Stick Twirl Gear Review Show – Drummers I Like Podcast

Summary: Hello fellow drummers! Thanks for joining us for our first podcast all about drum gear.<br> On today's episode, we will be talking to Don Kulcsar and Matt Schallmo from Stick Twirl.<br> Don, Matt, Rich and Kevin get right into the show with lots of topics that will really give you great insight into this new product. Drummers I Like has had a chance to play around with some of the 3-D printed prototypes so we have some questions and feedback that we think drummers would definitely want to have a clear understanding of.<br> <br> Most importantly, Don and Matt are really great musicians and people. So it was a pleasure to chat with them about their exciting product.<br> <br> Don Kulcsar is the owner/founder and Matt Schallmo is the V.P. of Marketing and P.R. for Stick Twirl.<br> <br> 2:00 - 3:35: Don starts things off by telling us a little about his history as a drummer and some of his early drumming projects in the South Florida area, then into how drums were put on hold while he raised two daughters. At a later stage in his life, he was re-introduced to drums through his church. He makes an important point that even if you have to put drumming down for a while the desire stays with us.<br> <br> 3:36 - 5:00: In this section, Don talks about where his idea for the product was born from. Don first thought of attaching perpendicular rings on a drumstick to aid him in learning the Moller technique. It was almost an afterthought to also be able to use the device for incorporating stick tricks.<br> <br> 5:00 - 6:30: Here everyone jokes a bit about some of the masters of our craft and how they make the drumstick seem as if it's an extension of their body. Don points out the fact that you can learn all the traditional stick tricks without a Stick Twirl. However, there are things that you just won't be able to do without their innovative product. Don also tells a cool story of how a bandmate's wife was mesmerized by how he was able to flip his drumstick while playing a gig with his cover band.<br> <br> 6:30 - 7:30 Don mentions that another benefit of the Stick Twirl is when playing long sets or shows. It allows you to be able to relax your fulcrum a bit so you can stay loose and limber through the performance. He also tells us that the color for the production models will be a natural wood color. With that in mind, the product will be very difficult to notice when attached to the drumstick.<br> <br> 7:30 - 10:00: This spot is when Don gets into the controversial aspect of his product starting out with a neat experience with Jared Falk from Drumeo. Jared's feedback was great but there was a small percentage of people that saw this product as a way of cheating or maybe like a performance enhancing device! More importantly, he talks about the great response they've received from many drummers out there. From there, Don makes some good points about having to get a feel for the Stick Twirl.<br> <br> 10:00 - 11:00: In our next section Kevin brings up that Don and Matt have joined NAMM and we talk about them being at the summer show in Nashville, Tennessee. We also touch a little on that show plus the upcoming winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California.<br> <br> 11:00 - 13:00: Here Kevin talks about his first impressions when he heard about the product. Like Don pointed out earlier, the Stick Twirl can be a great fulcrum aid. But in Kevin's case, he talks about how it can be helpful for developing skill with the french grip.<br> <br> 13:00 - 14:00:  Now Don brings up the great point that this product could definitely help drummers with hand disabilities or fatigue. Even carpel tunnel is mentioned and we think it's a great topic to get into.<br> <br> 14:00 - 18:00: This spot has Matt and Don talking a bit about some of the support they have from the drum manufacturers and professional drummers out there. Guys like Billy Thunder with Tim McGraw and manufacturers like Pro-Ma...