Amy Lu's View

Does anyone want to see a drum solo performed by an amateur adult?

Probably not. But this is the apocalypse (or the pre-apocalypse but I don’t want to be morbid).

One of the really cool things about all of our staying at home and the cancellation of live performances is that musicians from professional to hobbyists are virtually sharing their muscial endeavors via live and recorded performances. Honestly, I’ve been overwhelmed by trying to keep up with it all.

So with everything that’s out there, the world probably didn’t need another amateur–a drummer without an actual song–jumping into the fray. But as such a diehard attention seeker, how could I pass up with this invitation/excuse to share my “talents”? And doesn’t drumming deserve it’s due–open mic isn’t just for guitarists.

I’ve actually been pretty stressed about this in recent days (stressed in the relative sense–stresed as in I don’t know what to wear, not in the whole world is going to get COVID-19 sense). I’ve had two specific opportunities to share some virtual drumming–from an awesome friend who has created an Open Mic group for people of all musical abilities to our upcoming church virtual coffee house, which created the pressure.

I felt silly and self-conscious about wanting to drum for these two venues, and yet (or because) I really wanted to do it. So, I owned my feelings, decided that if I wanted to I should (Chad said that’s one of reasons he called me brave), and made my “Pandrumic” recording. (Yes, I went there with the “song” title. Even though it’s not really a pun, I haven’t been in the pun-filled Duck Soup Theater troupe for over 10 years for nothing.)

I’m surprisingly pleased with how my recording turned out. It’s not perfect, but better than I hoped for.

I gave some thought to it over the last couple of days, and a little bit of practice. But mostly, I just sat down and did it. The hardest part was trying to prop up my phone to record at a reasonable angle. The sound quality isn’t great, but good enough for normal purposes.

I posted it to the Quarantine Open Mic, and was considering it as a practice for tomorrow’s Coffee House, but now I’m not sure I can live up to it (Chad–who is organizing our church coffee house–says a recorded peformance might fit his purpose better). There is no way I will ever come close to recreating what I did tonight, because a) that’s not how I roll and b) it’s a DRUM solo–it should be organic and improvy.

I actually did think about constructing something resembling a song when I played, and all the grandstanding drumming is not just to show off my skills but to capture the building stress and angst and fear of the growing pandemic (um, yeah).

The song is basically my go-to drum groove (I can and do fit it to any song) which I think is based–without my being consciously aware of it–on “The Funky Drummer“. Another super cool bit of random information is that my awesomely talented professional blues musician cousin Howard Luedtke played with The Funky Drummer drummer Clyde Stubblefield.

There’s a little disco and my version of “The Man Who Sold the World” thrown in.

Did I just write a song?!!

Stay tuned. If we’re lucky, there are more self-conscious angsty posts about me singing in our future.

*I thought this was a song by the Supremes. #alwayslearning What the World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love