John’s guest is independent, master cymbal maker, Paul Francis. John and Paul discuss their long history and share stories of their time working together at Zildjian, including remembering their friend and mentor, the great Armand Zildjian. Paul talks about his early years of developing cymbal ideas with legendary drummers like Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Jeff Hamilton and Adam Nussbaum, and honing his skills into becoming a highly respected, master cymbal maker and head of Research & Design at Zildjian where he worked for 32 years. Paul has since launched his own boutique cymbal company, “Cymbal Craftsman” hand crafted cymbals, available at independent US drum shops such as Steve Maxwell’s in Chicago, Drum Center of Portsmouth, Memphis Drum, Columbus Pro Percussion, Good Hands in NYC and Round Sound in Oakland. He offers a variety of services, from custom/hand made cymbals, to modifying and reworking existing cymbals. He will be exhibiting at the upcoming Chicago Drum Show May 20 & 21, 2023 and other drum shows this year. Paul can be reached at: paul@cymbalcraftsman.com and follow him on Instagram: @cymbalcraftsman.https://linktr.ee/live_from_my_drum_roomwww.youtube.com/c/JohnDeChristopherLiveFromMyDrumRoom