Meet Danny Young of Baldman Percussion

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Young. 

Hi Danny, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
As a full-time professional drummer, you often end up on tours playing with the opening band. You play the shows, have a good time with your band, and more often than not (sadly) don’t really interact much with the headlining band. Well, this was luckily NOT the case when I ended up in a group opening for the band Delta Rae! Mike McKee, the drummer for Delta Rae, and I hit it off from the get-go since we both had shaved heads, and were wearing pretty much the same outfit! We immediately laughed, started chatting drums, and became quick friends.

It didn’t take long for us to realize that another thing we had in common was extremely finding and creating our own unique drums sounds! Mike had a pretty disheveled piece of wood with chains on it that he used in the show that made an INCREDIBLE sound despite how it looked, and I was so blown away and inspired. After we finished a few weeks on the road I called Mike and told him that I was still thinking about his instrument (which was literally held together with zip ties) and that I was also a pretty accomplished woodworker. I asked him if he would care if I tried building a better version of his crazy contraption and we could each keep one to use. He was very excited and said yes.

After a month or so I finally had a working prototype, and it turned out pretty incredible! I happened to be out playing drums with an artist named Dan Tyminski that this chain contraption was perfect for, and it made its TV debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The house drummer for Jon Batiste, Joe Saylor, came running over after hearing us play screaming “WHAT IS THAT!? I HAVE TO HAVE ONE!” and it was that moment that I knew we were onto something…

Fast-forward another 6 months to the official launch of our company, and our first official product, THE JUNK HAT by Baldman Percussion!!

THE JUNK HAT is made up of two parts; a piece of wood for the top with several holes in it with chains woven through, and a bottom piece made out of hand-hammered metal that lets the chains hang down inside and shake when you hit it. The result is that classic 808 hand clap sound you hear on pretty much every pop and hip-hop song with programmed drums… but NOW… IT’S A REAL INSTRUMENT. You can also use it on a hi-hat stand (using your foot) to raise the chains up, then stomp them down into the metal bottom creating an incredible chain drop swelling sound.

We were very fortunate to blow up rather quickly on Instagram and turned a crazy idea into a fully functioning business, currently working with dozens of retailers/distributors, and selling in over 30 countries across the world!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I will say, I thought it would be pretty easy to develop a product, start a business and streamline production in no time… but surprise! It takes more commitment, patience, and nurturing than I ever imagined.

Mike and I always had pretty hefty goals for creating, prototyping, and releasing a new product in a couple months, but in reality it’s been closer to a year for every product we have created. We have always been100% US made, so one of the most difficult parts is getting your product costs low enough to be able to make even a little money without sacrificing the design or sound.

Creativity has always been my strong suit, so I personally enjoyed tackling those challenges. A lot of it was just thinking outside the box on how to source materials, fabricate parts, outsource things that eat up too much of your time, and more. There have been many times I felt so frustrated I wanted to just stop, but having a business partner who was also a friend saved me. This process has really opened my eyes to how important it is to have a support system with a common goal. It makes those challenging times a little easier to manage knowing you aren’t caring the whole load yourself and having another (bald) head to spitball ideas off of and keep the ball constantly rolling, even in tough times.

Our flagship product, THE JUNK HAT, was lucky enough to win BEST IN SHOW at the 2019 NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) in Los Angeles, which is an extremely big deal. But, a few months later the pandemic hit which slowed all sales down to a complete halt, and disintegrated all the purchase orders we had received from retailers and distributors across the world. It was an extremely tough and sad time for us, but we decided since the pandemic forced us to stop literally everything in our lives to develop some new products and focus on moving forward!

One of the new products we developed, THE STANK FOOT, won ANOTHER best in show at the following NAMM convention in 2021!

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

Baldman Percussion specialized in taking sounds from the electronic world, and reverse engineering them to become real, acoustic instruments you can play live. In a world moving more and more into electronics, we decided to go the opposite direction.

Musicians love to innovate and create, so our company gives them an outlet to try new things, hone their creativity, and add new sounds to their arsenal that were previously only available through electronics. HOW FUN IS THAT?!

Drums have remained pretty much unchanged for the last 50+ years, so when we came out with our first product, THE JUNK HAT, we were innovating at a level even we didn’t realize at the time. It wasn’t until all of our childhood heroes in the drum world started buying our products that we realized we did something completely crazy, incredible and innovative.

There are many things about the company I am extremely proud of, but two things stand out above all for me:

1. Receiving our official patent in the mail from the US Patent and Trade Office for THE JUNK HAT. And,

2. Having handfuls of drummers I have idolized since I was a child using our products and excited when they get to meet ME!

Never in my wildest dreams did I picture those two things happening, but here we are, and it’s so incredible and humbling!

The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
I would say the most important thing I have learned from the pandemic is life balance. I have always been a hard and might I say, over-worker, but it took the pandemic to make me realize what all that work was doing to me personally and to my relationships. I have never been great at talking about feelings or emotions, but I don’t think there is a more important skill to learn for relationships, OR running a business. It can truly change your life.

Since slowing down, removing my personal social media, and realizing it’s ok to say “no”, I feel less stressed, I don’t feel as guilty taking time off, I am more present when I am around other people, and I have stopped constantly comparing myself (and my company) to others.

I realized in the last few months that I had always kept myself so busy that I didn’t have time or mental capacity to realize how low I had actually fallen. But through therapy, meditation, and lots of support from friends and family I am getting better every day, becoming more happy, patient, loving, and learning to love life more and more! Never in my life did I think it would take the whole world shutting down for me to realize the importance of self-care, slowing down, and loving yourself! I truly hope everyone can start on that same journey and see how much more fulfilling life can be.

Pricing:

• The Junk Hat – $129.95
• The Stank Foot – 84.95

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://baldmanpercussion.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baldmanpercussion
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/baldmanpercussion
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcvSMovO_dX8Wk3hOKxryqg