On New Year's Eve, Grace church had an 11pm service and invited me and my fellow drummers to play on the church steps for a 1/2 hour before hand. It was an absolute blast. 6 or 7 of us showed up with our djembes and sat in chairs in a semi circle on the sidewalk in front of the church.
Since, as a group, we have a wide variety of experience playing, we decided to go more or less drum circle style. I played a steady African rhythm and other folks either joined me or played counterpoints to it. It's true that we were a bit wobbly at a few points, but overall I think it was a big success. The folks on the street loved it. A few even sat down to join us, since we had a couple of extra drums. We even drew a few people in to the service. And my friend Peter put a basket in front of us and we made $3!
In an odd way, it felt like coming home. Playing on the church steps last spring was what motivated me to buy my first djembe and start taking lessons. How amazing that that was less than a year ago. I feel like I have been playing forever.
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