Do you remember Franks?

[William Vits]

Okay old timers, since Aaron asked about drum shops in Chicago, how many
remember THE drum shop, Franks? I remember my Mom taking me there for the
first time around 1968. Drums stacked to the ceiling and exotic instruments
that I had never seen. I guess I still measure all others by those
memories.

Bill Vits
GR Symphony

[Jay Epstein]

Hi Bill,
Yes, of course I do - on Wabash. I never saw Maurie Lishon there, I
think he was before my time, but I did buy a 20" Istanbul there that
Philly Joe had just traded in (or hocked!) hours before. There are
fewer & fewer of these old style places around now. Also Ippolito's
in Manhattan, Jack's in Boston, Roy Harte's Drum City in Hollywood,
Dahlgren's in my hometown, Minneapolis. The atmosphere in those
places was heavy with the weight of history & knowledge, quite
unlike Guitar Center's clerks with delusions of grandeur serving up
their insolence du jour.

Jay
"One never knows, do one?" - Fats Waller

[jackster]

I remember Frank's. How about John Mulvey's Chicago Drum Center or Bill
Crowden's
Drums Limited. I used to go to Chicago Drum Center all the time. Guys like Elvin
Jones, Roy McCurdy, Roy Burns, Danny Seraphine, etc would walk in out of the
blue and hang out. It was awesome. The only real drum shops in the Chicago area
now are the Drum Pad in Palatine, IL. and Midwest Drum Center on the south end.
I get good deals at Guitar Center and Sam Ash, but it's not the same atmosphere.

[Skyrm]

I went to college in River Forest (1979-1984), and spent many a
Saturday on the "L", going down to hang out at both Franks and Drums
Ltd. Great memories, thanks!!!
--
sas...@sherwin.com
Rogers and Gretsch drums
Lots 'o cymbals

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

[Tom Goodkind]

I got my first set there in 1965 for $200, I think: Slingerland bass and toms
with a Rogers Powertone snare, 20" Zildjian A ride, 18" A crash, plus Zildjian
hats and all the hardware. Someone else could have made that set sound really
good, but not me at that time. I loved that place, and was also very intimidated
by it.

Tom Goodkind

[John Van Ness]

I never got a chance to see Bill Crowden's shop when it was open but I have
seen some photos, and have had the pleasure of knowing Bill himself who is a
treasure chest of drumming knowledge and history. My favorite Crowden story is
when Ludwig presented Ringo with his first kit and he complained that the
script logo on the bass drum head wasn't big enough. Bill Ludwig looked at Bill
Crowden, shook his head, and said "geez...these guys want everything!".

I give the impression of being bored , but I am not really.
I've just got an incredibly boring face. - Charlie Watts

[Pete Pemberton]

I aquired a set of Rolling Bombers that had Frank's stickers on the cases
and one imprint on a calf head. very cool. Too bad it is not still around.

PP

"William Vits" <vi...@home.com> wrote in message
news:BFrX5.135473$hD4.33...@news1.rdc1.mi.home.com...

[Robert schuh]

Jay Epstein wrote:

> Hi Bill,
> Yes, of course I do - on Wabash. I never saw Maurie Lishon there, I
> think he was before my time, but I did buy a 20" Istanbul there that
> Philly Joe had just traded in (or hocked!) hours before. There are
> fewer & fewer of these old style places around now. Also Ippolito's
> in Manhattan, Jack's in Boston, Roy Harte's Drum City in Hollywood,
> Dahlgren's in my hometown, Minneapolis. The atmosphere in those
> places was heavy with the weight of history & knowledge, quite
> unlike Guitar Center's clerks with delusions of grandeur serving up
> their insolence du jour.
>
> Jay
> "One never knows, do one?" - Fats Waller
>

Jay,
I believe the motto for the Guitar Center boys would be "ignorance du jour" more
so than insolence.

--
Robert Schuh
"Everything that elevates an individual above the herd and
intimidates the neighbour is henceforth called evil; and
the fair, modest, submissive and conforming mentality,
the mediocrity of desires attains moral designations and honors"
- Nietzsche

"The meek shall inherit nothing" - Zappa

[Jim Fleck]

I went there a handful of times in the late 60's. One vivid memory
concerns the physical layout of the place. It seems to me that one
stepped off that old, small elevator directly into the shop (is that
right?). If I'm mistaken about that... well, that's still the
impression it created.

Was it 226 S. Wabash? And was it the 4th floor?

Anyone read "Frank's for the Memory's", the book about the shop and
the Lishon's? I've wondered if it's worth the purchase price. I think
Rebeats is about the only place it's available.

And I think one of the 60's "Ludwig Drummer" mags had a feature piece
on Frank's.

[Bill Le May]

You got it exactly right, Jim. I used to make a pilgrimage there a couple
times a year - about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Iowa. A small elevator indeed,
and to make it even more crowded, it had a full-time person operating it.
Don't see many of those any more.

There was a niche in one wall where cymbals were stacked on edge, and you
flipped through them like books in a case. Must have been 500 lb. worth of
Zildjians there.

A friend of mine bought a trap case at Frank's. I can't remember the
salesperson's name but he was a nut. He went to the back froom to get it,
then came rolling back into the shop riding the trap case on his belly with
his arms extended like Superman.

Bill

Jim Fleck <jfl...@oregon.uoregon.edu> wrote in message
news:3a2f26dc...@news.uoregon.edu...

[PERC 1]

I went to school with Jim Lisanti who worked at Frank's for a number of years.
When our percussion ensemble played in Chicago, Jim took us there and gave us
the great tour of the place. Seeing the 5 octave xylorimbas was way kewl.
Talking with Uncle Roy and seeing all of the sound effects used on the old
radio and TV shows was better than a kid in a candy shop. The music that Jan
had there makes most of today's "drum shops" seem small. Marty tried to run
the shop like his dad, but it did not work out the same. I really miss the
shop. Nothing compares!!!

