Today's Guest: Sven Parris of Premier Percussion in London, England
Today's Host: John Bentley
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Sven Parris Expert PageANNOUNCER: Welcome to the VTalk Radio Music Spotlight sponsored by Henderson's Imports. Henderson's of Northern Michigan supplier of bagpipes, piping supplies, pipe and percussion and highland wear. Henderson's can supply the complete range of premier pipe band drums and supplies. We now join John Bentley and Sven Parris of Premier Percussion in the studio.
JOHN: Today we are in the studio with Sven Parris. He is with Premier Percussion Pipe Band Products and Drums, and we want to thank you for coming into the studio today, Sven. Tell us a little bit about who you are and what your roll is over at Premier Percussion.
SVEN: My job title at Premier is Marching Specialist. I'm the main contact at Premier for all our dealers in the US and around the world to sell marching products and also for drummers who have questions about their products so that I can point them in the direction of a reputable dealer that they can do business with. My job is very varied. I little bit of sales and marketing and customer service, attending events. It's a very rewarding and varied and having a marching background myself. It's a cool opportunity to develop that interest into a career.
JOHN: Now Premier Percussion also sells and manufacturers drums for marching bands, modern rock bands, as well as these pipe band products, correct?
SVEN: Yeah, absolutely. Premier's been around for 85 years so it's a global brand that I'm sure many people will be familiar with. Broadly there are three segments to our product range. There's the drum set range, the orchestral and the marching ranges. The drum set range includes kits right from beginner up to the highest professional Hosbilt drum set. Orchestral range caters for many types of percussionists, temponists, tuned and orchestral instruments, well percussion; and the marching section which broadly falls itself into 3 segments, the pipe band, the drum corp, and high school marching band products. And the traditional military drums, of course there's a lot of crossover between those captions too, and one of the great things about the job is experiencing all the different types of marching activities and see how the music is interpreted in different countries and by different groups.
JOHN: Do you travel all over the world doing this kind of stuff?
SVEN: Yeah, I travel all over the world. I just got back from Indonesia, just between Christmas and New Year, I was in Indonesia as a judge and a clinician. They had a big marching band show in Indonesia.
JOHN: Now if I'm not mistaken, you were also in Kansas recently too.
SVEN: Yeah, I was in Kansas at the winter storm event which is a big pipe band event in North America.
JOHN: Ok. Now what other products, or what products do you manufacture with pipe bands in mind at Premier?
SVEN: Specifically designed for the pipe band is the HTS Range of snare drums which is a unique snare drum design whereby the heads can achieve a really high tension to cut through and project the Hosbilt tenor or base which is again a revolutionary drum design and we make and manufacture sticks, beaters, bags, practice pads, and accessories along side the traditional pipe band base and tenor drums and more traditional snare drums as well.
JOHN: Now how did Premier get into making drums for pipe bands in the first place?
SVEN: We've always made military drums. In the UK many of the armed forces bands use pipes and drums. In the 70s we developed the first, the S81 Super Raw Scott which was the first high tension pipe band drum. Then into the 80s was superceded by the HTS 200 and in the 90s the current generation of high tension snare was developed by Premier in conjunction with one of the famous pipe band drummers from around the world, Jim Kilpatrick, being our primary influence in the design of the HTS drums. We have very close links to the pipe band activity, and we work closely with Jim and other drummers to ensure we carry on developing the product in line with the needs of today's pipe band drummers.
JOHN: Now what are some of the special requirements of pipe band drum corps?
SVEN: The drum corp and the modern pipe band has a unique musical and visual responsibility. The snare drums need to project to cut through an articulate the intricate musical passages. Tenor base has to blend with the ensemble and provide the physical embellishment to the music in stick flourishing. The modern pipe band has a real unique sound and look which requires all the parts to come together in just the right way.
JOHN: Good, now can you name maybe some of the bands that are currently using Premier drums and products?
SVEN: Yeah, sure. There are many bands around the world that chose Premier. The current world pipe band champions The Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, The House of Edgar Shotts & Dykehead Pipe Band of which Jim Kilpatrick is the leading drummer, the Sir Laurence O'Toole, to name but a handful of well caused bands. There are many bands in all grades around the world that are very successful with Premier instruments.
JOHN: And what do you think are the advantages of using Premier drums over somebody else?
SVEN: In deed, there are many advantages. Every one of our instruments is designed and tested in conjunction with some of the world's finest percussionists. The materials and build quality are second to none and the unique Premier sound is favored across the globe. Premier continues to innovate and design and develop product based on feed back from drummers, and we're committed to manufacturing the best instruments in the world and strive to achieve great customer service through our network of specialists and retailers.
JOHN: Now, can you talk a little bit about the traditional, base, tenor, and snare drums? What makes them different; what makes them unique?
