Then there’s the assortment of refurbished vintage drums that includes some Gretsch collectibles made in Brooklyn in the ‘60s and a drum that was on the Howdy Doody Show. Bowman has some new drums as well, and is carrying the Crescent line of cymbals and gongs, handmade in Turkey, that I’m assured sound as good as they look.
Clients visiting the light-filled warehouse reap the benefits of Bowman’s lifetime of experience as a professional drummer, instrument-builder and studio designer with over 200 recording studios to his credit, including facilities for Alicia Keyes and Howard Shore. Bowman built the jazz club at Jack & Luna’s Café in Stone Ridge, where his wife and co-owner Julie runs the restaurant side of things and he takes care of the entertainment, booking the acts and playing drums with the top jazz talent that appears regularly there (check out www.jackandlunas.com for details).
Bowman is enthused about the new venture in New Paltz, which is really an extension of something that he has spent his entire life doing, he says, having grown up in North Carolina where his father and uncle owned a furniture factory and he was always around things being made and people making music. CHBO Drums is open Thursdays through Mondays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. or by appointment. The website, www.chbodrums.com, is set up for online sales.
CHBO Drums, 11 Water Street, New Paltz; (917) 217-3107, www.chbodrums.com.
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