New Releases
The latest stories, announcements, and events from Gretsch.
Two generations of family reflect on their recipe for 65 years of success (and how they plan on being around for another 65). By Ron Denny, Gretsch Contributor. With Fred and Dinah Gretsch celebrating a…
Remembering Bobby Orr
A worldwide community story . . . The below photo was sent to me recently by Chris Welch (one of the UK’s most respected music journalists and writers), and it prompted me to think about creating this piece on Bobby Orr, one of Britain’s greatest drummers. Sadly, we...
The Day The Music Stopped
When COVID-19 hit our country I had already worked half a year on booking my 2020 schedule. One day I am playing a gig anticipating a busy summer and the next day told to stay home. No public performances, no gathering of people, no events of any kind. Don’t get me...
The Drummer Gives Us Some! Saluting Cindy Blackman Santana’s New CD
If you wanted to find someone who fits the definition of “renaissance drummer,” Cindy Blackman Santana would be the perfect choice. She simply has done—and continues to do—it all. She’s perfectly at home in a rock format, as evidenced by her past work with Lenny...
In Tribute To A Tribute: Reflections On The Modern Drummer Festival 2020
This past Saturday, September 12 saw the return of one of drumming’s great events: The Modern Drummer Festival. Not held since 2011, this year’s Festival marked the 20th in its iconic history. Of course, given the nature of the times, the 2020 Festival couldn’t be...
Jack Edwards of Piston: Living Proof That Rock ‘n’ Roll (AND Guitar Dreams) Can Indeed Come True.
The perfect rock 'n' roll fantasy movie script would read something like this: In 2006, a cool British mom who has raised her and her husband’s 11-year-old son on classic rock, takes her son to his first concert to see The Cult. The boy is completely blown away by...
Lasting Legacy of Drummer And Educator Sam Ulano
For those who may not know Sam, he was a fixture on the New York City drumming scene for more than sixty years. He was also quite a character, and it’s hardly surprising that “Sam the showman” would make his exit on New Year’s Day of 2014. We lost a genuine drumming...
An Interview with Lara Hope: Rollicking Queen of Roots, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Rockabilly Twang!
“I’ll never forget being onstage for the first time, coming out for the bow at the end of the show and hearing the applause and loving that feeling,” says Gretsch-endorsed artist Lara Hope. “I was only nine and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.” Hope has come...
On His 100th Birth Anniversary . . . Remembering My Dad, Bill Hagner. The Man Who Brought Music Into My Life.
My dad, longtime Gretsch plant manager, Bill Hagner, had a passion for music. And he made sure our home (and especially me) was always surrounded with it. I was lucky to grow up as a kid in the 60s with lots of musical instruments in our home in East Meadow, Long...
A Quality Friend
My brother and I formed a two-person band when I was fifteen years old. We almost sounded like three people so at the time that was good enough for us. We cut our teeth playing local bars and youth centers for a few years before he and my parents surprised me with a...
A Gretsch Abroad–That Great American Drummer, The Rise of Kent Aberle
It’s 3 a.m. at The Friendly Inn in Paris, Illinois, a small town in central Illinois with a population of 8,000. It’s January 1996 and some cover band is finishing up their set. Someone just smashed their beer bottle on the floor and the crowd of 70 or so is just...
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