[Nys49487yh]

Jay, you still have that old K from Papa Jo? What did it sound like? that
would have been a keeper dog or not!

I'm from the New York area so I remember Ippolito's and a couple other small
places when I was much younger and stacks of cymbals and drums laying around
like no big deal, like those old K's. I was more into drums than cymbals back
then, I wish I picked up more K's before they crapped out but I was'nt a big
fan of them at that time. Tastes sure do change I'll tell ya!

Warren Lipman

[James C. Nevermann]

> > unlike Guitar Center's clerks with delusions of grandeur serving up
> > their insolence du jour.

> I believe the motto for the Guitar Center boys would be "ignorance du jour" more
> so than insolence.

In my experience with Guitar Center it's been the clerks ages [and
thus experience & knowledge, or lack of] that's been the key factor.
I'd purchased small items --sticks & hand held stuff-- from the
younger guys at the GC I go to. But when it came time for a new set &
cymbals, I worked through the 15-20 years older guy: he clearly knew
significantly more about drums and buying/purchasing options than his
juniors there, and I was very satisfied with how everything worked
out: price, contract and follow-up calls.

I continue to purchase through Guitar Center, and through
him.

--
Jim Nevermann
[usual disclaimers]

[Jay Epstein]

nys49...@aol.com (Nys49487yh) wrote:
>Jay, you still have that old K from Papa Jo? What did it sound like? that
>would have been a keeper dog or not!

Hi Warren,
An Istanbul (not a K) and it belonged to Philly Joe Jones. The story
is: in the early '80s when Mehmet and Agop started Istanbul (after
working for Mikael Zildjian at the old K factory), they let Philly
Joe pick out a handful, trying to court him as an endorser. Philly
is playing a gig in Chicago, goes down to Frank's & either trades or
just sells his 20" to them. I walk in a few hours later, play this
thing and have a nervous conniption as I pull out my wallet! I still
have it. It's the first series of Istanbuls with the engraved stamp
reading "Zildjiler" and Philly Joe's signature on the underside of
the bell along with 'Zildjiler'. All the other later Istanbuls are
stamped 'Zilleri', except now the Agops are stamped 'Zildjiler'
again. In my youthful alcoholic days, I drilled one hole in it for a
rivet. This thing sounds great, but I'm much more into thinner
cymbals these days, so I rarely play it any more. It was one of my
main rides when I worked cruise ships for 5 years, so it has a
little verdigris on it from the Caribbean air.

Jay
"Sometimes it takes a long time to sound like yourself."-Miles Davis

[JaKe]

The guys at GC Seattle are great -- I've saved hundreds there and they
are always willing to use internet prices as well. Thanks Sug!

JaKe
Seattle

[dowell...@gmail.com]

Dowell Calvert

Going to Frank's drum shop on Wabash was like a pilgramage to Mecca .
Lived in Rockford. 1964. I'll never forget 1st time walking through the door and drums drums drums everywhere.

Purchased snare,2 Tom toms, zilgian cymbals hi hat. 16" ride, 14" crash ride,stool,
And equipment case that I put rollers on.
Overhead El was so loud you had to stop talking until it passed.

Started playing snare drum in school 1949.
Played 1st gig(paying) in1959
After Navy stent.
Jazz drummer until 1977.

Now 80 and deciding whether I should sell trap set.
Last played jazz in 2016.
Guess it's just time.
Moving and have no room for set.

Listening to miles as I share.

Jazz was a great ride.

Dowell Calvert
Dcal...@wi.rr.com

[marqu...@gmail.com]

On Wednesday, December 6, 2000 at 3:00:00 AM UTC-5, William Vits wrote:
> Okay old timers, since Aaron asked about drum shops in Chicago, how many
> remember THE drum shop, Franks? I remember my Mom taking me there for the
> first time around 1968. Drums stacked to the ceiling and exotic instruments
> that I had never seen. I guess I still measure all others by those
> memories.
>
> Bill Vits
> GR Symphony

I took lessons there from Bobby Christian back in the early 70s. That was a fabulous place! Nothing like it out there anymore. Was sad when it closed.

[garybol...@gmail.com]

Oh my.. you went to school with Jim Lisanti? So did I. ISU. He was a great guy. My first trips to Franks Drum Shop stared around 1968. Me and some of my drummer buddies would drive from South Bend a coup,e times a year. Franks, them Drums Unlimited and the final stop to John Mulveys Chicago Drum Center. Great times

[baya...@aol.com]

On Wednesday, December 6, 2000 at 2:00:00 AM UTC-6, William Vits wrote:
> Okay old timers, since Aaron asked about drum shops in Chicago, how many
> remember THE drum shop, Franks? I remember my Mom taking me there for the
> first time around 1968. Drums stacked to the ceiling and exotic instruments
> that I had never seen. I guess I still measure all others by those
> memories.
> Bill Vits
> GR Symphony

Franks Drum Shop 2nd or third floor had to get there by elevator. Never really new the connection between Franks and Mauri Lishom he owned it. I bought 3 Rogers drums sets there and Mauri was involved in all 3. Why 3? One was a blue onyx starter set I later traded in. The other 2 were black pearl.
For the most part other that Gene Krupa double base drums sets didn't exist. Mauie has the idea of combining 2 5 piece sets. Mauri helped me drill some of the hardware to make it work. I played in a Blues band in Chicago and the North suburbs. I was at Franks many times between 1965 and 1970.

Bayard Jones
"The Brides"

PS Still have the black pearl sets and practice one or twice a week.