When I was a kid, watching Ringo Starr play the drums inspired me to be a drummer. He looked like he was having a blast! At rock concerts, I always watch the drummer, pounding away in multiple rhythms, holding the beat for everyone else. I’m lucky I can carry even one rhythm—which explains why I’m not a rock drummer—but I have attended drum circles where no experience or talent is required. All that’s needed is the desire to make some rhythmic noise in community with others. If you haven’t tried a drum circle, I hope you have the opportunity one day. It’s magical, as drummers David DiLullo and Rick Allen can attest. In addition to having fun, people in their drum circles come for meditation, stress reduction, healing, and transformation.

David runs Global Drum Circles in California’s Bay Area, and some of the participants have been people with brain injury or stroke, a few of whom were brought by their neurologists.

David says drum circles are helpful for people with various brain injuries because “there’s an exercising of the brain. It takes a lot of coordination between the right and left hemispheres. When your right and left hands are doing something in a synchronized manner, you’re promoting balance between the hemispheres.”

In addition, he explains that you’re doing something physical that “takes you out of your analytic brain space. And going beyond that is the healing nature of vibration. Drumming is music therapy. You’re bathing all the cells of your body in this vibration.”

He’s led a circle for the Peninsula Stroke Association, of Palo Alto. He reports that even participants who had the use of only one arm did a great job keeping up with the rhythms. One stroke survivor with partial paralysis said drumming in the circle allowed him to forget about his affliction for the first time.

Especially for people who have had a stroke or brain injury, being part of a drum circle offers the opportunity to have some fun while building up their confidence again. “Drumming is easy,” says David. “If they can’t dance or play baseball, drumming is a wonderful way to feel active, and they’re part of a group joined in the same activity.”

Rick Allen is the drummer for Def Leppard. As the result of an auto accident in the 1980s, he has only one arm. But with a customized drum kit, he learned to use his left foot to take the place of his missing left arm. In 2001, he and his wife, Lauren Monroe, created Raven Drum Foundation “to  serve, educate and empower veterans and people in crisis through the power of the drum.” Their major project now is the Resiliency Program, which is an innovative healing program for veterans, active duty military, and their families.

The Raven Drum Web site outlines some of the therapeutic benefits of drumming. On the physical side, these include production of the body’s own pain killers, boosting the immune system, control of chronic pain, and relief of stress and anxiety. In addition, drumming with a group adds the benefits of creating a sense of connectedness with others and feeling oneself flowing with the natural rhythms of life.

Joining in a drum circle can be fun and beneficial for anyone. Yet for people with brain injury, it can offer a unique kind of healing experience not available anywhere else.

Today’s journaling exercises:

If you’re ready to do some private writing in your journal, choose one or more of these prompts to get started. Try to write for at least five minutes.

If you’ve had a brain injury:

• My favorite kind of music is _________________  because…

• One thing I do to help me feel more connected to other people is…

If you’re a family caregiver:

• One of my favorite memories connected to music is… (See how much sensory detail you can include. In addition to the music you heard, what did you see, touch, taste, and smell? How did all of your senses contribute to this memory?)

• When I feel isolated…

Mix a cup of mechanical engineering with a dash of drum set and you end up with Steve, the robotic drummer. We know that it uses an MSA-T Midi Decoder but that’s about the extent of what has been shared. Just from observing the video, we think Steve’s got a few things going for him when compared to PEART, the robot drummer we saw back in 2005. Steve features two sticks for each drum and symbol and seems to be quite responsive.

Steve’s great, but we still think Rick Allen’s got this thing beat. Although this is a quality build, there’s no replacement for a human that can bang the drum in millions of subtly different way. That isn’t to say we don’t see potential in the hack. Perhaps it’s time to update a classic idea, the robotic orchestra.  Don’t know what we mean? Check out  3:58 into the video embedded after the break.

Take a look at the robotic orchestra 3:58 into the video.

