This week’s #drumtrepreneur, Ramy Antoun, who founded A&F Drum Co., has a growing team of nine. A&F hand makes nearly every element of its luxury snare drums and drum sets in Austin, Texas. Inspired by the drums from a hundred years ago, and built on old-fashioned values that extend from manufacturing methods to the way the company is financed, Ramy and his team are nearing the finish line of year two, of their hundred-year business plan.

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Drum Showroom Podcast

S2 E8 Ramy Antoun, founder of A&F Drum Co.

Talking to Mike Martin of Predator Percussion brings to mind a single word: humility. This is a guy who doesn’t spend a lot of time bemoaning a workplace injury that snatched away his ability to play the drums for extended periods of time. It’s not a guy who sounds like he requires a lot of external validation. Mike is a guy who’s just working away in his spare time in his New Whiteland, Indiana shop making beautiful drums at fair prices using an unusual approach to produce uncommon results. Even his pricing is humble, starting at just $545 for a handcrafted stave snare drum. 

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S2 E9: Mike Martin of Predator Percussion

Toby Goodman, pro drummer, percussionist, and business owner at The Business of Music, is a great example of how drummers can curate their lifestyle to include, but not solely dedicate all of their professional activity to playing the drums. I think Toby’s approach to balancing the load is a very smart one. And that’s not only good for his career longevity and creative spirit, but also for his ability to be a good dad and husband. 

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S2 E10: Toby Goodman, Pro Drummer & Percussionist, The Business of Music

This week’s show focuses on somebody I think of as a member of the Drum Podcasting Mount Rushmore. Someone who’s been speaking to the drumming community since all the way back in 2014, and has amassed an audience of more than 67,400 on Instagram. That’s a lot of drummers!

Daniel Stevens started The Drum Heads Podcast after a back injury kept him from being able to play the drums, resulting in Daniel finding himself depressed. He used podcasting as a way to connect to people. And for four years, it worked. Until it didn’t.

On May 8th, Daniel posted on The Drum Heads’ Instagram: “Hey guys, Unfortunately, I’m going to be taking a temporary hiatus from The Drum Heads Podcast. To be 100% straight up honest with you guys it can’t do it right now. Between being a husband, a father of 4, working 50 plus weeks and trying to produce a show. I’m completely burnt out. I’m beginning to lose my joy for drums & drumming. I never want to lose my passion for being a drummer. Drumming & Podcasting was my happy place but lately, it has slowly turned into something I dread and it’s beginning to impact my family life & my mental health. So with that being said the show is going to have to go on hiatus until I can get everything figured out.”

This kind of message takes courage and vulnerability for anyone to share, and Daniel was very open about his challenges. I want to thank Daniel for being open and honest about the challenges he and his show are facing. In our age of curated social media presentation of ourselves, we often sand off the warts and show other people only the good parts. Daniel is courageous in sharing about his mental health and I want to encourage anyone who’s listening: if you’re struggling with depression, anxiety, don’t suffer alone.

We have plenty of resources where you can start a conversation. Reach out. We are a community, and we take care of each other. It can be tough to start these conversations but you’ll be glad you did.

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Drum Showroom

S2 E11: The Drum Heads Podcast's Daniel Stevens

Ben O’Brien Smith started his career working at D’Addario, working on Evans drumhead projects like Black Chrome and Level 360, as well as the company’s integration and modernization of its Pro Mark drumstick acquisition.

13 months ago, Ben departed his post to focus full time on building his social media creative firm, Cadence Independent Media. He already has an impressive stable of music clients. And his latest project, Sounds Like a Drum, is THE YouTube channel Drum Showroom listeners have been waiting for: how to reliably create the exact sound you’re after.

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S2 E12: Ben O'Brien Smith of Sounds Like A Drum and Cadence Independent Media

Drum Showroom is the drum gear show. Hosted by lifelong drummer and former JBL/Harman, Alesis, Sennheiser, and Zildjian music and audio tech exec Dan Radin. Each episode features a conversation with a drum maker, drum company rep, or drummer about the gear that inspires them. Learn the stories behind the gear, go deep into the details, and discover tips and tricks to make it your own.

S2 E9: Mike Martin of Predator Percussion

DRUM SHOWROOM with Dan Radin