Monday, August 3, 2015

Voices of Home by Ric Simenson



Voices of Home
Voices of Home


As much or more than any part of this country, the South where I live has a rich, historic tradition of storytelling. Sitting on the front porch or pushing back from the dinner table, yarns are spun, tall-tales are told, family history re-lived, and the events of our days recounted. The stories themselves say something about where we come from, what’s important to us, and where we think we’re heading. And the best of storytellers can hold their listeners spellbound, at the edge of their seats listening for what will come next.


Music tells a story in its own language. It reflects where it came from and who the people are that make it, and words may or may not be necessary. But we know, when we hear them, those musicians who speak through their instruments with a sound which is immediately recognizable and completely authentic. Each style tells its own story– with its own voice. You can hear it, too– the youthful exuberance of Pop, the lament of Delta Blues, the streets in Urban Rap, the industrial raw cut of hard-driving Metal, the collaborative jam session of Jazz, the high lonesome in Appalachian Bluegrass, and that old-old story that infuses every form of Gospel music…


Here in Nashville, Tennessee, where I live and earn my keep as a musician, one of our most respected producers, (Grammy, Dove, and Americana Award-winning Artist/Songwriter/Musician) Buddy Miller records tracks for full bands in his 100 year old house. He’s commented that the sound you hear on those recordings is the sound of his home, of musicians making music sitting together in his living room. There’s something in the walls and floorboards of a home that resonate with the stories they hear.

Perhaps this explains, when I began looking for the instrument to become the cornerstone of my own drum set, I wanted a snare drum which could be ‘home’ to my own expression. So I drove to South Georgia to meet master-craftsman and instrument builder, Michael Outlaw of Outlaw Drums, and I asked him to create a one-of-a-kind voice for me, a drum with its own character, a tobacco-glazed, weathered, heart pine snare. We walked together past the stacks of wood which Michael rescued from a weathered homestead built in the 1880s, the lumber now curing in the sunny side of his yard. The home in this photo, in fact, where generations of a family shared their lives, where smells of cooking and sounds of animation filled the house. Perhaps a young bride and groom established their first home here, or parents aged, and children played on wooden floors while family members swapped stories of their own, warming at its fireplace.


Buck Outlaw (Michaels father)
But the wood of this home is more ancient: the slow-growing longleaf pine takes 100–150 years to mature, an inch of heart pine requiring 30 years growth. And it may live up to 500 years of age, so the wood which was harvested and built into this house may easily have been growing before Columbus sailed to the New World, centuries before Antonio Stradivari used another slow-growth wood from the Pine family as the resonant top for his violins, and almost an additional century before the American colonists declared their independence.



I’d brought examples of the set I was matching, described what I was looking for, and I asked Michael to build me the best drum he knew how to make, promising him in return that I’d try my best to play music that is worthwhile with it. On my way out of town, I drove to a site where Michael had recently rescued wood for his drums and I stood in the yard of that home imagining the lives and stories of the people who had lived there. The drum I received, which I’ve played for about a year and a half now, is articulate and eloquent, the most expressive and beautiful instrument I’ve ever owned. It sings and shouts and speaks and whispers– like it’s already familiar with the songs I’m playing and it knows just what to say. After all, the wood has stories of its own to tell: of laughter in its walls, tears that have soaked its floorboards, and praises which rise through the ceiling.

— Ric Simenson
July, 2015



5½” x 14” weathered tobacco-glazed heart pine reborn snare, 2 nails embedded in the shell, air vent created by carpenter bees, customized with a multistage Trick throwoff, die-cast hoops, Evans drumheads and Puresound CustomPro brass snare wires.

Check out the video click HERE





Monday, July 20, 2015

Hammer Knocker Beaters Sale! Life time warrenty

Hammer Knocker Beaters Sale! Life time warrenty

Hammer Knocker End Grain beater.

