Anyone know what kind of gear/model late drummer Derrick Plourde used on his kit?

Wow these are classic, great shot of the Barfoot sticker on the rack tom! Excellent finds my friend!

Yes! me to, I remember that site. I went on it it a few years ago and to my knowledge, I think it went down in like in '17; but i'm not to sure. I think I got it from Archives.org. Yes, that would be awesome if there were good pics of his brown kit. As for the signed drum sticks that a pretty cool treasure to have!
 
I think I got it from Archives.org. Yes, that would be awesome if there were good pics of his brown kit. As for the signed drum sticks that a pretty cool treasure to have!
Right, I remember back in 2015 that I was able to find the original, unarchived website. Everything about it worked; photos and everything. The great thing was it didn't just have photos of him behind the kit, a lot with his family and friends as well (there's a photo of him with Stacey Dee from Bad Cop/Bad Cop floating around here). I’ve since had to go to archive.org to find it but it’s been in disrepair for however long.
Yeah, the person that sent me those pictures of his stick passed these along to me as well:

image0.jpg
 
Great shot of the white kit, Gilman Street ‘92:
E4-D78-A7-D-681-C-4638-A622-1-E99-A48-BDCB0.jpg


A grab from the Island of Shame Video, early ‘94:
B5-BA3953-C6-B8-4-F17-BA6-D-E18-E05031-D25.jpg

Not sure if I expanded on this or not, but the same longhorn graphic on his shirt carried over onto the front kick drum head of his Brown Classic Maple kit. Almost a synonymous icon with Derrick.
 
Last edited:
The same longhorn graphic on his shirt carried over onto the front kick drum head of his Brown Classic Maple kit.
In the first image the boom stand looks like the Tama "Telescoping" version of the Titan stands. You can notice the boom is rounder and not as thin as the other style version of the Titans. They made two versions of them, a heavy duty and a lighter duty. I don't know if that would be something to add to the list, but he clearly is using them here.

No, i don't recall you ever noting that on the brown kit. Interesting, can't remember noticing the Longhorn logo on the brown kit, just the white one.
But, i wouldn't doubt he added it to the brown kit, since there aren't much photos of him playing on them.
That's a nice Easter egg to note!
 
In the first image the boom stand looks like the Tama "Telescoping" version of the Titan stands. You can notice the boom is rounder and not as thin as the other style version of the Titans. They made two versions of them, a heavy duty and a lighter duty. I don't know if that would be something to add to the list, but he clearly is using them here.

No, i don't recall you ever noting that on the brown kit. Interesting, can't remember noticing the Longhorn logo on the brown kit, just the white one.
But, i wouldn't doubt he added it to the brown kit, since there aren't much photos of him playing on them.
That's a nice Easter egg to note!
Interesting, it appears he used the heavy duty Titan boom stands. Definitely worth adding to the gear list!

As far as the longhorn icon, it was only on the brown kit; you can see it in '95 era Lagwagon videos, The Ataris show, and any footage of Derrick with RKL. The front kick drumhead on the white kit was clear and had a black and white Lagwagon sticker.
 
Last edited:
As far as the longhorn icon, it was only on the brown kit
Correct, i got confused, i couldn't tell it was the white or brown, but it IS the Brown kit only.

Also, on the gear list, it's been mentioned as; maroon, burnt orange and most commonly, its been mostly known as; the brown kit. Should it just be called the brown kit on the gear list?
There was one photo where it looked burnt orange and maroon; but that could had just been poor lighting. And, if there was a clear image of the brown kit, we would be able to tell it's true color. Until then, i guess its not a issue.
 
Also, on the gear list, it's been mentioned as; maroon, burnt orange and most commonly, its been mostly known as; the brown kit. Should it just be called the brown kit on the gear list?
There was one photo where it looked burnt orange and maroon; but that could had just been poor lighting. And, if there was a clear image of the brown kit, we would be able to tell it's true color. Until then, i guess its not a issue.
Yes, we should just call it the brown kit. The finish is called Mahogany Stain, according to what Ludwig has listed on their website. Other photos that say otherwise is due to lighting, they’re the same kit.
 
