Following Hurricane Katrina in August, 2005 I had lost almost all of my drums
and percussion instruments. I had one drum set ... a Yamaha Maple Custom
Absolute professional set that I saved.
For years I had friends and colleagues telling me to write Yamaha. I kept
saying no because the big drum companies are not interested in helping drummers
unless they have a major record or touring deal ... same as the major sports
manufacturers. I finally gave in and sent the following letter to Bob Malone at
Yamaha and below is my correspondence with Yamaha.
The correspondence went through several departments all the way to the local
district manager ... and then they stopped returning email and calls. I tried to
contact them multiple times over a number of months ... with no response at
all. I have no idea what I did to Yamaha but from a professional stand point a
return call or email explaining what went wrong would certainly have been
appreciated. I finally purchased a
Taye drum set for my
casual (spot job) performances and they have been outstanding.
In July, 2010 I was able to speak with the local district manager and he
appologized for the miscommunication. They just became very busy with schools
and new lines of equipment and didn't have time to do anything. Mr. Scully is
now looking for a way to place the story in a drum publication to let other
drummers know what my drums went through and how the survived.
On March 27, 2008 (two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina) I wrote the
following letter to a contact I found on the Yamaha website:
Dear Mr. Malone,
My name is David Hansen. Back in the 1990's I had worked out an arrangement with
Michael Bennett for the Original Dixieland Jazz Band and members of the band for
the status of a Yamaha Performing Ensemble and Yamaha Performing Artists.
Michael left Yamaha and my company was so busy that I hadn't followed up with
Yamaha on my performing career except the occasional request for Yamaha drums
wherever we performed when Yamaha drums were not available for me.
Hurricane Katrina sent us on a journey none of us could ever have imagined.
We have recovered and now I'm back to a busy schedule trying to find time to
boost my career and move forward.
I purchased a Maple Custom Absolute (Sea Blue Maple) as a Performing Artist with
the help of Michael Bennett and to my amazement that drum set actually survived
Hurricane Katrina. My home and studio were covered by nine feet of brackish
water for two weeks. I had over $35,000.00 of drums and hand percussion that I
had collected over twenty years from around the world ...
my cymbals, a few brass percussion pieces and one (Yamaha) drum set were the
only pieces saved! Everything else was destroyed.
The Yamaha kit was the only set that looked even remotely decent (and it still
looked very bad) I remember cutting the heads off to drain all the water and
muck. I didn't want to take off the hoops or heads as I wanted to try and keep
the shape of the drums intact as much as possible. It was August going into
September and the weather was still very hot and humid. I drained all of the
drums, dipped them in a 1/3 bleach to 2/3 water solution, rinsed them and then
left them sitting in my back yard to dry. I fully and completely thought they
would have to be thrown away. They sat in my backyard for weeks. Finally, I
moved them to a storage unit where they sat until the middle of December. Almost
four months following the storm I brought the drums to our temporary place of
residence (one of many!) and began to work on them. Following three intense days
of a labor of love they began to look like something I could actually use. I
remember taking the hoops off for the first time and measuring the distance of
the diameter so carefully . none of the drums had gone out of round at all.
There were no egg shaped drums and I remember my excitement and amazement. The
drums smelled very bad and I scrubbed them with a bleach solution and then a
deodorizing solution that the Red Cross had given us. I hit all the chrome with
the finest steel wool and then rinsed everything. I didn't unscrew the lug
casings as the screws holding them in place were already rusted when I first
pulled the drums out of my studio. I painted any bare metal parts with a rust
converter that immediately oxidized the metal and stopped the rust. I know the
pieces inside the lug casings will continue to rust and eventually the drums
will begin to buzz and rattle. I put new heads on, tuned the drums and the first
night performing on them was a very proud moment. . Until they start to buzz and
rattle they are my pride and joy. Of all the drums I have owned over my career
this was my most beloved set in every way and I will play them until they can't
be played anymore. (hitting the chrome with steel wool was the hardest part of
cleaning the set . everything I did to get the set back went against anything I
would ever do to my drums . but it had to be done.)
Here is a link to my bands website with photos of my Yamaha drum set. (What they
looked like before the storm, after the storm and how they look now.)
www.nogdo.com (select "new photos have been
added" and then please scroll through all the photos. You will see all the
Yamaha drum photos - sea blue Maple kit.
