Picking up from where I left off, we exited the cafe and began to make our way towards Dupont Circle, where a Drum Parade was scheduled for 2:00 pm, starting with a jam session before going mobile. However, it was taking us a long time to get there, and it was already after 2....
and we needed a bathroom break.
Fortunately, Karen knew another friend in DC, who kindly allowed us to stop in for a few minutes. I'm not sure Karen's friend was prepared for a scruffy, bedraggled, taiko-playing interloper (that would be me, dear reader) plus Greg & Karen, invading her refined home. However, our hostess and her guests graciously welcomed us and gave us a chance to take a nature break, warm up a little and refuel with some tasty comestibles. The break also gave us a chance to figure out where we could intercept and join the drum parade.
Refreshed and ready to rock'n'roll, we bade farewell to our cheerful hostess and set off armed with drums, cowbell, and bachi. Paused at an intersection, we could hear the sound of the drums approaching...and the parade soon came to a stop where we were waiting. This was the second of three jam sessions, and we quickly joined in. The parade was somewhat smaller than I expected (though the absence of the Batala Washington group hurt their numbers - more on the Batala group in my next post), but people were drumming enthusiastically.
I've got to mention this amazing apparatus....at first sight it looked like a bizarre Rube Goldberg contraption. I'm still not sure exactly how it was constructed; it seemed rather like a custom hybrid of wheelbarrow, bicycle and antenna. ( ! ) Truly, though, it was a clever construct, one that Mickey Hart (long-serving drummer for The Grateful Dead) would be proud of: hanging off of it, mainly on the sides and in the rear, were a variety of tom-toms & other drums plus a few percussion odds'n'ends. 3 or 4 different people played these various drum surfaces, while perhaps 16-18 others were banging on a diverse mix of drumming surfaces & percussion. One person even seemed to be playing a small saucepan with a drumstick!
It was during this jam that the bachi I was using for the cowbell - already frayed from aggressive use - began to not only fray further, but literally disintegrate. My gloves and forearms were getting showered with splintering bachi bits; thinking back, it's a small wonder that I didn't suffer any eye damage - any of these could easily have ricocheted towards my face! I gave up on the cowbell at that point and played Karen's uchiwa instead.
Our fellow drummers were mostly enthusiastic, and it was an enjoyable parade to be part of. Though I have to admit that the behavior & general disposition of a few of the random people who were drumming along suggested theirs might've been a chemically-aided form of merry-making ...
By the time we finished with the 3rd & final jam near the African-American Civil War Memorial, we were really tired & cold again. The lead players of the group were most appreciative of our contributions to the parade & jam sessions; we were just happy to be drumming, and it was a lot of fun to be part of. By now further disheveled, we stopped at an Ethiopian Restaurant for a dinner of delicious beef, lamb, veggies & spicy sauces, all scooped up in that spongy sort of bread. A nice conclusion to a truly momentous day in American History - and We Were There!!
and we needed a bathroom break.
Fortunately, Karen knew another friend in DC, who kindly allowed us to stop in for a few minutes. I'm not sure Karen's friend was prepared for a scruffy, bedraggled, taiko-playing interloper (that would be me, dear reader) plus Greg & Karen, invading her refined home. However, our hostess and her guests graciously welcomed us and gave us a chance to take a nature break, warm up a little and refuel with some tasty comestibles. The break also gave us a chance to figure out where we could intercept and join the drum parade.
Refreshed and ready to rock'n'roll, we bade farewell to our cheerful hostess and set off armed with drums, cowbell, and bachi. Paused at an intersection, we could hear the sound of the drums approaching...and the parade soon came to a stop where we were waiting. This was the second of three jam sessions, and we quickly joined in. The parade was somewhat smaller than I expected (though the absence of the Batala Washington group hurt their numbers - more on the Batala group in my next post), but people were drumming enthusiastically.
I've got to mention this amazing apparatus....at first sight it looked like a bizarre Rube Goldberg contraption. I'm still not sure exactly how it was constructed; it seemed rather like a custom hybrid of wheelbarrow, bicycle and antenna. ( ! ) Truly, though, it was a clever construct, one that Mickey Hart (long-serving drummer for The Grateful Dead) would be proud of: hanging off of it, mainly on the sides and in the rear, were a variety of tom-toms & other drums plus a few percussion odds'n'ends. 3 or 4 different people played these various drum surfaces, while perhaps 16-18 others were banging on a diverse mix of drumming surfaces & percussion. One person even seemed to be playing a small saucepan with a drumstick!
It was during this jam that the bachi I was using for the cowbell - already frayed from aggressive use - began to not only fray further, but literally disintegrate. My gloves and forearms were getting showered with splintering bachi bits; thinking back, it's a small wonder that I didn't suffer any eye damage - any of these could easily have ricocheted towards my face! I gave up on the cowbell at that point and played Karen's uchiwa instead.
Our fellow drummers were mostly enthusiastic, and it was an enjoyable parade to be part of. Though I have to admit that the behavior & general disposition of a few of the random people who were drumming along suggested theirs might've been a chemically-aided form of merry-making ...
By the time we finished with the 3rd & final jam near the African-American Civil War Memorial, we were really tired & cold again. The lead players of the group were most appreciative of our contributions to the parade & jam sessions; we were just happy to be drumming, and it was a lot of fun to be part of. By now further disheveled, we stopped at an Ethiopian Restaurant for a dinner of delicious beef, lamb, veggies & spicy sauces, all scooped up in that spongy sort of bread. A nice conclusion to a truly momentous day in American History - and We Were There!!
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