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06/03/2002 Entry: "Thank you, Chick Bailey"

Chick Bailey. His name is synonomous with Jazz drumming here in the midcoast. At 79, he's been playing drums for a lot of years. He recently became a customer of MIS, and when he stopped in, we had a good little talk. we'd played together before: he plays for the Lincolnville Band, and I play for the Midcoast Community Band. In he past, I mentioned that I was a fan of vintage drums. He owns a vintage set or two. So he asked if I might like some old drum parts that he had kicking around. Would I! So today, he brought me a grab bag full of drum parts. He mentioned that if anything ever happened to him, his wife would just think his whole drum collection is junk. (I can relate! My wife would have now idea what was worth something, and what was worthless..) So he's decided to give most of it to someone who will love it. He's also promised me a set of Slingerland congas (!) and a 15" cymbal.

Oh, and his vintage kit? A 1963 Ludwig in Oyster Black Pearl (the "Ringo" finish) win a 20" kick, two 12" rack toms (2 rack toms of the same size were popular when having 2 rack toms first came about), 14", 16" and 20" floor toms! And a matching snare! This set is really worth quite a few dollars in this finish, as ringo made it so popular. Strange enough, he bought this kit before the Beatles hit it.