol sounds like a haberdashery. That reminds me more of my old Pappy.

Wait... Hipsters want to be like my Grandad more than my Father's drum era? I get so confused over neuvo retro trends.

Have the Madmen look alikes happened yet? Where do they buy drums?
 
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I should add: I love Hat and Beard drum shops (so named because all employees have hats and beards). Not really making fun-- just noting them as a category.
 
same, it’s either big “corporate” stores with no soul or smaller shops struggling to survive.
Yeah, that's more like it. A big store with one small drum room that has the exact same cheap set on display since 2003.
Why do Hipsters wear their Parents Clothes?
I guess it suggests a few things (honest or pretextual reasons):
1. You care about the environment and reuse old stuff
2. You have an acquired taste and follow your own insticts
3. You are so ironic / post-fashion that wearing old stuff becomes a statement against the superficial image created by the media
4. You want to save as much money as possible to afford that $5000 turntable
 
Boutique, great items, but not really "Hat and Beard" as they've been it at longer than that ridiculous trend. https://baltimoredrum.com/
(I wanna slap those beards off as I chop off that ridiculous bun)
Did no one see the King of Queens episode about the bun? (S4 Ep.21) Doug hit it 100%.
 
Too young trying to look older or too old trying to look younger gets creepy to me.
 
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Not sure why hipsterism seems so intimidating to the original poster, but with local, enthusiast-owned music stores losing the battle against Amazon and Guitarcenter.com on an almost daily basis, the solution is not to lash out at drum retailers who clearly love the products they're selling and are at the forefront of making the drummer population appreciate the value of drums made by hand by people who care.
 
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Not sure why hipsterism seems so intimidating to the original poster, but with local, enthusiast-owned music stores losing the battle against Amazon and Guitarcenter.com on an almost daily basis, the solution is not to lash out at drum retailers who clearly love the products they're selling and are at the forefront of making the drummer population appreciate the value of drums made by hand by people who care.
I should add: I love Hat and Beard drum shops (so named because all employees have hats and beards). Not really making fun-- just noting them as a category.
I do not see anything remotely bordering on intimidated, nor do I see a judgement. I see a creation of a category for a type of store.
This was a rush to judgement when a modicum of reading would have shown it to be unnecessary.
 
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I'm with you Art, there is only one family of humans. We just happen to have all kinds of diversity with the different colors.

I'm a white guy. It's kind of obvious, so it's not derogatory to me, at all. I don't have a problem saying I'm an older white male. So if someone else described me that way, I'd have to agree with them. I don't insist on being called Caucasian, I think that's nuts. Where did Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben go? I'm highly offended that they are not allowed here anymore.

Pretty soon, we won't be allowed to describe people at all. Not even by the clothes I wear, they have color too. Or my sex, that's sexist. Or my occupation. That's occupationism. Or my height, weight, smell, age and look. Really? What AM I allowed to say?

The masses have irretrievably lost their mind. I can't play along with that.

Did you see who mugged that woman? Wait I described the victim by her sex. That's not wrong and no one can convince me otherwise. Is it OK to call the entity who did the mugging a human being? With no sex, or race, I'm saying no. That's part of the package and totally fair game to describe to another. That's my take on it.
 
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