Here are some pic's of one of Louie's actual Spitfires. I briefly worked as a roadie for him one summer back in the mid-eighties when he came through Florida, driving him and his kit between Sarasota, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. His gig in Sarasota was with his wife Pearl Bailey at Van Wetzel Hall. Louie often recruited young drummers in each state to assist him when he came through.
Louie was no longer with Slingerland having moved to endorsing Pearl. The kit he used in Florida was a Remo Pre-tuned Series (PTS). I would actually un-clip the heads and put the drums one inside the other, and they all fit into two bass drum cases. Ridiculously inexpensive kit but he of course made it both sing and roar.
An ironic anecdote about Pearl was that she hated flying, and hated having her picture taken. Since she didn't fly she took Amtrak as much as she could, and shortly after the Sarasota performance she found herself in a train wreck, assisting victims, and with camera's flashing. Wonderful woman. She was so thoughtful that she sent my younger sister an autographed copy of her cookbook.
Both absolutely incredible people and I was very fortunate to have met and worked with them. I still have a copy of the check they gave me. I wish I had the original but back then I really needed the money. However, I got to keep his Slingerland Spitfire!
It's all original with the exception of one of the snare straps. I played my way through college using that snare, and played a lot of ethnic festivals where there were belly dancers and the like, so I was frequently switching the snares off to play all toms, eventually wearing the strap through.
There's more! So a few years ago I got a new job and I'm moving into a new apartment in Tampa. I'm carrying my drums inside, a 70's era Rodgers kit (matched perfectly with the Spitfire), and one of the bass drums was without a case. A man walked by, saw it, and asked about it. It was John Blackwell! I lived below John for a year, though obviously he was rarely home. After talking about experiences with Louie and Buddy, he invited me to go to NYC with him as he was performing in the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert. I couldn't go. New job, no time, BIG MISTAKE! John is a fantastic, humble, down-to-earth guy, along with being a fantastic drummer.
First Louie, then Buddy, then John. I love drums, and all those brushes with greatness, yet and I'm just a corporate slug! Argh! Just enough talent to play my way through college and, more recently, occasionally scare the hell out of our cats!
Chris
