DIXON BRITE KEY Drumkey                                                           3-2-2017      

Innovation for the sake of innovation without serving a purpose is futile but when DIXON innovates their hardware it always seems to make things more functional and ergonomically pleasing.    Case in point is their new drum key named the BRITE KEY as part of their INVENTOR SERIES.  It’s Brite as in illumination and is also a bright idea.  I like traditional drums, so to deviate from the traditional drum key was a leap of faith for me.

            Having previously been impressed with DIXON innovations I grabbed the BRITE KEY with a little trepidation but an open mind as I decided to give it a try.

First of all it does function as a drum key, but I wanted to see if it would open a beer or a soda…for you youngsters.  It’s narrow claw took a few attempts at the bottle top but if you can count to four you can handle it (there’s a good reason an illuminated, bottle opening guitar pic does not exist).  There’s a metal arc surrounding the bottle cap opening – an attention to detail which reiterates the thought DIXON engineers put into every design feature, since this will prevent damage to the sturdy plastic housing atop the key during bottle cap removal.

            Next is the BRITE of the KEY which is a LED light operated with a simple twist of pressure on the cap yielding a light which is strong enough to locate a dropped stick but low enough with a directional focus to avoid the embarrassing explanation after the gig about said ‘stick dropping’.

            Finally, the most surprising feature was the key itself.   Rather than distracting from the actual key use with the additional features, the grip was easier and more secure than traditional keys since it is well balanced and wider than alternatives.   DIXON has improved the key, saved space on your key chain and reduced weight while making the key cool in a 007 kinda way.   Unlike the SWISS Army Knife, however, you’re going to keep the BRITE KEY handy and use all it’s cool features..  The DIXON BRITE KEY is functional and fun.  Innovative? - Absolutely!

Mike St. John

DRUM-line.net

 Besides the advantageous genetics, Dweezil benefits from the osmotic presence of Frank in his life and simply doesn’t understand the improbability of success. After six years of performances…ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA is an established entity having earned its own identity.   The show doesn’t try to recreate the original ZAPPA performances but plays to the standards which were originally set.

     Frank despised bands recreating their recorded performances live. He didn’t consider that music. He performed his music live – musicians playing off of each other – knowing the material of course but putting on a performance.

     I saw ZPZ on 12-12-12 at The Pageant in St. Louis. Behind The Pageant’s logo on the marquee are the words: JAZZ, BLUES, SWING, ROCK, COUNTRY and for the first time in a dozen years, that’s exactly what I saw.

     My first ZPZ concert...checked it off the ‘Bucket List’…at a time when I’m yearning to see good music performed well and eager to get into something new.   Of course I knew of Frank from the 70’s onward but small town stations didn’t play his music. In college, however, it was 'Zappa This' and 'Zappa That'.   I learned a little bit of ZAPPA music since guys I played with dug it but I was more into other things at the time.