A DONEGAL man with a passion for drumming is breathing life back into old drum kits that have seen better days.
Marc Byrne from Killybegs, who goes by the nickname Mosey, has been playing the instrument since he was 16.
He started the company Mosey Drums after putting his mind to making his own snare drum and realised he had quite a talent for it.
Speaking to the Donegal News last week Mosey was getting ready to exhibit at the Galway Drum Show on Saturday where he unveiled a project he has been working on for awhile – the restoration of a Vintage 1962 Premier kit for drummer John Tierney.
As well as vintage restoration, Mosey creates customised drum kits for his clients along with drum repairs and refurbishment.
He is now based in Galway but he still has a strong Donegal connection as his parents are living in Killybegs and his partner Annie owns the business ‘The Awkward Artist’ in Donegal Town.
Explaining how it all started Mosey said: “I was in the market for a snare drum which are very expensive if you want them customised. I thought I could probably make these myself. I looked into building snare drums and I thought it is quite doable and I had a crack at it.”
Mosey started to post pictures of his work online which generated a lot of interest and the business took off from there.
With more than 7,000 followers on Instagram Mosey has recently turned his attention to TikTok where he gives his followers a behind the scenes look at his restoration work.
But at the end of the day the musician puts the success of the business down to word of mouth.
“Ireland is a small country and the drum community is really close,” he said.
He creates any size and design of kit whether the customer is looking for ‘purple sparkle’ or a more traditional look.
What is important to Mosey is that drum kits that may be in need of a little TLC don’t go to waste.
“I have travelled to Dublin to get kits that were going in the skip. I don’t like to see them going to waste,” he said.
“I try and have as many before and after photos as I can to show that not everything is ready for the bin.
“A lot of work goes into making drums, they may be rusted or worse for wear and people think they need new ones.”
High end quality drums are expensive and Mosey said so often it is cheaper to get them repaired and renovated. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” he said.
Not wanting to waste any materials Mosey repurposes excess material to make his own drum lights which he also showcased at the Galway Drum Show.
One of the most memorable projects he has worked on was restoring a 1960 Japanese drum kit that was owned by a member of the band Hudson Taylor.
Mosey was tasked with safely refurbishing the kit after it was sprayed black with paint.
Mosey said he has always been good with his hands and studied mechanical engineering at NUI Galway.
He has also had success in the music industry himself and has toured the west coast of America as well as playing across the Irish festival circuit.
Before the pandemic Mosey was in five bands covering many genres including punk, instrumental, folk and indie.
He has played in Galway bands New Pope, Rural Savage, It Was All A Bit Black & White, Cranky Face, The Depravations and River & Crows.
But like so many Covid-19 put a stop to the music for Mosey. He said this was tough to adapt to but he is now involved in a new band and they are in the writing phase.
“When you are playing music so often it becomes part of who you are. The pandemic was a massive takeaway from that routine,” he said.
If you want to follow Mosey’s work you can check him out on Instagram and Facebook- Mosey Drums and on TikTok @moseydrums
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