No matter how much of a dork you think you were in high school, I bet you can't easily beat this photo of yours truly right after voting in the 1996 presidential election:
From Clockwork Music by Arthur W.J.G Ord-Hume
I love this little plant.
It's time to let go of the Sprightly Moans drum set. Making this drum set was a huge process. I basically took a toy and turned it into a massive sounding, thunderous kit. I was super happy with how it turned out:
The drums were given to me years ago by my good friend Saba. She asked me to keep the hi-hats because they belonged to her father. Otherwise, I could do whatever I wished with the drums. I practiced them intermittently for a decade, and when the time came for me to create the image for Sprightly Moans, I decided to re-vamp it and make it into something a lot more intense.
I stripped the drums down to the wood; There was an awful cover that was hindering the sounds of the drums. I then sanded it to a smooth finish. Next, I whitewashed (not the urban dictionary definition, but it has to do with painting) the wood. Finally, I sealed it with one coating of tung oil. To help beautify it and improve the sound, I polished all of the casings and replaced all the heads with Evans clear drums heads of various makes.
From that point on, it was time to record. Jeff Olson played it on I Wanna Be Afraid, and all of the other SM songs. I used three microphones on the recordings. I have to say, we made that toy drum set sound like a motherfucker! Loud and unapologetic.
As time marches on, I realize that in order to embrace the future I need to let go of the past. This is difficult. I don't like the idea of letting go of such a beautiful, meaningful instrument. That being said, I don't play it and someone else could put it to great use. It's a fantastic drumset.
Goodbye Sprightly Moans drum set, may you find yourself played more often and heard on more recordings.
