Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend 20% Off Great Gift Items for Drummers or Drummers-at-Heart!  ~Drum Ornaments ~Metal Drum Figures ~Light-up Drum sticks ~Throw Blankets ~Drum/Band Signs ~Unique hand Percussion Items 10% Off Entire Store! Save BIG~Get 10% off everything in the store that is not already marked down!  Dream Cymbals & Crush Drums Get to Rhythm Connect to see and hear our awesome selection of Dream Cymbals and award winning Crush Drums!

December Deals Big Savings! 12/9-12/23 Incredible Clearance Savings Up to 50% savings off select drumsets, cymbals, and drum sticks! Up to 20% savings on select hand drums! Gift Card Savings !      Buy a Rhythm Connect gift card and get $5 off for every $25 put on the card  !       New Winter Class Schedule will be Posted by Friday 12/23! Register online: http://rhythmconnect.com/classes/ ~ Private Drumset Lessons (all ages!) ~ Hand Drumming Classes (various ages) ~ Drum With Me! (parent-child class) ~ Adventures in Rhythm (ages 5-7) ~ Beat Stress (adults) ~ In Rhythm Together: Drumming & Wine (couples 21 and older)  School Band Supplies Teachers, Parents, and students! We have what you need for school band:   Drum sticks Drum Pads Lesson Books Drumset Rentals Drum Heads Private Lessons Bell Sets Band Percussion NOW OFFERING Accessories for other instruments: Reeds Valve Oil Mouth Pieces Lesson Books Rent Drums! & Private Lessons   Stop in to learn more about our drumset rentals and private lessons and get started drumming today!

If you have trouble viewing page then use this link:

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=779e588dde46ff76c203098ea&id=de6ddd2fce&e=6176bbfaa1

Crush Kits Currently on Dispaly at Rhythm Connect

If you have not yet heard of Crush Drums, you most definitely will!

Crush exploded on to the scene in January 2011 at the NAMM show, where Rhythm Connect owner, Ed Keegan, got to check them out up close. Ed was immediately impressed with the stunning looks, incredible sound, simplicity of design, detailed craftsmanship, and outstanding price levels. They also caught the attention of the judges and were awarded Best in Show.

Crush Drums is run by drummers who have significant experience in the industry. Here, in part, is how they describe themselves on their website:

“The drum industry needs some shaking up. Our staff, our business model, and our growing artist roster is exactly what is needed to redefine it . . . We aren’t talking about just another drum company here. We’re not a boutique company with overpriced drums and little worldwide reach- and not mass produced low quality turn and burn manufacturer. We have made the commitment to manufacture exciting and reliable products for all different genres and incomes and distribute them worldwide. From affordable intermediate level kits to fully custom kits with tons of options we have something for everyone.”

Cursh Drums not only rival, but surpass other leading drum companies out on the market. Rhythm Connect is the exclusive Crush dealer in this area. So do yourself a favor and get to Rhythm Connect and find out for yourself why there’s so much buzz around these incredible drums.

And as the folks at Crush point out, “You never forget your first Crush.”

I’m still paying off start-up debt and trying to feed my family, and I definitely cannot afford to throw money at–let’s-hope-for-the-best–marketing approaches. Things have changed dramatically in the world of business marketing. Bottom line, there is a new rhythm to how we can effectively market our business on a much smaller budget, AND significantly increase our customer base at the same time. If that resonates with you, as it does me, then I will see you on Wednesday morning for the Smart Marketing Seminar.

Ed Keegan (a.k.a. Drummer Ed)
Owner of Rhythm Connect 

So my 13 year old daughter, Rebekah, and I (that’s us in the above photo) were instant messaging back and forth on Facebook and the thought popped in my head, “I wonder if my friends and I could effectively compete against her and her friends using social media?” Then came the idea for this challenge . . .

What if we had a contest to see who could get the most Likes for Rhythm Connect by Valentine’s Day, with the goal being 1,000 Likes? But how would we track where the likes come from and who gets credit? Ahh, that’s where my Rhythm Connect Facebook insights come in (thank you Facebook for making this easy!).

Below is a demographic screenshot of my current Likes before starting the contest. Rebekah and her friends will get credit for any Likes that come in for the 13-17 age bracket, and my friends and I will get credit for the rest, 18-55+. I will periodically post updates of how things are progressing. At 11:59 PM on Valentine’s Day, 2011 I will take the final screenshot and the winners will be declared.

So, who can better harness the power of Social Media, the Young (my daughter and her friends), or the Not as Young (me and my friends)? Let’s find out . . .

Oh, and since I’m writing this post I get to give the Not so Young a kick in the pants. Friends don’t fail me now. Come on, we get 5 of the 6 age brackets–we can do this! We must do this to prove that we are not out of touch and that we are a force to be reckoned with.

Friends, let’s spread the word and get those Likes up: http://www.facebook.com/rhythmconnect.

It’s on!
Ed Keegan

Crush is a new drum company that had their debut at the 2011 NAMM show. Very impressive drums with clean, sleek, designs and great attention to detail.

Taye had a nice new finish to add to their other great finishes. And the GoKit does look impressive.

Peace has some nice looking sets, including their acoustic/electronic set that is software driven rather than by traditional drum modules.

Dream Cymbals represented with some new very cool looking and sounding rides.

 Quite impressive were Toca’s new djembes with synthetic heads that sound very close to goat skin.

LP did not disappoint with some very unique but useful percussion items: LP Percusso and the LP Qube.

There is much more to spotlight, but for now I will leave you with a video demo of the new expanded Korg Wavedrum Oriental.

One thing I’ve been wanting to do for a while now is provide links to some helpful drumming resources to my students. Pictured in the above photo is a a very gifted 4 year old I’m teaching! I have students of all ages and levels, including adults who are discovering/rediscovering a passion for drumming, who will benefit from these posts.

I decided to call these posts “Rhythm Resources” and feature them on my site so that many others can benefit from these great FREE tools as well. Feel free to comment and share other resources you may know about.

An obvious one to start with, in this first post of many, is to make sure drummers and drumming enthusiasts know about DRUMMERWORLD. 

  This site is a gold mine with incredibe audio/video, photos, transcriptions, etc. from a huge and ever-growing list of drummers/percussionists. You could literally spend hours sifting through this site and only scrath the surface. It’s a great place to learn about some of your favorite drummers. But it is also a great way to learn about the many other groove makers from all genres that have influenced the world of drumming.

Stay tuned for more Rhythm Resources . . .

Enjoy!
Ed Keegan (a.k.a Drummer Ed)