Although I have been drumming for a while I had not done a real public performance until this week. I previously played guitar and ukulele in a swing jazz group called Swing 42. The members of that band plus two more make up our new folk/pop band called River Kicks. There are three other Hivers in the band in the form of 
We have been rehearing over the last few months and have a good set of tunes. These vary from traditional folk tunes dating back centuries, through some pop/folk songs you will have heard on the radio to some more mainstream songs that we give our own flavour too.
The gig was at a gathering of druids who were celebrating the autumn equinox in a some woods in Hertfordshire. A couple of the band members are druids. I will admit that I do not know much about their beliefs, but they are into celebrating the power of nature and that is good enough for me.
We were playing in a covered shelter with a paved area for the audience. The site has no mains power, but we had a battery unit that was sufficient for our needs. I am using my Yamaha DD-75 electronic drums that need 12V. In this case I was able to use the mains adaptor, but I have bought a USB to 12V adaptor. I just need to sort out a power pack to run it and I can be mobile. I had bought a little extra in the form of some light-up drum sticks. They glow purple when you hit something. I thought it would add to the experience and I was quite glad of them as it got a bit dark in there. I also had some fairy lights draped over the drums. You can just see the drums at the rear on the left.
Unfortunately one of our members could not make it as she was taken ill. She seems to be better now and resting at home. There were still seven of us playing drums, bass, piano, flute, clarinet (plus other instruments) and two guitars.
It was a fairly small audience of 20-30 people around the site, but they seemed to enjoy it and some were dancing by the end. It was the end of their event and so people were leaving anyway as we played and we stopped as it started to get dark.
There may be some recordings of the gig to come, but here is a rehearsal recording of me singing The Raggle Raggle Gypsy, which is a song of infidelity from several hundred years ago. I am playing the drums as I sing, but I find that easy as long as the rhythms are simple. We were missing our pianist at that rehearsal. Getting everyone together can be tricky.
As I write this the SoundCloud player is not showing properly, but the link should work.
I really enjoyed the gig, but I was feeling exhausted by the time I got home. Mind you, I had done two runs over the weekend, but I am feeling a bit stiff in the shoulders today. I am not used to continuously drumming for so long.
Rock on!
