Drum With Me!!!

[Catherinedana]

Hi there!

I wanted to introduce you all to our drum circle facilitation business. It's called Drum With Me and my husband, Barry Skeete and I do drum circles for all occasions. Barry mostly does circles at Assisted Living Facilities, Nursing homes and rehabs, but he also does parties, corporate events and any other type of event that you might think of.

I lead meditative drum circles that include voice, Native American flute and guided meditation. I also specialize in women's events.

Drums are provided for participants (up to about 40 people) as well as other percussion instruments and participants are also encouraged to bring their own instruments, if they have them. We would be able to provide as many as 100 or so drums for a corporate event.

We are located in Largo, on the West Coast of Florida but are able to travel if compensated. Please take a moment to view Barry's Drum With Me homepage www.drumwithme.com . From there you can go to the mother website, www.bluejayrhythms.com for more information.

Please contact us if you are interested! Hope to drum with you soon!

Catherine Costa

[Kfamr]

This is so neat. Drum circles are just about one of the best things in life. Have you ever been to the one at Treasure Island on Sundays?

[Catherinedana]

Yes. . .I used to go a lot, about 6 or 7 years ago. Barry and I are a bit older and calmer now and it has gotten a bit rowdy for us there. We drum whenever we can (he does it every day for his living!) and we share whenever we can as well. We have my whole family drumming now - whenever there is a family get together, we all drum. It's fabulous!!

[Kfamr]

That's so good.

I love the treasure island drum circle. The sounds of the ocean and drums at the same time. So relaxing.

[Medusa]

I haven't been to a drum circle in years! I managed a band from S. Africa ten years ago and I picked up a few pointers along the way on the djembe. I really miss it but I have to travel about an hour each way to go to a drum circle nowadays and I'm not even sure where there is one. What fun!

[Catherinedana]

Hi Mary,

You could look online and search for drum circles in your area. They are more common than you might think! Drumming has really gained popularity and people seem to really enjoy the energy, community and fun a drum circle can provide. Barry just did a little drum party for a boy's first birthday on Saturday!! There were about 6 kids there from 1 year to about 10 and he gave them little drums to play and showed them different percussion instruments. He got some "boomwhackers" which are tubes that you hit and each one is a different note so that you can actually play a song bashing these plastic tubes on the floor. Fabulous for kids! and me too! My sister and I were bopping each other with them this weekend and playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. . .hysterical!

Keep drumming!
Cathy

[Medusa]

Hi Mary,

You could look online and search for drum circles in your area. They are more common than you might think! Drumming has really gained popularity and people seem to really enjoy the energy, community and fun a drum circle can provide. Barry just did a little drum party for a boy's first birthday on Saturday!! There were about 6 kids there from 1 year to about 10 and he gave them little drums to play and showed them different percussion instruments. He got some "boomwhackers" which are tubes that you hit and each one is a different note so that you can actually play a song bashing these plastic tubes on the floor. Fabulous for kids! and me too! My sister and I were bopping each other with them this weekend and playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. . .hysterical!

Keep drumming!
Cathy

Oh yes, I remember Boom Whackers all too well. We taught at schools and preschools and the kids beat those things to death! We were always having to remind them to have some finesse. Not an easy task w/younguns. I think that I might check online for drum circles now that you mention it but I would like it to be adults only. I like the free form circles where there isn't a drum bully, if you know what I mean. There's always a leader who thinks s/he knows it all and s/he tries to drown you out. I guess I'm picky having worked w/real professionals.

[Catherinedana]

I know all too well what you mean. We call them "Djembe Cowboys"!

There's always one! But you may be able to find a women's circle to start which might be a bit more diplomatic (no offense to our male drummers out there, but it's true. . .) and then that could lead you to other circles.

Have fun and keep me posted on what you find!
Cathy

[Medusa]

Actually, one of the worst bullies is a woman. She gets up and stands right in front of you and tries to beat you down. I won't allow it; I just stop and let her make a fool of herself. Then her husband joins in and bangs on his kettle drum and people just get up and leave but they just don't get it. Ah well, can't let that stop me. I'll find something once my home improvements are done. I'm up to my neck in all of it right now.

[Catherinedana]

Geesh! I've never experienced anything like THAT! maybe you should come to Florida and drum!!

[Medusa]

I've been to some wonderful drum circles in AZ so I won't let that couple stop me. I'm sure there are others out there that they don't attend. I'll keep looking.

[Prairie Purrs]

Djembe Cowboys! Love it!

I've got a bodhran, but I haven't played it in years. I've sat in on a few drum circles up in the Colorado mountains that were pretty wonderful, but I've been ridden over by the cowboys on quite a few occasions as well.

[Catherinedana]

We did two drum circle facilitations this weekend and it was fabulous. Hot, but fabulous.

The first was in a local park, McGough Nature Park in Largo, and there were over thirty people there. Barry did a great job keeping everyone engaged and drumming. He's getting very very good at this! It was about 90 degrees on Saturday night and they light a fire to help keep the bugs away so needless to say, we were all soaking wet by the time we finished. There were a lot of families there and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

The second was a special musical event given by a sect called the Brahma Kumaris. They are a religious sect based in India and they believe that the world can be changed and cured with thoughts and meditations on peace, kindness, patience and love. Sounds good to me. It is run by an adminitration of women who are like yogis or swamis and they travel the world teaching meditation practices and speaking about peace. They are very beautiful. Barry and Fred Johnson, a local musician extraordinaire did a couple of drum and voice pieces and then I played the Native American flute to accompany the meditation. After that, we went to Hyde Park Village, just down the street, and Barry facilitated the drum circle that was hosted by the Brahma Kumaris. It absolutely rocked! The folks there were very into it, drummed magnificently and there were a couple of people who danced to the drumming to complete the scene. High energy and LOTS of fun! Again, it was over 90 degrees and we were all drenched! It was a great day altogether!

Cheers!
Cathy