When I was little, my mom and dad made sure that I got to spend time with my cousins who lived out of town. But this particular cousin was already in college and I wasn't yet ten years. So, I spent some quality time with the drum set he left behind while he was away at school. They were a 60's red sparkle Japanese knock-off of a four piece Gretsch kit. My folks would have to tear me away from them when it was time to go home. Before my dad married and settled down, he was a USO-touring rock and roll doghouse bass player. He understood the pure joy I felt when I put the drum sticks to the skins and why I would turn inward on our long rides home. A year later, the same red sparkle Norma drums appeared under our Christmas tree; my cousin sold them to my pop for $100. That gift remains the best thing I ever got for Christmas, and subsequent birthdays were celebrated with cymbals, sticks and pedals to upgrade the worn out parts. I really wanted dad to teach me bass, but he was so busy providing for us he didn't have the time. Still, I felt his pride, in the orchestra pit of a community theater production, when we became a father & son rhythm section. At home, mom played piano and sang songs her mother had written in her native Spanish; the tears rolling down her cheeks with love and sadness, I'm sure. We were a musical family and my interests were encouraged, even though that meant ten years of bombastic noise coming from my bedroom. To this day, the drums remain a constant in my life and have been the reason for so many of my life experiences. After my folks moved on, (no doubt singing love songs to each other), my father's bass continued to haunt me, untapped and unresolved. Years passed by until I went out and bought the nicest Fender Jazz bass guitar I could afford. That was about six years or seven years ago. Playing drums for so many years with great bass players gave me an incredible head start with my new love. I can't pick it up without thinking about my pop. I hope and pray I never will. CommentsLeave a Reply | Vince Adáme | Bass & Drums
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