Chicago Drum Information

Chicago Drum is a company built on the traditions of the old Slingerland® drum designs tempered with new technology and innovation. Attention to detail and a spirit of true percussion leads the way to the best drums that money can buy. Check them out today. Founder Jim Moritz explains the beginnings of Chicago Drum: "I have a rich family history with Slingerland drums. My great uncle, Oswald Kern, (photo below), worked for Slingerland and helped my father, Jack, get a job at Slingerland when he emigrated from Germany to the United States. Dad was with Slingerland for over 30 years. He was head of the woodshop there and he was with them up to the very end when they moved from the Niles, IL, plant to the Algonquin, IL, plant. Dad had European craftsmanship roots and taught me well. During Slingerland's heyday in the mid-1970s, I worked summers at the Niles plant while in high school and after school on the night shift. Talk about a sweet job for a high school kid who was a drummer! I attended a local high school where I was taught drums and participated in a percussion ensemble led by Slingerland endorser/clinician, Jake Jerger. You could say the love of drums was always there and the family history with Slingerland made it all that much better. With woodworking, cabinet making/finishing and machining backgrounds it was only natural to take the next step to form Chicago Drum. The company is made up of people like Garry Hane and Jack Moritz who have the knowledge, craftsmanship skills and the attention to detail that you won't easily find elsewhere. Chicago Drum is not a huge company in size but is quite large in detail, like our Slingerland badge grommets which we manufactured because no other suppliercarries a correct style grommet. These grommets truly are "dead on" reproductions of the old Slingerland parts and that's the kind of extra attention you'll get from us! Jim has the skills and foresight to create a company that not only up-holds the traditions of the old Slingerland drum line, but also leads the ...