Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith on July 10 visited the Hal Leonard corporate headquarters in Milwaukee to kick off its distribution of Vater Percussion.
Chad has been an endorsee of Vater since 1992 and has his own line of “Funkblaster” sticks with the brand. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were in town for a headlining performance at Milwaukee’s Summerfest music festival.
“We’ve been having a lot of fun growing the drum-related distribution side of Hal Leonard,” David Jahnke, said Hal Leonard senior vice president of national sales. “We’ve been distributing Tycoon Percussion, Gretsch Drums, Gibraltar Hardware, and several other lines, so it was a nice fit to add premier sticks to our roster. We feel like we’re a one-stop shop now for retailers looking for anything drum related. With our dedicated six-person drum team we’re confident we can service all drum shops or departments.”
The Vater Percussion brand is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2017 and the Vater family has been making drumsticks for decades before that.
“We are very pleased to be working with the Hal Leonard sales team,” said Alan Vater. “Its dedicated sales force in the field and their knowledgeable Drum Team reps will effectively cover both our band/orchestral and combo sides of the market. Hal Leonard’s recent entry into the world of percussion gear has been a great success and further cemented their excellent reputation as a first-stop source for dealers. Vater is so proud to be among the great product lines that Hal Leonard has chosen to represent, and we look forward to an excellent and fruitful partnership going forward.”