Travelling Drummer
Well, it has been a while since I've posted to this site, and for fairly good reason...
A few months after my "Year of the E-Drum" post I found out that I would be laid off from my job of 20 years. My wife and I decided to sell our house, get rid of 25+ years of stuff, take our RV and hit the road. Needless to say, bringing my drums along was not an option, at least initially. We spent the next couple years travelling the country doing what is called "workamping", which is working at an RV campground in exchange for salary and a site. We spent the first 6 months on an island off the Texas coast. It was great, but there was one thing missing...
As any musician will tell you, playing an instrument isn't something you do, it is something you are. I knew I wouldn't be able to play live music, but not even having any drums to play was tough. After leaving Texas we stopped by in St. Louis where my drums were stored. I sold the kit pictured on this site and purchased an Alesis Strike Pro kit. My wife and I agreed that if I could fit a kit into one of my SKB hardware cases, we'd find a way to bring it with us. I would have to set it up and tear it down every time I wanted to play it, but at least I'd have something. We travelled to Colorado, California, Arizona and back to Colorado using various shelters at different places that I could set up in. It worked pretty well and I at least got to play when I wanted.
Late last year, we got an opportunity to work at an RV resort in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Initially, it was going to be a standard stay (about 5 or 6 months) but after arriving we agreed to stay quite a bit longer. The awesomeness that is my wife came up with the idea of getting an enclosed cargo trailer and turning it into a "drum room" when we are parked. I got a 10' X 6' trailer, extra tall, and am able to set up my kit and play as much as I wish without bothering anyone or taking up space in the RV.
Since we are going to be in Gulf Shores for quite a while, I've also began looking for opportunities to play in bands. I'll keep you posted on that. I don't really consider the Strike kit to be stage worthy (despite being powered by my Pearl Mimic Pro) and don't know if I'll use it live. I purchased a nice Pearl Decade Maple kit in Kobalt fade that sounds great. It will be odd to use an acoustic kit after all these years, but if I find a band, I hope to maybe do an A-to-E conversion. Many things are up in the air right now but I am thankful that our current level of e-drums allows me to be able to be a full-time RVer and still bang out some jams!
