Serbi is one of my dear friends. I've known him since fall of 1985 when we met as sophomores in high school on the Kennedy High School marching band field. The story has probably been told on this blog more than once, but it seems when I retell a story, I change a detail or two or add a detail or two. Today, I'm recalling how many drum sets Serbi has owned over the years. When I met him, he had a set of brown Gretch drums that had really deep sounding toms. I loved the tone of those drums. He had a silver Pearl set for a while and then, sadly, I lost track. I played the green set I mentioned in my Facebook post below at Fat Jack's in Cedar Rapids in 2013. Previous to that, I have a dim memory of playing his drums during a song at a Fireman's Dance in Blairstown, a small town west of Cedar Rapids, when he played in a band called Shotgun, but I also kind of remember not knowing what time signature the song was in and messing up.
All that aside, Serbi has a new set of drums, as shown below.
For as many times as I've thought about or wanted a new set of drums, I have not ever purchased either a replacement for or an additional set of drums, disregarding the Yamaha electronic set for Alex. I still have my Ludwig Vistalites and even though I haven't played them since fall of 2013, which is when Lou's Classic Ride began rehearsing at Joe's girlfriend's studio in Iowa City, I really have zero intention of ever selling them. I have joked that if there comes a day when I go to the nursing home, I want these drums to be stacked in a corner so I can look at them. I feel as though they are a part of me, a part of my identity.
I will say that if I could go back in time, I would tell my young self that I should get a second set of drums to use for gigs and such. I would have never taken them out of my house if I had known that now, decades after my parents buying them for me, they would be considered vintage. My drums have been used, to be sure. The floor toms have cracks by the tension thingy and the paint on the bass drum hoop has chipped away a bit. These are little things that I, as a purchaser of drums, would expect to reduce the price of them if they were for sale.
However, they are NOT for sale and will continue to sit, stacked in the furnace room, until I need them. Unfortunately, since Uncle Rico the Band disbanded in August, I haven't been able to find a band to jam with. It's not the first time I've seen this ad:
WANTED: EXPERIENCED DRUMMER FOR BUSY ROCK BAND (Cedar Rapids)
Cedar Rapids rock band is currently looking for an experienced drummer who can travel and play out every weekend. Must have own vehicle and be dependable. To inquire, please respond to this page and tell us about yourself. This position needs to be filled as soon as possible. Thanks!
I don't respond to it because I'm not going to travel and I'm not going to play out every weekend. That's just not feasible for me and for where I am in my life journey. Kind of like the Sapwoods, an Iowa City-based band that plays only originals. They wanted someone that could do regional tours and when I said that wasn't really possible, that was the deal killer. I'm really not interested in wasting the Cedar Rapids band's time. On the same subject, I still think about my audition for Horny Genius in January 1990, when I drove to West Branch and set up my drums in a barn. I remember rocking through the audition and when they turned to me and said, "Do you want to be our drummer," I (once again) would like to go back to that version of me and say, "YES!! SAY YES!!! DON'T DECLINE THIS OFFER!! THEY'RE GOING TO GO TOUR IN EUROPE IN THE FALL AND IF YOU SAY NO, YOU WILL REMAIN IN COLLEGE AND READ DEAD AUTHORS INSTEAD OF TOURING WITH A BAND IN EUROPE!!" As it turned out, I did say "No" and I didn't go tour with them in the fall of 1990. Of course, I've also thought that there's no way to really know if I would still be their drummer when that tour opportunity arose. I like to think I would be, but I'll never really know. All of these words to simply say Serbi got a new set of drums that look really sweet.
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