Drummer struggles to secure unclaimed percussion-related e-mail address

Drummer Eddie Regnier attempts to register yet another percussion-related e-mail address.

"I was really excited about finally getting a computer and getting on the Internet, but I've been having a hell of a time finding a cool-sounding e-mail [address] that hasn't been taken," said Regnier, who plays drums for the local original rock band E For Everyone. "I thought it would be as easy as getting my DRUMMAN personalized license plate. Boy, was I wrong."

Regnier's struggle to secure an online identity properly reflective of his music-oriented lifestyle began Wednesday morning when the 21-year-old purchased a Dell desktop computer using money earned from his delivery job at a Coit Avenue Pizza Hut. After establishing a basic dial-up Internet connection through Earthlink, Regnier anxiously logged on and attempted to register an e-mail account with Yahoo.com using 'drumman' as the address.

Regnier soon realized, however, that he was not the first drummer to seek a percussion-related e-mail address.

"Some jerk already had drumman@yahoo.com," Regnier said. "I guess I should have expected that, what with only about a million drummers out there in the world."

Determined to obtain an account with Yahoo.com - a search engine site recommended by Regnier's bandmates for its fast, free and easy to operate e-mail system - Regnier spent the next hour attempting to register multiple variations of his 'drumman' alias.

"I tried drum_man@yahoo.com, drum.man@yahoo, thedrumman@yahoo and a bunch of others - they were all taken," said Regnier. "Yahoo said to maybe try adding a number at the end, like drumman7@yahoo.com, but I thought that kind of thing might mislead people into thinking that number represents the number of pieces in my [drum] kit."

Added Regnier: "It's actually nine, by the way. I play a nine-piece set of Tamas."

Reluctant to further modify the address in order to distinguish it from other Yahoo.com users, Regnier instead decided to try registering 'drumman' with an alternate server.

"I tried [registering 'drumman' with] Hotmail, MSN, AOL, Excite, Onebox and a couple of others. No luck," said Regnier. "At that point I realized I was probably going to have to come up with a different handle, something not as obvious as 'drumman.' Something nobody else would think of."

After taking a short break to have dinner with his parents, Regnier returned to Yahoo.com and attempted to register a series of percussion-related e-mail addresses: bongoboy@yahoo, drumz@yahoo, stickguy@yahoo, doublekick@yahoo, beatkeeper@yahoo, skinmaster@yahoo, cymbalking@yahoo, kitman@yahoo, tomtom@yahoo, fourcount@yahoo and highhat@yahoo, among others.

"Every goddamned name I could think of was already taken," said Regnier. "Even the stupid ones are taken. It's like every drummer in the world has already gone through this process. It's very frustrating."

Regnier said his search for a suitable drumming-related e-mail address will continue Thursday afternoon, immediately following his band's rehearsal.

July 2002