Pete McDonnell Archives - Jane Robinett

October 1, 2015

Pete’s first paying gig–the Club Lido

Pete found this old photo of his first paying gig, the Club Lido, a strip club in Garden City, Colorado. Garden City began as a haven for establishments selling alcohol back in the days when Greeley was “dry.” The club is gone, now. It stood next door to where the Rancho Alegre restaurant is now, 26^th and 8^th Avenue in south Greeley. In this picture, Pete is fifteen and playing his first drum kit—a set of Japanese Tempo drums. “I thought I was on top of the world.”

On the left is Steve Grosskopf and on the right, Joe Hinojosa. Paul Gomez was in the band as well playing guitar. They called the band “WC Fields” and made $50 a night for the whole band–pretty exciting stuff for a fifteen-year-old.

August 4, 2015

Pete’s Newly-Restored 1950’s Gretsch Round Badge Kit

My 1950’s Gold Sparkle Gretsch Round Badge drums. I’ve been restoring and getting them stage worthy. The bass drum has the original calf skin heads. The snare is a rare 4″ drum with Billy Gladstone lugs. I’ll be using 50’s Zildjian “K” cymbals and a Zildjian “Ping” ride. These were the most popular drums and cymbals used by Philly Joe Jones, Max Roach, Elvin Jones and many more great jazz drummers. These drums were used by a drummer that played with a group from Greeley called “The Aristocats” led by Chuck Childers.

Pete

May 17, 2015

Pete McDonnell joins members of the Starlight Ramblers for a benefit concert

Jerry Wood delivering a powerhouse performance

Last Saturday, Pete McDonnell joined his former band mates from the Starlight Ramblers–Jerry Wood, Tim McDonald, and Shannon McDonald–at the American Legion Post in Thornton, Colorado in a benefit concert for the Wounded Warriors project. They played many of the old Ramblers’ favorites: “Clementine,” “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” “You Always Hurt the One You Love” and more to packed house. The magic was there.

Starlight-Ramblers-Tim-and-Pete — Tim McDonald on guitar with Pete on drums.

Starlight-Ramblers-Pete-2 — Pete McDonnell

February 17, 2015

Music for Valentines at the Cheyenne Country Club

We had a wonderful time playing Valentines’ Day at the Cheyenne Country Club, and I got to sing my favorite love songs–“Besame Mucho,” Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps,” “Scotch and Soda”–to name a few–for the sweethearts in the audience. ~~Jane

December 31, 2014

Pete’s Music Library

Pete’s been collecting records since he had two quarters to rub together and has over 5,000 albums–mostly classic jazz–and like a lot of music snobs, he loves vinyl. He thinks that somehow it sounds better. I think he likes the way it spins on the turntable and the ritual of gently dropping the needle down to make it play. There is also the look and feel of the album covers which he actually reads–in detail. You can learn a lot about music this way, and he certainly has.

Pete is by nature a collector of old stuff. (If he were an animal, he’d be a hermit crab, finding some fascinating, abandoned piece of junk and moving in). But he mostly loves to collect great songs for us to play.

Here’s Pete with the first album he ever bought, “Boss Beat” by the great drummer Sandy Nelson, which, of course, he still owns.

September 5, 2014December 8, 2014

Pete’s Broken Foot

It is hard to play drums well and even harder if your foot is broken. Since Pete is “left footed” he uses this appendage, when it is in working order, for his base drum. We’ve been working on “Take Five” which has a fairly complicated drum line. However, he’s noticed that it’s really difficult to get the rhythm right when his foot doesn’t work. It’s as if the other three limbs are out of balance without their missing fourth partner. Strange

This has put a hole in our summer. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that those screws hold.

Jane