It’s the trainhoPper!

by PC Muñoz

For the past 6 years or so, the centerpiece of my percussion rig has been a vintage Samsonite suitcase adorned with various objects. It’s by far the most attention-grabbing piece of gear I’ve ever had; people are constantly asking questions about it.

I call it the Trainhopper. All of the objects that are mounted on it (some pro drum gear, some “found” objects) also fit snugly inside of the suitcase for storage when the gig is over. Big sound, little footprint. The idea, I always say, is that in a pinch I can pack up the Samsonite, hop on or off some rollicking boxcar, and play with anybody at anytime.

Truthfully, I’ve never been crazy about standard rock or jazz drumsets. I was initially trained on a standard jazz kit, and I of course have willingly played tons of rock and jazz kits in studios and on stages. I’ve also owned a good number of standard kits over the years. It just took me years to realize that those sets don’t typically provide the sonic palette I prefer.

I started experimenting with customizing my own kits in the 90s. At that point, I would just buy unique individual drums and percussion devices (often from outside the Western tradition, with I suppose the subconscious goal of decolonizing the kit) and find ways to integrate them into a standard kit. I didn’t really go full rogue with my set up until I started putting together the first Trainhopper kit in 2014.

I had seen a bunch of folks using a suitcase as a kickdrum, but I wasn’t interested in that. I wanted something that offered an array of sounds that could distinctively cut through and add flavor to an ensemble situation without overpowering it.

I first tried out the Trainhopper while working on the Owl Country album with Dan Imhoff and Yvette Cornelia (David Grisman and Charlie Musselwhite are also on the album). We all thought it was a fun idea but the in-house kit at the studio where we did the basic tracking sounded very nice (and formerly belonged to Tommy Tutone’s drummer, apparently), so I just used that on the album. It was a little early for full deployment of the Trainhopper, but I didn’t let the concept go. I kept tinkering with different objects to mount on the kit. Eventually I landed on a combination of sounds that worked well: a small Chinese gu/tom, a cowbell, a Meinl “wood side” snare (originally meant for mounting on a cajón), a tin ashtray I found at Salvation Army which produced pleasing sustained tones, and a flattened-out splash cymbal. I used the strongest Velcro I could find in the hardware store to mount everything.

At first, I would bring along a cymbal stand, mount an extra splash or crash/ride on it and place it next to the Trainhopper. But during one tracking session, Studio Trilogy recording engineer Willie Samuels suggested I just mount whatever cymbal I wanted into the hole in the cowbell, and the kit would be completely self-contained. A crucial suggestion!

I started bringing the Trainhopper to recording and performing situations with my contemporary classical colleagues, like Joan Jeanrenaud, Van-Anh Vo, and Alex Kelly. They all loved the tasty but unobtrusive sounds the Trainhopper provides in the service of sensitive string instruments. I also started using it with Black Quarterback, a dub/jazz/electro side project featuring my friends Kevin Carnes and David Boyce (from Broun Fellinis) and Michael Cavaseno (from Bang Data). It’s most definitely a big part of the live RIGHTSTARTER sound. Versatility noted, I decided to make it a permanent part of my rig.

Now it’s pretty much the mainstay piece in my kit, along with the Trilok Gurtu kick-conga, which I finally acquired two years ago after years of hunting. I also put together a Trainhopper II kit as a second option; that kit now lives in Seattle with the producer/filmmaker Paper Son. And yes, I will build Trainhopper kits for people for a fee, though I really just recommend folks to dive in and do it themselves.

Below is a photo gallery plus a few links to hear/see the Trainhopper in action in various contexts....enjoy!

There’s this video of a live Black Quarterback set at the Ivy Room in Albany, CA; I’m on the Trainhopper the entire time and you can catch glimpses of it.

This special version of composer/cellist Joan Jeanrenaud’s “Vermont Rules”, recorded just for the choreographer KT Nelson’s “Dead Reckoning” project for the ODC Dance Company, features the Trainhopper.

My twang-funk song “Ain’t Love Grand” has Trainhopper all over it!

Though it’s not visible in the video, I played Trainhopper all over this track “Moving Train” by Blood Moon Orchestra, which was a RIGHTSTARTER project initially.

Lots of Trainhopper on this RIGHTSTARTER track, “Betrayed”, featuring Bryan Dyer.

I’m playing Trainhopper in this video with the criminally under-heralded acoustic pop-folk group Love, Isabel.