There's a drum circle that happens about 11pm on Saturday night. Everyone is welcomed to drum, clap, sing, dance, shake shakers, ring bells and generally add to the magick. The circle usually goes until the wee hours or until the hotel staff can't take it any more. Crystal Coyote of "A Different Drum" is the organizing force behind this offering. You can pick him out pretty easily; he's the one sitting behind the huge drum on the middle of the stage playing the Mother Rhythm.
This past Pcon there were about 8 of us on the stage, djembe players, conga players, doumbek players, mother drummers and a good friend of mine brought a rack full of gongs - Yes! I said a rack full of gongs! There were another 20 or so drummers that sat in at one point or another throughout the evening and probably a hundred or so people dancing, writhing and generally getting downright funky with themselves.
We explored Middle Eastern riffs, Afro-Caribbean jams, and good ol' fashioned African-inspired beats. We went fast. We slowed it down. We went really fast. We got sexy. We got sweaty. We had a blast. We left it all on the stage.
What made this so special? Each of the drummers on stage took their turn in the spotlight. Each drummer had that sense of when to hang back and when to just take the lead and let it go. And for me, that is pure musical magic. Everyone doing their own thing, listening to each other, perfectly together.
Highlight for me? Crystal Coyote and I riffing off of each other. Him, impossibly matching each beat I pounded out on the Djembe. I bow to Him of the Lightening Hands!
Check out his site if you are in the market for an exceptional handmade frame drum. http://www.thedifferentdrum.net/
Drum often and with passion!
Gwion
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