Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Brandolini.
Chad, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started getting into music at a young age. I remember really being interested in it around First and Second grade. At that time, it was Michael Jackson, The Cars, Prince, Billy Joel, Hall & Oates, and so on that were all over the radio. Fast forward a little bit, and I was getting more into rock bands like Aerosmith, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, etc. along with some other bands that were getting big at that time; Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses, Skid Row and so on. Then I saw the video for Guns N Roses’ Paradise City, and I was blown away. I thought it was just the coolest thing I had ever seen at my young age. Here were these guys on stage playing to a massive crowd with the backstage footage and such mixed in there…just total rock star stuff, and it was awesome. So I just listened to lots, and lots of music, watched a lot of MTV and soaked it all up.
Around that time, my father started playing drums again in a cover band and from time to time, I would go with him to sit and watch them rehearse. Watching them practice and learn songs was a cool experience and it exposed me to some different bands as well, more classic rock type stuff. Even though he played drums since he was a kid, there never really was any encouragement for me to get into playing anything. Then when I was 12, I decided on my own that I wanted to try guitar, so I took a handful of lessons but quickly found out that guitar just wasn’t for me! Soon after giving up on guitar…I bought my first drum set and I was off and running. I started to play along to some of my favorite tapes…yes tapes, in a Walkman in fact. If I couldn’t play on the actual drums, I would just do the same but play on a pillow or air drum my way through it, locked away in my room with band posters and music magazine pages all over my walls.
As time went on, while my family situation imploded, I started playing music with other kids that I knew. I played in a bunch of different bands that played school events, backyard parties, etc. The usual teenage type gigs. At that time I as getting into bands like Metallica, Faith No More, Helmet, Green Day, Megadeth, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Pixies, Black Sabbath and so on. From there, that turned into playing some clubs in and around Boston, many of which are sadly not around anymore. In high school, I knew that I wanted to do something in music. I just loved it and it was such a positive thing in my life. Fast forward again and I end up working at Vater and have been here for over 20 years now.
Has it been a smooth road?
Personally for me, things were never exactly a smooth road, especially as a kid. By the time I entered third grade, I was on my third elementary school, spent my second grade year living in a one room motel room and there really wasn’t much support or encouragement at “home”. But there’s always going to be stress and struggles along the way, both in your personal life and work life. That’s just how it goes. Those personal and work stresses can definitely cross over and affect each other, but you just have to deal with it the best way you can to get through it, push on and hopefully learn something from it.
Work wise, the music industry has changed quite a bit over the years. Evaluating a bands’ popularity has changed and has gone from looking at album sales figures, to things as how many likes they have on their social media pages. The way artists and bands reach consumers has changed, how music is distributed has changed, the touring and recording worlds have changed, music retail has changed. It’s crazy. One constant hurdle our industry faces today is how to keep kids interested and engaged in learning an instrument. With school music and arts budgets constantly being cut, kids opting to play on their phones and craving the instant gratification they get from that, it’s harder now to get kids excited about getting together with their friends and playing music together.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Vater Percussion story. Tell us more about the business.
As I mentioned, I work for Vater Percussion. Vater is a family owned company, south of Boston, which manufactures all sorts of implements to play drums and percussion instruments with…drumsticks, keyboard mallets, specialty sticks, marching band products, timpani mallets, brushes, educational products, a wide range of accessories and so on.
Vater has had a long standing reputation for very high quality drumsticks. The family has a history in the drum business that goes back to the 1950’s and they have manufactured drumsticks for many of the leading companies in our industry, several of whom are direct competitors now. What makes Vater different? One thing is that we still turn drumsticks on lathes. There aren’t a lot of companies that still do it this way because it’s more labor intensive and the machinery can be hard to come by and harder to maintain, but with lathe turning, the end result is a finely crafted, high quality product.
Another difference is that Vater’s production process is very hands-on. Production starts out with raw material (hickory and maple dowels) that is higher in moisture content, so that we put out a more durable product. Vater started out just making drumsticks, but have since expanded a ton with offering a very wide range of products, including some very unique ones as well. We also offer multiple variations of certain models as well. For example, the 5A, which is the most popular drumstick size, we offer it in hickory and maple wood, we offer it with and without lacquered finish, we offer it in a variety of colors as well as a variety of tip shape options. We offer variations on models like that as drummers can be very particular in what they like and they may enjoy a certain model but are looking for a different sound, feel, look, etc. so, we like to have that covered for them.