SVEN: Sure, the traditional and military drums fill an important part of the market. The military snares and the traditional military and pipe band base and tenor are still global best sellers and have changed very little. The music and pageantry of the bands of Your Majesty's forces are recognized globally as second to none and Premier supplies the drums and percussion instruments to these bands and hundreds of other bands around the world that follow the traditions of the British military music. The association with the forces is much more than just that of a supplier over the years Premier has worked closely with groups such as the bands of Your Majesty's Royal Marines to develop product that meets specific requirements in both sound and appearance.
JOHN: Now, how about the Hosbilt drums? What drums are offered and how these differ from traditional pipe band drums?
SVEN: Hosbilt is a revolution in tenor and base drum design incorporate a free floating shell which allows the shell to fully resonate as there's no hardware connected directly to the shell and to where you done. Aside from the technical aspects, who can argue with the amazing Hosbilt sound. The difference is there to see and to feel.
JOHN: And what about advice that you could offer drummers on caring for their Premier drums, Sven?
SVEN: As with all musical instruments, caring for your drums is critical and will ensure a long life of great performance. There are some simple things you can do such as always thoroughly drying the drum if it gets wet playing outdoors. Keep the tension rods lubricated and change the heads and snare wides periodically. With the HTS high tension snare drums, I would check the tension bolts every performance and certainly don't neglect the bottom heads. Those lose bolts will affect the sound and can cause uneven tension on the head reducing its life. With the Hosbilt drums, its a good idea to detune the drum for storage. This will keep the tone consistent for longer and try to store your drum in its case or a bag, somewhere that isn't damp or subject to changes in temperature. Heads particularly suffer if they're stored where temperature fluctuates and rust can appear on metal work if it's stored in damp areas.
JOHN: Sure as well just messing with the wood of the shell of the drum itself, huh?
SVEN: Yeah, absolutely.
JOHN: Even with the best of care, I would imagine drum parts can be damage or turned up missing. Can you customers buy replacement parts through Premier distributors?
SVEN: Yes indeed, they can. Any of our marching specialist centers including Henderson's here in Traverse City are able to supply spare parts and non-stock items can be ordered direct from Premier and generally shipped right away.
JOHN: Now aside from making drums and equipment are there other ways that Premier supports pipe band drumming?
SVEN: Yeah certainly. We realize the importance of supporting and promoting the pipe band activity in terms of developing players, generating public interest, and showcasing the wealth of talent that there is out there. We attend events globally as we were just talking, I was in Kansas at winter storm recently, and we're involved in competitions, schools, and concerts in many countries as well as clinics and master classes with some of our world class percussionists, Jim Kilpatrick, Tyler Fly, and many others.
JOHN: Couple things on a personal note I wanted to ask you. Sven is a...how long have you been with Premier drums?
SVEN: I've been with Premier for 12 months now. This is pretty much my twelve month anniversary.
JOHN: And obviously you're not from Traverse City, Michigan?
SVEN: No, I'm an Englishman with a Swedish mother and just over here for a few days.
JOHN: We certainly enjoy having you here. A couple more questions before I let you go, though. The Premier Percussion website has good information and seems to be growing slowly but surely, and it's been indicated that some new products lists are in the works. What kind of information are you hoping to put out in the next year?
SVEN: Yeah, in deed. The website is being completely overhauled for relaunch in 2008, and it will be more interactive. We're going to include some dynamic news features and percussive resources. A little more product information and we're going to invite articles from players and other people involved in the percussion world. We appreciate this is the 21st century and a fully featured website is an essential marketing tool, and a device to keep in touch with our players and retailers.
JOHN: Now, what is the actual website address?
SVEN: It's www.premier-percussion.com.
JOHN: Great. Now lastly, how can shoppers identify a reputable, quality official Premier pipe band percussion dealer or stock list online?
SVEN: Yeah, it's important to make sure you do it with a genuine Premier retailer as they will give you much better service and will always give you the best price and product support. We supply our US pipe band dealers direct from Premier in the UK, and we have a good relationship with them. If you don't have a preferred dealer already, you can find one on the Premier website or email our team on info@premier-percussion.com, and we'll be happy to put you in touch with a local specialist. Many of our approved dealers are present at events and competitions throughout the US, and we have a Premier booth at the world championships every year; you can always drop by and say Hello.
JOHN: Well we certainly appreciate you dropping by and saying hello to us today, Sven.
SVEN: It's a pleasure. Thanks for having me in deed.
JOHN: I want to thank everybody for listening to VTalk Radio's Local Business Spotlight. Today we've had in the studio spokesperson for Premier Percussion, Sven Parris. I'm your host, John Bentley. Thanks for tuning in. Have a great afternoon everyone.
ANNOUNCER: This VTalk Radio's Spotlight has been brought to you by Henderson's Imports. Henderson's in Northern Michigan is a supplier of bag pipes, piping supplies, pipe band percussion, and highland wear. Henderson's can supply the complete range of Premier pipe band drums and supplies. For more information on their product line up, please visit them on the web at www.hendersongroupltd.com. You've been listening to VTalk Radio's Spotlight only on VTalkradio.com radio for the 21st century.