Years ago while working at a vegetarian restaurant in Gainesville FL., I developed a special distaste for drum circles. That place was filled to the brim with idealists ready to educate you about everything from health, to preservation of the environment, to polyamory. It was a formative place. For all of our plans to save the world we still had to clean up after the patrons at the end of the night. Usually my coworkers and I were rushing the mop over the floor or sponge over the counter in hopes we wouldn't miss a show when the circle of drummers would show up. They were a group of 50 yr old guys..remnants of the era of flower children, who would congregate outside the cafe and pound out their pasts. The day trading ponytail wearing neo hippie who is cool as a cucumber As the rhythms built and dragged on I could feel my blood pressure going up. Frantically cleaning a cafe in hopes of not missing the Fugazi or Gillian Welsh show just didn't sync up with the overly simplistic, clumzily relentless pounding going on right outside the door. They probably thought they were doing us a favor...the day trading ponytail wearing hippie sitting next to the much younger quiet guy who we later found out was the supplier for the whole town.
On a recent trip to Venice Beach at sunset, I heard the sounds of a drum circle off in the distance. In the past I would have rolled my eyes and walked the other way. But, having found my angst ridden judgment to be nothing more than a high school left over like, I've become more open to just about everything. this was no ordinary drum circle. It seemed that there was every type of person in on the thing. Of course, no drum circle is complete without the wavy haired, half clothed goddess who's utter lack of inhibition wins her both my respect and a very gross older boyfriend. Yes, she was there. But,there was also the JCrew guy who's smile while hitting a stainless steal kettle that the pink haired, punk, lesbian, girl had given him, says "that weed was great! That pink haired girl is a little chubby, but I bet she's a great ****. I love Venice Beach dude."
Not to be forgotten are the skate kids, who were really too cool to be there, but had "parked" their boards in the sand to take part in this community event. Most interesting though were the homeless guys, who surprisingly did not smell bad. On the street people look the other way. Here, they are just another guy outfitted with a can or a drum...by the pink haired punk girl of course.
Maybe it was the diversity...the lack of cliche in the group that made me feel o.k. about this drum circle. Maybe that is the kind of drum circle the Neohippies in Gainesville used to have before they made too much money to know anyone other than each other. Maybe I'm just in a new place and finally letting myself be young.
