Drummer at Rest
About a month ago, people began looking at the schedule and saw that we had 4 long bus days and tried to figure out a way around it. We are fortunate in that our friend Ian lives and works in Detroit. Add to that, there is an airfare war going on and we actually broke close to even by staying with him and flying in instead of riding the 1822 miles on the bus over four days. This provided a much needed respite from the road, and it will probably be our last for several weeks.
You may be saying to yourself, “uh, you chose to vacation in Detroit? Don’t they have the highest unemployment rate and therefore highest crime rate in the country?” I may have thought that as well. But I knew that I wanted to hang with Ian and not be on the bus. It was beyond all expectation, this Rock City.
I love Detroit! Love it! We had great food, great times, and great conversation. Ian is a world-class musician. I mean at the top of the orchestra and contemporary music world. I am in awe of this guy. And he’s a wonderfully down to earth and intelligent friend. If one were to stereotype, he is the opposite of what myself and others have come to define the archetypical orchestral musician. Or, as my friend John has painted them, “Classical Weenies”. We sort of went to school together. It’s difficult to explain…
Ian’s house is a converted machine shop in a working class Polish neighborhood just above downtown. The previous owner had converted it into a truly unique and fascinating loft space that is perfect for a percussionist with lots to practice on lots of gear. And boy did I! His house is like a veritable alter to the Gods of Drum Porn. He has amassed a collection of instruments the likes of which I haven’t seen since college.
He recently acquired a high end drum kit piece by piece, and I have never been lucky enough to play on such fine instruments in my life. Ever! These drums and cymbals played themselves. A truly memorable and amazing musical experience. It’s not often that I get to play on such finery. Much to my wife’s chagrin in that now I am insistent upon getting a kit like this of my own. I’ve been working way too hard to produce the sounds that just pop out of these bad boys. And don’t get me started on his cymbal collection…
It was also great to get a chance to catch up with a longtime and trusted friend in the business. It was enlightening to see what parallels could be drawn between our two facets of the industry. The economy is at play in all parts of the industry and his orchestra is facing cutbacks. I would think that a major orchestra with a large endowment wouldn’t feel the same effect of the economic downturn that many other parts of the business but this seems to be the case. Even Chrysler just pulled it’s funding. Scary.
It was also interesting to discuss different obstacles, the good, bad and ugly, of our respective jobs. It made me realize that we all face challenges in the workplace no matter what our area of interest. The perfect job probably doesn’t exist so it’s best to make the most of whatever comes your way. And he caught me up on what’s been going on in the world since January 5th. Roughly the last time I paid attention….
We ate some great food in the D. Even went to a bbq place that had an actual vegetarian bbq chicken samich. As to now unheard of. Happy belly dance all the way around. There was also the delicious Russell St. Deli. Ian knows the owners and the food was top notch. A great story to the place as well.
And for a city in such a huge fiscal crisis, record unemployment and the like, everyone I encountered were very friendly and dare I say hopeful? A couple of people even encouraged us to move there saying, “Detroit needs more smart young people.” Being neither, I respectfully declined but my wife might just fit the bill. All in all, a great experience. And we got massages which didn’t hurt the experience whatsoever….