[via Highly Liquid]

The segment was originally scheduled for Monday, October 19, 2009, and when I watched The Early show, I thought my local programming cut out Raven Drum’s segment. It was later in the day @stikrick Tweeted about the segment being rescheduled.

CBS called Rick Allen a “heavy metal hero,” when they introduced the segment at 8:39 a.m., but told a larger story about battling through obstacles to reach a personal great. Allen lost in his arm in 1984 in a car accident, but never let it stunt his career as a drummer for Def Leppard. He taught himself to play guitar all over again, and found a larger great through his battle; he found the ability to use Def Leppard and his story as a vehicle.

“Def Leppard is a vehicle to inspire people who are going through their darkest moments,” Allen said during the segment when talking about his organization Raven Drum, which works to help wounded war veterans overcome their injuries and enhance their lives.

“Through Raven Drum they get a chance to open their hearts and bare their souls.” A simple idea in concept, but something that means so much to the veterans Raven Drum helps because their goal is not to point out fallacies in wounded soldiers, but to “celebrate uniqueness,” Allen explained.

The segment was short, almost to the point where if I had changed the channel, I might have missed it. However, I feel it hit on an important point: talk to a veteran if he/she has a story to share. They might just need someone to talk to about something that happened. Be there for them. If you know someone who served in a combat situation, let them know you’re there for them.

See my original post on Raven Drum here.

What did everyone think of the segment? Too short? Not enough detail?

Drumroll please…it’s Twitter Tuesday!

Today’s Twitter Tuesday user: @RavenDrum

@RavenDrum is the official Twitter account for The Raven Drum Foundation, who was co-founded by Rick Allen, drummer for Def Leppard.  According to their Twitter bio, their mission is simple:

The mission of Raven Drum Foundation is to SERVE, EDUCATE and EMPOWER Veterans and their families.

Yesterday, Monday October 19, 2009, Raven Drum was scheduled to be featured on CBS’  The Early Show, but the segment was rescheduled, according to @stikrick. Look for a post on here when the segment airs.

@RavenDrum and every other Twitter Tuesday user I showcase can easily be found on the Twitterers I Follow page of my blog.

Add this user to your Twitter followers, and like always, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @heatherbray. I’d love to hear from you. Happy Twittering!

Twitter has been a powerful tool in feeding my blog, and introducing me to people all over who share my passion for veterans and veterans’ issues. Recently I was Re-Tweeted on Twitter by @stikrick; Rick Allen, the drummer for Def Leppard. He RT’d a post by @OpPTSD_Mac about Zane Love, then @stikrick posted an @reply to me:

@HeatherBray Thank for bringing awareness to PTSD. http://bit.ly/3f1p4r Do you know about Raven Drum? http://bit.ly/4mjbBF

The second link introduced me to The Raven Drum Foundation, a foundation co-founded by Rick Allen. The Raven Drum Foundation was founded in 2001 to harness the therapeutic benefits of drumming.

Raven Drum Foundation’s connection to veterans is their “Veteran Resiliency Project,” which is “an innovative healing program for veterans, active duty military, and their families,” according to their website. The “Veteran Resiliency Project” is using the benefits of drumming to help relieve stress, combat injuries, anxiety and depression being suffered by military personnel and their families.

In addition to the “Veteran Resiliency Project” through the Raven Drum Foundation, Def Leppard gave away free tickets to their summer tour to active duty and military veterans.

Def Leppard and the Raven Drum Foundation will be featured on CBS’ The Today Show on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 8 a.m. Eastern time.

I’ll be watching to learn more about this organization, will you?

Def Leppard hosted an old school party for all the parents in the Tampa Bay Area!

What is your favorite thing about England- or Britain for that matter? My answer is simple: DEF LEPPARD.