 First time ever we have offered a buy one get one free beater Ending July 25 (Saturday Night) Buy HERE! 
 Outlaw Drums is proud to present a Revolutionary new design in kick drum beaters that will get you noticed!  Using End grain boards much like chopping blocks, gives a harder, deeper sound. Each comes with a Polished Stainless Steel rod, Plus a replaceable felt pad. The wood is born of the same first generation heart pine wood; The wood that has become the signature of the company, these Hammers provide a larger kick presence than ordinary felt beaters. The Hammers incorporate two different angled impact sides that provide two different impact results.  One side remains round while the other is angled on a perfect 9 Degrees
 to meet the kick drum head straight on.  Meeting the kick head “straight on” provides maximum coverage and contact with the head, increasing the effect on the strike-zone.  Utilizing an angled beater also extends the life of the drum head. Buy it once, play it forever with Life Time Warranty!! To buy click HERE    
Just being around this old lumber feels like it's telling you a story of where it's been. Even when the saw blade starts to cut the wood, the fragrance of the wood fills the air, and you can't help but wonder about the lives touched by this lumber. Every piece is different in its own way. Some with old bolt and nail holes with the square holes left from the old cut nails. Others still have the original saw kerfs. These unique boards are one-of-a-kind and when they are gone they are gone. It takes about 80 years for the wood to gain that reddish color. It’s getting harder and harder to find. Old tobacco barns, plantation homes, mills or bridges, built before the 1900's, are about the only places you can find it.
The process of reclaiming this wood can be painstaking. The collection of these boards has to be carefully executed and every board has to be checked with a metal detector to ensure that no nails are hit with the planer knives. Because of the slow growth rate, Long leaf pines were not replanted. Lumber cut today is referred to as new heart pine. 

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

You get what you pay for!

Just finding an affordable price for a drum kit is hard. When you find a drum kit do you want a drum kit you don't really care about that costs $1500, that you have to replace every year, or do you want a kit to pass down the gift of music to your kids and their kids.  
Let's compare wood working items if you buy a hand built table from solid wood it would cost between $1500-$3500 vs a $200-$600  particleboard table you can from the local chain furniture store. Yeah you can eat off of both a they both serve the purpose; however you obviously get what you pay for. A hand built dinner table is a piece of furniture that is a center piece when entertaining guests, not just an assembly line made run of the mill table anyone can buy at any branch furniture store.  
So what is the difference when a drummer is picking out that kit to be the center of attention. You need to compare apples to apples. First of all there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a low cost drum kit that is built on an assembly line one after the other. Which is perfectly fine. Just know what the differences are before choosing an assembly line instrument in comparison to a hand made instrument.  Outlaw Drums are custom hand made instruments build from the love the music.  No two drums are alike in appearance or sound, they are close, but the fact human hands construct every Outlaw Drum no two are alike.  Outlaw Drums is not the only company who build drums one at a time by hand with precise care and precision, Dunnett, Craviatto Angel, Stainbrige, Carolina, many more are a few different high end custom drum companies.  Yes from a distance a table looks like a table. But take a look under a big chain store table. Big difference between a laminated veneer table and a solid handcrafted Morrison and  tendon tables. The same with drums it looks the same from a distance but flip it over get close and really look at the construction. Not to say companies don't put a high price for name brand sake even on lower end products.  The real custom driven companies take pride in every build and the end product will show the passion the maker has for his instrument.

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Forest fire Segmented drum kit.







Wonderful news everyone! Outlaw Drums is now offering limited segmented solid wood edition Forest Fire drum sets! Only 10 of these drum sets are going to be built a year so contact Outlaw Drums quickly if you are interested because once they are sold out, no more will ever be built! Each is signed and dated. 



You may have seen the Outlaw Drums Forest Fire Snare drum at your local Guitar Center, but until now, Outlaw Drums has never made an entire drum set with the gorgeous Forest Fire finish! The Forest Fire drum is one of Outlaw Drums’ most popular models, and for good reason.  Not only does the drum have a classic wood look that Outlaw Drums is known for, but the Forest Fire finish has a sharp, charred, rustic look that makes it stand out among other drums in its class. The Forest Fire drums are built from select Yellow  pine wood that makes the drum sound as classic as it looks. With the Forest Fire kit, Drummers have many options with tuning and can tune it high for a nice “crack” or “pop”, or low for the deeper “thud” sound.  The  Beautiful wood gives each drum a unique voice that is loud and will cut through any venue and sounds beautiful when recorded or played live.  All in all, the Forest Fire kit is a work of art that is built for the drummer that is looking for a sound and look that is different and unique; and the Forest Fire kit delivers on all those grounds and more!

Visit Outlaw Drums web site at www.outlawdrums.com  to make further sales inquiries.  Hurry while you still have a chance to get your very own one of a kind Forest Fire Outlaw Drums limited edition Forest Fire Drum. To Buy Click HERE  



Sunday, July 5, 2015

How to recycle old church pews into a drum kit.


