(The Vault) The History of Cocktail Drums with John Mettam

(EP 80 – 12/2020) Cocktail drum kits date back to post World War 2 in an orchestra pit in England where space is at a premium and the drums needed to grow taller, as opposed to wider. the “stand up drum set” evolved from there and became a staple of jazz lounges, street performers, comedy acts and many great drummers who wanted a unique look and feel to the drums they play.

John Mettam is the founder of cocktaildrum.com and a longtime performer and cocktail kit enthusiast. He shares the full story of these iconic drum sets with us year by year as we go through the catalogs of Slingerland, Gretsch, Leedy, Rogers, and Ludwig. This is a great history filled episode with tons of fun stories throughout.

follow along at www.cocktaildrum.com under the catalogs tab

Enjoy this episode!

Join the discussion

More from this show

Episode 218

Subscribe for Exclusive Sponsor Discounts and Episode Updates.