ten piece bucket

Some dads try to live vicariously through their children's sports lives.  Me?  I'm a band Dad!  I wish I would have learned to play an instrument when I was a kid, so when both of my oldest sons expressed an interest in joining the school band, I made sure to nudge them in that direction.

Dylan has been pursuing percussion since the fifth grade.  Now, in the eighth grade, he just completed his second football season as a member of the marching band drum line.  He is currently primarily on the snare drum for marching band, but plays various percussion instruments for concert band.

Zachary is in his second year of middle school band, playing the trumpet.  Next year, he will move to Junior High and start his first year in the marching band brass section.  Zachary seems to have a very natural ear for music, and often sits down at Jen's electric piano and picks tunes out.

For about a year, now, Dylan has been wanting a drum set.  He asked for one for Christmas this year, but I don't think he was very confident that he would get it.  Drum sets are not cheap, and it was more than we typically spend for Christmas, but I originally considered finding him a good used set.  Knowing nothing about drums, finding a "good used set" seemed overwhelming.  Not only that, Our home is not huge and there are six of us... a drum set takes considerable real estate.  I wanted to provide him an opportunity to further his love of percussion, but there were obstacles.

Enter the Pearl Rhythm Traveller.

Dylan loves Pearl drums.  And, it just so happens, as I researched drum sets, that Pearl makes the Rhythm Traveller... a drum set that is more compact for tight spaces and for ease of transporting to gigs.  It also comes with optional mesh practice heads, that are almost silent!  After reading many reviews, and finding them mostly positive, I had found my son's first drum set.  I asked both sets of grandparents if they were interested in throwing in with Jen and I on the cost, and they loved the idea (as long as the noise was in MY house!)

I got a good Black Friday deal online and had the set shipped to an accomplice neighbor's house.  Dylan was quite surprised on Christmas morning.
 

Some assembly required! 

 

Assembled with the real (noisy) heads in place... rock on, Dylan!

 

Dylan has been concocting a band idea with a couple of his musical friends, Noah and Joci.  Noah plays guitar and Joci plays drums or bass guitar.  The plan was for Dylan to be the drummer... if he had a drum set.  His future in the concept band hinged on Christmas!

 

Not wanting to be left out, Zachary tried to convince them that they needed a trumpet in the band.  Dylan was not convinced.  He then decided he'd like to get his hands on an electric guitar and see if he could teach himself enough to be a guitarist.

 

Jen's Mom caught wind of that and surprised Zachary with a used starter electric guitar and amp for Christmas.  Now, he has a shot at being a band member!

 

 Surprised... as was I!  I knew I was going to have the noise of drums in my home... now an electric guitar, too!

 

So, now the band (or the concept of the band, at this point) has a drummer, a guitarist, a bass guitarist and a potential future additional guitarist... and a tentative name.

 

The frontrunner for the band name is... Ten Piece Bucket.  I think it is a great name, and I asked Dylan where they came up with that.  He said, "If we ever get the band together and actually get a gig, we'll all feel like a bunch of chickens on stage."

 

I love the creativity of kids and music, and I love hearing (well, I think I love hearing... ask me in a few months) them trying to put their music knowledge together and challenging themselves to push further.

 

We'll see what becomes of "Ten Piece Bucket".  But, if they get it off the ground and make something of it, just remember that a big part of Ten Piece Bucket happened in a bedroom of my home... the bedroom right above my couch!  (Where are the earplugs?)