Play Misty for Me
Bill Cosby on SXSW, jazz, and his $75 drum kit
By Raoul Hernandez, Fri., Sept. 19, 2014
AC: So if you had a drum kit at 16, you wanted to be a drummer?
BC: I told you! I wanted to be that. Yeah, man, I wanted to be that. I had a record player in my room, and I played along with all those records.
AC: Did you put together bands?
BC: No, no. There’s no money in that. There’s more money in talking.
Drum therapy enlivens treatment for troubled youth
By Dean Narciso The Columbus Dispatch
Wednesday September 17, 2014 6:45 AM
Something changes when the drums are set in front of the teenagers, each of whom is struggling with drugs or alcohol or depression and with simply growing up.
Whatever it is, the instruments infuse energy and humor into what often can be uncomfortable, court-ordered therapy sessions.
The Central Ohio Symphony is the improbable accompanist for Maryhaven’s Delaware drug-treatment branch office and Delaware County Juvenile Court.
The idea was sparked by Warren W. Hyer, the symphony’s executive director and principal percussionist.
The kids are here because drugs, alcohol or mental-health issues landed them in treatment court.
We re trying to get these kids to recognize feelings… instead of reaching for marijuana or heroin or alcohol, said Lynne Schoenling, a juvenile-court magistrate.
As kids move through the two-year program, they attend fewer sessions. If they do well, their records are expunged and lives reshaped with jobs, family reunions and new purpose.
I haven’t heard Cliphit in person. But it looks pretty cool. Worth checking into. // skf
On the web: http://www.korg.com/us/products/drums/cliphit/
Announcing Cliphit, the new way to enjoy drums! Cliphit turns the world around you into your own personal drum kit. Just attach a clip to something, then hit it. It’s fun, easy, and goes wherever you do.
The Music Battery teaches kids responsibility through drumming
They’ve Got the Beat
By Kirsten Schofield
At an age when kids want to make as much noise as possible and bang on whatever makes their mom craziest, drums fit the bill. Kris Manning and Braeden Kershner want to harness that urge and use it for good, not evil. They founded The Music Battery, a charity offering school tutoring and music programing for middle school students.
The goal is to keep the kids focused on self-improvement and out of trouble.
“We start with doing homework. We sit down with them and figure out what they need to do,” Manning says. “Then we do calisthenics, get everyone jumping around. Only then do we start to play music. We want to educate their mind, body, and spirit.”
Manning is quick to point out that group activities like this have another benefit: “Drumlines are unique in the way they teach kids to be disciplined and work as a team,” she says.
“I heard that being in Mr. Kershner’s drumline will help you be successful, and I want to be successful,” says 11-year-old section leader Maliyeh-Day Sanders. She points to the emphasis on discipline and focus, but also musical skills like rhythm, timing, and movement she’s picking up. “One day I want to be a professional dancer, so I’m learning a lot from him,” she adds.
What Manning and Kershner are hoping to impart on their young corp is a sense of community, fun, discipline, and above all, a love of music.
Fremont professor moves to beat of ancient drum
By Chris De Benedetti The Argus
Posted: 09/06/2014 02:33:50 PM PDT0 Comments
Rohan Krishnamurthy, Ohlone College’s newest music professor, is an acclaimed performer who specializes in mridangam, an ancient and still-popular Indian percussion instrument.
His fascination with mridangam (mree-DAHNG-guhm) grew with age. The drum is usually made from a hollowed piece of wood whose two ends are covered with a goatskin. Percussionists tap both ends of the conga-like instrument with specific fingers to create several layers of sounds.
“It’s an incredibly versatile instrument where you get a drum set’s worth of sounds from one drum,” he said. “Its rhythm system is mind-bogglingly complex.”
Late last month he began teaching music theory courses at Ohlone’s Fremont campus, where he also offers a percussion ensemble class Thursday nights, giving students a chance to jam with him and classmates.
[S]aid Alex Quick, a Fremont percussionist in the ensemble class. “If I’m able play mridangam and bring it over to a regular drum set, then I can play a style that most Fremont drummers can’t, and I can make more money.”
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