Ian Vanek (Howardian)
SPB: Walk our readers through your kit and offer insight as to how you arrived at your sizes (shells and cymbals).
Vanek: Howardian play on a 1963 Rogers "bread and butter" crushed oyster kit. It's stylized with the rack tom and cymbal stand coming off the bass drum. It consists of a 20-inch bass drum, 12-inch tom and a 16-inch floor tom. I have a Pearl "free floating" brass snare drum. I use a Zildjin 1960s 18-inch ride cymbal, a pair of vintage 13-inch Zildjin hi-hat cymbals and a riveted 16-inch Zildjin crash.
I made these choices based on years of listening to players I thought had the sound that closest reflected what I wanted to do. This meant looking up to The Ventures, The Sonics and Buddy Rich. All of whom made these jazz-like kits really sing. Pre-rock drums was the route to making something I wanted to stamp with my logo. I'm willing to play anything really, but when I'm at home this is what I've collected, I guess. Limitation is important and these traditional implements are more than enough for me as a player to have fun.
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Ian Vanek is also a Scene Point Blank contributor.
