SHARING THE SHOWS
“Drumming is not a spectator sport.”
That was the claim put forth by Arthur Lopez, the facilitator of this drum circle. I’m not quite at the place where I’m ready to be in a crowd at a concert yet, but a distanced drum circle seems reasonable. Besides, why merely attend a performance when I can be a part of it? I hadn’t been to a drum circle in nearly twenty years since my time in New York, but when Maggie brought it up, I thought, drumming on the beach? Why the hell not? After a couple of hours at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens (a place I hadn’t been to at all during the time I lived in Newport News), Maggie and I parked near 68th Street and set up our gear on the beach. Soon after that, we met Reese, Bill, and Lodi and engaged in small talk. I helped Reese with her djembe and got to play it. “Bill the Beat Man” hooked me up with a drum, and as more people arrived, we got some drumming going, and I just got back into it. For a while, I was holding a beat with my right hand, but soon after, I experimented by adding a beat to it with my left. I started thinking of Tony Vacca, a percussionist who played at a festival in SUNY New Paltz when I was doing my Master’s, and I’m listening to “Tama Doctor” as I type. People-watching is my favorite thing to do during a time I wait for concerts to start, so I did just that and recorded a few observations:
When the drumming started, I began by looking at others for what to do, and then realized I just needed to hear and feel the rhythm, which was when I got comfortable. And the end of our comfort zone is when growth starts. I’m usually not a person who “yells” or “screams” when facilitators of these types of events tell us to do so, but I felt compelled. Arthur also went through the circle and called on people to solo. I typically hate being put on the spot, but after a few people just seemed to go with the flow, I felt comfortable. Of course, when it was my turn, I put everything I had into that solo, even though it felt like I was “on stage” forever. Some other cool observations included Maggie dancing with her tambourine/drum combo, a few people with maracas, and a young lady with a triangle. There was also the group of dancers that got in the middle of the circle, as well as a woman named Sara, who was celebrating her 21st birthday: pretty awesome way to celebrate. The circle capped with Arthur telling us to wish for something we want for ourselves or for a loved one and to drum around it. My last concert experience ended in a pretty horrible traffic accident, and since then, I’ve been tepid about driving (even though I drove from DC to Southeast Virginia, as well as to the circle). As I drummed, I came to the epiphany: one trip at a time. One mile at a time. One tenth-mile at a time. Seems pretty simple. Afterwards, I mentioned that I may have to find a drum circle in DC (of which I’m sure there are plenty). A woman who had just moved down from DC informed me of one in Malcolm X Park near Adams Morgan (a neighborhood I bike to regularly). Upon looking it up, I saw quite the vibrant, multicultural-looking scene, with crowds of people of different ethnicities playing their instruments. And it happens every Sunday at 3 p.m. (see a future blog post). After the circle, Dan, Sandy, and I went to Ynot, an Italian restaurant not far from the VA Beach waterfront, and I seriously could have devoured the entire menu, but I settled on chicken parm. We talked all kinds of interesting topics, like bad urban drivers, politics, and travel. As an introvert, when they said “Stay home” at the beginning of the pandemic, I responded, “What’s the catch?” And I’ve done quite well staying at home, but it’s been nice being able to catch up with old friends this trip and explore new things. And I’ll be looking to purchase a drum when I return to DC. Again, why just watch music when I can make it?
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April 2024
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