PHOTOGRAPH BY CARLIE BURTON
Ask any drummer this question and you’ll get plenty of odd-ball answers: What does it mean to play in the pocket? Are you a little behind the beat, a little ahead, or dead on? No matter what any particular drummer’s answer is, the meaning will be the same: You’re playing damn well.
It’s no stretch to say that Charlie Andrews, owner of Badges Drum Shop in Mason, is playing in the pocket. His shop is cram-packed with cymbals, shells (drum bodies), and drumming accessories that are all either a little behind (vintage ain’t broken—it’s still around for a reason), a little ahead (50 percent of the store holds new and state-of-the-art equipment), and dead on the beat (oh, look, I’ve been meaning to buy a new dampener for my floor tom, and this one’s good).
PHOTOGRAPH BY CARLIE BURTON
And that’s the point: The selection is meant to make any drummer lose an hour whacking at this curated selection of gear. It’s so fun to play around, you almost feel like the museum guard is off duty. From cymbals dating back to the 1920s jazz era to the glowing rack of modern 3-ply mahogany or nickel-plated snares, Andrews keeps the store stocked for every kind of player.
“We do a lot of what I call ‘idea shopping,’ ” he says. “It’s one of the things that’s attracted me to this instrument—there’s no written rule for how your drums need to be. Whether that’s putting on accessories to change the tone or adding a sizzler to a cymbal for longer sustain—it’s an infinite event loop of creativity.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY CARLIE BURTON
Andrews is a prime example of that range of creativity. As a metalhead in high school, he first touched a vintage jazz Gretsch kit when the music teacher agreed he could give it a try after cleaning up the storage closet. The same teacher introduced him to jazz, and he followed its path enough to find himself playing at such local Cincinnati jazz venues as Schwartz’s Point, as well as the shuttered clubs Blue Wisp and Dee Felice.
Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, the shop is here to teach. “When I started this business, I was unsure what the market would be. It’s such a niche interest,” Andrews says. “But the storefront has contributed to half the income. I’d like to assume it’s because we’re doing the right things, but there’s an amazing group of drummers in Cincinnati helping this little endeavor be nationwide.”
Badges Drum Shop, 127 W. Main St., Mason, (513) 972-8203
GOOD TO KNOW The shop hosts masterclasses called Drum Clinics, where famous drummers, like Walfredo Reyes Jr. from Chicago, will stop by and show off their techniques.
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