New RKL video with Derrick! April ‘02 in SF:


Also found this photo of him with RKL awhile back, predicting around the same time as this show:

E3EBC5F8-EFB6-4D6B-B3B4-4999A235B96B.jpeg
 
Last edited:
I did some editing to the playlist, it's up-to-date. Also, added the new video, to the YB playlist also. Nice new finds, saves me the hassle. You the man!
Thank you brother! The great thing about it is that video confirms Derrick’s time in RKL ended in 2002, not 2001. Plus, I know it’s him in that video is because of the use of the China cymbal and that ride. The bell sound is the giveaway.

Another discussion: in regards to the website, do you think it could be worth trying to contact JoAnn with the email listed? We could send her the pictures we’ve collected and the gear list we put together.
 
Last edited:
The great thing about it is that video confirms Derrick’s time in RKL ended in 2002, not 2001. Plus, I know it’s him in that video is because of the use of the China cymbal and that ride cymbal. The bell sound is the giveaway.
It sounds like him and the snare must of been the Rocket Shell.

Yeah man if you think it's a good idea, sounds good to me, the email must of been up for some reason.
 
Some more RKL photos I came across

The famous Catalyst show, 2001. Great shot of the longhorn icon on the kick drum here:

catalyst-01.jpg


2002 with Joe Raposo on bass:

rkl-header.jpg


The Covered Wagon, April 5th 2002. The string lights and red backdrop match the video.

rkl-rockin.jpg
 
Last edited:
Absolutely! I thought ‘there’s gotta be more to it than just myths and legends!’. Glad there’s photographic and video evidence to back up the stories I’ve read over the years!

Also yesterday was the anniversary of The Atari’s ‘Anywhere But Here’. The setup for that album was the Brown Classic Maple kit and the Pearl Free Floater snare. The problem is it’s very hard to come across the original album online, the reissue tracks overshadow it. It’s a total bummer because they completely ruined the natural tones of drums from the original, especially on the snare since it was tuned pretty high. Griping aside, it’s still a great record! It definitely is refreshing to hear Derrick play on an album herring more on the melodic side of the spectrum.
 
Last edited:
Absolutely! I thought ‘there’s gotta be more to it than just myths and legends!

Also yesterday was the anniversary of The Atari’s ‘Anywhere But Here’. The setup for that album was the Brown Classic Maple kit and the Pearl Free Floater snare.
Right, legends live on through us!
Speaking of that record, i went ahead and bought myself a copy of it on eBay the other day, can't wait receive it. It is kinda hard to find and for a good price. Agree, I'm assuming they wanted a fresh start with drummer Chris Knapp, though it would had been nice to hear a follow up record with Plourde.

Also, just today I found and added four new videos of RKL at the Skaters Point from a different point of view on the playlist. There were alot of cameras that day and its good to see some of them finally resurfacing online. You should definitely check it out.
 
Right, legends live on through us!
Speaking of that record, i went ahead and bought myself a copy of it on eBay the other day, can't wait receive it. It is kinda hard to find and for a good price. Agree, I'm assuming they wanted a fresh start with drummer Chris Knapp, though it would had been nice to hear a follow up record with Plourde.

Also, just today I found and added four new videos of RKL at the Skaters Point from a different point of view on the playlist. There were alot of cameras that day and its good to see some of them finally resurfacing online. You should definitely check it out.
I just picked up a copy as well! Great minds think alike! I think what was cool was in the record release show that they played two songs not on the album; Going Back To Madiera (which turned into Giving Up On Love from End Is Forever), and Anderson, the bonus track from the re-release. I would be stoked if outtakes with Plourde & The Ataris exist and would really want to hear the original mix of Anderson.

I just took a look in the playlist and those are awesome finds! It’s great to have a better idea of what kind of setlist they played that night, all I knew was they stuck to the It’s A Beautiful Feeling and Keep Laughing records. I’m glad I was able to find song titles. It also provides great shots of the Free Floater snare, he didn’t have the Rocket Shell just yet. It was also the last time he did the high ride cymbal setup before lowering it back down in ‘01.
 
Last edited:
It also provides great shots of the Free Floater snare, he didn’t have the Rocket Shell just yet. It was also the last time he did the high ride cymbal setup before lowering it back down in ‘01.
I would like to hear them myself. Thinking on that subject, do you think they exist somewhere? Maybe the band still has like on cassette in storage. Usually most bands save their b-sides and rerelease them years later.

Glad you pointed that out about the height of the cymbals and the snares, was wondering the same thing. And, yes, great shot of the Free-Floater, high quality stuff.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top