 Outlaw Drums


            Outlaw Drums has distinguished itself from other drum companies through their use of recycled wood to build their classic drums.  Instead of cutting down trees at a time where it is critical for the world to become more eco friendly, Outlaw Drums uses old buildings, structures, or any other wood they can find that is no longer used or needed, and turns them into their classic drums.  As they say, “One man's trash is another man's treasure”, and this is nothing short of the inspiration on which Outlaw Drums functions. This method of using recycled wood isn’t just environmentally friendly, rather, the aged wood allows for the grains of the wood to tighten up making for a beautiful and unique sound with each drum built.  Every piece of wood used it unique and has its own story, thus, once built into a drum, that uniqueness is carried over to the drum, giving it a one of a kind voice and story that is different from every other drum in the world.



            In 2015 Outlaw Drums took this concept to another level when Gillionville Baptist Church in Albany, GA was in need of a drum set for the worship services. That’s when Michael Outlaw took old church pew that came from a church in Calhoun County GA, and with a lot of hard work and some incredible skills, Mr. Outlaw turned that old pew into a gorgeous one of a kind Outlaw Drum set. That same drum set is now used at the Gillionville Baptist Church and allowed another opportunity to serve!  Click on the link below to see the beautiful rejuvenation and transformation of this old church pew into a gorgeous one of a kind Outlaw Drum set.  Watch Michael Outlaw as he removes 30 year old gum from the pew, cranks out the nails, and creates a work of art for Gillionville Baptist Church!   WATCH HERE!! https://youtu.be/2M1gQEZji18


Friday, July 3, 2015

PRODUCT REVIEW: Curly Pine.

TRANSFORMING THE ABNORMAL INTO BEAUTY

Southern yellow pine with all its desirable features is not famous as a “showy” wood.  However, occasionally a board does show up with a wavy characteristic that can be called showy.  This wavy or erratic grain is commonly referred to as “curly”. This curly effect is more common in maple lumber, but from time to time this pattern will make its way to the Southern yellow pine.  On the whole Southern curly pine is not a standard item in an average lumber yard.  Very seldom seen and used even less in the construction of many items.  Very little is known about the relative occurrence of curly pine.  The occurrence is sporadic and uncommon.  Whether the wood is produced by the abnormal growth of a tree, if it’s unnatural or if its irregular growth is caused by injury, insects, birds, mechanical damage or an inherited characteristic, is unknown.  However, this abnormal growth is not usually found in small trees or small logs, only in old-growth mature timber.  With the small production of this type of wood, what can be done?  Build a doorway, a common decorative panel or something else to just look at, no!  In steps Michael Outlaw and his dream for something different and special, he thrives on finding this abnormal lumber and transforming it into a beautiful creation.  Michael has a knack for finding this lumber finding these boards in odd places.  Using these boards to create stunningly beautiful pieces of art, so why not have something truly unique and beautiful to behold and have the ability to produce beautiful sounds.


Outlaw Drums, American Wood Reborn, creating beauty from the unusual.

Derrick Wilkerson.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Information on drum shells.

 Outlaw Drums



            Have you ever noticed what type of shell your drums are built with?  If you are like most drummers, as long as the drum sounds good, you don’t care what it’s made out of.  However, here are a few tips and some information to make you more aware of what you are buying so next time you go to the music store, you know exactly what you are getting for your money.

         There are two main types of shells: 1) Ply Shell, and 2) Stave shell.  Ply shells are more popular than stave shells because of the more affordable pricing options mainly due to the price of the wood and speed at which they can manufacture ply shell drums.  Essentially, the way a ply shell drum is built is by taking a long sheet of wood (almost like a giant sized roll of tape except there is wood instead of tape), which is then measured and cut to fit the size of the drum to be made.  From there, the builder has to stress and steam the wood to be able to manipulate it and bend, fold, and mold the straight wood into the circular drum shape you see it when you purchase it.  A downside to this method is that all that stress on the wood impacts its sound and if not done carefully can produce a canned sound rather than letting the wood breathe and speak for itself. 

 http://www.outlawdrums.com
                    
         Now on to stave shells!  This is a much more time consuming process and as a result is more costly than ply shells, but the sound you get out of stave shell drums doesn’t even compare to ply shell.  Stave shell building includes taking small square pieces of wood and gluing them together piece by piece until the drum is finished (see picture above for segments in the snare drum).  There is no stressing or manipulating the wood giving you the most natural sound straight from the heart of the drum. 
                   

         Outlaw Drums has been building stave shells drums from the time it started, but is proud to recently present you its new affordable ply shell drum line!  Both ply and stave shell have their pros and cons but lucky for you Outlaw Drums offer both types of drums at the highest of quality and will work with you on the price to find the drums of your dreams!
-Mahru Madjidi-