If you were bankrupt, starving and cold, could YOU burn your kit to keep you alive?

I would burn my toms and sleep in my bass drum. I don't know how they would keep me alive though....
 
They're drums. A commodity designed to entertain.......not sustain.

In the unlikely situation that it ever came down to me or my kit.....no brainer. If you believe otherwise, I really wouldn't want you next to me when the chips were down. Your lack of basic self preservation is way too skewed to be of any real use anyway. :)
 
This is slightly preposterous,but I'll play.If for some reason the only wood I had was a set of drums,and I had to burn it to avoid freezing to death...I know I would certainly burn them.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy,I had no power for 11 days.That means no heat either,so I had to burn wood to stay warm.I knew I would do anything I had to do to stay alive.

When faced with a real survival situation,most people would do the same I think.

I realize this seems like test of how much you love your instrument,but you can always GET ANOTHER SET OF DRUMS.Bang on tin cans,plastic buckets...anything.But you can't play them if you're dead.

I love my drums too,but if it comes down to breathing or playing....breathing wins by a long shot.Besides......there's a lot more to life than drums.

Steve B
 
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There was an old SNL skit: "What if Spartacus had a Piper Cub?"

Kinda Deja Vu here.

Also if you burned your drums to survive - you might not because of the fumes the lamination would give off when they burned. Close enough to be warm, close enough to breathe in toxic fumes.

Not 100% on that but .....

Jim
 
I have never had to burn drums to stay warm, because usually when I've been in situations where keeping warm was that critical, my drums were thousands of miles away. However, I did once come to a point where my truck, my computer and my drums were the last three things of any real value I owned, and I was sinking under a mountain of debt. So I cleaned up the drums and loaded them in the car to take them to the local music shop to get them sold to make bill payments for another month or two. On the way back from the car with the last load of drums, I saw the mailman pull away from the mailbox. Went and checked it, and lo and behold, it was a debt consolidation offer at 2.9% (compared to the 30+% interest I was currently under). Within a year, I did in fact take those drums to the store -- but it was to trade them in for a brand new set, as I was well above water for the first time in years.

And agreed, drums are probably not going to burn very cleanly, so don't burn them inside.
 
Hell, if it came down to it, I would eat children to stay alive. I mean, I'm not a freak or anything, I'd eat neighborhood kids before I'd ever eat my own kids.
 
I'd sell them and buy a warm coat, etc for a more permanent solution to the cold.

As for actually burning drums, I think the wrap, heads, and glue would give off some pretty toxic fumes. Also, I believe some companies still use a formaldehyde-based glue, although Ludwig doesn't. So I guess the Ludwigs go first! Man, I could stay warm all winter!

Bermuda
 
Or you could just play 'em.........you know, for money.

Hell, if it came down to it, I would eat children to stay alive. I mean, I'm not a freak or anything, I'd eat neighborhood kids before I'd ever eat my own kids.

Hey, at least you'd save on 44 gallon drums that way.
 
I'd sell 'em. As a wood source, drums aren't a very efficient way to make heat (as in burning). Burning 'em might keep me warm, for a night .... maybe two. Selling of my gear would probably sustain me for a year, maybe longer.​
 
As for actually burning drums, I think the wrap, heads, and glue would give off some pretty toxic fumes. Also, I believe some companies still use a formaldehyde-based glue,
Wow, thanks for that Jon. That's another "feature" I can put on our website. Our drums are supremely survival friendly. One hell of an expensive fire though :(
 
I would sleep in my bass drum, use sticks and drum books for kindling, modify the snare to catch rabbits, hi-hat stand to spear fish, hi-hat cymbals to stun them, beaters to tenderize them, crash cymbals to cure them, ride cymbals to melt snow for water and toms for storage.

I think I could last through the winter...

-John
 
I'd burn my drums to stay alive, but not yours, Andy. I'd take one for the general good and just freeze to preserve those beauties.
 
I would sleep in my bass drum, use sticks and drum books for kindling, modify the snare to catch rabbits, hi-hat stand to spear fish, hi-hat cymbals to stun them, beaters to tenderize them, crash cymbals to cure them, ride cymbals to melt snow for water and toms for storage.

I think I could last through the winter...

-John

This is brilliant! Why didn't I think of this when I was married and Y2K was scaring everyone?

"Honey, these aren't my toys. They're going to insure our survival."
 
I don't know what situation I would be in where it would come down to this decision. I would sell my kits long before losing my house. If I lost my house, I would have friends and relatives to stay with. If I wasn't able to pull my situation together before outlasting the generosity of my many friends and family members, I would probably be in such a deep, despondent funk that I would have offed myself long before that happened.

Happy New Year!
 
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