Published on
November 24, 2008 in
.
It was a busy weekend in STL. First I sell the drummies, and then there was the SLSO Explosions Percussion festival. Actually, it was just one concert and there was very little exploding. It was fairly gentle, actually, but that’s not to say it wasn’t really good.
The first half was a smoking performance of the Bartok Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with Will James on percussion, Rick Holmes on timpani and Orli Shaham and Peter Henderson on the pianos. The second half featured North African drums and oud, a lute-like stringed instrument.
I have been a closet frame drummer for quite a while, sitting in the basement with my bodrahn and making up beats while I watch the tube. My inspiration has been guys on YouTube like Glen Velez, David Kuckhermann and N. Scott Robinson. The latter two were here in our fair city yesterday as the second half of the aforementioned program. They were joined by oud virtuoso Haig Manoukian. Man, it was sweet. They played traditional North African music and added some frame drum solos on riq, tar and bodrahn as well. Afterword I was lucky enough to get a pic with them.
David, me and Scott.
Is that a gang sign Scott is flashing or is it the universal frame drummers sign that a split finger roll is up ahead?
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Well, it’s finally happened, I’ve sold my fine old pair of Ringer timpani to my pal Henry. I had them for ten years but I just couldn’t justify keeping that much drum power in the basement under a table.
Henry will not only give them a loving home but will take them out and bang them once in a while.
Here we are at the back of the truck, preparing to load the drums. Henry is smiling. I thought he had a policy of not smiling in pictures. That must mean he’s really happy!
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I have to say right up front that I am a big Schalfly fan. They are the upstart microbrewers in St. Louis that brought full flavor beer to our fair city. I have mugs and a hat which I often wear, advertising their barley pop for free.
I’ve not been the biggest fan of our other, bigger brewery, the behemoth on Pestalozzi Street. Long ago I was a bartender and I served many knee jerk Bud Light drinkers, but I’ve never been one of them. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s like I said before: I’m into full flavor beer.
Lately I’ve been seeing ads for Michelob’s new line of suds (mostly as I Tivo through the ads on recorded shows). My first reaction is to doubt. Yes, I doubt. I think that the beverages must have that characteristic metallic quality that I associate with A-B products. Now I’m eating crow. Caw.
I picked up a twelve pack sampler of the new Michelob craft beers because, well, they were cheaper than everything else–a couple of bucks cheaper. What could I do? Times are tough. Anyway, upon popping open the wares, I was very pleasantly surprised. “Whoa,” I said to myself. “Whoa Nelly the horse! This is not your grandfather’s Michelob,” which I recall as Budweiser in a curvy bottle. “This is the real deal!”
Now I’m no Michael Jackson (the late great Beer Hunter, not the nose-challenged one) but I know a some good liquid corn flakes when I stumble on them. The next time I’m restocking the beer vault, I will not hesitate to add the big brewer’s latest to my collection.
Heck, I’ll even tell a friend.
UPDATE
Well, as of Dec. 6, they’ve jacked up the Michelob prices. I guess I’ll run back to Schlafly brewskies and beg forgiveness.
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