Another company showing off a seemingly simple, but in fact game changing, new drum accessory was TripStick Pro, helmed by Pirate Pete Asarisi. As Pirate Pete described it, the TripStick is “a delay stick for any responsive surface.” It clamps onto a drum or other responsive surface, and it holds an additional drumstick that the drummer strikes instead of that surface. The stick then continues to strike the surface, even as the drummer is free to continue playing on other surfaces.
“In traditional drumming with two sticks, it doesn’t matter if you’re Buddy Rich: You cannot control more than two surfaces at the same time,” Asarisi said. “But, with this delay stick, I can hit one surface, and it’s going to continue while I go around and hit other items. So, it allows you flexibility to really color in between the lines a little more. Way more texture…way more expression. It just makes anything you’re doing more musical.”
He continued, “You can put a TripStick on anything: a head…a table. I’ll put it on tabla drums, djembe drums, a cookie sheet…anything that’s responsive. The tighter or more responsive the surface, the more fun you’re gonna have with it. And it really is just about fun. It’s not about anything else. People take this shit way too seriously. For me, it’s either fun or die. That’s my motto.”
According to Asarisi, the TripStick received considerable attention from a lot of impressed drummers during the show, including some heavy hitters. “I got Daru Jones loving it,” he said. “Peter Erskine—that’s right, Peter Erskine—told me it’s great and gave me his business card. Jojo Mayer and Dom Famularo. Tommy Igoe told me, ‘This opens up endless possibilities.’” Asarisi conceded that the TripStick might not be for everyone, but he expects the product to resonate with a certain percentage of the drum market. “I get it,” he said. “Not every percussion product is for every drummer. But there’s definitely five…10 percent of the drum population that’s gonna get their rocks off on this!” He continued, “It seems like people whose tax return says ‘Drummer’ on it love it. And beginners without preconceived notions love it.”
To see the TripStick in action, check out Pirate Pete’s Instagram at instagram.com/tripstick_nyc.
To read more of NAMM New Class 2017, click here.