Drum Circle traps public, bare music

If you don “˜t want to work … you just want to bang on
the drums all day, Dines would love to get an invite at [email protected].

By Shana Dines
Daily Bruin Reporter

I went out clubbing last week and it was fun and all, but the
pop music that I would never listen to on my own eventually got old
and the sweaty dance scenes became progressively unappealing as the
night matured.

It was so freakin’ hot in there and the lights were so
damn flashy, I thought I was in some warped Britney-loving hell.
Overall, the evening was enjoyable, but there were too many
shortcomings to the excursion.

I need more than just that. Is it too much to ask for an
interesting dance setting, some great original music that
wasn’t produced by the pop industry machine, natural light
and some air-conditioning?

A few days later, I ventured out to Venice Beach and
unexpectedly found the answer to all my prayers.

The Drum Circle: the epitome of dance music, stripped down to
the bare essentials.

If you are sick of all the manufactured banality of normal dance
clubs, let this become your Mecca of gyratingly good times. For
those of you who are unfamiliar with the striking phenomenon that
is the drum circle, let me show you the way.

Picture a crowd of people, all ages, all nationalities, all
levels of cleanliness, casually packed together around a smaller
group of improvisational drummers. Amidst the clamor of tribally
urban beats, there are dancers.

The dancers are unlike any you have ever seen; these
artists-in-their-own-right did not learn their moves from music
videos. They do not care who is watching, their only care is the
music. Jumping, spinning, swaying, hopping, and creating any other
movement that feels right and flows with the music. Here,
dread-locked hippies and urbanites interact together in the
communal arena of expression.

The drum circle is not only for dancers, though. By all means,
grab your bongo, snare, maracas or cowbell and feel free to jump in
and play along. There seems to be a central player who lays the
foundation for the cadences but, after that, the music is a
free-for-all. Whether you’ve played your whole life or never
before, it doesn’t matter. The drum circle can always use an
extra member and the sound can always take on an added
dimension.

Tourists and locals can join in or watch from afar. They can all
get involved in one form or another. The simple act of nodding your
head or tapping your feet instantly hurls you into the action.
There always promises to be some other individuals creating
spectacles of their own, as well. For instance, just this past
weekend, there was a man on stilts dancing around the circle and a
woman with those cool little spinning rope things.

One of my favorite roles in the drum circle is to stand on the
outskirts of the group, close my eyes, slip off my flip-flops, play
with the sand in between my toes, and imagine that I am somewhere
incredibly exotic. Not that Venice Beach isn’t exotic, but I
mean somewhere incredible. I imagine a similar scene taking place a
few thousand years ago on the beaches of Tahiti.

With the backdrop of a perfect Southern California sunset over
the Pacific making the clear blue sky turn into various shades of
pink, the sounds of the waves, and some clouds that oddly resemble
a band of gorillas, no nightclub in L.A. can compete with the
atmosphere. That’s not even taking into consideration the
brisk ocean breezes. Well, calling them brisk is an understatement,
but it still beats the unbearable heat of the clubs any day.

This weekend, be daring. Forget about the standard Saturday
night plans of the same old clubbing scene. Adventure out into some
new, uncharted territory and explore the untapped world of the
underground drum circles. Take advantage of the chance to get in
touch with your inner tribal self.

In preparation, don’t shower for a few days and
don’t brush your hair; that way you can have the smell and
the look of the hippies that dominate the scene. Get decked out in
your best pair of homemade bellbottoms, your dirtiest poncho, and
your most worn-in Birkenstocks.

Be ready to let yourself go to the rhythms and infectious beats
of the somewhat nutty-looking drummers, but don’t be afraid.
They’re there simply for the love of improvisational music
and the passion of the crowd around them. They won’t even ask
for money at the end of a set.