A different drummer

by Sean McCarthy

Mechanics know cars, chefs know food, and jewelers know diamonds. Nick Angelini knows drums.

In addition to recording numerous albums and touring the world with the punk rock band A Wilhelm Scream, this New Bedford native has taken his passion for percussion to a new level – designing, crafting, and marketing his own line of custom drums, a pursuit that is gaining him a growing clientele of respected drummers throughout the music industry. From his workshop in the north end of New Bedford, Angelini’s Wail City drum company is prospering thanks to a unique quality product and customer service that separates him from many of the more high-profile competitors. But to those around him, Angelini’s success is not a total surprise. “Nick’s a grinder – he’s devoted to whatever he does,” says guitarist Trevor Reilly, a bandmate of Angelini’s for 22 years in A Wilhelm Scream. “He doesn’t quit. He’s got his family’s work ethic and it shows in everything he does.” And what he does is earning him an international reputation. Music fans around the world buy his albums and

attend his concerts, and drummers around the world play his hand-crafted creations. What began with a group of adolescent friends struggling to learn their instruments in a New Bedford garage is today on the cusp of what he refers to as “the dream” – a life devoted to making and playing drums. By holding true to his ambitions, Angelini has found himself respected, rewarded, and admired by friends and peers. When he’s not driving a beer delivery truck around the South Coast he can be found on stage, in the recording studio, or in his workshop, content but inspired. “Every drum Nick makes is different, because every drummer who orders one wants something different,” says New Bedford drummer Tom O’Leary.

“They’re made of different wood, and come in different sizes with different finishes. Whatever you’re getting is a one-off item that no one else has. He listens to his customers and takes the time to build it for you. “There’s a big difference between Nick and most other companies. He takes the time to make sure every drum comes out perfect. Most drum companies won’t do repairs for you after the warranty has expired, but Nick backs up everything he produces.”

Angelini’s creations are evidence that all drums are not created equal. Many drummers will admit that the first time they played a Wail City drum was the last time they played anything else, and that the sounds that Angelini’s drums provide are comparable or better than any top-of-the-line brands that have greater notoriety. “As a professional drummer I want the

best and Nick’s drums are as good or better than anything on the market,” says Roger Chouinard of Wareham, owner of Purchase Street Records in downtown New Bedford and a drummer with bands that have shared bills with A Wilhelm Scream over the last 15 years. “I like that I own drums made by a friend and a guy whose records I’ve sold.” The major factor in the uniqueness of Wail City drums is that Angelini uses a stave shell design rather than the more popular approach of ply shells. Stave shells are vertical pieces of wood glued together rather than multiple layers of wrapped sheets of wood. The stave approach produces a thicker shell which affects the sound of the drum. “Stave shells are more like a whiskey barrel and ply shells are more like a skateboard,” Angelini explains. Angelini’s drum creations began in 2009 with scrap wood from his father and hardware from an old snare drum. Again, his work ethic would come into play. “It took almost three years before I was able to consistently make a shell that was a success,” he says. “There was a lot of trial and error and perseverance. Most of them were pretty terrible at the beginning. Making a circle out of segments of wood is very difficult because if you’re off on your angle by a fraction of a degree all the glue joints will be messed up and you’ll have gaps everywhere. It’ll affect the size and performance of the drum.” Angelini says that each snare drum consists of approximately 30 segments of wood. And while a majority of his sales are snare drums he also manufactures toms and kick drums. He has sold three full kits. And as if his product wasn’t unique

enough, he recently produced a line of drums particularly special to players from the South Coast: three snare drums built of wood from the legendary Lincoln Park roller coaster in Dartmouth, adorned with painted designs by Brian Chainay of New Bedford. “I discovered Nick and A Wilhelm Scream when I was 13,” O’Leary says. “They were just starting to go national. My friends and I were excited that a band from New Bedford was touring and playing with all of these other punk bands that we loved. There was a sense of pride in what they were doing. When I got wind that he was making his own drums at Wail City I thought it was so cool that I could own drums made by one of my favorite drummers. I’ve heard him play his own full drum kit at concerts – it sounds incredible and looks cool.” In 2019 O’Leary wrote a story about Angelini and Wail City for the nationally distributed magazine, Drum Head. Ron Poitras became a Wail City client after the first time he heard Angelini perform – a 2015 concert with the punk cover band Really Bad Religion at Wings Court in downtown New Bedford. The owner and engineer at Feedback Studio in Freetown, Poitras currently owns two Wail City snare drums and uses them with every drummer he records. “The first time I heard a Wail City drum I was in love with the sound of it,” Poitras says. “When drummers come into my studio they usually bring their own brand-name snare, but I’ll say to them ‘I’ve got this drum I want you to give a try’ and they’ll want to use it without any debate. I’ve used it on every project I’ve done for the last six years.”

Angelini first took to the drums at the age of 16, playing “dirty punk rock songs” in the garage of a friend’s home with the band Billy Ruffian. “I always wanted to be in a band, travelling and playing in front of people,” Angelini says. “When I started playing with my friends I didn’t feel like I was very good, but I enjoyed doing it and stuck with it. My first band kinda fell apart, but when Trevor and Jon [Teves] said they were interested in having me join their band I was super excited – I always looked up to those guys, they were way more pro than we were.” And Angelini would soon realize his globe-trotting goal. Originally known as Smackin’ Isaiah, A Wilhelm Scream has released five albums and done multiple tours of the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan. “Playing with A Wilhelm Scream has been a positive for Wail City,” Angelini says. “All my first customers were fans of the band, guys I met on tour, friends I’ve met along the way from around the world.” The first drum Angelini ever sold was to a drummer from Italy he met during a tour of Europe. Today the Wail City website boasts a roster that includes internationally-known drummers, some of whom Angelini idolized on his way up. “When I was going to New Bedford High School I liked my shop classes,” Angelini says. “I’ve always enjoyed building things and creating stuff. After I graduated I had an interview with the Acushnet Tool Company, but I blew it off because I wanted to be a punk rock drummer.” And while fellow drummers hold his product in high regard, his approach as the backbone of A Wilhelm Scream is notorious. “Nick is like thunder onstage,” says Joe “The Animal” C, a New Bedford native who has been playing some of Angelini’s drums for almost a decade. “He’s known as a hard-working drummer. When he’s rehearsing for a studio session he’s the most motivated person I’ve ever seen. He slaves over his drum performance.” “Every successful company, whether it’s Marshall amps or Fender guitars, started with a devoted artist crafting something they love,” Reilly says. “Wail City is no different.” “I’ll take on any project,” Angelini says. “Even if I don’t know how to make it.