Presenting our very first video highlighting the manufacturing process for our California Series Congas and Bongos! This film shows the true art that goes into making these completely hand-crafted, state-of-the-art drums, detailing the steps from start to finish. Featuring our master craftsman Benjamin Von Keutz, with original music by Luisito Quintero & Alfonso Cayon, Gon Bops’ California Series are hand-crafted in Meductic, New Brunswick, Canada.
Click here for our video feature on YouTube:
Announcing the next episode from our podcast-the “Percussion Loft”, featuring Grammy winning drummer/percussionist Tony Braunagel! Check out this colorful, informative conversation, from his early days in Texas to his many award-winning recordings and his love for Gon Bops as a producer and player. Visit our Podcast page to hear the episode (Also available on both Apple and Spotify Podcasts)
We’re excited to announce the premiere of Episode #02, from our podcast the Percussion Loft! In this episode, we feature our flagship Signature artist, the one & only Alex Acuna! Check out this in-depth, lively conversation, as we span his amazing 40-plus year career, from his early days in Peru, to his move to the States working with Weather Report and his countless recordings. We also review his stellar list of Signature Gon Bops’ instruments. Also featuring selections from his solo recordings (details and playlist order in episode description).
Join us this Thursday for our next Live Broadcast conversation with Luisito Quintero, his son Anderson Quintero and their cousin, Roberto Quintero! The 2nd of 2 in our series entitled “Familia”, we’ll visit with the amazing Quintero music family and explore their vast reach across various genres. See you then! Thursday, November 19th at 11am, PST. Live on both Facebook and YouTube!
Join us this Thursday for our next Live Broadcast conversation with Walfredo de los Reyes Sr. and his son, Daniel de los Reyes! The 1st of 2 in our next series entitled “Familia”, we’ll dig into the amazing Reyes musical family and their incredible influence on the percussion world. See you then! Thursday, November 5th at 1pm, PST. Live on both Facebook and YouTube!
“Gon Bops Percussion Loft” – Gon Bops New Podcast is now LIVE!
Episode 01 features Jack Johnson’s drummer/percussionist Adam Topol. He shares his eclectic influences, his beginnings and his love for Cuban folkloric music. We review his choices of various Gon Bops instruments and hear selections from his various albums including Blue Painted Walls in Faraway Places, Ritmo Y Canto, Regardless of the Dark and his latest – Cuando.
Please join us if you can, this coming Thursday October 8th at 11am, PST for what will be a very fun, informative discussion with three masters of percussion recording – Alex Acuna, Brad Dutz and MB Gordy! This is the 2nd part in a 2 part series where we’re focusing on Film and TV percussion recording. If you missed last week’s show, you can find it archived on both our YouTube and Facebook pages, which featured discussion with Lenny Castro, Bernie Dresel and Walter Rodriguez. Check that show out if you missed it.
Hope to see you this Thursday!!
Our hearts go out to the family of Jamie Oldaker, who recently passed away at the age of 68. Jamie left an enduring mark in the world of music, spanning over 40 years of great contributions to the art of drumming. He collaborated with Eric Clapton on 11 albums, including the iconic Slowhand record and his groove from that one album has been studied and imitated countless times. One of the great pockets in Rock drumming, Jamie influenced so many great drummers whom we all love including Russ McKinnon and Jim Keltner…both also native sons of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
We at Gon Bops are honored to have known him, to have him as an endorsee and to call him our friend. We will miss him always.
The Gon Bops Family
We’re excited to feature these great new products for 2020. Starting with our new Asian Oak Alex Acuna 14” Djembe, this drum features a monster bass tone, great highs from the Remo Skydeep head and a sleek look with our Gon Bops Special Edition hardware.
Next, we’re proud to create 2 new tambourines, constructed with Asian Oak with master percussionist Lenny Castro! The Single-Row features warm articulate brass jingles, while the Double-Row uses bright and cutting stainless steel jingles. Both come with natural cowskin, providing great performance.
We’ve rounded our our new 2020 offerings with three useful accessories. Our new light-weight Djembe Stand packs up nicely to fit in any hardware trap case, while maintaining the strength needed for any style and multi-angled adjusting. Our new Hi-Hat Jingle Ring features a lightweight, cool vintage vibe, low profile to give the player that extra tambourine sound atop the hi-hat. Finally our new black, Cajon Seat Pad, provides a comfortable, non-slip seat with pockets for your sticks, mallets, brushes or smaller hand percussion…or even for your electronics/mobile devices.
Check out our new products today!
GON BOPS WELCOMES PERCUSSION ICON LENNY CASTRO TO ARTIST FAMILY
Gon Bops is extremely excited and proud to welcome the amazing Lenny Castro to our artist family! One of the world’s most in-demand percussionists, Lenny’s influence on percussion is legendary. For over 40 years, he has belonged to an elite list of musicians who have contributed, quite literally, to the soundtrack of our lives.
For Lenny, it’s all about the music and what’s best for the song. As a first-call artist, he’s known for his amazing ability to know exactly what to play on any track. As a result, it’s no surprise he’s recorded and/or performed with the biggest names in music, including The Rolling Stones, Elton John, U2, Toto, Boz Scaggs, Ricky Lee Jones, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake, Bette Midler, and The Mars Volta.
He can be heard on many of the best-selling albums and tracks of all time, like Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall, Toto’s Africa, Christopher Cross’ Ride Like the Wind and Randy Newman’s I Love LA, as well as many successful movie soundtracks like Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, The Fugitive, 9 to 5 and the new hit film The Lion King.
“I am very excited about this, I feel like I’m coming home to Gon Bops,” comments Castro. “These are the very first instruments I played when I began my career many years ago,”
Please join us in a very warm welcome to the newest member of the Gon Bops family!