Def Leppard was founded in 1977, in Sheffield. It consisted of 5 guys who chose to become musicians instead of opting for working in a factory-luckily for both them and us. Today the band still maintains three of the 5 original line-up and keeps on rocking. They’re huge, they are glamorous and well; they rock. How they go to be big, and how they reached their current line-up and most of all how they kept together amaze the fans that know the whole story. Here we go:

The original 5- from left to right: Pete Willis, Steve Clark, Joe Elliot, Rick Allen, Rick Savage

I am really not going to go into specific dates. The point is Willis was the first and last to be kicked out of the band. Phil Collen replaced Willis. With Collen’s arrival, and probably also with the times, glam really showed its presence.

left to right: Rick Savage (Bass-guitar), Joe Elliot (vocals), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitars), Steve Clark (guitars)

What were they thinking? Good old 80s...

So you have a bunch of rockers who perform to big audiences, sell a good number of records and have an increasing number of fans.

But then something terrible happened. And terrible is possibly the understatement of the year.

Drummer Rick Allen had a car accident that cost him an arm. An amazing thing is they all coped with together. More amazingly, Rick continued to play in the band-as the drummer, having designed a drum kit that tranfers the function of the lost arm to be used by his foot.

Rick Allen, still rocking.

However, although Rick overcame his struggle, Steve Clark couldn’t manage to handle his own. Having been struggling with alcoholism, the band lost their friend to alcoholism. Later on, the band got a new member: Vivian Campbell.So with Vivian’s arrival the band then had its permanent line-up. second one on the left: Vivian So after kicking one member out and replacing him, supporting their one-armed drummer back to life and overcoming the loss of a close friend and replacing him, one of the oldest members had to deal with a personal trouble. Bass player Rick Savage had facial paralysis. You see, it is never a walk in the park to lose the control of one side of your face completely. And even though, it healed in time, Savage got back the 70% of that side of his face. It can not be easy having to deal with the condition when you were considered to be a sex god. You see, Savage used to be one of the most beautiful men in rock. Although he is in no terms ugly, the difference between “before” and after” is not due to age, but the condition called Bell’s Palsy.R. Savage. The pictures don’t do him justice.

What was I saying? Oh yes- Savage used to be hot, hot and hot. And if you think I’m being superficial, don’t. An actual, stupid interviewer has asked him and I quote: “…I could imagine going from the position that you were in — from ultimate rock sex god to….” Yep. He was asked that.

After. Rick is said to show the leftover symptoms more when he is tired

Rick, after the paralysis

I have the memories and the concert t-shirt. Read on the later Def Leppard posts of concert reviews.

1. Limp Bizkit. – Lead singer Fred Durst has directed and acted in several movies, but in my humble opinion I thought those movies sucked and he and Limp Bizkit are doing shows again. A personality like Fred Durst has is hard to find in music these days and I love it. He has gotten into feuds with bands like Creed, Slipknot, Placebo all bands which I think are horrible. My favorite songs from the Bizkit are My Way, Rollin, It’ll be Ok, Nookie, Break Stuff, N 2 Gether Now and their cover of Behind Blue Eyes.
2. Billy Idol.-It’s not a nice day out for a White Wedding, but it’s always a nice day when you listen to Billy Idol. The man has so many great songs and a great head of hair. I recommend you listen to the albums Billy Idol and Rebel Yell. Plus the songs, Rebel Yell, White Wedding, Dancing with Myself, Mony Mony, Cradle of Love, Hot in the City.
3. Hanson. – This has been one of deepest darkest secrets, I’m a straight male and I listen to Hanson. Many people say they were the Jonas Brothers of the 90’s and I disagree. Even though both bands are named for their last names. Hanson actually has talent and had a huge hit MMMBop 10 years later people still want to see them. While the Jonas Brothers sell out their concerts, name me one mega hit they had and to me they were a band that was pushed too much by Disney. If you want to hear what the Jonas Brothers want to sound like listen to the songs MMMBop, This Time Around, Lucy, Your Illusion, I will come to you and Save Me.
4. Def Leppard. – First off happy 50th to one of the best rock singers in the world Joe Elliot. I saw them with Poison last month and that was one of the best concerts I ever attended. They never get old and I amazed with their drummer Rick Allen who only plays with one arm. I recommend you listen to Hysteria one of the best albums in the 80’s. My favorite songs from the Brit-Rockers are Photograph, Rocket, Rock On, and Pour Some Sugar on Me, Rock of Ages, Animal and my all time favorite is Armageddon It. Also they did some songs with Taylor Swift which is pretty cool.
5. Third Eye Blind- No matter how many times I will listen to Somebody Told Me by a certain band from Vegas. Jumper by Third Eye Blind will always be my first love and that was probably my first song I was obsessed with. You may know this song from Yes Man where the guy is about to jump out of his building. I recommend the album Blue which is one of their greatest albums. Plus you should lend an ear to songs like Jumper, Never Let You Go, Deep Inside of You, Semi-Charmed Life, Losing a Whole Year, How’s It Going To Be, and from their new album that will be released on August 18,Don’t Believe a Word.

