December 12, 2005
frozen
I like drums. Really, I like percussion of all types, but there is something about the drumkit that is very exciting. I think it is simply the fact that a cranking drum beat can make just about any piece of music rock out.
I always get excited when I go to see some music and there is a drumkit on stage, waiting. Of course, when I head to Paradise or the Middle East, this is not surprising, but sometimes, I see a drumkit on stages at Jordan Hall or the Gardner Museum or other such venues reserved for more 'classical' productions. But here's the problem: I get all excited about the possibilities of getting classical music to rock out with the drums, but then I am virtually always disappointed. Perhaps my expectations are too high or are unrealistic, but I'll pretend, for now, that high expectations are what make this world progress in positive ways.
I saw Alarm Will Sound playing John Adams last week at the Gardner and really enjoyed the performance overall. However, I felt totally unfulfilled by the drums. I almost wish they didn't have them at all because then I wouldn't yearn for them to be used 'properly'. I should add here, that the percussionists in AWS were fantastically talented musicians. I have no doubt that they could play circles around me in every technical way. I think the problem here is the constraints of the score itself. If I wrote a piece that included drums, I'd just take a piece of notation paper and write 'ROCK HARD AT 110bpm in 4/4 FOR 64 BARS. THEN STOP.' Perhaps I'd add certain possible accents or suggested beats, but most of the performance would be left up to the performer, like in a rock or jazz show. Did anyone ever tell Elvin Jones exactly what to play? I doubt it.
There is something about a drummer sitting there upright and stiff, partially obscured by a large music stand, carefully studying his score that deflates any performance. The thing that is so exciting about drums is the arms flailing, the sweat dripping and the general sense of walking the line between perfect control and total chaos. With the exception of Zappa's Black Page (he's an exception to EVERYTHING, right?), I have yet to come across a piece of music that required the drummer to read a score that wasn't disappointing to me. Why can't you have a band with traditional classical instruments and a rock drummer who almost acts as the conductor by keeping time and providing a rhythmic focal point for the piece. The music would need to be simple enough that the players would be free from the page and flexible enough that they were given the freedom to improvise a bit. Unfortunately, I don't think that improvisation is taught to most aspiring bassoonists nowadays, but there must be interested musicians, right?
This is the kind of band I want to have some day. I don't even care exactly what instrumentation there is. We'll write music to fit and augment as necessary with electronics and other fun toys. We'll arrange other composers works for our style. Someone must be doing this. My friend Ari has got something similar to this going in Berlin with his Redux Orchestra (don't go to this site if you are epileptic!), but I think there is a world-wide opportunity here.
