Author Archives: gkthehistoryofgenekrupaandhisequipment

It is a great honor to present this.  The drumming world has, once again, been lucky to have two men dedicated to preserving this history and keeping it safe. Charlie Watts and Don McAulay have done it again! This document is actually a 27 page excerpt from my book GK and has been edited downContinue reading “The (Excellent) October Surprise !!”

Discussion of the “KEF” front heads on Gene’s WW2 era bass drums.

As the book grows (perhaps “evolves” is a better word), it has become clear to this author that writing a ‘technical’ history like this is like trying to build a 5000 square foot house with bamboo, pipe cleaners, and aluminum foil. And all of that, set on a foundation of mostly sand with a fewContinue reading ““GK” Gene and Louis”

…and for the (so far) final bit of grumping, to finish out a year many will be happy to forget, herein is Exhibit 2… 60’s Bogus-Exhibit 2 It’s important to stress that there are indeed many known GENUINE and attributable Gene Krupa items out there and, hopefully, many more to be found. My book coversContinue reading “Myth Flush 4 (Exhibit 2)”

The last two in the “Myth Flush” series are further examples of how a scam artist can have just enough ‘knowledge’ to make it seem legit but not enough to completely disguise the fraud. To put out a bogus image/item as ‘real’ is bad enough but to then repeat the same sham again is just,Continue reading “Myth Flush 4 (Exhibit 1)”

I realized this one really should have been first but decided to take it out of the book and leave it here. BT Bogus stuff

It has always been remarkable (to me anyway) that people can accept a statement made as “fact” without bothering to question its validity. Nowhere does this seem to be more prevalent than in the wild and wooly world of vintage drums. Add a layer of pseudo credibility in the form of a ‘word salad’ ofContinue reading “Myth Flush 2”

MYTH FLUSH 1 (download article for ‘future’ reference and discussion) RK snare

I was recently asked to comment on the “authenticity” (or lack thereof) of a few pieces of drum equipment alleged to have belonged to Gene. Needless to say, my initial (dare I say, “knee-jerk”) reaction was my usual deep skepticism. To put it simply, it’s a complicated process. Any historian faced with these tasks isContinue reading ““Is that REALLY Gene’s?””

The chronology of Gene’s equipment, by necessity, rests on the foundation of imagery. All who knew of these important details are long dead and human memory is, at best, highly falible. Photographs hardly ever lie and the only images of Gene’s pre-Goodman period are painfully scarce. In fact, were it not for booking agency publicityContinue reading “Some general GK history”