Drum kits by some of music’s greatest stickmen will be up for grabs via auction
In an unparalleled gathering of percussive history, David Frangioni, CEO of Modern Drummer and a respected figure in the music industry, in collaboration with Goldin, the leading collectibles auction house, will host a series of exciting upcoming auctions featuring drum kits and memorabilia from some of the most renowned drummers in music history, spanning genres and generations.
Kits by Zak Starkey, Journey’s Steve Smith, Carl Palmer, Carmine Appice, Terry Bozzio, Cozy Powell, Rufus “Speedy” Jones, Louie Bellson, Hal Blaine, Jeff Ocheltree, and Aerosmith’s John Douglas are scheduled to be featured throughout the year.
I recently spoke with Frangioni about the auction and his history with Modern Drummer.
“There’s a show on Netflix, it’s in season two right now called King of Collectibles and in episode seven, they were kind enough to include my wife and me and our former drum museum as part of the storyline. It’s a great show and the museum we had for almost ten years. It’s an incredible place to visit. And we just decided as we’re getting a little older in life and taking on other ventures, you know, we wanted to downsize a little bit and share what we had in the museum with others who were just as passionate as we are,” Frangioni tells us about the new partnership with Ken Goldin of Goldin Auctions. “We teamed up, And in addition to creating this great segment for the show, we also are auctioning off these items throughout the year. So it’s, it’s not just one auction, but many auctions within which our items are a part of what’s theirs. We’re really excited about it. There’s some incredible items that have taken me a lifetime to uh acquire and to be able to share them is really awesome.
The first joint auction included the drum kit Eric Singer used for the Kiss/Motley Crue tour and a collection of sticks from the late Neil Peart.
“The Kiss kit is truly a one-of-one. I saw that kit in person and then I’ve never seen anything like it,” Frangioni says. “Turns out that Eric had that custom made by Dale Flanagan, where he took the Pearl shells that Eric was using, and he hand applied mirror tiles, one at a time, and it looks like, you know, Swarovski crystals under light — just thousands of them, and that’s what it looks like. And it’s just the most incredible-looking kit. Paul Stanley of Kiss was quoted as saying that that is ‘The greatest media kit that he’s ever seen,’ because of what it looks like under lights and what it looks like just on stage. So that kit’s incredible. It has the platinum symbols, and I got it directly from Eric. So it’s only been owned by Eric and toured with Kiss and [owned] by myself. So it’s really an extraordinary drum kit as a music memorabilia piece and for any Kiss fan or anyone who just collects drums. It’s amazing. And then the Neil Peart — there’s a stick display that was made for Promark with Neil to display the R30 sticks, and there were only a few of them made. It’s very, very rare, highly valuable. John Douglas, of course, very famous uh drum artisan and drummer now with Aerosmith, he created it for Promark, and that came directly out of his collection. He’s been a dear friend of mine for many years, and it’s really an awesome, very rare piece for Neil Peart fans.”
Frangioni says new items will be featured each month, including the final full kit by Alex Van Halen. Additional details, including how he became CEO of the famous drum magazine, can be found in the accompanied video.
Each auction will provide fans and collectors with an exclusive opportunity to own a piece of music history, used by the drummers who have shaped the sound of generations. Frangioni’s expertise and passion for drumming are reflected in the curation of these auctions, ensuring that each item represents a significant part of musical heritage.
Goldin is excited to partner with David Frangioni to bring these historic drum kits to the public. Known for their integrity and dedication to collectors, Goldin ensures that every piece offered is presented with detailed provenance and authenticity.
