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An Interview with Billy Jeansonne
of 'Vintage Drummer' Magazine
Interview by Clay Greene Feb 23, 2003
Below is a short interview with Billy Jeansonne, Publisher of Vintage Drummer magazine. Vintage Drummer is a quarterly full-color magazine chocked full of famous drummer interviews, articles on drums, drum history and the companies that made them, advice from the workbench by Jack Lawton, and much much more. Billy Jeansonne is also the proprietor of Atlanta Vintage Drums and the host of the annual Atlanta Vintage Drum Show.
LD: Billy, could you tell us a little about yourself? BJ: I was born in Bunkie, La. on January 28, 1956. I began playing drums at the age of 16 years old. I consider myself a late starter. My father was and still is a musician. Many of my uncles were musicians also, so I grew up around much live music. I have always loved music and was heavily influenced by the 60's rock & roll bands. I also love the old country music and blues, and much of the 50's music. I moved to Atlanta, GA in 1985. I have always been an active drummer and still play regularly. LD: How long have you been involved with vintage drums? BJ: My interest in vintage drums began about 6 or 7 years ago after buying a set of Ludwig Oyster Black pearl drums. I was introduced to Bill Pace, a well known vintage drum collector / dealer. He showed me his collection at the time and my love for vintage drums began. I have my own personal vintage drum collection as well as buy, sell, trade through the Atlanta Vintage Drums website. LD: When did you first get the idea to create 'Vintage Drummer' magazine and was it long after that you started to put the wheels in motion? BJ: I came up with the idea of "Vintage Drummer" in January, 2001. I originally intended it to be a newsletter for drummers. Several copies were printed and I handed them out to local drummers and also mailed copies to drummer friends across the country. It was well received. My brother (Bruce) and my wife (Mary Anne) helped put the first issue together. We then joined forces and decided to publish Vintage Drummer as a magazine. The first few issues are very small, but the magazine has steadily grown and we now have subscribers in Canada, England, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Puerto Rico, as well as across the US. Len Howe (www.classicdrums.com) is the UK distributor of the magazine. All other magazines are distributed by Vintage Drummer in Smyrna, GA. LD: Can you tell us a little bit about what is involved in putting out this magazine? BJ: It takes a lot of work. But the work involved is very fun and interesting. Articles have to be written and interviews have to be conducted. A good selection of photos is necessary. Everything has to be edited and formatted to fit in the allotted space. There is a lot more to creating a magazine than meets the eye. When the final product is completed, it is very rewarding. I love creating something that I have in my mind using the resources that I have. Each issue that we produce is totally different because there is no limit to the amount of information about vintage drums, drummers, old cymbals, drum companies, and related issues. That's just a small piece of it. Printing, distributing, subscriber-ship, advertisers, etc. are other aspects of the magazine business. We are learning first hand what is involved with publishing a magazine. LD: Can you give us a short list of some of the great drummers that have appeared in 'Vintage Drummer' so far? BJ: William F. Ludwig II, Hal Blaine, Elvin Jones, Craig Krampf, Jake Jerger, Dave Mattacks, Cliff Davies, Neal Smith, Keith Thibodeaux ( Little Ricky on "I Love Lucy"), Doug Clifford (CCR), Floyd Sneed ( 3 Dog Night), and John Aldridge. LD: Of all these great drummers that you've interviewed, do you have any interesting or humorous stories concerning any of them? BJ: Everyone featured in Vintage Drummer has been a big influence on my drumming and also a very big inspiration to me . Everyone has been so generous with their time and each have been so nice to everyone of us at Vintage Drummer. It has been an honor to have had these most influential people be a part of Vintage Drummer magazine. LD: What's coming up in the near future that we should look for in the magazine? BJ: The January, 2003 issue (Vol.3 Issue 1) features Frank DeVito. Frank's drumming career spans from the Baja Marimba Band to Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Sonny and Cher. Also, the Beatles Bass Drum Head Story by Russ Lease, owner of the original Beatles Bass Drum head that was on Ringo's kit on the Ed Sullivan show. The April 2003 issue (Vol.3 Issue 2) will feature Joe Morello. Plus upcoming issues to feature Bun E Carlos, Hal Blaine, Micky Dolenz (The Monkees) among others. Each issue promises to bring you the best in vintage drums, drummers, stories, reviews, and information that you can use in your search and collecting of vintage drums. Vintage drums are the most interesting drums in the world. Everyone from the old players to the young drummers are collecting and playing vintage drums. Vintage Drummer promises to seek out the most fascinating drum collections, the most influential and interesting drummers of our past, and useful information to help you on your quest as a Vintage Drummer.
You can contact Billy Jeansonne at: Ph. 770-438-0844
You can contact Clay Greene at: claytayorgreene@ludwigdrummer.com |
