Oct 21, 2016: We want to alert everyone to a Celebration of Life for our friend Johnny Craviotto. This event is open to all who would like to attend. The event will be held at the Kuumbwa Jazz Club in Santa Cruz, CA on Sunday Dec 4th. Zach Olsen, drum tech at Kuumbwa, is coordinating the event. Kuumbwa has graciosuly donated their venue for this day, and the event will be a true celebration of Johnny's life, comeplete with live music and also the opportunity for people to speak, and also to sit in and play. If you can attend, please RSVP to Zach Olsen at zolsen@hotmail.com and also let him know if you would be interested in speaking or sitting in. I look forward to seeing many of Johnny's friends at this event. As an FYI, here is the website for Kuumbwa: HERE. 

Steve

July 16th, 2016:

It is with great sadness that I have to announce that my dear friend Johnny Craviotto passed away on July 15th, 2016.

Johnny was, and always will be, the world’s finest drum craftsman. No one had his knowledge, his skill, and his passion for his craft. He created instruments of incredible sonic and visual beauty, and those instruments have graced stages, recording studios, and collections worldwide. His contribution to the world of drum building has been without equal. We are truly fortunate that as the heart and soul of the Craviotto Drum Company it was vitally important to Johnny to pass along his skills, honed over a lifetime, and his innovations in the art and craft of drum building to his trusted colleagues and protégés at Craviotto, so that the "Craviotto-way" could carry on for the next generation. This living art is his legacy.

Johnny and I had been friends for over 15 years, and I can’t even contemplate the world without him. I became very accustomed to him being there at the helm of the finest custom drum building company in the world. I was always amazed by his friendliness, knowledge, and willingness to share information and ideas. As the years progressed I worked with him as a business partner as well, so that he could focus more of his time on what he loved most about this work: building the world’s best drums. He was a very dear friend to me and to many others and we will all miss him terribly.

Johnny was one of a kind, and we’ll never see the likes of him again. But, what I can promise you is this: We will persevere and continue creating the wonderful instruments that Johnny loved. We will carry his vision forward and we will preserve and grow the legacy that he created. We should all celebrate his life and his legacy.

Steve Maxwell and the Craviotto Drum Family.