The Democracy Pledge

I recently made the decision to throw my support behind The Democracy Pledge. This is a grass roots organization of companies that have pledged their support in the fight against bad actors that seek to undermine American democracy for personal political gain. Part of this initiative is a pledge to not support any candidate or elected official that voted to overturn the 2020 election. It’s also a commitment to not support anyone that attempts to weaken universal voting access.

This feels especially important since we’re a Texas based company and, sadly, we live in a place where disinformation and conspiracy theories have gone mainstream. I love Texas and I know we can do better. We must do better.

It’s great to have my own company and be able to make this statement. I also love that our customer base is full of good, honest people that understand how important democracy is for our quality of life. A free and open society fosters art, music and creativity. No form of artistic beauty ever came out of a group of racist old men that attempt to lie, cheat and steal their way into power.

Learn more about this great initiative at https://thedpledge.com. And more importantly, if you don’t support old racist liars, then get out and vote. Together we can Bring The House Down.

Bill Brill

Frisco TX

What's so good about "normal"?

Nowadays we’re being inundated with thoughts and speculation about when life will return to normal. At most, people like to talk about a “new normal”. While much of this is understandable, I hope this doesn’t mean that EVERYTHING will go back to normal.

For example, in our line of business, “normal” means there is a wide range of competing products on the market that all claim to be “the best”. Others sell their product at a price that’s either too low or ridiculously high but there is no discernible difference between the two. “Normal” can also mean competitors that don’t run a real business and therefore don’t have to factor in the cost of taxes, annual fees, and other overheads associated with a legitimate company. A return to normal could also mean we go back to a life of hyper-consumerism where we acquire items because they’re cheap and we don’t bother to consider quality or durability.

We don’t need that kind of normal. Let’s be a little abnormal and throw our support behind people and companies that do things right. Let’s be total weirdos and avoid con-men that are just out to make a quick buck. Let’s be absolutely crazy and focus our dollars on products that are big on quality and not quantity.

Everyone says “covid changed everything” so let’s see if that’s true. Let’s see if our new normal can look and feel so much better than our old normal. After all, what’s so good about normal, anyway?

Bill Brill

Frisco TX

Good Riddance, 2020

I have never been quite so happy to welcome in a new year. There’s a line of wisdom in the business world that says to deliver all of your bad news at the same time but sprinkle your good news out over time. I sure hope that’s what history intended last year so we can look forward to getting our lives back in 2021.

The biggest impact of covid for many of us has been the death of live music. Consequently, demand for our kick drums took quite a hit in 2020 and all of it in the midst of a product launch for our Rochester line of kick drums. But guess what, we’re still alive and kicking (pun totally intended). We’ve managed to stay busy with custom orders and made to order Rochesters and our debt load is manageable.

So let’s say a gigantic “CHEERS to 2021” and to getting live music back in our lives. This is going to be a great year to Bring The House Down.

Bill Brill

Frisco TX

It Matters Who You Do Business With

As a consumer, does it matter who you do business with? Does a person or company’s character have anything to do with your buying decision? If not, should it?

I believe the answer is clearly “YES” it does matter. One of the pillars of Pan American is our focus on honesty and integrity. If something isn’t right, we’ll make it right. We accurately describe the capability of each model and we’re consistent with our pricing. We offer a risk free return policy because we believe in our product. We are nothing without our customers so we treat them with honesty and respect.

One of our primary competitors makes low end kick drums for sale at a price that far exceeds their true value. His model descriptions highlight fake or unnecessary features that are there to fool customers into buying their product. He also plays bait and switch pricing games with his Reverb listings. For example, he will offer a 90% discount, wait for notifications to go out, and then change it back to full price. His website even claims that Shakey Graves and Jack Johnson are two of his “Musicians”. According to Shakey Graves’ manager, this is a bold faced lie and they intend to put a stop to it. Lastly, this “company” isn’t really a company at all. It’s just a guy who lives somewhere out in BFE, never registered a company and doesn’t pay taxes. This creates an obviously unfair advantage.

So why do people buy from him? Because they just don’t know or they don’t understand. His customers don’t take the time to check it out. They see his product online, think it “looks” cool and they buy it. Maybe they thought they were only paying $50 for it until their credit card bill comes in and they realize they got charged $400 or $500. Who knows…in the end I believe karma will find him.

I don’t say all of this because I fear competition. Competition is important. It drives innovation and quality and ensures that companies run efficiently or they die. This is why products are always getting better looking, easier to use, and cheaper to buy. We have competition in the marketplace that does beautiful work and we would never say anything negative about them. CaseBass in Washington DC is a great example of a quality company that does things right.

It matters who you do business with. Don’t be fooled by looks or bait and switch pricing, or false claims of celebrity endorsement. Take the time to understand who you are doing business with and avoid those that are dishonest and use deception as a marketing strategy.

- Bill Brill, Frisco TX

Drum Design vs Sound Quality and Functionality

Pan American Drum Company has been making suitcase kick drums for nearly two years. In that time, we’ve seen steady growth in both sales volume and profitability. But running a company that makes percussion instruments isn’t just a function of “build it and they will come”. Long term growth and stability in this spaces require one critical element - INNOVATION.

This is why we are constantly seeking feedback from our customers that are professional musicians. Some of them are famous musicians, some are almost famous, but all of them are hard working, talented people that love music and will never give up on it. Something all of our professional clients have in common is they are focused on sound quality and functionality.

Based on our client feedback, we realized there were some inherent flaws in the traditional suitcase kick drum design. The limitations of this design are as follows:

• Too Much Tambo - this problem lies in having the tambourine mounted directly onto the suitcase. With this design there is always the issue of hearing the tambourine chime when you hit the kick drum. Is it a bad sound? No. Is it somewhat annoying? Yes. This problem is compounded if you end up with a kick drum that has a tambourine mounted on the side of the case. When the beater hits the tambourine, it pushes the tambourine up against the suitcase (or license plate) so you get a jingle sound followed quickly by the slapping sound of plastic against metal.

• Right vs Left - the other main issue with traditional design drums is they are made to suit either a right footed or left footed player. This means you have to choose whether you want to play predominantly standing or sitting. If you change your mind, you have to re-wire your brain to hit the kick drum with your left foot instead of your right (assuming you bought a drum in a right footed configuration).

Enter the Center Mount Design…

In August 2019 we began rolling out our Center Mount series of kick drums. These models feature a kick drum mounted dead center into a vintage suitcase and are sold with a full size tambourine that attaches to a Pearl or Gibraltar floor mount that sits right next to the suitcase. The spacing is perfect whether sitting or standing.

Because the kick drum and the tambourine are no longer mounted to the same case, when you hit the kick drum the tambourine makes zero noise. This design completely eliminates the resonant chime when you hit the drum.

As an added bonus, if you want to switch from standing to sitting, all you do is pick up your pedal (already attached to the floor mount) and move it to the other side of the suitcase. It’s that simple. You can hear the sound quality of our center mount drums in the first two videos on the Videos tab. The quality of the product we’re putting out there now is just awesome. These drums have never sounded better but we won’t stop trying to innovate and make them better.

Will we still continue to make traditional design drums? Yes, of course. There’s a market for them and we won’t ignore that. But if your focus is on sound quality and functionality, there is no doubt which design you’ll choose. That’s why about 95% of our Custom Shop clients choose the center mount design. Maybe you should too.