"Uncle" Tom Bowker has been a drummer for years and, in part, learned drums from Paul Deakin, drummer for the platinum selling band The Mavericks. Bowker says his fateful meeting with Blowfly happened "on the job."

"I met Blowfly while interviewing him for the Miami New Times in June, 2003. He remembered me from a show in Chicago where I had yelled a whole slew of requests at him," says Bowker. "My last question was-- "How come you haven't played Miami in 20 years?' He answered --'I don't have a band down there.' I answered--'Want one?' He said yes, so I picked up the sticks and dusted off the rust. Six months later, we played my bachelor party, and haven't looked back."

Blowfly (aka Clarene Reid) has been rapping before there was Rap and was doing parodies of pop songs that would make Redd Fox and Richard Pryor blush since Lyndon Johnson was President. Despite his serious side and his writing songs for artists such as K.C. and the Sunshine Band and Sam and Dave, Reid's dirty alter ego is more likely to jog the memory. He is still recording and performing and is based in Miami.

Gearwire spoke to Bowker about his drums.

Patrick Ogle: What kind of kit do you use? and Why?

I play a Yamaha 80s Birch Concert Series four-piece kit with a 24-inch kick, a 16 floor tom, and a 13 rack. My snare is a 2005 Yamaha Ian Pace signature 14 x 6. I bought the kit in 1994 off a promoting rival. His roomate sold the kit to me, and man was he pissed that he sold it for only $400! I love the boom the 24" kick brings and the rack is deep enough to make some thunder when I pound on it and the floor tom at the same time. Matt Cohen, who engineered our 2005 cd, Fahrenheit 69 bought the snare for me at guitar center in Hallandale, Florida and ordered the staff not to tell him who the signature snares were from, as he was only interested in the sound and didn't want to be discouraged by a drummer from a band he didn't like. As Ian Pace is Deep Purple's drummer -- it's safe to say he wouldn't have bought it if he knew. The snare is the perfect for what I do. It cuts through the PA perfectly and is sharp as a samurai sword.

Over the years what are some of the kits you have used and why did you move on?

The Yamaha is only the third acoustic kit I have owned. I played a 70s Ludwig standard kit in Smoke Dog (a previous band), which had lousy hardware - but was sufficient for what we did.

Is there a particular set up that works playing with Blowfly? Are there any particular things you, as a drummer, have to deal with?

I am the band leader, and as Blowfly is an older fellow, he will cut a verse here and there I need to be able to hear what he's doing at all times. In rock bands, you can follow the rhythm guitar, but that does not work here -- you have to know what Blowfly is doing -- because onstage - he's always right and I need to make sure the band follows me. I try to play with as much feel and as little frills as possible. If I don't have to do a fill -- I don't. And when I do play fills, they are basic and necessary to the song structure. Less is more with funk playing.

Do you use electronic drums at all? If so tell me about them.If not;why not?

I do own a Ddrum 4 kit that I bought in 1999. The brain is a lot of fun to play with, and if I had to practice in an apartment - I would play it. But I have a practice space, and it's kind of unnecessary.

Tell me about the rest of your gear. What cymbals do you use? Why?

My good cymbals were stolen when our van was broken into last year in Charlotte. So I lost my beloved Zildjian Earth Ride and bunch of Paistes. My current cymbals were bought in a pawn shop. I use an ancient pair of Paiste Colour Sound hi-hats, a Zildjian rock crash and a Vader 20 inch ride. In the studio I used top end Zildjian Z series cymbals, but cheap ones do the job on the road.

Any particular kind of sticks?

I prefer Zildjian 28 dipped sticks. You get a nice grip on them and they are balanced well.

Any tips for drummers--youngsters--looking to get into playing? What do they want to look for in their first kit?

Don't get anything bigger than a five-piece kit. You need to crawl before you can walk.