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Thanks for visiting the Farmer Musical Instrument online storefront. I hope you are able to find what you are looking for in
the growing world of foot played percussion. If not, please feel free to contact me with your needs or ideas. I would love the opportunity to help you get
what you are looking for!
I started the business of manufacturing and innovating foot played percussion because I believe there is a strong and growing market for folks
who want to express their inner beat. Many of my customers have expressed to me that they were looking for something that was different and yet classic
to spice up their musical routines.
While the old standby of having a drummer haul his or her gear over and setup space in the living room is not going to disappear, I feel there is
plenty of room for doing things creatively so that musicians can play what they want, when they want.
For me, it has meant that I have much more control over my practice time, changes in tempos, and
ability to improvise. Simply put, I have MUCH MORE fun and connection with the music I am playing.
While some people claim they are 'slow learners', adding foot percussion can actually be an easy thing to do, especially if played with a straightforward steadiness.
Often times it is the beat that is the backbone to a song and the element that prompts even the least musically inclined person to tap along to the beat.
If you think that tapping your foot to the beat is diffiuclt, ask yourself how it is that we can dance to music with arms, legs, feet, and
hands in closely synchronized movements; or why we are asked by music teachers
to tap our foot at the earliest stages of music education; or how on earth anyone could learn to actually play something as complicated as
a guitar with 6 different stings over 20 or more frets
using the coordination of all ten fingers AT ONCE! If the idea of becoming a 'one man band' seems like a turn off to you, consider this: more often than not you can't help but want to watch a multi-instrumentalist
do their thing and are amazed at their coordination. But there is an even greater likelihood
you are watching someone at the center of attention having a great time putting out a full and engaging musical sound! Bottom line, the acoustics and looks of a Farmer Musical Instrument
are timeless, intuitively designed, and as well made as your American made Fender or Martin guitar - so try one out, I guarantee you'll like it!
I first learned to play music and keep the tempo with my foot as a trumpet player in elementary school. It wasn't until much later that
I saved up enough cash to buy an old classical guitar from a pawn shop and enter into one man band fray. After graduating from the
University of Washington a buddy of mine and I saved up enough money to
live and travel in a VW bus for year. The time spent poking around the US taking in the sights, sounds,
and smells of our vast North American continent was a priceless education that proved to sow the seeds of my musical instrument creations. It allowed me the time to hone into and appreciate more deeply a taste for older,
bluesy roots Americana music and take the first steps in trying to play a variation of it on my guitar and a stomping foot. Currently my musical tastes have me tuning into and want to play songs by: Mississippi Fred McDowell, J.J. Cale,
Beck, Wilco, Bluegrass of all styles, Ben Prestage, John Lee Hooker, Big Bill Bronzy, Yonder Mountain String band, Citizen Cope, Will Oldham, Beta Band, The Kinks, Taj Mahal,
Broken Social Scene, John Spencer Blues Explosion, Junior Kimbough, R.L. Burnside, White Stripes, Gomez, Model T Ford, Bob Dylan, Fleet Foxes, John Prine, Toots and the
Maytals, G. Love, Pavement, Sun Kil Moon, Mississippi John Hurt, the Shins, Zed Zeppelin, Steve Earle, Rolling Stones, Gillian Welch, John Butler Trio, Widespread Panic,
Velvet Underground, Neko Case, Bela Fleck, Bukka White, Xavier Rudd, Vetiver, The Shins, Radiohead, Earl Scruggs, Ben Harper, Blue Scholars,
Ali Farka Toure, Ry Cooder, Sun Rah, Bob Log III, Sam Cooke, Black Keys, Two Gallants
to name only a few off the top of my head...
The time in between traveling, music, and work is spent reading, running, remodeling our home, recreating outdoors, and relaxing with my wife Kate.
I have also put lots of creative energy into making stringed instruments and other musical oddities (see photos of Cigar Box Guitar, Battery-Powered Amp Stool, Acoustic Lap Steel).
The Farmer Foot Drum Deluxe model was first conceived while I was
listening to John Lee Hooker in my woodshop back in 2003. In some of his songs I
could hear his feet tapping wonderful rhythmic beats to accompany his
guitar and voice - it sounded as if he had a drummer playing right next to
him. Wanting to do the same, but with a more full and rounded drum kit
sound, I dreamed up a drum kit that was acoustic, simple for your feet to play, and looked classic.
Using portability, great sound, and durability as the guiding principals in design, I eventually constructed a crude contraption out of my envisioned instrument.
Despite the original Foot Drum's rather slapdash beginnings, I decided to officially start up my own business in the fall of 2006 after hearing
too many folks asking to buy it out from under my feet. As a full time high school history teacher with a little rented garage and student loans up the yazoo,
I knew it was going to be a slog if I was going to advance the concept of a foot played drum kit.
But enlivened with the passion to creatively work with my hands and the encouragement from strangers, family, and friends I developed the production
model Foot Drum to the point where I could open them up for sale.
However, having spent too many late nights alone in a cold garage I came to realize
that I would need some help to round out my business and manufacturing education to make this venture really succeed
- enter Kerry Carlson of Innovative Manufacturing. A former tap handle builder for
all the major microbreweries in the US (before China pulled the rug out), Kerry unveiled a whole world of parts, machines, jigs, catalogs, and contraptions that would
ultimately help me to make a better product
that produced less waste and took less time. It is these savings, innovations, and great acoustics that I (we) have passed on to you, my bread and butter, my customer.
So please know that if and when you decide to buy a Farmer Musical Instrument, I will
be on the other end of the line ready to answer your
comments, concerns, and questions IN PERSON! In short, I take pride in the products I put out, and I wholeheartedly care for the customers that play them.
Until I hear from you in the near future, Keep Up the Beat!
Sincerely,
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