A clip from "The Jews Brothers Band" website's "History" page

The Jews Brothers Band at Rakinos Cafe, High Street, Auckland 2001
Hershal: (Piano Accordion, Vocals), Harmen Hielkema: (Vocals, Bass), Linn Lorkin: (Vocals, Melodica), Kelvin Roy: (bass trumpet, vocals)

"Within a few weeks we recruited another extraordinary and eccentric musician ... Harmen Hielkema (dubbed by Linn, the "Dutch clutch" and sometimes the "Friesian 'nesian"), who played the most amazing instrument of all, known Down Under as the tea-chest bass, a variant of the wash-tub bass often heard with jug bands. I didn't want a normal bass in the band (though eventually when Harmen left the band we did go that route). But the sounds Harmen created on his tea-chest were just amazing and he often stole the show! People would just sit there dumbfounded at both the sound and the look of this monstrous looking instrument. Harmen was also a visual artist who did music as a hobby (for financial reasons) and eventually had to leave the band to become a teacher at AUT, teaching Spatial Design (at which point he was replaced by Peter Scott on the double bass ... see our artist page).
Harmen's bass and vocals feature on all the JBB albums except the Braeburn Sessions. As I write today, Harmen is now living with his wife Julie in the Hokianga region of Northland, New Zealand. Together they also organize regular house concerts. 09 405-7855."

Hershal

27" vintage bass drum

I've just finished restoring a lovely old 1935 mahogany bass drum.

This brand was distributed by S & T Adams and Son Auckland. The label reads "S & T Adams & Son Auckland" and is pasted on the inside of the shell.

From my online research I have been able to determine that Super Tone was an American brand name for instruments distributed by Sears & Roebuck. This Drum was manufactured in 1935 (marked in pencil by the maker inside the shell) by Leedy and Ludwig and imported into NZ.

Shell is 2 ply mahogany with 3 maple reinforcing rims, counter hoops are of maple.

The tension rods are Leedy and Ludwig and are bright nickel plated.

The drum is fitted with one calf skin and one mylar Tympani skin.

I believe that this drum could form tha basis for a 1930's style vintage drum "trap" set up or make a unique coffee table, lamp or illuminated sign.

I bought this drum many years ago, whilst on tour with the Jews Brothers, at an antique shop in Napier. The drum had been painted in light blue enamel with white painted counter hoops. It featured one original calf skin and one later calf skin of lesser quality.

I loaned this drum to my son when he was still at secondary school and together we created a kit from a variety of second hand components. He got 5 years of good use out of it before he returned it to me with some minor modifications. He had refinished the drum with an old "Lotto" decal left over from the old Team NZ Americas Cup campaign (of which he had been a member).

This was how the drum looked when it was returned to me.

































































After much scraping sanding and oiling, here's what it looks like now.

I had the tension rods re plated which has lifted the finished article to a whole new level.