Roadies

keep it simple said:
Awe, c'mon guys, this is getting silly, all this humping our gear & expecting drums to make us a sandwich. Well, ok, maybe the favourite snare is acceptable once in a while, but that hihat stand really takes up too much mattress room, & it can be painful when I streatch out.
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This is exactly why I don't understand guys wanting drums with a bigger kicks...more junk in the trunk, so to speak. No room in the bed.

No bigger than 22" for me.

However, a nice rack of toms is always appreciated...
 
You guys are deranged, sex with drums...I mean I never!
Next thing you'll tell me is that you're redrilling the vent holes bigger.
Oh..... you say there's no need for that Bob?
 
There's a word for people who like to have sex with inantimate objects.
I can't think of it right now....something da drumma I think
 
I know you guys are passionate about your drums but I strongly recommend that the r/ship remains platonic. What are you gunna do if there's a messy break up, mmm? Didn't think that one through, did you, eh? Men! *sigh*

Agree with Fuzrock that it's the tear down and lug out that really hurt, but the worst IMO is after getting home and lugging from the car. When I was young it wasn't unusual for me to get home thoroughly trashed after enjoying a gig debrief at someone's place and leave the drums in the car overnight. Risky, but I got away with it.

In my teens one of my bands had a bunch of pals who were happy to carry stuff around. I'm not sure why ... I guess they liked being part of the vibe. Sadly, said pals grew out of it.

One thing, though, I don't want people who don't know drums helping with setting up or the tear down - they undo nuts that don't need to be done or they over-tighten nuts or they arrange things so they won't fit in the cases. Then they think I'm being ungrateful when I ask them to leave it to me.
 
Pollyanna said:
One thing, though, I don't want people who don't know drums helping with setting up or the tear down - they undo nuts that don't need to be done or they over-tighten nuts or they arrange things so they won't fit in the cases. Then they think I'm being ungrateful when I ask them to leave it to me.
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Agree with this 100%

I've had a lot of bandmates in the past offer to help me tear down after a show (I'm really quick at set up so I'm usually done before everyone else) and I almost always say no. This is because I've just had experience with fitting things into my bags and stuff, and when someone who isn't familiar with the gear is tearing your stuff down they might readjust things that shouldn't be moved or leave things in such a way that I have to fix it before I put it away anyways.
 
I decided to forget the hardshell cases, forget the soft cases, and forget loading them into and out of my van. You think I'm joking, I'm not. I have shelving in the back of my work truck along the walls. I took 1/2 of one side of shelving and removed the inner shelves but kept the top shelf. Lined the resulting space with a packing blanket. Most of my kit fits right in there, right over the driver side back wheel protrusion. It's packed in tight, and very secure. No cases. I have the hidden side of the 3 toms exposed to the inside of the van, so if it does get dinged, you won't see it from the audience. I fit 3 toms, 2 snares, my throne top, and a rolling suitcase that holds my mics, cables, chimes, vibra slap and assorted items in that space. The only thing left is my kick and hardware.

I hung a carpeted wood shelf in the very back of the van as soon as you open the rear double doors, it's hung from rope and I slide my bass drum on it. So my bass drum is on a shelf about 2.5 feet from the floor. Rope keeps the bass drum from moving off the shelf fore and aft. My hardware bag rolls in right under the shelf on the van floor. All my gear is now permanantly housed in my van. No more worrying about leaving something behind. It's very freeing. And not having to deal with the hardshell case makes setup much nicer. I keep my snares in a soft bag to protect the delicate snares, that's it.
This took an entire day of my life to reconfigure my van like that but it's so cool that I'm always ready to go!
 
larryace said:
I decided to forget the hardshell cases, forget the soft cases, and forget loading them into and out of my van. You think I'm joking, I'm not. I have shelving in the back of my work truck along the walls. I took 1/2 of one side of shelving and removed the inner shelves but kept the top shelf. Lined the resulting space with a packing blanket. Most of my kit fits right in there, right over the driver side back wheel protrusion. It's packed in tight, and very secure. No cases. I have the hidden side of the 3 toms exposed to the inside of the van, so if it does get dinged, you won't see it from the audience. I fit 3 toms, 2 snares, my throne top, and a rolling suitcase that holds my mics, cables, chimes, vibra slap and assorted items in that space. The only thing left is my kick and hardware.

I hung a carpeted wood shelf in the very back of the van as soon as you open the rear double doors, it's hung from rope and I slide my bass drum on it. So my bass drum is on a shelf about 2.5 feet from the floor. Rope keeps the bass drum from moving off the shelf fore and aft. My hardware bag rolls in right under the shelf on the van floor. All my gear is now permanantly housed in my van. No more worrying about leaving something behind. It's very freeing. And not having to deal with the hardshell case makes setup much nicer. I keep my snares in a soft bag to protect the delicate snares, that's it.
This took an entire day of my life to reconfigure my van like that but it's so cool that I'm always ready to go!
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I have a question, does that mean you're just going to leave your gear in your vehicle overnight now and only take it out when you have a gig?
 
larryace said:
I decided to forget the hardshell cases, forget the soft cases, and forget loading them into and out of my van. You think I'm joking, I'm not. I have shelving in the back of my work truck along the walls. I took 1/2 of one side of shelving and removed the inner shelves but kept the top shelf. Lined the resulting space with a packing blanket. Most of my kit fits right in there, right over the driver side back wheel protrusion. It's packed in tight, and very secure. No cases. I have the hidden side of the 3 toms exposed to the inside of the van, so if it does get dinged, you won't see it from the audience. I fit 3 toms, 2 snares, my throne top, and a rolling suitcase that holds my mics, cables, chimes, vibra slap and assorted items in that space. The only thing left is my kick and hardware.

I hung a carpeted wood shelf in the very back of the van as soon as you open the rear double doors, it's hung from rope and I slide my bass drum on it. So my bass drum is on a shelf about 2.5 feet from the floor. Rope keeps the bass drum from moving off the shelf fore and aft. My hardware bag rolls in right under the shelf on the van floor. All my gear is now permanantly housed in my van. No more worrying about leaving something behind. It's very freeing. And not having to deal with the hardshell case makes setup much nicer. I keep my snares in a soft bag to protect the delicate snares, that's it.
This took an entire day of my life to reconfigure my van like that but it's so cool that I'm always ready to go!
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That is awesome Larry!
 
Well, they (Roadies) played their part in my distant past. Now I just fly with my stick bag tucked away in my roll-on...back lined drums are the norm nowsays. But back in the day the boyZ and girlZ performed well....toting my stuff in' and out. I never had a complaint in 20 years of roadies. Good sports, those kids! And they did as I instructed. If you have a roadie, you just have to 'ride herd'. Ya dig?

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Lucho said:
I have a question, does that mean you're just going to leave your gear in your vehicle overnight now and only take it out when you have a gig?
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Exactly. Eliminates loading and unloading my stuff at the house. Drums go wherever I go, all the time. Never leave home without em anymore. I used to keep them in my unheated garage anyway.
 
Ah So you park in a garage then. I was more thinking about how safe they might be just sitting out in your vehicle all the time.

All in all, a really cool idea though!
 
Yea the saftey thing is a concern. But really, it would take multiple trips to steal the set. I am more concerned about car theft. If my van gets stolen, my tools for both business and pleasure are gone. I'm going to install a hidden kill switch soon. Luckily I live in a good area, and my drums are safer in my van than my garage. At least my van locks lol.
 
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