CINE announces What Makes a Winning Film seminar at Discovery Communications. Click here to learn more.

Only $15; 6-8pm, Wednesday, July 15. Panel guests: Donald Thoms, CINE President; Rita Mullin, Vice President of Development, TLC; Rick Allen, CEO, SnagFilms; Mary Frost, Managing Partner, Frank Frost Productions; and Steven Fischer, CINE Masters Series Award-winning Filmmaker.

Author John Michael Stuart was featured in the June/July issue of ABILITY Magazine. The bimonthly publication is the contemporary magazine of health, disability and human potential and focuses on disability issues, new technology, travel and employment opportunities as well as human interest stories. ABILITY Magazine interviews high profile personalities such as Rick Allen, Elizabeth Taylor, Anthony Edwards, Mary Tyler Moore, President Clinton, Senator Bob Dole and many others about health-related issues and causes. In addition, ABILITY provides information on the latest in health science, workforce diversity, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and new technologies. For more information, click here.

Received a sweet invite from the folks at CINE in Washington, DC. They’ve asked me to appear on a panel at Discovery Channel on July 15th. What an honor!

When I saw the list of who was going to be on the panel I nearly fell out of my chair. Check it out: Donald Thoms, CINE president and former VP of Talent Development for Discovery Studios; Rita Mullin VP of Production and Development at TLC; Rick Allen, CEO of SnagFilms. I’m excited just to hear these members talk! Should be a great night. If you’re in DC Wednesday, July 15 at 6.30pm stop on by! Topic of discussion is “What Makes a Winning Film”. Check CINE for specifics.

Thanks for the invite, Wendy! See you on the 15th.

This dude is unreal.

If only he started a band with Rick Allen.

