Article: Meet drumstick pioneer Joe Calato: the inventor of the nylon-tipped drumstick reflects on a changing industry.(Accessories)

Joe Calato, one of the percussion industry's venerable elder statesman, turned 83 in March 2004.

Despite having earned considerable laurels over the years, the inventor of the nylon-tipped stick is hardly resting on them. Last year he unveiled a small but remarkable innovation that helped rejuvenate J.D. Calato Mfg. Co. Inc. and simultaneously gave drummers a good reason to doubt long-held preconceptions about their drumstick preferences. Thanks in large part to Joe Calato, at the company he launched in the '60s, the pioneering beat goes on.

A drummer like his father, Niagara Falls, New York, native Joe Calato took up the instrument at eight. By age 13 ...

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