SKF NOTE: Allman Brothers drummers Jaimoe and Butch Trucks said yes to being part of my idea to tweak Modern Drummer magazine’s Who Reads Modern Drummer? in-house ads. Noted drummers were asked to provide MD a photo and their statement about MD. The magazine would combine the photo and statement into a full-page MD ad.

No arms were ever twisted. No special promises were ever made. We were grateful for the public thumbs-up from the professional drummers. And it’s safe to assume those drummers would not have worked with us if they didn’t think well of Modern Drummer.

In December 1982, Butch and Jaimo sent me this snapshot of the two of them holding an MD with Elvin Jones on the cover. The flip side of the snapshot has the photographer’s credit. The handwriting, I believe, is Jaimoe’s. I love the photo, but snapshots rarely reproduced well in the magazine. We used snapshots only when we had no other choice.

When I find Butch and Jaimoe’s actual Who Reads Modern Drummer? ad I’ll add it to this post. But I know we did not use this photo.

— end—