“Index Drums is a small workshop, and we’re filling needs for small niches of people, and we’re thrilled to death about it.” – so reads Index Drum’s Etsy page description that echoes the deadpan sarcasm and wit of the man behind it. Spending time with owner Paul King in his new garage workshop, I originally just wanted to take some pictures of the new setup and maybe spit out a blurb on a new product. As we dove into conversation, it became evident that Paul, and Index Drums, exemplifies modern entrepreneurship; and that his evolving business practices subvert expectations. Oh yeah, and he’s penpals with Fred Armisen so he’s got that going for him.
Starting in 2011, Index Drums has embodied the evolution of a hobby into a legitimate business, starting out at the Texas Avenue Makers Fair and on Etsy. Over the years Index Drums has improved the polished look of their modern-designed products and has received all of the obvious signs of success – a consignment arrangement at Anthropologie, placement in music stores in Shreveport and Portland, a growing roster of internationally touring artists using their products (more on that later), and as of October 2016 a review in Modern Drummer.
In reality, Paul and Index Drums have had a series of ups and downs. Realizing that traditional methods of advertising and spreading brand awareness don’t fit into the niche market they created, they have had to pivot to find success. Paul works evenings during the week: after tucking his young son into bed, he heads to the garage until midnight, usually with co-conspirator and Wall Chargers drummer, Dylan Hillman.
The review in Modern Drummer might have served as a validation of Paul’s efforts and a terrific endorsement – but did it result in increased sales? No. Instead, Paul has found that the best form of advertising is Instagram. “If I can get one of our products in the hands of a percussionist on Instagram with over 10,000 followers and they share a photo or video, the next day we’ll have four orders,” says Paul. It seems that due to the niche nature of the products he creates – shakers made from antique beer cans, wooden drum heads, electric singing saws, wooden stomp boxes, and closed high-hat-sounding HardHat creations – Index Drums has to connect directly with influencers in the percussion community. “Rather than create a studio or pay to record myself demoing our products, why not send it to someone who’s a way better drummer and is already set up to record videos and have them share it to tens of thousands of their followers?” explains Paul. This strategy seems to be working albeit in feast or famine fashion.
Another way that Paul connects with the percussion community? Sending his products directly to musicians that he admires. So begins the Iliad-ic story of how Shreveport’s own Index Drums are being played by some of your favorite musicians. I mean, if your favorite musicians are mix-tape staples of the early 2000s, that is.
Everything started with Davey Brozowski and Jeremiah Green, percussionists for Modest Mouse, punching “shaker” into the search bar on Etsy. The item that caught his eye was the Index IPA (Index Percussion Accessory) Shaker, an antique beer can that can be purchased after selecting the Flavor (“Hoppy” a louder sound, or “Smooth” a quieter, sandy sound) and Style (Soda or Beer). Davey carried the IPA on tour, including when they came through Shreveport in April. According to Paul, “If all that comes out of Index Drums is that I get to meet some of my favorite bands, I’m actually okay with that.”
That’s not all that became of that relationship. Davey and Jeremiah hooked Paul into a music store in Portland, Revival Drum Shop, leading to a short commission based deal. Niche products like Index Drums evidently don’t lend themselves well to sitting on store shelves, especially when they have to be shipped across the country. One customer at that Portland store who was impressed with this Index Drums brand was Portlandia star and current drummer and band leader for Late Night with Seth Meyers, Fred Armisen. “I got an email from Fred saying that he really loved Index Drums and soon received his order for a cajon snare,” recalls Paul. Soon after that, Paul got another email from Fred expressing that “he was looking for a specific product that he couldn’t find on the market.” The product that they ended up collaborating on is the HardHat, essentially a series of strips of metal affixed to a wood block with a semi-circle removed, providing a closed high-hat sound. Once Paul sent Fred the photos of the completed demo, Fred asked “How soon can you send that to me?” Paul overnighted the HardHat to Fred in New York and the HardHat was seen as a part of Fred’s kit the last episode of Late Night before Fred went on hiatus to shoot the next season of Portlandia.
Through advocates such as Davey, Jeremiah, and Fred, as well as Paul’s own ambitious emails and Instagram messages to his musical idols, even more artists have been using Index Drums. The current list includes Bon Iver, Dashboard Confessional, The Flaming Lips, Wilco, and the aforementioned Modest Mouse. That’s right. Percussion instruments made in Paul’s garage in Shreveport, Louisiana are used by these world traveling, award winning musicians who I’m sure play a large role in the lives of many Heliopolis readers.
What’s next for Paul and Index Drums? Well many of his frustrations with the current products are the creeping up of immitations, competing beer can shakers and wooden cajones, have made the aspect of patenting or fighting them seem impossible. The only solution is to continue to innovate. “We’re working on our next product that might be pretty revolutionary,” says Paul. “We’re planning on going big on this; patent, Kickstarter campaign, manufacturing help, eventual retail, the whole deal. It’s going to be a pretty complex deal, but maybe it’s what Index was born to do. I’m excited to see where it goes, or if it flops – the fun part is the nerves before the launch.” The week before I visited Paul he had a group of fellow engineers, percussion geeks, and woodworkers over to work on the mystery product.
Stay tuned to Index Drums (on Instagram of course) and support what comes next. Paul is putting handmade Shreveport products on the Gibraltar racks of world-touring rock stars. The least we can do is buy a koozie from him.