Jammin’ Drum School offers a weekly class in worldbeat hand drumming.

Posted on by Thor

There is nothing more primal than the beat of hand drums. Greywolf offers weekly classes every Friday at The Orlando Aikido Dojo (3764 Howell Branch Road, Winter Park, FL). At 7:00 pm the beginner Jammin! drumming class starts with with Greywolf and Mark DeMaio. They offer insights into proper dembe hand technique; drills and fundamental orchestrated multi-part rhythms. In the class I sketched, there was one beginner, Susan, and soon she was holding her own. Judy, in a pony tail, seemed like a regular beside her was Mark, who I’ve seen perform at Earth Day for Heather Henson‘s Ibex puppetry. Greywolf I have seen many times at drum circles and at world beat gigs around town. Sven who was right beside me had a fascinating intricate tattoo on his bicep.

At 8:00 pm Intermediate class Jammin! class appropriate for all levels begins. All levels are welcome. Greywolf offers insights into Samba drumming with  Djun-djun and other stick techniques along with more complex rhythms. Dun-Dun parts and solo phrases for basic rhythms are covered. I found it funny that Djun-djun and Dun-Dun sound just like the beats created on the drums.  This class is all Sambas, all the time thanks to the insistence of students.

At 9:00 pm the Advanced Jammin! course with Greywolf offers Additional instrumentation and yet more complex rhythms; odd time signatures; performance breaks and leads along with Ensemble pieces. As an example of complex rhythms Greywolf showed us a You Tube video he helped produce based on a ticking beat. Sketching to these complex rhythms is a real pleasure. The beats set the pace as lines danced on the page. People often tell me, “I can’t draw a straight line.” I bet some people feel that they couldn’t keep a beat. But after one session with Greywolf, they would be proved wrong. If you are looking for a fun date night. This would be it.

Any class is $12.
Any two or more classes on the same night is $10 each.

The Homestead

Posted on by Thor

 There was a birthday potluck for Julie Norris and Amber Melendy at the Homestead on East Pine Street August 11th. Terry and I went bearing red wine, some humus and a small present for Julie. It had poured that day so there was little chance the outdoor fire pit would light up. The living room of the homestead was warm and inviting. Toddlers played as people chatted. Slowly people moved out to the porch. For the longest time I sat in a comfortable rocking chair On the porch. Terry was resting on Julies bed inside. Several women were discussing the results of a sexuality workshop. I met Russell Kramer who does custom bookbinding and he offered to make me a custom sketchbook. I hope to sketch him at work someday.

Greywolf agreed to kick things off with a Gong Flow at sunset. A Gong Flow involves vibrational energy cleansing in which participants
experience the deep transformational opportunity provided by prolonged
exposure to these therapeutic vibrations. Supplemented by singing bowls
and sacred rattles, the core of the sound emanates from a 40” Chau
Gong. The most mesmerizing sound came from the Buddhist bowls which would sing as Greywolf circled the rim with a wooden dowel. Everyone sat on the porch in the cool evening air as the flow began. Some sat quietly and meditated and others joined in with their own instruments and voices. The warm light from inside the home spilled out onto the porch. It was an epic journey of sight and sound.