a free form jazz odyssey in front of a festival crowd

Dear Hi Hats,

It started just about 6 years ago. After the stuggle of finally convincing my parents to let me put a 2nd set of drums in the house, it was time to purchase some cymbals. I knew what i wanted long before we met. Zildjian, 14″ new beat hats. The first drummer i met in high school, Mark Kahn, had a pair, and they rocked. the “Chick” sound, the response, everything seemed so right. Prices being what they were for new cymbals, and me being a high school kid with a job at a bank, i was looking for a way to save money. Enter the Internet. Thanks to internet god Eric Tarn, we found a website in Canada offering discounted Zildjian and Sabian cymbals with FREE SHIPPING!!!!! wow, what a deal!! 196 for a pair of new beat hats? I remember the price vividly, it was the cheapest around. But….there had to be a catch.

Brilliant finish. This takes some explaining. Cymbals come in 2 finishes; Brilliant and Traditional. Traditional is just as the title says, a dull finish with the charm and appeal of an antique ottoman (what the fuck is an ottoman?). Brilliant is extremely shiny, almost like a mirror. These are a favorite of heavy metal bands, and fusion drummers who want the brightest and most cutting sound. All cymbals on the discout web site were brilliant finish- they are a tad less popular. The hats i knew and loved were traditional, but we can’t always get what we want- as the Rolling Stones said, so i figured “I’ll setle for you” as NJ Ska Legends, President Lemon once said (anyone but Webmaster T Bone who gets that joke wins a Hi Five).

I also got a 16″ sabian brilliant crash, and a 21″ raw bell ride, just like John Fishman- my hero at the time, only his was traditional. Damn you Canada. Upon arrival, i was excited, i was now an owner of 3 cymbals!!! i felt totally awesome. But as time passed, the truth became clear: I was not in love. It was purely a relationship of conveniance. A divorce would cost money, as new cymbals do, so I decided just to stick with you. After a while though, supporting 3 unloving cymbals was too much. The ride was the first to go. It was replaced with a 20″ grand master hand made exotic Turkish ride. Left for an exotic beauty, sold to my sister. But as the younger and more exotic ones often do, it split. A crack developed, and I was forced to purchase yet another ride, this time a more standard one, reliable, yet not the best.

But you Hi Hats, i kept you around. I don’t know why. I hated your bright cutting sound. The way the bottom hat was so heavy, like a freaking bell. The smoke residue that had built up from playing in bars came off on the hands of all those who touched it. But still, we did not part. A 2nd crash was added, much bigger, and Traditional finish!!! I played it so much, 2 giant cracks showed up, eventually forcing me to return to you, little sabian. But this year, another Istanbul was added, but soon cracked, and was replaced with an uncracked …..retiring you to a cymbal bag for backup. Oh, how neglected you must have felt.

This leaves us with the hats. You were loyal, strong (except for a nick in the side) and freaking loud. you had to go. Ebay it was. One fine day, a pair of Stanton Moore signature hats showed up, and i decided to leave you for them. I’m a heartbreaker, what can I say. Baby, they just do things you can’t do. So i put you on the auction block, and you went for 132!! wow, see, you still have some years left in you! oddly enough, its back to Canada, by USPS airmail. Packed in a cardboard box, covered in Village Voice adult advertisements, just to give your new Canadian owner a little taste of NY. Our last meeting was not too emotional, played once for old times sake, and boxed. Maybe we will meet down the road, but maybe not. I wish you well old Hats, keep it real

Steve