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03/11/2005 Entry: "The Collectable MI-5"

As thought up by moi...

1. What do you collect? Stamps, coins, records, baseball cards, what? Describe your collection.
Well, surprise surprise, I collect snare drums. For most people, the sound of the snare drum is what they think of when they think "drum." They come in such a wide range of sizes and materials, each one with a different sound. So for $300-$400, I can have a snare that sounds nothing like any other snare in my collection. And all my snares get played. They don't just sit on the shelf--they go on the road. Each different style I play, each room, and my mood at any given time--all of these factors go into choosing which snare I'll play that night. If you'd like to see the collection, it's here.

2. Was there something you used to collect but now don't? Why did you stop?
I used to collect stamps. Back in grade school, Eric Bunker, Bob Calderwood, and myself started a "Benjamin Franklin Stamp Club" at school. (See question #2 on this page.) We would get together once a week (I think) and talk stamps. There used to be a stamp collecting store in Thomaston, and I used to buy stamps mail order. I stopped in high school, I think, when the store closed and there was no club anymore. My cousin David then took up stamp collecting, so I gave him my collection. I have no idea where it is now. I still have five stamps in my collection: an Ahrens Fox fire engine stamp, three stamps (that were favorites back in my collecting days) that someone used to mail their MIS bill in with (even though the stamps were from 1974!!!), and a stamp from Grenada (I think) with a tarantula on it. The tarantula and fire engine were from my original collection.

3. What would be the "ultimate" thing to add to your collection?
Whoa, tough one. From a rarity standpoint, I'd like a Ludwig "Triumphal" model gold plated snare. There are only seven known, and Mike Curotto owns five of them! In reality though, I'd rather have a Rolling Bomber (and that could become reality) or an original gold lacquered Billy Gladstone (never going to happen).

4. What item in you collection is your favorite? Why?
The Tama Rosewood was something I hunted for years, and an old friend ended up selling me his. I'm now looking for a similar snare with great hardware so I can cannibalize it, and put nice hardware on the rosewood. (It's a little pitted.) Sound wise, though, this snare can do it all.

5. What do you not currently collect, but think might be cool to get into in the future?
I might like to get into collecting first day covers. Every time the postal service issues a new stamp, they set an official post office from which the stamp is released. You can then ask that post office to send you the stamp on an envelope, and it will be canceled with a special "First Day of Issue" mark. Some people make these beautiful envelopes with artwork of the theme of the stamp. Then, the stamp is affixed, canceled, and returned. So I could pick only the stamps I really like, they're easily stored, and cost way less than a snare! (Check out this Headless Horseman FDC. Cool, eh?)

Posted by Joe @ 03/11/2005 03:35 PM EST