Here is a direct link to the restored kit (there is a link under this photo that
will show you the drums in rough shape!)
http://www.nogdo.com/hansen_photos.htm#Yamaha-restored
Current info pages containing a brief update on a few of my bands and my
resume have been attached to this email (pdf documents).
Following the storm I booked my Garden District Trio at the Gulfstream (now
Houston's) Restaurant on St. Charles Avenue. We perform seven nights per week
and are well into our third year. My storm drums (Yamaha) are at the restaurant
and sound incredible. I have four kids and sub the gig out to many drummers who
need the work and they all love the drums and are amazed at what they went
through. none of them were able to save any of their drums.
I purchased an inexpensive Yamaha birch kit following the storm to take on spot
jobs and it has done well . but it is not a professional level kit and the drum
sizes are larger than what I like to perform on. Again, following the storm
everything was upside down, the set I purchased was the only Yamaha kit
available in the store at the time and I had a gig that night.
Whew, that brings back bizarre memories of shuffling around everywhere.
The Maple Custom Absolute is doing fine right now, but I know down the road the
metal pieces and parts inside the lug casings will begin to rattle from rust.
I would like to invest in a professional level gig kit. I completely love the
Maple Custom Absolute and will eventually get the exact same drums - sizes and
all that I currently have. For the studio and special gigs there is no other
choice. They are a bit heavy to pack in and out of spot jobs and I am seriously
looking at the Rick Marotta and Al Foster Signature Hipgig sets.
Please let me know if I am still listed as a Yamaha Performing Artist? (Possibly
under the Original Dixieland Jazz Band which was designated as a Yamaha
Performing Ensemble)
My wife, children and I are in a new home in the same neighborhood we were in
during the storm. New Orleans is our home. My business is thriving and I am very
proud that through my music booking agency I am able to provide a significant
amount of work to many musicians in New Orleans. Equipment and major purchases
are still a big deal but I am gradually building my most needed equipment back.
What sort of assistance might be available for me to purchase a new Yamaha drum
set?
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Regards,
David Hansen
Hansen Music Productions, LLC
(Surviving, rebuilding and moving forward post Hurricane Katrina )
Here is the response from Bob Malone at Yamaha on Friday, March 28, 2008
Dear David,
That is an amazing story! I have forwarded your e-mail to John Wittmann.
He will be interested to read it as he is both a drummer and the Artist
Relations Manager for the B&O (Band and Orchestral) Division. However, B&O
doesn't handle drum kits anymore. That instrument line is now part of the PAC
(Pro Audio and Combo) Division. John will know the proper contact in that
division and will forward it to them. I am sure that he will get back to you
with this information ASAP.
Best of luck to you and your family. I hope that you are able to get back to
pre-Katrina levels of life or better, soon!
Bob Malone
My response also on March 28, 2008
Hi Bob,
Thank you for such a quick response and your kind words. I really appreciate
your help and look forward to hearing from John Wittmann and someone from PAC.
Thank you very much for the update.
Best Regards,
David Hansen
Another memo from Bob Malone on March 28, 2008
Hi David,
I spoke with Jordan Barth in the PAC division. He's your guy! He can be reached
at xxxxxxxxxxxx
Again, best of luck to you!
Bob
Here is correspondence from the local District Manager on Tuesday, April
8, 2008
I am all for doing this, what a testimony to the quality of Yamaha Drums and
artist loyalty...please have him contact and let me know what I need to do...
Thanks!!
John Scully
District Manager
Yamaha Pro Audio and Combo Division
Guitar,Drums and Paiste Cymbals
Following this email all correspondence from Yamaha stopped.
I made a number of calls and left multiple messages for both Bob Malone and
John Scully asking for further details and no one returned a call or
sent an email to follow up.
This was very confusing and I finally gave up and purchased a Taye drum set
for use on my casual or spot jobs. I still have the Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute
drum set at our steady performance and whenever I record they are in the studio
with me.
I still have the highest regard for Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute drums ... they
are incredible. Just to be clear. I was not looking for
a hand out or free drums, but rather a discount or offer that never materialized and
moved forward with a different professional set.
In July, 2010 I was able to speak with the district manager, Mr. Scully, and
he apologized for the miscommunication. He is interested in trying to help me
get the story into a drum publication for other drummers to see what my Yamaha
set went through and how it survived.
