Preston Holcomb
I found your site this morning while perusing the web . Very nicely done ! I have now spent about an hour checking it out . Here is my 'geek' submission .
I am 38 , and have been playing since I was 10 . Got my 1st kit in 1977 , at the age of 12 . Rogers , I think . Took a few initial lessons , then decided to figure out the rest on my own . My Mom was the choir director and organist at our church , so I had a knack for music anyway . As I listened to more and more albums , I became aware that I could isolate what the drummers were doing . I'd come home from school , put on a stack of albums on the turntable ........er uh ........'record changer'........turn the volume , bass , and treble all the way up , and play to them . Thus , I basically am self-taught .
My 1st exposure to Sonor was Steve Smith . Immediately I fell in love with everything about these drums . I was always a car nut , and began calling Sonors the ' Mercedes of Drums ' around my musical peers . From that point on , I've always wanted a set of these drums ! Of course , there was NO WAY that I could afford such a kit ! I had used equipment until the late 80's , but still couldn't afford Sonor .
I began to go to Grateful Dead shows in ' 84 , and Mickey & Billy played MATCHING SONOR KITS !!! I was blown away ! At the same time I began playing with other deadheads , and began playing a more basic style , after playing more hard driving stuff in bands . EG: Rush , Yes , ELP , etc. In ' 86 , I formed a band , the Grapes here in Atlanta . We had great songwriters and players . I added a 2nd drummer , and began my love of playing music with a second drummer . Our second drummer left in ' 90 , and I found my current drumming partner and right-hand man , Rick Welsh , that year . We always wanted matching kits to make the sound as one .
The Grapes finally split in ' 97 , with 3 reunion shows in ' 99 . I was inactive musically for a couple of years , jamming around here and there . Two years ago , the guitar player I started the Grapes with decided we should do something new . After fleshing out some new tunes with new Bass player & Keyboardist , I made the call to Rick . We now play better than ever together , starting and finishing each others musical sentences . Our 1st CD as Wayside Riders will be coming out in Jan . ' 04 . It sounds Great !!
Now , my wish has come true . I , this summer , purchased a NEW set of Sonors !! Granted , they are the entry level ' Force 1001 ' series , but they are Sonors , and sound OUTSTANDING ! Bought them from my good friends at Atlanta Pro Percussion . I love the drums and will always be upgrading to the next best series in the coming years !! I also will be contacting Sonor reps to try and get some kind of endorsement , as we will be playing out alot in the future . Just think , a new 2-drummer Sonor band !!! Visit our site , www.waysideriders.net .
(photos attached)
Preston Holcomb
