Vic Firth

Alan Vater’s grandfather, Jack, established a music store in New England and found a need to produce his own brand of drumsticks. Young Alan recalls watching his grandfather hand dip his drumsticks in lacquer, which inspired his father, Clarence, to work on developing a faster process. In 1975 the...
Bill Clark began working for Vater Percussion right when the company was officially established. Alan and Ron Vater’s grandfather, Jack, started making drumsticks for his retail store in 1956 and in 1975 Jack’s son Clarence formed the official company. That is when Alan and Ron, along with their ...
Slim Jim Phantom and his two school friends, Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, formed the iconic band Stray Cats in New York back in 1979. They revived the rockabilly style of the 1950s with a string of sold out concerts and a series of hit recordings in the 1980s such as “Stray Cat Strut,” “Sexy + 17”...
Neil Larrivee was just four years old when he began playing drums. His father was a manager for rock bands and music was all around Neil as he grew up. He served in the Drum and Bugle Corps when he was 11 and soon embraced orchestral music and the timpani. He landed a job with Vic Firth, just as...
Duncan Moore moved to San Diego from Iowa in 1977 and quickly established himself as the go to drummer for gigs and sessions. Playing with all the top names in San Diego, including Peter Sprague, Jaime Valle, Mark Dresser, and Mundell Lowe, Duncan shows a rhythmic drive that supports and pushes...
Peter Erskine has played a very visible role within the music industry as a noted drummer, author of method books and in designing several percussive products. He is also a welcomed sight at the NAMM Show where he can be found happily posing for photographs and checking out the latest gear. His...
Rick Drumm inherited his father’s love of music. His father established Ronnie Drumm's House of Music and Rick spent must of his childhood in the store and playing drums with his father’s many bands and combos. Rick toured with his father in the 1970s with the circus, which is where Rick began his...
Vic Firth was a classically trained timpanist, playing with a number of highly regarded symphonies around the world. Over the years he developed a few ideas that improved on the way mallets and drumsticks perform and sound. As founder of the company that carries his name, Vic designed and marketed...