We promise to never complain about winter again! The last couple of weeks have been so delightful weather-wise – even the Memorial Day extended weekend was outrageously great – that we'll refrain from our usual climate jokes, at least for this issue. Leave us, then, to extol the virtues of the region's music stores and repair emporiums, where musicians of all stripes and ability levels gather. Electric Avenue brings you inside these facilities to bring you the latest news on who is doing what.
The Original Long Island Drum Center in Plainview, long known for their drum
clinics featuring an array of famous professionals, recently hosted a "Paiste
Cymbal Test Day." Drummers from all over the area came to test and purchase
from the selection of Paiste cymbals available for this special event. The
event was centered on six core lines of Paiste cymbals, including the introduction
of several new models debuted at this year's winter NAMM show and confab.
New Rude and 2002 models were tested out, as well as the new Twenty line,
made of B-20 bronze in conjunction with Turkish cymbal maker Murat Diril.
"Paiste would like to thank Dennis Ricci, Andrew Destafano, Phil Corso, Ainsley Taylor, Steve Krupa, Joe Mauro, Maurice Bernhard, and all of the staff at the Original Long Island Drum Center for all of their support with this event and through the years," wrote Paiste Cymbal in a press release. For more information on the Original Long Island Drum Center, log on to lidrum.com.
Also, the LIDC held a 30th anniversary celebration on June 2, with scheduled guests including Jason Bittner, Will Calhoun, Bobby Rondinelli, Nat Townsley, Pablo "Chino" Nunez, "Chembo" Corniel, Matt Miller's Jazz Trio, The Long Island Sound Marching Band, and The Approaching Storm Marching Band.
PedalGEEK in New Hyde Park – and their accompanying website, pedalGEEK.com – have new store hours and a regular contingent of major league customers (major artists such as Metallica and Jon Mayer) both in-store and online. No doubt; the store's website is almost like an Amazon.com for pedal users – if a pedal is out there, most likely PedalGEEK will have it. For more information, log on to their website.
Paul Lanzetta and Dianne Indiviglia of East Rockaway Music continue to host
the popular Tuesday night open mic events at Rockaway Café/Diya Lounge.
The music store has been quite busy in recent weeks as well. Ricky Shaffer,
the original drummer of Broadway's Godspell, stopped in for drum parts and
accessories.
"We are getting a lot of adults in our summer enrollment of lesions,
primarily because of Terrence, formerly of The Mystic, who now has his own
band, A Witch's Brew," reported Dianne. Members of local bands who have
stopped by East Rockaway Music to prepare for the summer have been Paul of
South Of Sunrise and Bruce Rust of Left Of Center. Paul, Dianne, and Paul
Lanzetta Jr. are performers in the acoustic band Main Street, and will perform
at The Fishery in East Rockaway.
With the vast array of talent that resides in Long Island and Queens, you never know which musicians may show up at your favorite music shop. If you see or hear of any interesting appearances near you – or if you're a music store owner, proprietor, or employee with some hot news – make sure to contact Good Times to get on Electric Avenue. Drop us a line at gtmag@optonline.net, or call us at (516) 827-4145. Remember, if it's going on in area music, we want to know about it – and so do our readers.
