From March 16th to March 24th, rock fans can bid on over 500 pieces of historic rock memorabilia, including rare snare drums, road cases, and seven famous drum kits.
Backstage Auctions, Inc presents the upcoming “All Access David Frangioni” auction event. The auction features a collection of over 500 pieces of historic rock and audio memorabilia. Up for bid are drums and drum kits, audio equipment, and signed collectibles from KISS, ELP, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, RUSH, AC/DC, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath & Ozzy Osbourne, U2, Van Halen, Metallica, Motley Crue, and many others.
The collection comes from award-winning audio engineer and author, David Frangioni. As you’ll remember from GUR episode 87, we learned Frangioni is an accomplished technologist nicknamed “Midiot” by Aerosmith’s Joey Kramer. After working with Aerosmith for 13 years, Frangioni received many gold and platinum albums as technical consultant, engineer, and/or programmer. And he’s worked with industry icons including the Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Sting, Bryan Adams, Journey, Styx, Phil Collins, and Ozzy Osbourne. The majority of his unmatched collection of historic drum kits, equipment, and memorabilia, which have been either acquired at auction or through his music industry relationships, are on display in his book “Crash: The World’s Greatest Drum Kits from Appice to Peart to Van Halen.”
Auction Details
The “All Access David Frangioni” Auction begins with a VIP preview of the entire online catalog. Bidding opens worldwide from March 16 to March 24, 2019.
To view the VIP preview or start bidding visit: www.backstageauctions.com. Information and helpful hints for interested bidders can be found here.
Assorted rare snare drums
Shown in the featured image above are over a dozen great-sounding and rare snare drums up for auction, including:
- Queensryche Scott Rockenfield Operation Mindcrime Signed Snare Drum
- Zildjian Noble & Cooley Genuine Alloy Snare Drum
- Iron Maiden Premier Extremely Rare 14 x 5 Prototype Snare Drum
Historic Drum Kits
Some of the seven complete, historic drum kits from legendary drummers include:
Eric Singer KISS Kruise Custom Pearl Kit
Each year since 2011, KISS unites its fans on the high seas by hosting its annual KISS Kruise. This Pearl drum kit was created custom for Eric Singer to be played on the 2015 Kruise, designed to match KISS’s 1975 “Alive” album. It’s a relatively simple configuration for Eric, with five single-headed concert toms, two floor toms, and two bass drums all in a black gloss finish with the snare drum in green sparkle. The bass drum head features the KISS logo and is signed by all current members (Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer).
Watch Eric Singer in action with the kit here.
Gregg Bissonette’s Pearl David Lee Roth Band Skyscraper 1988 Tour Kit
Gregg Bissonette played this custom Pearl kit on the David Lee Roth Band’s 1988 Skyscraper Tour. This kit was designed with a “skeleton effect” intended to surprise audiences, where all of the drum shells would appear to disappear when bathed in colored white, and only the stark white hardware would show from the stage.
Gregg played the set used early in his legendary career, most notably during David Lee Roth’s 1988 “Skyscraper” tour and the “Just Like Paradise” and “Stand Up” music videos. This set went around the world with him on tour. So the auction cautions that while it still sounds amazing, it shows wear-and-tear with a few chips and nicks on the black lacquer finish and the bass drum.
Carl Palmer’s Warm-up Kit
The iconic Carl Palmer is unlike most drummers in many ways, including being inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1989. Also unlike most drummers, he had a custom-made Drum Workshop warm-up kit for practice backstage while on tour in the 1990’s with Asia and ELP.
There’s also an overwhelming assortment of Carl Palmer, Asia and ELP road cases, gear and equipment. Plus autographed drum heads and t-shirts, DVDs, and more. Full collection is here.
Carmine Appice’s Slingerland Cactus Kit
Carmine Appice’s Slingerland Leopard kit was created custom for him, with maple shells featuring a custom leopard lacquer finish – showing off his love for the print highlighted with gold-plating.
See Carmine playing this kit here.
Champagne Tastes or Beer Budgets
While we’ve spotlighted some of the most impressive and likely most expensive items up for bid, there’s a wide range of accessibly-priced memorabilia too.
Backstage Auctions owner Jacques van Gool comments: “David’s collection is a fascinating mixture of historic drum kits, snare drums, recording studio used equipment, legendary road cases, and an impressive offering of traditional music memorabilia. Whether you’re a drum enthusiast, gear head, or straight-up collector, this auction will offer something for everyone. David Frangioni is a top authority on everything drums, and his private collection is second-to-none. Combine that with his credentials in the recording and music technology arena and you know that you’re hosting a most intriguing auction.”
“Working alongside many of these legends has been a dream, and I’ve been fortunate to have and appreciate many of these amazing pieces that are monuments of the rock industry,” said David Frangioni. “I wanted to give back some of the music history that I’ve collected to the audio, music, and drumming fans around the world.”
Plus, your purchases aren’t just feeding your rock music obsession, you’re doing good for the world. A portion of the proceeds of the auction will go to Frangioni’s nonprofit, the Frangioni Foundation.
Check out the auction here until March 24th, 2019. Then it’s over!