Another difference is that we are still a family owned business. There have been a lot of changes in our industry over the past handful of years in which some of our competitors have merged with other companies/corporations, but we’re still independent and pushing right along.
As far as what I do specifically, I’m the Director of Artist Relations and Marketing. I work closely with a wide range of drummers from the local drum teacher to drummers with major, well-known acts like Justin Timberlake, Guns N Roses, Beyonce, Nine Inch Nails, Judas Priest, Adele, 311, Jason Mraz, Alice In Chains, Saturday Night Live, Kings of Leon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sheryl Crow, Slayer, Slipknot, Ozzy, Bruce Springsteen, Ghost, HAIM, St. Vincent, Dream Theater, Maren Morris and countless others. I bring new artists on as endorsees of the Vater brand while maintaining the current large roster of artists.
Part of what makes it so fun for me, is that I get to work with artists in such a wide range of musical genres in all sorts of environments. I could be at a metal show one night seeing one of our artists, and then at a jazz gig the next night.
I also work directly with our graphic designer/photographer/videographer on all of our ads, yearly product catalogs, artist interview videos, product demo videos, trade show displays and everything of that nature. He and I went to High School together, played in bands together, and all that so I love that I get to work with him a bunch and he’s an immense talent in his own right. Check out Dave Green Photo, he’s based in Boston as well.
On top of all that, I also run the companies’ social media pages, handle some product sourcing, am involved with some product design including working directly with major artists on signature models, web site updates and so on.
Who else deserves credit – have you had mentors, supporters, cheerleaders, advocates, clients or teammates that have played a big role in your success or the success of the business? If so – who are they and what role did they plan / how did they help.
Wow, where do I start? My absolute number one is my wife, Nicole. She understands what I do, and what my job calls for sometimes. She understands that I have countless late nights, work a lot of weekends, work on stuff while I’m home, and all that. No matter what is going on around us, she has always been on my side and is always a huge support. Most of all, she’s the absolute best super-mom to our four kids. I couldn’t do what I do without her.
There have been many people along the way, without whom, who knows where I’d be…Friends, friend’s parents (Extra credit and love to the Talbot family whom took me into their home before my Senior year of High School), teachers, roommates I’ve had, my wife’s family, my incredible kids, my aunts, uncle and grandmothers while I was a kid. Too many to name that have had some sort of positive impact on me.
My coworkers and artists that I work with deserve lots of credit as it is a team effort and we all count on each other. We all wear multiple hats here, but we make it work and have grown as a company and continue to have great success in what we do despite the challenges of music retail currently. Of course we have lots of fun and laughs along the way, so that helps! On top of that, It’s always a great feeling when you see what you do and who you work with, including artists that you took a chance on when they were “unknowns”, doing great and landing in big places. For example, the last 6 Super Bowl Halftime shows have included Vater Drumsticks during the performances! Another one that comes to mind, is that I took a chance on a 12 year old girl, Hannah (Ford) Welton, many years ago after meeting her and her dad at a trade show and I brought her on as a Vater artist. As time went on and she pushed forward, she ended up getting the gig with Prince and recorded and toured with him for his last 5 years.
I’m lucky that I get to do something that I am passionate about, and work in a fun industry that is filled with genuinely great people. I’ve had some incredible experiences, met some amazing musicians, actors, and athletes along the way, have seen some pretty outrageous onstage and backstage “Rock and Roll” antics and have had plenty of “did that just happen?” moments. If you had told my adolescent self that I would work with and become good friends with some of the musicians that I idolized and listened to growing up, I would have thought you were absolutely crazy but I’m sure I would have lit up just thinking about it!
With all the advice and stories that I have heard over the years, I always think about what are easily the most basic points… Be a good person, keep yourself out of trouble and work hard.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.vater.com
- Phone: 781-767-1877
- Email: info@vater.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/vaterdrumsticks
- Facebook: facebook.com/vaterdrumsticks
- Twitter: twitter.com/vaterdrumsticks
- Other: youtube.com/vaterpercussionusa
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