Jeremy Octavius Esposito was born October 8th, 1972 and raised in Oxford Connecticut. By the age of two, Jeremy already showed great interest in music. His father's record and reel-to-reel collection exposed him to "classic rock". Jeremy's first record was "The Yes Album".
Jeremy played along to the music using wooden spoons and empty "9 Lives" cat food containers arranged in a drum set pattern. (Plastic Top up for a drum, Metal side up for a cymbal)
When Jeremy was 5 years old, his father upgraded his cat food can drum set to his first Remo practice pad and sticks. Jeremy kept time and beat to his favorite bands.
Jeremy's uncle, a musician and recording engineer, taught him his first drum beat on the studio drum set. Soon, Uncle Mike gifted Jeremy a four piece Remo practice pad set allowing Jeremy to advance skills by playing along to his increasing record collection which included such 70's rock and roll favorites as: Yes, Deep Purple and The J. Geils Band.
By age 8, while still rooted in rock, his interest in bands was becoming more progressive. He began to learn the beats and fills of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Rush, Brand X, Frank Zappa and many more.
In 1981, MTV entered his living room. Jeremy honed his skills by playing along with the music videos of everything that came in that wave.
During his high school years, Jeremy worked at an automotive restoration shop that restored and detailed vintage cars for museums and competitive auto shows. Here is where he learning the values of vintage appreciation, restoration skills, hard work and the standards of "high quality" (Perfection).
The cars ranged from following years and brands:
1930's - 40's: Cord, Packard, Pierce Arrow, Duisenberg, Cadillac, Lincoln and more.
1950's - 60's: Jaguar, Porsche, Ferrari, American Muscle Cars
During his high school years, Jeremy began to develop an appreciation for Jazz, which ultimately brought him to Boston and the Berklee College of Music. While attending Berklee, Jeremy landed his first professional gig playing 6 nights a week in the Boston and Cape Cod area. This allowed him to pay his way through college as a professional musician. Whether because of or in spite of such a schedule, Jeremy graduated Berklee College of Music in 1996.
Jeremy receiving his degree from Pat Matheny
Electronic Drum Pad Research & DevelopmentWhile in college, out of necessity, Jeremy invented and prototyped a set of electronic drum pads called "The Trig X-Q". Trig X-Q stands for "trigger extra quiet". The main objective was to create a set of electronic drum pads that would not disturb the 'apartment complex neighbors' when played.
During the R&D process, he resolved a few issues that plagued the current (1993) electronic drum pad on the market. (Such as cross talk, feel and sensitivity) The Trig X-Q electronic drum pad set prototype has stood the test of time and works/plays wonderfully to this day.
The "Trig X-Q" prototype set developed in 1993
Life after CollegeOnce Jeremy graduated, the Boston music scene started to wind down and gigs were becoming less available… He needed another income source. Most of the musicians he worked with were also software engineers... so he followed suit and became interested in software development, testing and support.
Since 1997, Jeremy has been working in the software engineering field. (Quality Assurance, Release Management and Support).
Jeremy currently works for Microsoft as a Senior Support Escalation Engineer in the SharePoint Online Search division. In addition to his support duties, he develops training courses that are used to train support engineers world-wide (global training readiness).
I caught the "Vintage Drum Bug" in 2011 when sharing the stage with my good friend and drummer extraordinaire, Thomas Arey. Thomas currently plays for The J. Geils Band, Peter Wolf and Ghosts of Jupiter.
The show was a double bill…"Sun Jones" (me on drums) and "Ghost of Jupiter" (Thomas on drums) at the Lucky Dog in Worcester MA.
For the gig, Thomas supplied a beautiful vintage drum kit consisting of a 1930's 14x28 Leedy bass drum, 1950's 9x13 and 16x16 WFL toms and an early Eames 8x14 snare drum. At the time, I had very little knowledge of vintage drums… let alone the details and history of the drums I was about to play.
In all the years of playing drums, I never experienced anything like it before. The drum set was larger than life… full, warm, powerful and INSPIRING! I NEED THIS!!! I WANT THIS!!! … and I don't even know what it is… but I experienced it… and that's all I needed to know. As soon I got home from the gig, I immediately went online looking for a large vintage bass drum and toms to recreate my own version of Thomas's drum set.
From there, "vintage drum malaria" (as Harry Cangany accurately diagnoses it) started to run its full course. Using the funds from the sale of my newer high-end drum set, I started to research, study and buy all things vintage drums. I quickly learned that most vintage drums need work. Whether it is repairing a lifting wrap seem, fixing a separated shell ply and/or de-rusting hardware… I was up for making these 'old souls' the best they can be without changing the historical integrity and value. The restoration skills I learned at the auto restoration shop really came in handy. The first kit I restored and detailed was a 1930's Walberg and Auge. It looks and plays beautifully.
Since the rebirth of W&A in April 2014, I've sold all my non-W&A drum to purchase more vintage and new W&A drums… and to fund the new W&A project.
Bring Back Walberg & Auge
One of the primary reasons for bring back W&A is to document the historical significance, musical instrument innovations and memoirs from the people that had a connection to Walberg and Auge. It is also a celebration of an 'American Treasure'.
As a vintage drum enthusiast (especially Walberg and Auge drums), one thing I noticed is that the "Walberg and Auge" name/brand has been fading away and becoming more unknown… even within the vintage drum community. I felt it would be a tragedy for the Walberg and Auge brand and its acknowledgment of drum set innovations to be lost in time. W&A made many contributions and improvements to the advent of the drum set and deserves the historical recognition as a key player in the advent of the drum set.
I asked myself… What can I do to preserve "Walberg and Auge"?
Answer: Lets act upon the following:
- Find out who owns Walberg and Auge. If the "Walberg and Auge" name is available and no longer registered as a business/corporation…. OBTAIN IT!
- If the "Walberg and Auge" website domain name is available… OBTAIN IT! (http://www.walbergandauge.com )
- Use social media, drum enthusiast forums and a website to share information and promote "Walberg and Auge" as an American drum icon and brand. (Create a buzz)
- Research, document and collect all things Walberg and Auge.
- Write/develop the "Walberg and Auge" book detailing the history and future of W&A. (300+ pages developed so far)
- Promote "Walberg and Auge" drums through artists interested in W&A history.
- Design and develop new "Walberg and Auge" drums that incorporate unique attributes of Walberg & Auge drums from yester-year.
I did the necessary research and acted swiftly to the opportunity of being able to purchase and register company name and trademarks.
Walberg and Auge Inc is now registered as a Non-Profit Corporation for historical and educational purposes.
Once the availability background check had cleared… I immediately purchased the "www.walbergandauge.com" domain name and began building and deploying the W&A website and Facebook page. This is the first time in history that Walberg and Auge name and brand is announced as a company in the world of 'social media'.
Within a week of registering Walberg and Auge, the website (http://www.walbergandauge.com ) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/walbergandauge ) gained strong interest and excitement. Folks that are aware of W&A are excited to what the future brings. Folks that were not aware of W&A are intrigued by the history and innovations of Walberg and Auge.
It is an incredible story that is part of our drumming heritage. It would be great to see the history of W&A passed down to present and future generations.
I welcome you to join us in revival of the most innovative and historical drum companies in the world… Walberg and Auge.
Thank you, Jeremy Esposito President and Director of Operations |
Walberg and Auge Inc.
A Historical Preservation Drum Company.
Our mission: To preserve the historical significance of America’s most innovative drum company
and to continue the tradition of building ‘Perfection’ drums.
See our website and Facebook page for more details:
http://www.walbergandauge.com
https://www.facebook.com/walbergandauge