The Begininning Of A Beginning

In 1998 just outside of Belfast Ireland there was a revival, and in the midst of it I fell in love.  I had been involved in music for my whole life, but there was an expression that I had never really heard that was featured, that of the drums.
The drums were playing as one of the speakers commissioned me as a warrior, and as I fell to the floor, I opened my heart and asked God for the drums, and He gave them to me.
I didn’t have any idea what that was going to mean, only that I would have a new weapon in my little arsenal (and I really didn't actually know that  I had n arsenal).  I went out and bought an Irish bodhran (boe-run) and began to fiddle with it and eventually got the sounds out of it, now to get the rhythms out.
The challenge was to playing in 4/4 time when it is designed to play in 6/8 rhythm, but the ingenuity of someone who plays intuitively can overcome pretty much anything. 

Having been a musician most of my life I had certain sensibilities to overcome, and there was a bit of a struggle; including the pastor not feelin’ it, so to speak.  In those times you hope for an intervention.  Someone who has the vote of confidence from those whom you see yourselves under and someone who has you respect as well.
Enter Georgian Banov of a band called Silverwind back in the 1970’s.  And he had his eye on my drum…  that I was having trouble playing in 4/4 time.  He asked if he could play and then should me how to play within the worship setting.  He handed it back to me and I was set free.  Before long it was congas, udu, djembe, quika, ocean drum and so many others- each has a sound, a voice to speak into the atmosphere and change things.

So that was me, breaking loose.  Then on line I ran across a group called Psalm Drummers.  Powerful concept, drum intercession.  Founded by Teryl Bryant, a studio musician from London.  He put together a drum circle that as held at Penn State that had over 400 drummers participating made up of Christian drummers from across the nations that chartered local psalm drummer groups.  I never belonged to one of them, but I saw the strength in the concept.

I have played since that time, breaking through brass heavens and hard hearts and closed minds.