The Shuswap Rhythm Section: Eyewitness At The Red Barn

Being well aware of his terrible rhythm, Legs reluctantly attended the Eagle Valley Arts Council’s drum circle last night at the Red Barn. We tried to get him to go to the last one in September, but he weaseled out with the oldest excuse in the office: “It starts past my bedtime.” This time around, we refused to accept that as an answer. With 20 minutes to spare, we awoke him from his office chair, made him chug a Red Bull, and put him into the driver’s seat of the “news truck.” “Go get the scoop,” we demanded.

The Sounds Of Silence

On arrival, Legs noted not the sounds of drumming, but the sounds of silence. He immediately thought of the Fellowship: “We cannot get out. The end comes, and then drums, drums in the deep.” He thought how perfect it would have been to hear a single drum vibrate through his head at that exact moment of his approach through the parking lot.

He felt fortunate that upon entry, he was instantly greeted by the organizer of the event, giving him an opportunity to find out about the history of the Sicamous Community Drum Circle. The event was originally organized by a couple from, of all places, Drumheller. Oh, the irony. They had supplied all the initial instruments. Like frustrated children, when they left the community, they also announced, “were taking our drums with us” (not an actual quote, but it just would have been pretty funny if they said that, Legs didn’t ask why they left town. It didn’t feel like it was any of our business).

The fate of the Sicamous community drum circle was left in limbo when all the instruments returned to what sounds like the original place of origin for all drums. Or is Drumheller just where drums go when they’ve been bad? Either way, along came our current organizer. Wheeling and dealing with the Eagle Valley Arts Council, they were able to acquire a wide variety of drums that appear to be now permanently kept at the Red Barn for community use.

The Thrift Store Procurement

Legs had this to say about the current drum selection: “Yeah, so there were some smaller ones, and then some that were bigger. Some had BBs inside, and you could give them a shake. I had been thinking about bringing one of my Toms or my Bass drum because I wasn’t sure they would have enough drums to go around, but I’m glad I didn’t. As soon as you show up with your own drum, people start to expect more of you. I’m not a drummer, I just have an eye for a good price on drum kits at the thrift store. It’s been almost ten years, and I’m still not sure I should have bought that kit. I’m not even sure if I have more time logged playing the drums or just moving them around”.

The Percussion Stand Off And OverWhelming Passion

As Legs settled in, drums were passed around the circle, allowing an opportunity to try them all. Legs reflected: “It was a pretty tight circle and I have a tendency to become overwhelmed with passion. I constantly had to remind myself not to hit the drums too hard and play with the group. I’m not Bonzo and we’re not playing Moby Dick. The way you have to hold some of the drums with one hand while playing with the other kinda made me feel like I was Rick Allen of Def Leppard”.

As the night progressed, Legs noted the drum circle seemed to be growing at a steady rate of 5 drummers per hour. He quickly ran the figures in his head—at 5 drummers per hour, there should be exactly 2,595 drummers ready to pack into the building by Halloween night. If they don’t bring their own drums we may need to get more. It will be a full blown drumming jam fest.

Our newsroom is well aware it only takes one dedicated drummer to organize a full-blown, outdoor drumming jam fest down at the beach, but we realize this grand vision may not fully come to fruition until next year when the Shuswap weather starts to clear up. Either way, we will be watching for November’s Jam to be scheduled and we will be sure Legs gets some serious practice in before then, so we can send him down to participate on behalf of Sicamous Local News!

Special thanks to the organizers and the Eagle Valley Arts Council who has built a fantastic, spacious, and completely therapeutic community outlet right in our backyard. The acoustics are ready, the instruments are fully tuned, and the floor layout is flawless.

Editors Note: “Legs” was supposed to get a nice photo of the Red Barn at night in addition to photos of all the drums. He had this to say about it: “It was raining pretty hard and i was wearing a cardigan, I just ran to the car”

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