Victims and Weapons

Having used Sabian Cymbals exclusively for 20 or more years now, my dedication to this company is as solid as can be. Not only are the cymbals as well as their various other products as top of the line as one could ask for, their team is incredibly strong and very supportive of not only the artist they have but also the drummers that simply love the product. I have had the honor of being one of their artist for a number of years and have made life long friends with some of the "team." Number one being Double B. or Bobby if you prefer. He has been there for me through so many ups and downs. The last time I got to spend some time talking shop with Double B. was on the "Lou Gramm" tour when we played "The Key Club" in LA. He is a great friend and I send a true heart felt thanks to him for his support. The other person on the "team" that is always there for me which when I am on tour, for this guy to be able to send out what's needed to a hotel that I will be staying at for only 6 to 12 hours at times in the middle of no where is mind blowing to me. He has never left me hanging. So, to Paul C. as well as Bobby. You guys mean the world to me and I thank you very much!!

For more on my feelings about this companies product as well as how they take care of the artist that use them, click on "Westone Testimonials" where you can scroll down to my section. Thanks WESTONE!! http://www.westone.com/music/testimonials.html

My association with this company goes back many years. Many, many thanks go out to the "team" at Pro-Mark for always taking great care of me and I'm sure I can speak for all the other artist as well. They are just a great company that provide a fantastic product as well as taking care of their artist and their individual needs.

I use Pro-Mark millennium 2 5-B Naturals as well as their stick wrap tape which helps your hands so much. Using the stick wrap helps with the "shock" aspect of hitting the drums. If you are a hard hitter like myself, it helps prolong your career. When you hit the drums hard over many years, you are subject to injury just as someone in sports usually is. We have issues with our backs over a period of time and if you have problems with your hands like I do, try the stick wrap. I believe it will help very much. That said, thank you Kevin, Jennifer and the rest of the Pro-Mark team. You are the best in my book!

When the Lou Gramm tour was in the preparation mode, I started thinking of logo's that would look cool on my kick drum. While searching online, I ran across the company HEADFIRST. While checking out their site, I was blown away by the work they have done for other artist so I wasted no time in calling them. I spoke to Rob (the owner) and he worked with me in the design that I had in mind which at that time was to be something simple yet classy with the Lou Gramm Band logo only. Since the tour was not a "Foreigner" tour but was to include many Foreigner hits, the tour was to be a celebration of Lou's incredible career thus far. They sent me a few ideas and we

decided on the one that is shown. I started the tour with my black Mapex kit but was sent a new one that I had ordered. Since the sizes and colors of the kit was a special order, it didn't arrive until half way through the tour. For the new kit, I wanted a new head. Lou was very into muscle cars which gave me the idea to put a dragster motor or some kind of powerful motor on the head. I called the guys at Headfirst and shot them my idea. Although this was to be the first head with an engine on it, they sent me ideas over the next few days and we decided to go with what you see. Since the colors on my new kit are black faded into gold, they did the coloring for the head to match that plus all of the chrome I had on my rack. They cut the microphone hole as small as possible to show the incredible artwork which turned out perfect. The drum head received as much if not more attention than the huge kit.

Before finding Headfirst, it was always a hassle to get artwork done. I always managed to get it done although it was just a nerve-wrecking headache every time. Now it's as easy as a phone call and you will not find better work. Trust me on this as I've played shows with so many different bands on the bill that I would have noticed. Now a lot of my friends in groups like Kansas, Boston, RA, The Bullet Boys and southern rockers Molly Hatchet are using the excellent work of HEADFIRST. Having your bands name or anything you wish on your kick drum head makes the drums look so much better plus it adds a more professional look to your band in general.