Percussion mecca The Drum Pad to close after 30 years

About 30 years ago, Jim Streich cashed in a $2,000 life insurance policy to open The Drum Pad, a downtown Palatine store that has since served countless musicians nationwide.

The store, which sells drums and other percussion instruments and provides lessons, was the epicenter of celebrity drummers, including Sheila E. from Santana, Anton Fig of The Late Show with David Letterman, Steve Gadd with the Paul Simon band, Steve Smith of Journey and others holding workshops and sometimes performing.

Now, Streich plans to retire and has been running a clearance sale since August at the store at 48 W. Palatine Road. It will close by Oct. 31.

"A lot of the older students and their families have been returning and saying they bought their gear here," said Streich, 64. "It has been wonderful helping drummers solve their performance problems or get their right gear here."

Barrington resident Randy Meyers, a former drummer for Bob Seger, has been a customer at The Drum Pad for about 15 years. He's currently with other bands, including The Drysdales and Synod, and also performs during masses at St. Anne Catholic Church in Barrington.

"The store has always had a great selection of products and the service has been impeccable," Meyers said. "If you broke something or had a hard-to-find part, Jim (Streich) found it for you."

A Maywood native, Streich earned a bachelor's degree in music at the University of Iowa and worked at a local music store for about 11 years. He had hoped to one day buy that store, but it didn't work out. So he decided to open his own.

He cashed in a $2,000 life insurance policy, which was "all I had back then," he said. He rented a room at a house used by other businesses just a few blocks from downtown Palatine.

Eventually, he rented more space there as his business grew. He then sold his condo in Schaumburg to finance buying more merchandise and eventually moved the store to its current location.

"It was more visibility," he said about the move to downtown, "and I had built up enough credibility to help the business grow more."

While the store featured some of the best drum sets available at the time, he also brought in the best talent to help local musicians and students.

"You could become good friends with many of them," he said of the celebrity drummers. "They are all great drummers who love what they do."

But Streich, who was married and raising two daughters, continued to work long hours to manage the business. He didn't have time to do many other things. Then, after the Great Recession hit, he began working even more.

So about a year ago, he started to plan for his retirement, including the closure of the store. While he said he would consider selling the business, he's moving ahead with liquidating his merchandise.

After the store closes, he plans to live at another home he and his wife, Lynda, own in Galena. He hopes to work for a Galena-area vineyard and its store because of his interest in the wine industry.

"Music, and retail in general in recent years, has been difficult but it's been nice seeing a lot of my older students do well," he said.