I didn't take pics yesterday but saw: Abilone Radio King, Gretsch Gladstones, KB badge Thermogloss downbeat set, Citrus Mod, Mod Orange, Psych Red sets all nice, Camco outfits, mint pink oyster jazz fest and super classic, custom banded pearl Gretsch round badge set, buckets of cool stuff!

Best gear in memory for Chicago Show! Dealers are primed to do biz after last year.

The only brand I didn't see much of was Rogers, which is unusual I thought?

I have never gone to a show and I think I'd be kinda irritated if I saw a Gladstone (even if it was only a Gretsch version) and couldn't buy it. Better for me to just see them in pictures! ;)

Abalone Radio King though....wow!

I saw two Gretsch Gladstones for sale. One with 3 way tuning and the key and key mount, one with two way tuning and no key or key mount. Tempting stuff!

Actually, there was one dealer today (Saturday) with almost exclusively Rogers drums. A handful of kits lined up side by side and a rack full of snares. But I am not knowledgeable about them. I did notice two snares (dynasonics?), each with a $2000 asking price. Good thing I'm not knowledgeable enough on Rogers to consider buying one of them!

I had set my expectations quite low for this show, considering all the obstacles this year: the Covid thing, the rising cost of air travel, the obscene cost of rental cars this year, and the long distance to travel from O'Hare and Midway airports to the new (old) venue in the far western suburbs.

However, I was very pleasantly surprised at the large number of dealers with great vintage and modern drums, and the large number of attendees. And the new building is very nice, built in 2008. Despite the rain and cool weather, I think everyone was in the mood to get out of the house for "Spring Break" fun! Everyone seemed to be in a happy friendly mood.

The highlight of the day for me - by far - was the talk given by Kofi Baker, Ginger's son. Hard to believe they are related. He is nothing like his irascible father; doesn't even look like him. Kofi is the nicest, most personable, polite, funny and engaging man you would ever want to meet. A great story-teller and a fantastic drummer. He told a lot of stories about what it was like to have Ginger Baker as a father and drum instructor! We hung on every word. And his rudiment-based drum solos were awesome and inspiring. He really motivated me to take a fresh look at my own practicing...of rudiments around the kit!

It was a good show! Next year should be even better! Regards, MB

The only picture I took....Kofi Baker

I was there today. It seemed smaller than the past few years but there still was a lot to see. It was nice to have it back at the fairgrounds in the building it used to be in and perhaps that was one of the reasons things looked sparser as it's a more spacious building.

Pretty sure those were NEW Rogers in the booth with all the Rogers stuff. Lots of nice things to look at although I think some of the stuff Bun mentioned was already gone today.

Thanks for the updates. Sounds like an event worth attending. Must make the effort some day.

I was proud to be a first time exhibitor this year! I got to talk to BEC briefly in the parking lot on Friday. I also got to meet Chris Hawthorne and talk to him briefly. I wish Marty and K.O would have stopped by my booth (77) to say "Hi".

I had a pretty good day on Saturday and had one big sale on Sunday, but Sunday was much quieter overall. I also had the pleasure to talk to Kofi Baker. At the tail end of Saturday, I saw someone looking through my cymbal rack. I said if he wanted to hear any of them on a stand, I would be happy to provide him with one. He asked if I had any hi-hats. The only ones I had were out on display on a stand, a pair of hollow ink 14" New Beats. I walked him over to that side of my booth. He told me he was a Zildjian endorser, so he had to play Zildjians. It was then I noticed the slight British accent. I then knew who he was and we had a great conversation. A very normal, humble guy. He bought my set of New Beats. His wife/girlfriend had to go the car to get cash, and while she was gone, we just shot the breeze. He was real down to earth and treated me like I was an old friend. I purposely didn't mention anything about his Dad. I figure he's been living in his Dad's shadow his entire life, and I wanted to let him talk about himself and what he's been doing. We had a great chat, and he's a super nice guy. Here is a picture his wife/girlfriend took for me.

It was a great show and I hope to be an exhibitor again next year!

Nice photo. He looks like a happy guy. Nice that you were able to meet him and have a good conversation.

I also see what appears to be a nice Rogers in black diamond pearl. Was that the big sale?