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Welcome back to another episode of the DrumGAB podcast.  It's only days away from Valentines' Day and ironically I interviewed Buddy Love from Love Custom Drums.  Buddy and Steve make some beautiful kits and I don't think you can argue that.  However, after speaking with Buddy, I am beginning to understand that this company is so much more than gorgeous drums.  There is an overwhelming sense of...well....LOVE in this company.  

In the beginning, Buddy modified his DW drum kits.  He had multiple kits and did everything from reworking bearing edges and even wrapping a shell in skateboard grip tape.  After a while, he wanted a kit with tube lugs and DW was not able to hook that up.  So what did Buddy do?  He took matters into his own hands and began building drums.  There was a problem that was beginning to occur, though.  Every time he built a kit, it would sell.  He saw this as his opportunity to begin Love Custom Drums.

I ask Buddy a variety of questions regarding different wood shell construction.  Ply vs Steam Bent vs Stave shells.  It is interesting and educational what Buddy has to say about the different build techniques, which leads us into, my question as to why he feels the need to learn everything there is to learn about building drums.  His response to this question is inspiring.

We discuss another prospect with Love Custom Drums..."Old Steel".  What is "Old Steel"?  Well, it is kind of a crazy story about the original idea and how it was turned into something so much greater than Buddy could have imagined.  Buddy goes into explaining how he prefers metal drums over wood and how the gnarly patina is where it is at for Buddy.

Getting to the near end of the interview I thought it would be nice to talk about the late Johnny Craviotto and his fondness for him.  This was Buddy's hero.  He goes on to explain his encounters with Johnny and a special dinner invitation by Ronn Dunnett.  A truly touching segment of the interview and it is just great to hear the level of respect that Buddy has for this true legend....plus we geek out about his 2002 DW Craviotto snare and my 2001 DW Craviotto snare...kinda cool that we both own this rare drum.

I then ask Buddy to reflect on the past two years and try to imagine where Love Custom Drums might be in two years.  You cannot deny the huge amount of growth and level of interest in the brand and that they had a successful year.  I wish the Love team all of the best and it was an absolute treat to speak with Buddy on this incredible little company.

Visit Love Custom Drums @ www.lcdcustomdrums.com

Instagram @lovecustomdrums