Here's a extended clip of one of the vids John posted.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOPQswhWPi4&feature=related[/ame]

John where on earth did you get a scrap of Gene's WMP??? Lucky man!!

> John where on earth did you get a scrap of Gene's WMP??? Lucky man!!

A good friend of mine owned one of Gene's bass drums. The WMP strips on the hoops was in bad shape. He had saved every tiny piece of wrap that had fallen off the hoop strip. I asked him for a piece and he not only gifted me some of the wrap, he sent me a mirror tile from the wall of the Metropole Bar. He and his son had been walking by the Metropole as construction crews were demolishing it. He asked one of the workers if he could grab a few tiles off the wall behind the stage and was given permission to do so. He managed to grab a half dozen tiles or so before the Supervisor happened by and asked who he was and what he was doing. They threw him out... but not before he had grabbed a handful of the tiles.

I framed it all, the letter from my friend, Bill, the piece of wrap from Gene's 1940's bass drum and the four tiles from The metropole. (see photo) When he sent me a photo of the tiles, it made me wonder how many great musicians and bands had been reflected in them over the decades the club was open. I grabbed some vintage photos and superimposed them onto the tiles, 'memories frozen in time.' (see second photo.)

I'm just glad I was there and a witness to some of the music history that was made there.

Enjoy,

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/memento.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n632/PurdieShuffle/Metrotiles.jpg[/IMG]

John

John those are really cool keepsakes!! Man a actual piece of GK's bass hoop. I love the mirror tiles too. Great stuff those are treasures.

I have a GK autograph floating around here somewhere. I've been slowly looking for it as time permits. I forgot about it for years as it's been tucked away in a box here inside a book.

Glenn, Find it, frame it and put it up next to your drums. Every time you see it, it'll be an inspiration for you to play like you mean it. That's how Gene played and the most important thing I learned from him, both as a drummer and as a musician. It's the one attribute that is shared by all the Greats.

John

Ok...now I have to watch the "Gene Krupa Story" with Sal Mineo as Gene.Gene actually taught and coached Sal for his part in the flick,and Sal turned out the be a pretty good drummer.Imagine being taught by one of the greats.Gene put drummers on the map like no one else has ever done before or since.

Thanks for the thread John.Yes Sir

Steve B

John, this thread is a GREAT idea....and a piece of wrap from Gene's kit?!?!

WOW!!!

Gene Krupa died on my first birthday and even now, I'd give anything to talk to the guy for 30....even 10 seconds.

He's my absolute favorite & the whole reason I started playing drums.

This is a photo of a photo (I'm not sure of the etiquette in regards to posting stuff like this on the internet, but I trust you guys will keep it here) given to me by Jack Bradley that I don't think has ever been published.

[IMG]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a21/rbarstis15/IMG_5564.jpg[/IMG]

Also, this is one of my favorite clips of Gene.....

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZB25ML2vjM[/ame]

And this is worth a look...there's 3 parts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvVTGkVsb6A&feature=relmfu

John, thanks again for bringing this up!!

Oh God, also, I'm a ding-dong.

I'm typing an arm's length from this:

[IMG]http://i734.photobucket.com/albums/ww345/Goodishblog_photos/music%20stand/IMG_2157.jpg[/IMG]

It's from the Ben Anthony years, but still a prized possession to me.

Richie - Wow! Thanks for posting that shot of Gene. The photographer really 'got him' on film. ... and who needs drums? If you're Gene Krupa, all you need is sticks and the contents of an Irish bar to make amazing music.

Gene's sense of time and rhythm is what always gets me when I hear him play. That guy could make a funeral dirge swing really, really hard! It's like his brain thinks in syncopation. I get something new from him each and every time I hear him. Stuff I've heard a hundred times will reveal something new that I somehow missed the other 99 times I listened. The man was amazing in many ways. I'm real glad you guys are enjoying it and I really hope some of the younger, newer drummers are maybe discovering Gene for the first time. So much to learn and so much tasty stuff to cop from him.

Love the band music stand... leave it to me in your will! LOL

John

Richie......Very cool pic thanks for posting it. And the bandstand...WOW!! Great piece of history right there.

John, yes soon as I find the pic it'll get framed again. When I was moving one time I broke the glass in the frame it was in. So I removed the pic and stuck it in a book in another box and tossed the broken frame. This was like 16+ years ago so trying to remember which book is a bit daunting. ;) My memory sucks too. :D