Monday Drumday: Folking it up, with a drum solo!

At the start of this year a new band was formed from members of our local jamming community. It is actually a very similar lineup to our Swing 42 jazz band, but this time we are going for a more folky vibe with elements of bands such as The Waterboys and Bellowhead. We have a few Hivers in the band with @daniellemurray on clarinet and recorders, @purplesinger on piano, @anna-newkey on guitar plus Bob on flute, Ray on guitar, Anne-Marie on guitar and flute, and Paul on electric bass. With COVID an other issues we have not always had everyone together, but seven of were there for rehearsal on Sunday. Anne-Marie had flown over from Ireland to be with us and it is always great to have her wonderful voice.

We took it in turns to pick a song with several people taking lead vocals. I did a couple that are fairly new to me and very wordy. It may take me a while to learn all the lyrics. I was managing to play some basic drum beats whilst singing.

At some point someone requested a drum solo, so I had to oblige. It is nothing to fancy and uses a few fills I have been learning on Drumeo. My Yamaha DD-65 is very portable, but has limited sensitivity and sounds. I use a proper kick pedal for the bass drum and so it at least feels something like a proper kit.

We are putting together a set of songs that would allow us to play some gigs. There are some local festivals we could apply for. I am contemplating getting a small acoustic drum kit for when we do have play some shows.

A full rock kit would be over the top for this band. They can be a pain to transport and set up, but there are some more compact options. Some people build a kit around a suitcase that acts as the bass drum, but you really need a snare and some cymbals.

You can also buy ready-made kits that fold up quite small. I like the look of this one and I have seen some on ebay that are not too expensive. I shall keep an eye out for something local.

Rock on!