Buddy Rich, lengendary jazz drummer

Almost everything I've done, I've done through my own creativity. I don't think I ever had to listen to anyone else to learn how to play drums. I wish I could say that for about ten thousand other drummers.

To the Spirit of the Drum: a poem by Beth Dyer

Infuse me with the secrets of old
Of pulse and rhythm, crisp and bold.
Patterns flowing out and in
Tip to skin, then back again.

Lightning hands, a-blazing spirit
Fill me up, don’t let me fear it.
That I may live in your embrace
On the beat, and full of grace.
Ashe.

James Asher, multi-unstrumentalist

Groove has a relationship to the whole area of trance, repetition, meditation and hypnosis. One view is that by repeating things beyond a certain point, the listener`s mind is forced to jump off to a new place. But rhythm goes very deep at instinctive level too, and has become increasingly an antidote for me to excess infomation. Losing myself in playing a hand drum gives me a route to shedding all the clutterings and clammerings of a world over-rich with media, and finding a more wholesome space.

John Bergamo, percussionist

Percussion is like walking through the forest. You can't possibly see it all, there are endless possibilities of what you can do.

Starting the Journey in Portland with a Beat

I am getting settled in my new home in Portland, Oregon. I have my own room for my drums and artwork (see photos above). It will take me some time before I begin to re-establish Drumming for Peace on the West Coast. I have ordered enough drumsticks and have started looking for 5 gallon plastic buckets for my Joyful Noise and Found Sounds programs. The work of connecting to schools, churches, and other institutions will take some time.

I am near Rhythm Traders, a premier drum store here in Portland. I already bought a new djembe from Guinea and had a lesson from actor and percussionist Caton Lyles (above photo-www.catonlyles.com). I have the opportunity to teach some drum classes at Rhythm Traders in the near future. I am looking forward to many new avenues to explore in music and drumming on the West Coast.

Layne Redmond, frame drummer

Sound is power and the first sound we hear is the pulse of our mother's blood. No sound has a more powerful effect on our consciousness. Drumming is the musical expression of this primal power. Rhythm is a means of organizing sound into specific energy formulas to harmonize the mind and body. Chanting, rhythmic breathing and drumming form an ancient technology for directly synchronizing the mind/body complex, creating conditions for psychological and physical healing.

Arthur Hull, leader of the drum circle movement

My mission in life is to help people rediscover and explore the deep relationship with the rhythmical universe that permeates every aspect of our lives.