August 5th 2005

Is it LIVE or is it Memorex?

Headache!

The headache is not in my head, but someone trying to sabotage my show!

First of all let me just appologize for anything that I may say below that can be misinterpreted as me ranting, blabbling and or being just plain pissed off!

Yes you heard me Right! Tonites rehearsal was going seemingly well. The cutie pie hip hop dancer that I almost stole a kiss from in last weeks show is now in MY SHOW!!! Yippppieeeeee!!!!.... Ok, Ok... no need to get that excited, I think he's around my nephews age! Awe Shucks!

The headache belongs to one of my campus friends. We work in the Digital Media Lab together in workstudy and she's getting her MA in Women's Spirituality. Sounds like we'd be good friends huh. Well.... she barely knows how to type, let alone any computer program. How she got work study in the lab, who knows. Anyway, she talked her way into being in my show. This is the same girl in my last show that had to leave the weekend before my show to Arizona with her family. I didn't hold it against her and brushed it off as family obligations. Then later I found out that she went there to see a MAN! Allbeit from me to find fault in that, surely I cannot. Although, she did tell me she didn't get any. Gimme a Break!

Tonight as we were singing and dancing, I wanted to go through the African Dance number. She bragged and bragged about her son who play's the drums. I've always asked her.. CONGO DRUMS? But then, every rehearsal he brings his electronic drum system which I have no idea how it works. Anyway, the kid comes to my rehearsals, never talks or plays the drums. Then finally last rehearsal he brings a little drum that looks like a kids toy. Far from being a Congo Drum. Then he tells me that he can't change the beat to how we are doing the dance. I'm just beside myself as he says this. I've NEVER had a drummer tell me he couldn't do something. Most drummer's want to beat their little hearts out any chance they get. And this kid just sits there quietly never saying a word and no sound coming from his little bongo drum nor this electronic thing-a-ma-jig he's starring at.

So Mummy Dearest begins to lecture me saying....

Just ask him to play something. I'm thinking, he's a DRUMMER... just PLAY SOMETHING.. Anything.... just give me a Dayum Beat! Wouldn't you know it, he plays one beat then programs it into this box and the dayum box plays the beat over and over. OMG.. is this what's happened to giving me that longing feeling that can only come from a drum beat? Ok ok.. I'm trying to be ok with this, as I didn't have a drummer and this is all I had. Electronic African Drumming. SHEESH! The beat sounds good, a little robotic.

Try to call down the Drum Gods on electricity... just wasn't working.

Then tonight, one of the kids playing the commedic part starts beating on the box he was sitting on. This most Marvelous Beat is coming from a plastic stool. And he's outbeating the electronic box. Ok ok.. the mother's EYE's Get REALLY BIG... and she starts mumbling something about this guy being late to practice and her son's been coming here all the way from Timbucktu. But he can't keep a beat, I mean, I told him I wanted something LIVE... not programed. Anyway.. he dishes out this programed beat... now his box is boom boom booming away to the sound of this kid banging out this incredible sound of light and free spirit .. something we can dance to and something that calls down the spirit that I'm looking for.

Then the headache starts.

Girlfriend interrupts me in the middle of one of my Spiritual Enlightenment lectures about Talking Drums and the purpose of drumming, how dancer's dance to the beat, not the drummer's drumming to the dance. REALLY important information, as I have studied dance and musical drumming from some master drummer's. I'm just merely a percussionist. So, I'm giving both drummer's beat's they're both surprised I know what I'm doing. The MOM get's upset, say's she has to leave right now, that she's hungry and hasn't eaten. NOT MY FAULT, this is her excuse to tell me, that kid came late and my son has been here since 5:30pm and I've been here since 11am and I'm hungry and and and... I tell her, would you please let me finish my sentence... you inturupted me. Then she says, I don't want to hear one of your rants! OMG.. yes.. RANTS! ok ok.. calm down.... then she says, you go on and on, I don't have time. Then I say BYE! Ok ok... PUT ON THE BREAKS!

I had just gotten a REALLY good beat going on with the electronic box and the box the kid was sitting on. Was sounding GOOD... REALLY Good.. now we were about to go through the dance and here is the dancer and I'm trying to describe to these kids, that they need to watch the dancer so that they can get the rhythms and this kid on the electronic box looks at me as if I have asked him the impossible! What is going on here???? I think, his mother MADE him come and drum and he can't even drum. Not the Congo's anyways, then when someone comes in and shows him up.... Oh Lorday!

Anyway, right now I'm having the sinking feeling that she's going to try to sabotage my show. She's BEST friends with the Mae West in my show and she's doing the Cutsie Do dance as the Act Girl holding the card with the words "ACT I" on them like they do in a boxing match. So... should they walk out on me, no electronic drums, no Mae West, No Cutsie Act Girl. That's dayum near 3 people. Then I have to work with this girl in the media lab. Holy Moley! She knows that the head of the Media Lab LOVES Me... hmmm... this is going to be fun.

I'm all for keeping her in the show for the sake of San Francisco. You see I'm doing this show as a Tribute to those who Built this City. Now I have to appologize to the town for her doing this. Did I mention, she's in the Women's Spirituality Program at School???

It frustrates me to no end as such a thing generates Bad Karma. I'm doing my BEST to remain Neutral keeping my center, but I must admit, it's hard to listen to someone when all they do is repeat themselves over and over while when I asked her. IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE You want to discuss with me. I mean, you sound like there is something bothering you. Perhaps we should discuss this in private, or at another time? I tried to be calm, then she layed it in on me and started screaming. Ok ok... I lost it!

This disrupted my whole rehearsal, everyone else was waiting for her to finish blabbling. I told her, it took her more time to inturrupt me if she was in such a big hurry, that I could have finished my sentence. OH SHEET! She REALLY went off then... Ok ok.. I'm doing a bit blabbing here myself. Do I sound PISSED!!!!????!!!!??? REALLY... I'm just Shocked! My dancer said she'd fill in for her spots of the Cutsie Dance that is should she quit. And I can do the Mae West part, no biggie. Then I have a REAL Drummer Not some electronic repeat machine.

The Show MUST Go On!

Cross your fingers and hope that she recovers from her traumatic experience of having her electronic drummed son outdone by a live congo player.

Hugz n Lub, Bebe da FairyGodMum