Incidental approval along our drumming journey can be refreshing and helpful. I used to visit the downtown Guitar Center occasionally when I had to drive a relative to some appointments in the city. The older black players downtown liked to chill in there to re-up strings and picks and sticks and hang a little. Heavy keys players too, and the occasional drummer or bass guitar cat.
While doing some medium shedding in the drum room one day, I received from this group, a “Yo! who you wit?!” (Like which city band do you play for) I had to admit that I was from the valley and didn’t play in the city. He said “well anyways that’s what’s up.” So that was cool.
Another time, during the lockdowns, I recorded a scratch drum track for a local hiphop/soul songwriter who needed some drums to flesh out a song he recorded with just acoustic guitar and vocals.
I spent some time working with the song and sent him back a mix with a thoughtfully composed, but not-too-precious V-drum track.
The first thing he said when he replied was “thank you this is helpful”. The second thing he said was “where did you go to school?” I replied something like “home school”. Lol actually I told him the kinda cool story about how I was working in a kitchen 10 years ago (at the time) when suddenly inspired by a random YouTube drum battle video. I went straight to the music store after work and the rest is history.
The last one is kind of funny actually. Equal parts boosting and quirky. I went into the Guitar Center close to my house, probably to get sticks.
There were a lot of electronic drum kits set up in the drum room. At the time I walked in, the two available acoustic kits were being occupied by an older Japanese couple who were visiting the store with their kids and grandkids. They were just sitting at the thrones and chatting in fairly heavy accents, admiring all the bronze around them.
I decided to sit at the deluxe V-drum kit that was set up directly behind the kits where the couple was sitting. I was thinking I would get in some quiet warmups licks and I wouldn't bother them, since they were seated facing away from me. I noticed that there was a big set of headphones plugged into the module. For some reason I didn’t assume that the drum module would also be plugged into an amplifier. At Guitar Center they keep stuff in various states, depending on how it was left, or if the drum clerk doesn’t want a lot of noise.
Anyway I donned the headphones and began doing a few warm up fills on the big V-kit.
My headphones prevented me from hearing that the big amplifier next to me was indeed on, and also plugged into the kit I was playing.
The drum department was basically empty. Apart from myself, the couple, and maybe a clerk and another browsing customer. Apparently the couple sitting in front of me had been there awhile and did not expect to see or hear any “real drummers” while they were visiting Guitar Center that day. They had been sitting quietly and chatting up to the moment I came in.
So when they heard the big speaker next to them suddenly spring to life with some bubbly fusion licks, the change over their demeanor was priceless. They both froze, turned, looked at eachother simultaneously, mouthed something to eachother, then turned in unison to look at me. The swiftness with which their attention went from conversation to “watching drum show” was remarkable. I almost laughed at that moment. Feeling like I must be experiencing on a much smaller scale what Weckl felt like on his Japan tours way back in the day. Minus the fanny pack.
It seems like Japanese audiences have always been very appreciative and not cynical about enjoying drum set playing. The quirkiness of the scenario aside, I definitely felt like these two folks were happy to be unironically drum-dazzled for a moment. A treat for them on their visit to a West Coast music store.