Yep, pretty much what you said! : ) I, too, had some fun times jamming with Nevik (and Carmine, too). Had a blast rockin the riq (actually, a Cooperman Hajira, but whatev) at Vlad's one amazing evening about mid-war (Casey and I were riq-a-licious!!). You can head-bang, jump, and dance while playing a riq!!! Wooo-hooo! Most of my drumming fun happened during the first half of war. After that it got a little loud and crazy. I always enjoy playing at the Casa...it's nice to be able to hear melody with a few talented percussionists having fun with it.

Yep, I agree...Donovan is a cool cat. Is he on here? If not, he needs to be.

Yeah I had the pleasure of meeting Donovan at Hedgehog at the first Wed party followed by later on at Vlads the same evening. Im sure you were there too, but I don't know your face.

Also agreed on the thunderdrumming. I brought a small djembe out with me, could barely even hear my own sound over the big drums.

Had a blast at the drum circle at Ravenspittle when the firedancer was performing on the bridge. Also enjoyed myself at Bardicchi's (sp?) Sunday night after sinking into the ground at Springwood/Pandora's Box party. By Monday I was burnt out on drumming and mostly hung out at parties or did my bardic thing.

Playing mideastern melodies at the Lost Boys last Saturday party was fun too until the combination of rain and bagpipes told me to call it a night =)

merh. I got a Davul/Tupan this year, and I liked trying to just keep the base beat. I generally don't go crazy soloing or anything so it's kinda nice to be a little more influential then one of the 30 dumbek's in the circle. Just keeping the beat while you have people like nevik and sam going crazy on top of the beat is fun, especially since it's easy to get lost with all their strange rythems and such, so it's a challenge.
Granted though, sometimes when several of us got together, it was kinda really fun to rock out on them. We tried to give over and not play any more then 2 or 3 songs becasue other's deserve a chance to rock too, but you know it's fun to let loose and rock out sometimes too. Rogues was strangely messy., I personally was having an off night and lent my davul to sam to let him rock out. Funny enough I knew more people who had issues with the slaps and pops of some dumbek's and less problems with the low sounds of the davul.

p.s. If you hear the pennsic hip hop beat somewhere in the distance you can find leonardo.

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Notes from Pennsic XXXVIItopic posted Tue, August 12, 2008 - 12:38 PM by Jacques

Overall this was one of the more memorable Pennsics drumming-wise for me.

I brought my friend and mentor Simon Jaeger this year. He hadnt been to Pennsic since XXVII. He found it to be a life changing experience (again). We rocked every night the entire first week at Vlad's.

Donovan made his second trip to Pennsic. I can't say how much I man-love this guy. Zany, whacky, and an awesome musician, he made playing and just hanging out each night a treasure.

Nevik, playing with you at the Hoity Toidy was the high point for me. You are such an incredible drummer, and getting to ride shotgun on your riffs made me feel very good about my own progress as a drummer. Our drums were perfectly in tune and sounded fantastic... and I barely screwed up! That's a memory that figure prominently with me the rest of the year.





Leonardo, you seriously need to get your act together. I have dubbed you 'The Drum Circle Assassin". You come into the cirlcle, you get the beat and rhythyms fine, but then you crescendo and accelerando until the entire circle crashes.. Repeatedly!!! I literally almost left the Rogues party due to your behavior, several dancers and drummers did. I believe you can do much better, you just need to learn some discipline and self control. Also, please do not pick up and play a drum without asking its' owner, that's common courtesy in these parts.


Ouch, this sounds serious

I had a good time drumming this pennsic... although I think I danced more than I drummed this year.

Whoever that guy is with the short dreads who plays the djembe and was at the house three skulls party was a lot of fun to play along with. It was nice just to have a loose jam going without worrying about which assorted named pattern was being used and at the same time more variety than your standard 4/4 beats.

I agree about the obnoxious use of the Davul/tupan. They can be such cool useful drums when used well, but I was about ready to kill someone when they kept tripping up the beat while the fire spinners were going. If there is ever a time to keep a steady beat, it would be when there is someone with flying fire counting on that beat being there.

"Nevik, playing with you at the Hoity Toidy was the high point for me. You are such an incredible drummer, and getting to ride shotgun on your riffs made me feel very good about my own progress as a drummer. Our drums were perfectly in tune and sounded fantastic... and I barely screwed up! That's a memory that figure prominently with me the rest of the year."

