The Evolution of the Rockula Drum Set Pt 1 (Christmas edition)

It has been more than 30 years ago that I received my first “real” drumset for Christmas
This was my toy drumset up until then (you can’t see the cymbal or bass drum pedal)

This was a step up from normal toys because the heads were plastic instead of thick paper
Still, you had to show some restraint because it was still a toy
None of that restraint paid off when I came back one day to find that my parents had let Brett and Scott Anderson play my drums
I was horrified to find that  there were dents in the thin plastic heads and the bass drum pedal was broken!
What I needed was a REAL drumset

Fast forward to Christmas 1981 and I am a pre-teen boy that is transitioning from hardcore KISS fan to more sophisticated music like Rush
I guess my parents saw that I wasn’t giving up on the drums like I did with the guitar
There was a big ole box under the tree and it had my name on it
I had no freaking idea what it was and was not expecting what I saw when I opened the box

It was REAL DRUMS!
It was a red sparkle set with a bass drum (with a real pedal) a mounted tom a cymbal and a real snare
From then on, the only thing I would ask for Christmas or birthdays was drum equipment
I was immediately trying to play beyond the limitations of such a small set
My first “innovation” was to tune the one tom high at the top of the head and low at the bottom
I got 3 notes out of the one drum but in my mind, it was a trip around the toms of a huge drumset
Another important drum moment was that I also got Rush “Exit Stage Left” that year ad I was already trying to play the drums along to the tape
My next expansion was the Mattell Synsonic drums but that is for another time
In the next installment of the Drum Retrospective, the drumset expands to more than twice it’s size and I really take off
Here’s a picture of me and my goofy ass uncle
It is the very first picture of me playing drums ever