From its manufacturing facility in a Valencia business park, Remo Inc. sends out to the world drumheads and percussion instruments of various sizes and shapes. Listening to founder Remo Belli talk, however, one learns there are benefits to drumming other than just for music making and that Remo Inc. cannot be tagged as just a manufacturer. Drums are now used in the workplace for team building exercises and the HealthRHYTHMS program promotes playing the instrument to relieve stress. Remo Inc. joined in on research with Los Angeles school students on the benefits of taking a swipe at a snare or tom tom. “They use what we make as a tool to accomplish another goal other than playing a musical instrument,” Belli said. Founded in the late 1950s, Remo Inc. has grown into a global powerhouse through the innovation and forward thinking of its founder. Belli is credited with introducing the synthetic drumhead as a replacement for animal skin drumheads. The company would later introduce kits designed for children and design drums based on those from around the globe. How different cultures approach drumming is a source of fascination for Belli, who, as the head of product development, works in an area curtained off from the rest of the manufacturing floor at the Valencia plant. Drumming is the pulse of music; it is what gets people tapping their toes, snapping their fingers, getting up to dance. “You take away rhythm from different cultures and you have heavy problems,” Belli said. Question: It’s written at the company website that your competition is always following the lead Remo Inc. sets. Is that still the case these days? Answer: More or less. We’ve managed to stay ahead of the curve and we’ve always been innovative in that respect. We have the good fortune to maintain that position. Q: How much more innovative can the company be with its drums? A: If you are talking about the physical drum there is no end to it. It is such an innovative instrument on its own. It’s not like the violin. The violin remains the shape of the violin. The drum is indescribable and there is a constant evolution of new shapes and they fit whatever purposes they are designed for. The drum and the whole relationship of percussion is sound. It’s integrated in all forms and all types of things. It is by far of all the instruments the widest range of them all. Q: What is your role in the company? A: My role has to do principally with product development and the other one is where we’d like to be five years from now. I am now 53 years in the manufacturing business and almost a total of 60 years in the music products business. And on top of that I am 72 years in music. I am fortunate I’ve lived through enough experience I am able to recognize where we as a company are going and perhaps we as part of the music products industry might be going. It’s in constant change. Q: Is the company in the place where you wanted it to be five years ago? A: When we moved to Valencia in 1996 and moved into this facility that has 217,000 square feet I at that time said it would take us less than 15 years to fill it up. And that has basically happened. Q: Does the company need more room? A: Yeah. We will eventually be looking for something else. We don’t know exactly where because we are such a global company and do so much work within the United States it might be of necessity for us to be located elsewhere in the United States in order to best service all things we are involved in. Q: Would you move out of California? A: We have every intention of keeping this here (in Valencia). This will remain our headquarters in that respect. Q: Can you tell more about HealthRHYTHYMS. Can drumming reduce stress and make you feel better? A: In a lot of instances we’ve found that in a lot of different personalities I guess I could answer yes. We have had the good fortune of being associated with a Dr. Barry Bittman, who is a neurologist that came up with research that he brought to us and we helped fund. That is specifically of music and activities that would be medically functional. I am happy to say we do enter into this and very much a part of the thinking in medicine that has to do with relieving stress issues that are the primary cause of a lot of illnesses. Title: Founder and CEO, Remo Inc Personal: Belli became a musician while still a teenager growing up in northern Indiana and came to Los Angeles after World War II. By taking Mylar film developed by DuPont, Belli created the first synthetic drumheads to replace those made with animal skins. Though he no longer plays professionally, Belli touches a drum every day he is at the manufacturing facility of his company where he heads up product development. Q: Why did you want to get into that area? A: It was not a difficult thing for me because my wife is a physician and I’ve been in medicine for years, especially innovative medicine, the complementary things that explore different methods of achieving some result without the use of drugs. It wasn’t hard for me because I was well aware of the potential. What was interesting and unknown at the time was there was a relationship. Dr. Bittman helped us establish that scientifically. It got measured. For years it was anecdotal, and now for the first time they had the means, the technology for establishing blood samples that weren’t considered before. Q: How does the drumming itself help reduce stress? A: It depends on the individual. There are some individuals that we’ve noticed at our center (in North Hollywood) that come very, very frequently because they say to us this is one of the few times they can hide, relax and enjoy themselves. It is something that anybody can do and it is immediately accessible. It’s unconditional. Q: You don’t need much musical ability then? A: You don’t need any. I think that is the interesting thing about it. A lot of people had discovered something that they had never thought they would be doing. At first it was a kooky idea. What the hell is a drum going to do; why am I doing this? Why do you play tennis? Why do you do these things? Those historically have been demonstrated that they can in some instances help move things along for you. This is something similar. This is another tennis game. It demonstrates that if your personality fits into this that you benefit by it. Q: Why is it important for the company to keep manufacturing in the U.S.? A: I have a plant in China. I have a plant in Taiwan. We are there principally for those markets. I cannot service those markets from Los Angeles. And there are other conditions worldwide that they cannot buy anything from Los Angeles. We, and I, feel absolutely responsible about maintaining jobs in the United States. That is one of the situations I think is most important of them all. When I look at the situation we have now it becomes more apparent now than ever. Q: How has your company done during the recession? A: Not too bad because we’re so diversified. If we were just in the entertainment business and looking at it from that point of view we probably would have had a down period. We’ve had a plateau period and then actually in some instances we’ve had single digit increases of 4, 5 percent here and there and which we’re kind of happy with. Q: When you first started the company, was it as a businessman or just an outgrowth of your interest and passion in drumming? A: An outgrowth. I am basically a musician, a drummer. I started out professionally at 16, at the time of World War II. I was in the service and I continued to play. My goal was to be a professional and that is why I came to Los Angeles. Q: You were catering to professional musicians when the company first started? A: Very much so. We knew them all. All of the early rock and roll, all of the Hollywood guys, all the New York guys. We knew them all. I was one of them. It wasn’t difficult for me. All it took for me was phone calls. Since I was one of the biggest customers to the drum companies our Hollywood store (Drum City) was one of the biggest drum sellers in the United States. Q: Gradually you opened up to other markets? A: I don’t think there is anything left that we don’t participate in. I believe we can service everything everywhere and I can define my customer potential as anyone alive. Q: What attracted you to playing the drums? A: My history is northern Indiana. At Italian club meetings and parties my uncle played in the polka band. For some reason I got attracted to the drums. I got more and more involved in it. My family had nothing to do with drums. My family was very good in that they allowed me to do what I felt what I wanted to do. I think my dad would have preferred I played the accordion. I started out as a drummer and I still am basically a drummer. Q: Do you still play drums on a regular basis? A: No, not at all. I play here when I develop. I think I literally touch a drum every day of some sort. I am more fascinated with the different cultures because the technique of playing some of the different instruments and what they do is fascinating, and how they have developed that amongst themselves over the years. What you do in India compared to what you do in Brazil compared to what you do in Tokyo compared to what you do here there are big, big differences.
Drum Beat in the Distance