Huzzah!

This was my first Pennsic and what an experience. Between Vlad's, Nevik's classes, Ocean and the really great guys he hangs with, drumming after the Middle Eastern Curia and playing with Dave again, drumming with Ishtar at the Moose Lodge Hafla and outside the Inner Vagabond, as well as singing(harmonizing) with August and learning from the Gypsies, being pushed to my limits and beyond by Wolgamut, as well as sitting in with Barducci's pick up band featuring the band Nevik is in, which escapes me right now. The few parties that I was able to get into by matching the beat inside at the door and bringing dancers with me.

It almost made me feel like a bonifide drummer, but I've got a lot of work in the woodshed to do before someone can call me that.

The best part was echoing the beat coming from the other side of the lake during the Viking memorial send off. That rocked.

Thanks to all that made this event one of the highlights of my life. Here's to next year and even more limits pushed and more musicianship.

Now back to the woodshed...

I can't begin to explain how much fun I have had in the lands called Pennsic far down the hill in the fading moonlight. To the people I met and the people that briefly met me I say thanks! Thanks for the awe-inspiring time that will fuel my musical soul for the year to come and ensure it’s arrival on the Serengeti once more.

I truly enjoyed each circle I sat with save one which is an amazing feat. I learned so many things from both the fantastic and the aspiring (never think a new drummer can’t teach you something new ;)

My days twelve went by in a blur; waking up at 10am, teaching at noon, and then working in the drum shop Marrakech until 9pm. Countless trips to the Chinese food shop on the corner to feed the evviiil overlord of that perilous tent;) Days spent pushing great sounding and carefully tuned drums. I find it is in my best interest to make sure all around me play great sounding instruments! Afternoons spent catering to those in front of the fans mashing out rhythms and watching over those unattended and often parched and wayward drummers in drummer day care. Then glorious darkness would take hold of the land and I could once again flee merchants row venturing down the hill with half the shop in tow! Finding my way through night after night of music, wonder, comradery and beauty. I lost myself more than once in many circles. Most were large but some small, most loud but many that were pleasantly quiet, some magnificent in their melodiousness and others in their hammering rhythm.

The best part was that most were attentive and listening to those around them, not just a perceived leader but ALL those around them, there is no other way for such large circles to sound the way they did. The majority of the circle be they wanging away, driving the bus, or going 120 in a 30 all seemed to have the whole in mind at least some of the time, and because of it there were some great jams where the drums got to speak in a melodious way, and those are the moments that I live for at events. Thanks everyone for all that self expression that led to some crazy rocking beats.

On Davuls/Tupans... I bought one this year too BAAWHAHHWAHAAAHAHAH…. excuse me…..however in the Outlands there are none to be had save at Estrella War and they are strapped to Nevik or perhaps Volgemoot down in merchants row. I finally got to jam on it for the first time this weekend and it was just me a small darbuka and a sitar, man it has so many voices and I could crank it from 1 all the way up to 11! Learned the left hand from Darbuka Dave and a cliff notes version of Nevik’s class and watching him jam with Teribus (cause I was prepping for midnight madness during his class, eviiilll I tell yaJ) . My wife sends her thanks, it was just what she wanted me to bring home, but I softened the blow with a sparkly skirts and gifties from the shop. Jeffery you make a great drum!

Jacques, thanks for the hospitality and the introductions to so many amazing people. I enjoyed drumming with you, Simon and Angus. I’ll gladly drive the bus for y’all anytime. Some of those jams will stay in my top 5 of all time list for quite awhile I suspect. It was truly a pleasure to meet and jam with Simon, thank you for dragging him along! Vlads is filled with some truly generous and pleasantly outrages people, drumming for Olivia and Maria during the Slave Auction is one of the many heights of war had at Vlad’s.

I look forward to next year as I concentrate on today until tomorrow becomes today, and so on……until the night I once again find myself in the radiance of Pennsic by the lake under the new moon with old friends.

Good Times……….

Safe Travels until then!

P.S. Come to Estrella War!

"Noticed that more people are *actually tuning* their drums.. yay x2!"

Tuned in what sense? Tuned equally around the head? Tuned to each other? Tuned to a certain scale? In the same key as the melody?

Pardon my ignorence, but I'm not sure what that means. Thanks.

Dave