You know, I keep a relatively low profile on this board, but read/monitor it constantly, as I am the moderator, so needless to say, the news of Bruce's passing has brought me out, and I must post...
I knew Bruce very well, and we would talk on the phone quite a bit as he had a habit of calling me out of the blue every two months or so, just to talk about Rogers, drums, or drumming. But there was more to it than that as we would also chat about life in general, and how all of that was going. Interestingly, I also sold Bruce four different Rogers snare drums... two of which he was REALLY fond of as they are the picture that make up his Avatar on the ROF site:
A 1965 Rogers WMP Dynasonic, and a 1967 Rogers Red Sparkle Pearl Dynasonic, both of them in near MINT condition. Bruce ALWAYS thanked me for selling him the '67 WMP Dynasonic as it became one of his favorites... ( he called it his Buddy drum ) ... amazing when you think about that, as that drum was but ONE of 60 in his collection. I always used to tell him that he was the curator/owner of the West Coast Rogers Drum Museum. He always got a kick out of that.
We did meet and get together at the Chicago Vintage Drum Show along with our most esteemed forum host, David Anfuso. It was quite an excellent time, and a lot of jocularity ensued, as well as a deep love and respect for drums and drumming. With Bruce and I both being Rogers FREAKS, well, there was plenty to talk about!
Bruce was an excellent human being with his heart in the right place... he will be sorely missed by ALL that knew him, either personally or through the internet. My personal heratfelt condolences to Cathy and the rest of his friends and family. Rest in peace Bruce.
Tommyp
