Long time no post! After a long dry spell (during which I gave the drums a break and started learning guitar and mandolin--lots of fun to be had there), I finally put the band back together and took my '65/'66 Clubbies out to a gig last weekend. When I bought them five years ago, they were in terrible shape: missing parts, peeling lacquer finish, and full of potting soil! I spent the next few years restoring them and refinishing them in BDP. I just need to find the time to add the bass drum inlays and they'll be all done. They sounded great at the gig, even unmiked. A joy to play.

The 14x20 bass and 8x12 tom are stamped with a 1965 production date. The bass has a stamp inside reading "Faust Music, Milwaukee, Wisconsin." Anyone know the store?

The floor tom is a 1966 12x15 marching snare that I converted to a floor by replacing the rims and heads, refinishing to match the kit, and drilling for legs. I had originally hung it from an ISS mount, but added the legs for looks and convenience. I used Gibraltar floating floor tom feet and was pleased to find no loss of resonance over the ISS mount. I'd been worried that the snare beds would cause tuning problems but they haven't been an issue. The drum sounds great tuned low the way I like it.

The snare is a six-ply maple 6x12 that Donoho Drums custom-built for me back in 2004. I have an Acro to go with the kit, but for the funk-and-prog-influenced rock that our band plays, I find that the 6x12 has just the right mix of fatness and brightness.

I'm thrilled with the way the kit turned out. And let me tell you: having spent years lugging heavy Gretsch and Vistalite kits to shows, it's a real treat to carry these tiny, super-light, single-lug drums. Now I know why they call them Club Dates!