-LaRoushe

DEF LEPPARD

POISON

JUN 23 Camden, NJ (US) Susquehana Bank Center
JUN 25 Cuyahoga Falls, OH (US) Blossom Music Center
JUN 26 Darien Center, NY (US) Darien Lake Perf. Arts Center
JUN 28 Scranton, PA (US) Toyota Pavilion
JUN 30 Mansfield, MA (US) Comcast Center
JUL 01 Holmdel, NJ (US) PNC Bank Arts Center
JUL 03 Saratoga, NY (US) Saratoga Perf. Arts Center
JUL 04 Toronto, ON (Canada) Molson Amphitheatre
JUL 07 Hartford, CT (US) Meadows Music Theatre
JUL 08 Wantagh, NY (US) Nikon at Jones Beach
JUL 10 Burgettstown, PA (US) Post-Gazette Pavilion
JUL 11 Virginia Beach, VA (US) Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
JUL 12 Bristow, VA (US) Nissan Pavilion
JUL 15 Cincinnati, OH (US) Riverbend Music Center
JUL 17 Tinley Park, IL (US) 1st Midw. Bank Amphitheatre
JUL 18 Milwaukee, WI (US) Marcus Amphitheater
JUL 20 Maryland Heights, MO (US) Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
JUL 21 Kansas City, MO (US) Sprint Center
JUL 23 Noblesville, IN (US) Verizon Wireless Music Center
JUL 24 Clarkston, MI (US) DTE Energy Music Theatre
AUG 07 Raleigh, NC (US) Time Warner Pavilion
AUG 08 Charlotte, NC (US) Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
AUG 10 Nashville, TN (US) Sommet Center
AUG 11 Birmingham, AL (US) Verizon Wireless Music Center
AUG 13 West Palm Beach, FL (US) Cruzan Amphitheatre
AUG 14 Tampa, FL (US) Ford Amphitheatre
AUG 15 Atlanta, GA (US) Lakewood Amphitheatre
AUG 18 New Orleans, LA (US) New Orleans Arena
AUG 19 Houston, TX (US) C. Woods Mitchell Pavilion
AUG 21 Dallas, TX (US) Superpages.com Center
AUG 22 Tulsa, OK (US) BOK Center
AUG 24 Englewood, CO (US) Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
AUG 25 Salt Lake City, UT (US) USANA Amphitheatre
AUG 28 Albuquerque, NM (US) Journal Pavilion
AUG 29 Phoenix, AZ (US) Cricket Wireless Pavilion
AUG 30 Irvine, CA (US) Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
SEP 02 Mountain View, CA (US) Shoreline Amphitheatre
SEP 03 Sacramento, CA (US) Sleep Train Amphitheatre
SEP 05 Las Vegas, NV (US) MGM Grand Garden Arena
SEP 06 San Bernardino, CA (US) San Manuel Amphitheater

——-
——-

DEF LEPPARD

POISON

JUN 23 Camden, NJ (US) Susquehana Bank Center
JUN 25 Cuyahoga Falls, OH (US) Blossom Music Center
JUN 26 Darien Center, NY (US) Darien Lake Perf. Arts Center
JUN 28 Scranton, PA (US) Toyota Pavilion
JUN 30 Mansfield, MA (US) Comcast Center
JUL 01 Holmdel, NJ (US) PNC Bank Arts Center
JUL 03 Saratoga, NY (US) Saratoga Perf. Arts Center
JUL 04 Toronto, ON (Canada) Molson Amphitheatre
JUL 07 Hartford, CT (US) Meadows Music Theatre
JUL 08 Wantagh, NY (US) Nikon at Jones Beach
JUL 10 Burgettstown, PA (US) Post-Gazette Pavilion
JUL 11 Virginia Beach, VA (US) Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
JUL 12 Bristow, VA (US) Nissan Pavilion
JUL 15 Cincinnati, OH (US) Riverbend Music Center
JUL 17 Tinley Park, IL (US) 1st Midw. Bank Amphitheatre
JUL 18 Milwaukee, WI (US) Marcus Amphitheater
JUL 20 Maryland Heights, MO (US) Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
JUL 21 Kansas City, MO (US) Sprint Center
JUL 23 Noblesville, IN (US) Verizon Wireless Music Center
JUL 24 Clarkston, MI (US) DTE Energy Music Theatre
AUG 07 Raleigh, NC (US) Time Warner Pavilion
AUG 08 Charlotte, NC (US) Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
AUG 10 Nashville, TN (US) Sommet Center
AUG 11 Birmingham, AL (US) Verizon Wireless Music Center
AUG 13 West Palm Beach, FL (US) Cruzan Amphitheatre
AUG 14 Tampa, FL (US) Ford Amphitheatre
AUG 15 Atlanta, GA (US) Lakewood Amphitheatre
AUG 18 New Orleans, LA (US) New Orleans Arena
AUG 19 Houston, TX (US) C. Woods Mitchell Pavilion
AUG 21 Dallas, TX (US) Superpages.com Center
AUG 22 Tulsa, OK (US) BOK Center
AUG 24 Englewood, CO (US) Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
AUG 25 Salt Lake City, UT (US) USANA Amphitheatre
AUG 28 Albuquerque, NM (US) Journal Pavilion
AUG 29 Phoenix, AZ (US) Cricket Wireless Pavilion
AUG 30 Irvine, CA (US) Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
SEP 02 Mountain View, CA (US) Shoreline Amphitheatre
SEP 03 Sacramento, CA (US) Sleep Train Amphitheatre
SEP 05 Las Vegas, NV (US) MGM Grand Garden Arena
SEP 06 San Bernardino, CA (US) San Manuel Amphitheater

——-
——-

Zoals met zoveel onderwerpen op het internet, geldt ook met muziek: je kan er over nadenken. Je kan erover lezen. Je kan erover schrijven.

