A few news items for those who're curious...

Well, the display gear for the Chicago Custom & Vintage show is boxed and ready to go; one gorgeous drum kit which belongs to Bruce Tantlinger (Royal Blue Glitter over a Navy Blue backdrop,) a handful of snare drums, and a slightly larger handful of undrilled snare drum shells in various sizes/finishes (for those of you who've got a desire to create your own hybrid - these shells all have edges and beds installed; just drill and assemble.)

I'm really looking forward to this show for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that I'll finally get to meet a few of those of you who've been corresponding with me for ages on end. Plus which there's a brand new vintage specialty store opening in Chicago the same weekend as the show. Plus which my brother and his family, who have lived not far from St. Charles, will be having a highly entertaining house guest for a few days...

The first dozen Limited Edition 30th Anniversary Milestone Snare Drums were to have been shipped at the end of April but, true to form, they didn't quite make it; one or two inventory items have been backordered by their suppliers and should be here this week, in which case the drums will go out next week. It's only a difference of about ten days but I hate to keep people waiting unnecessarily...

For those of you who aren't aware of the details, there'll be thirty such drums built; each one will feature the original Milestone die-cast hoops (modified by Noble & Cooley,) Puresound Snare Wires, Nickel Drumworks throw-off and butt assemblies and Evans J-1 and snare side heads. The drums will all be 14" in diameter and will feature a Black finish, but you'll be able to specify your own preferred depth as well as whether or not you prefer a Fibreglass or CarbonFibre shell. Each drum will be shipped with a Levy's snare drum bag as well as a commemorative CD featuring tracks from the last thirty years on which either Milestone or Tempus drums were used. Lastly, once I get it finished, there'll be a ten-page book which will give something of a historic overview of the two companies.

The cost will be $650.00 US for a Fibreglass model, $750.00 US for a CarbonFibre model. Please contact me directly for Canadian pricing.

Incidentally, I've added a new item to the FAQ's, this one pertaining to some interesting recent comments about "new" Tempus finishes.

And, finally, I'm off to Seattle this Thursday to hear/see Bill Bruford and Earthworks at Jazz Alley - this I've been awaiting for quite some time; can't wait to see what he can coax out of his new radially symmetrical drum-set configuration. Of course, if it looks really appealing, I may have to come home and build a new drum set of my own...

That's it for now. See you in Chicago...?

Cheers,

Paul Mason
Tempus Drums