I recently had the opportunity to go to New York City with my good friend and associate, Steve Cioppa, ( percussionist /Cubistic Jack) to check out the Sam Ash Drum Exposition at tne Manhattan Center in NYC. It was quite a day as there were many notable drummers and percussionists there scheduled to perform and also some there just to browse.   It was a pleasure to have been able to talk to such talents as Carl Perazzo and Raul Rekow from Santana,  Bashiri Johnson from Whitney Houstons band,  Giovanni Hidalgo, and Tommy Igoe, and to learn that these guys who have been on Grammy  Award winning albums and have played with world class musicians are so down to earth and friendly. We were even able to get some pictures taken with a few. There was really just one notable that was rather disappointing who shall remain nameless ( Will Calhoun ). His arrogant reputation which had preceeded him was proven when he refused a photo   because he "wasn't in that vibe at the time and maybe he would be later".   Mind you, this is a guy I went to school with at Berklee and used to talk to in the halls and he even said he remembered me. Oh well......to each his own I guess. To stay positive about the situation I use it as a learning experience. Don't ever forget where you came from!!! Anyway,  here are the pics I took at the expo.!!