Maar het leukste is toch wel: het doen

(Goede muziek maken, dus, want daar hebben we het over.)

Zo trof ondergetekende na enkele jaren en vele omzwervingen op het wereldwijde web zijn bandmaatje van weleer. Die op zijn beurt weer iemand kende die óók gitaar speelt. Zelfs een basgitarist(e) was snel gevonden, want zij bleek bij Zutphen op kantoor te werken.

Een vaste drummer vinden blijkt een stuk moeilijker.  En dat terwijl we vreselijk veel plezier hebben met muziek maken, geen zware tijdsbesteding vragen en een uitstekende muzikale smaak hebben- en u ook, want anders was u geen bezoeker van dit blog!

Hoort, zegt het voort:

Amateur DRUMMER (m/v) GEZOCHT

voor onze coverband

Hij mag jong zijn,

Jakob Armen (7 jaar oud)

Of juist bejaard:

Charlie Watts (67)

Kaal,

Phil Collins & Luis Conte

Of ruig behaard:

Animal

Een vrouw mag ook-

deze heeft het warm:

Wonder Bra Drummer Girl

Zelfs gehandicapt-

het kan óók met maar één arm!

Rick Allen (Def Leppard)

Zo lang je maar lekker in de maat blijft slaan

Max Weinberg (E-Street Band)

hebben wij voor jou een wereldbaan!

Spinal Tap – The Drummer Problem

From the Rockmine Almanac for today (Wednesday, 28th January):

Birth

1946. Rick Allen (The Box Tops) born in Little Rock, Arkansas.

On Stage

1995. Elton John, Ray Cooper and Sting perform at the first benefit for The Elton John AIDS Foundation in New York. The performance along with dinner and an auction raises $ 1 million.

In Court

1980. All five original members of Guys And Dolls appear in court for the first day of a legal case brought by their former managers, Ammo Productions Ltd., for £ 12,900 in unpaid commission. The group have issued a counter suit claiming £ 3,418 in unpaid royalties.

In Hospital

1987. Elton John’s wife, Renate, flies into London after working for the last month in Los Angeles. She has not travelled to Australia, where Elton is still recovering in hospital but did say she has spoken to him on the ‘phone “at least once a day”.

On Television

1971. Top Of The Pops. (BBC-1, U.K.) Presented by Jimmy Savile. Badfinger; Elvis Presley (Promo); Frankie Valli; George Harrison/Pan’s People; Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon; Martha & The Vandellas; Stevie Wonder; The Equals; The Mixtures; The Supremes/Pan’s People; The Weathermen. Here are Badfinger with “No Matter What”

Death

2000. Motown saxophonist Thomas “Beans” Bowles dies in Detroit after a ten year battle with prostate cancer, aged 71. Bowles was best known as a baritone sax player and arranger but was also tour manager for the early Motown Revues that toured the U.S.A. His career with Motown was far from smooth. He claimed to have written “Fingertips” for Stevie Wonder but never received a credit. On leaving the company, he was even forced to negotiate for the rights to his own name, which he’d unwittingly given to Motown when he signed his contract in 1962.

Go to Rockmine’s main site here.

© Copyright 1995 – 2009 Rockmine Archives. Use of this content is prohibited unless licensed by Rockmine Archives.

POISON

DEF LEPPARD

Apparently Bret Michaels and Joe Elliot have been trashing each other all of last year over which band has more “artistic credibility”. Read all the details on this Diva-Fest HERE.

——-
——-