A new title image for my blog

The past is the past.
















My previous blog title photograph (above) was of me at age 26. I was playing a chrome on fibre glass, Fibes kit with Ziljan cymbals. At that time I was playing in a cover band called the Voyeurs with Marc Dombowski (guitar and vocals), Paul Martin (Guitar and vocals), Gary Harvey and Lee Cooper who alternated on bass and vocals. We covered Rolling Stones and Iggy Pop material playing at various venues around greater Auckland.

Previous to that, in the late 1970's, I was active playing drums with a 3 piece band doing receptions and backing acts like Frankie Rowles and Billy T James through the Hegan Entertainment Agency.

This black and white image was captured at the Orewa Town Hall in 1983 by a photographer colleague, Rebecca ? who worked with me at the Hibuscus Coaster news paper.

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.

The Cajon

Well here it is the newly completed Cajon!



















I built the box using 4mm 5 ply Meranti for the sides, 12mm Pine 5 ply for the top and bottom and 2.5mm Finish Birch for the sound board. The wood surface is finished with Danish Oil on the sides and polyurethane on the sound board. All the joints were made with bamboo dowels and secured with cross linking PVA white wood glue.
The Cajon took some tuning and adjusting of soundboard screws, rear port and snare strings before I was happy with the sound.



















The Cajon is a true Helmholtz enclosure so the frequency and bass response of the instrument can be tuned. The port diameter and depth was determined using an online port calculator. The cubic dimension of the internal volume of the box was entered into the calculator along with the desired resonant frequency, the port length and diameter are directly proportional to each other. Calculator link
Here is a link to a research paper which I found helpful. link


















I painted the motif on to the varnished surface with black enamel paint. I glued a cork tile on top to form a seat.




















Here Diane Ponzio and I are engaged in a Cajon duet. Diane plays the cajon very well having a highly developed sense of rhythm from all those years of performing.

Tim Heraud has created a website

My good friend Tim Heraud has created a website called laughing cloud records featuring all of his writing, songs, e book novel, poems & short stories.

Tim has made available for the first time recordings of our various collaborations over the years.

Bands include: The Hoovers, "LIVE AT THE TEMPLE", 2 albums by Cutting Room Floor “LIFE’S TOO LONG” & “DELETED”

This is "diamond in the rough" music at its very best. I'd buy it if I didn't already have copies myself!

Click on the link in the Links List on your right and spend lots of money, god knows he needs it. Just don't mention the royalties!

Harmen's drum kit coming together

I've located a Sonor hi hat stand and a pair of 14" Meinl Headliner brass hi hat cymbals from our local online auction site, trademe.

Items that I still want to acquire include a splash cymbal a ride and some suitable stands. Not sure yet about tom toms. If I do add toms they will be mounted independently of the bass drum.

I've also constructed a Cajon. I'm waiting for an Auckland supplier to send me the last component, the sound board which is a small panel of 5 ply birch 2.5mm thick. I've based my Cajon on a German Schlagwerk, Cahon la Peru.

Inevitably it is different in several ways from the original, being slightly larger and built from denser materials. As I work my intuition guides me toward my goal. I'm wanting a brighter and fuller response from my Cahon than is present in the Shlagwerk unit.

I am enjoying the Cajon as a percussion instrument. The possibilities are huge and the box is so discreet and portable, perfect for spontaneous musical opportunities accompanying acoustic instruments. The Cajon can be amplified through my bass guitar rig with brilliant results.

A new drum kit for Harmen

For years now I've owned a 1930 Ludwig and Ludwig 24" bass drum.

The label inside reads Ludwig & Ludwig Aero Kraft. The shell is of laminated Mahogany and the hoops are of Maple.

The story behind the Ludwig Aero Kraft label follows. The pages are extracted from the Ludwig & Ludwig catalogue of 1926 from the book "History of the Ludwig Drum Company" by Paul William Schmidt.
I've added the pages relating to drum head manufacture as well because I'm currently curing some skins, experimenting with my own bass drum head construction.

I decided to collect some other bits and pieces to compliment the drum, a snare (Yamaha Stage custom), a kick pedal, a wood block and cow bell. Still to come are a splash cymbal and some hardware to support the accessories. I'm setting up a small versatile kit which will enable me to play along with friends occasionally.