The Drumming

As I recall, Oscar would start every gig out with drumming. I think that in the earliest stages, it was just Oscar and Moody, then Oscar and Moody and Bruce (?), then eventually all of us (though I may be crossing wires with later Bontuku configurations).

I know that Moody was frustrated that the drumming hadn't gotten hipper and more advanced. I don't recall how much we actually rehearsed. I know I was pretty limited....a couple of bell patterns, a couple of drum patterns. Sometimes Moody or Oscar would feed me a line. That was a point where I really learned the value of ensemble-think -- what I was doing was laying down part of the bedrock, and Oscar and Moody would take care of being creative.

At some point there was a shift from opening the band up inside to starting outside. That is, everybody would grab a drum or bell or talking drum or whatever, and Oscar would begin the routine on the steps of Nature's Table. The idea, I think, was to (a) maybe draw in some crowd from outside who might not know what was going on, and (b) to get everybody into the crowd playing. We'd walk through, then grab some space in the big square in front of the counter/bathrooms and play there for awhile for whomever wanted to dance. Eventually we'd make our way to the bandstand.

The drum sound really changed alot when they pulled out that big drum. I don't remember it being used early on, so I don't know whether it was an acquisition or what, but it was like a bass drum that slung over the shoulder, and would be played with a bent mallet like the ones we used with the talking drums. My recollection is that only Oscar or Moody played that drum.

There was also a bit of a change later as the Adjido Drum Club was formed. I think these guys might have opened up for Bontuku. This was alot more "serious" than anything we non-drummers were inclined to get involved with. I remember that Danny Deckard was involved. This might have been post-Wachamba. The "New Bontuku" guys will have a better sense about this.