I Don't Wanna Work!

Written by Greg Whitt Sunday, 05 September 2010 00:00

I just wanna bang on my drum all day!  Happy Labor Day everyone!  September is kicking off as a great month with Drum for Change! 

Had a great trip to the Music on the Mountaintop Festival hanging with my pals Shorty Palmer of Djembe Drums & Skins and David Drum.  Shorty is THE go-to guy for drums.  David is a fellow facilitator who uses drumming as a social worker and with the Charlotte Community Drummers.  Together we represented pal Scott Swimmer's organization Drums for Cures while he was off doing a drumSTRONG event on Mount Fuji!

Back on the home front, I was back at it with private lessons and then set up shop for some drum tuning at this week's hoop jam in Pullen Park.  GREAT FUN and a huge crowd at this week's event.  PLUS I rolled out the new DRUM CIRCLE MAGAZINE just in and available for purchase.  See me to get your copy for only $5.

On Saturday we resumed the drumming empowerment sessions at Dancing Moon Books & Gifts.  These are held each first Saturday from 10:30-11:30am.  These classes embrace the new age aspect of drumming - using rhythm to improve your mojo, get your groove on, and manifest the positive vibes you want in your life.

From there I went to a fantastic celebration marking the commitment ceremony of friend and colleague Robin "Bountou" Leftwich with her partner.  Robin and Rachel run Happy Beat Drumming out in the Triad area.  Robin is a fantastic djembe teacher and drum builder.  I was able to reconnect with many long-time drumming friends that I've only known electronically.  At the gathering were friends from the River Rhythms community drum choir in Durham, the Rhythmicity djembe ensemble, Bill Scheidt of Living Rhythms Community Drumming School in Winston-Salem, Chuck Cogliandro of Kumandi Drums & Healing out of Atlanta, and pal Tom Harris, Therapeutic Drumming Coordinator for Youth Villages down in GA and TN. 

On Labor Day I'm starting a weekly on-going POLY-RHYTHMS CLASS at Fletcher Park.  Every Monday from 6:30 pm to 8-ish, join other drumming enthusiasts to learn multi-part, interlocking rhythms.  The class is $15 each week, and each week we'll work on a new rhythm, so no worries if you miss one.  We'll meet in the stone circle near the west end of the park.  You may want to bring bug spray, water, and a cushion.  NOTE:  this class only meets when weather permits.  Loaner drums are NOT provided unless you've booked one in advance.

Mid-month is when you'll really want to be on the lookout for cool drum happenings:

-  Friends Walnes Cangas and Bill Nathan of Haiti's Resurrection Dance Theater will be holding a benefit concert at NCSU's Stewart Theater on Friday September 17th at 8pm. 

- On Saturday the 18th, I'll be drumming at Ten Thousand Villages 15th Anniversary Party - join me at their store in Cameron Village for half-hour drum jams between 1pm and 3:30pm. That's also the weekend of SparkCon!

- On Sunday the 19th, please join me in drumming to support the runners in the Miracle Mile Race to battle motor neuron disease. If interested in helping out, email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

- On Monday, September 20th, come celebrate the Raleigh Drum Circle's 8th Annual Birthday Bash at Lake Johnson Park.  Potluck dinner at 6pm;  bring something to share.  Percussion performances start at 7pm featuring local drummers, dancers, poets, and storytellers.  And of course there's gotta be a drum circle - kicking off around 8:30 or so.  ARRIVE EXTRA EARLY - parking can be challenging!

Later this month I'm scheduled to drum with the Health & Wellness Center at SAS Institute and then will start off October with three events in one day to include CropWALK and the Raleigh International Festival.  Stay tuned for more on those....

OOH!  And just so you don't forget about me, I've been working on some branding!  Not only did my sweetheart Annelies come up with the concept for my Drum for Change logo, but she also helped create a stencil that we used to mark the drums in my kit.  Now they're stamped with the djembe swirl emblem that symbolizes drumming to propagate positive energy - what I think it's all about!

Hope to see (and hear) you all out and about soon....

With Love & Rhythm,

-Greg