Rock Drummer
Transport
You
can't be a working musician if you can't get yourself and your gear to and from
rehearsals, gigs and studios.
This page is completely unnecessary, but I like my cars.
1983 Mk II Ford Granada 2.3L
1989-1996 The first car that I had was never actually mine. This V6 Granada was
my dad's car, but when he bought a replacement, he decided to hang on this
reliable old workhorse. So I used it for about seven years. I used to be able
to transport a massive double bass drummed 10 piece kit in it. The bass drums
whent on the back seat and everything else went in the boot. Magic! I miss it
and I want another one.
1996 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i
1996-1998 A classic little 1275 Cooper. I put the drums in a lightweight
trailer that me and my bass player built. The car was fantastic fun, but
despite what Mini owners will tell you, they can barely hold their own against
most modern cars. So many hot hatches are better at everything. Old Minis do
have bags full of class though. I'd like a 1970 Cooper S one day.
1995 Ford Mondeo 2.0 Si
1998-2000 Very luxurious and fast after the Mini. Fantastic for getting drums
around. A nice big five door hatch can take everything with easy access without
looking as dull and sensible as an estate car. The 2 litre was cool with the
close ratio gear box and sport suspension. My neighbor had a 2.0 Ghia at the
same time and it was crap in comparison. Sports models are always better than
luxury ones. Good brakes, suspension and feedback will help keep you alive. The
poor old thing was making all sorts of strange knocking noises by the time I
got rid of it....
1995 Ford Probe 24V
2000-2001 Basically a Mazda MX-6 with an American body on it. Very highly
strung racing engine, needed clean oil every five minutes. More of a grand
cruiser than a sports car. It was nice to have a V6 again. Smooth, quiet and
powerful. Massive boot space. Took the drums easily. I blew it up. Just turned
the key and the engine went bang. I still owed money on it. Oops.
2001 MINI Cooper
2001-2003. BMW's new MINIs are great. The only people who don't think so are
the people who own the original Minis, most of who have never driven one of the
new ones. They really are exceptional. Fantastic value for money. Comfortable,
quiet, powerful, smooth, gentle on the motorway and fantastic fun on the back
roads. The Cooper is good fun bud needs a touch more power to make you laugh
out loud, so I changed it for a Cooper S. Oh, and it caught fire a little bit.
2003 MINI Cooper S
2003-2005. Zooooooooooooooooooooooooom. I have a bad back now.
1996 Jaguar JXR
2005-2007. Superchargers are a
very good idea. Strap one to a 4.0 litre straight six and the horizon tends to
gallop towards you in a frightening manner. It is because of my owning this car
that the oil companies were making record profits. In 1996 this was
probably the best car in the world. A decade later it was still pretty damned
impressive. There are probably a few Nazi collaborators driving Mercs who would
argue with me, but at the end of the day you have a choice: Do you want a
Spitfire or a Messerschmitt?
2007 Toyota Aygo VVTi Blue
2007-2008. Yes I know. What was I thinking? I think after three years of the Jag raping my wallet at 17mpg I went a bit too far the other way. Put the drum kit in the back, turn on the air conditioning and then put your foot down... and nothing happens at all. Sorry, there's more to life than getting 50mpg.
