Hate In The Height

Posted By Ian on Jul 20, 2012 | 2 comments

I retagged this blog with the tag line from my other site www.TheBestDrummerInTheWorld.com….Tag line, Lessons In Drumming And Confidence. Today, it was I who learned some lessons. This blog is really becoming that. Lessons I learned. And my confidence was shaken.

After much debate (all in my mind), I decided that I am going to really go for making this what I do.I’m in San Francisco. My favorite city. Much different than Phoenix.
Did you know that  14 million people a year visit Fishermans Wharf?So I started my experiment by taking a kick and snare down to the center of what I thought was hippie, peace love and understanding central. Corner of Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco.
I started out at 9 am, went to Home Depot and made myself a drum rug. Packed the car and went about scouting spots in my new home town.When a rare parking spot opened up 3 spaces from the famed corner, I thought I’d struck gold.
I unpacked the car, put my kick/snare on the cart and wheeled my little kit across the street.
Realized I forgot my hi hat stand, but willed my way to set up and play.Its an experiment after all.Layed down a groove, passers by, stopped and stared. Within 10 minutes I had $2 and probably 20 photos taken.Then it all came crashing down.

Some dude, carrying a laundry basket, but not a homeless dude, comes up, obviously pissed.
“Do you live here?” (Motions to the building next to me)
“no”
“Well, why dont you go do this in front of your fuckin house!!!! Its too fuckin loud!!!”
“sorry” I mumbled.
“you dont give a fuck, you’ll propbably just keep going because you you dont give a fuck”
“I give a fuck. You dont have to be a dick about it.”
“You wont stop”
“I said I’d stop. Because I do care. You just dont have to be a fuckin asshole about it”
I started packing up my stuff. The guy stormed off.

I was devastated.

It struck me that my belief is that drumming is good communication. And communication solves everything.
With all the Facebook, email, texting, tweeting, people are strangers to their neighbors.

So, it really hit me at a very basic level that this guy just freaked out that I was playing a good groove in his world. I was invading his “personal space” and really upsetting him.
And the worst part was he accused me of not caring.

The practical lesson learned is that  you have to pick the right spot. And you have to take into account the greater surroundings. I was guilty of operating off a mistaken assesment of Height Asbury as this 60’s haven of community activism.

The guy pays his rent to live there, he puts up with the regular noise and craziness, but the drummer in the street was just too much. I get it. My bad.

The bigger lesson is what I had the hard time with. Doesnt anyone care?

The dude said I didn’t. I do.

He knew only that I was making noise that he didnt like.

The lessons I refuse to learn is “people are assholes” and “nobody cares”

I stopped playing to prove to that guy that I did care.

People do care and they are usually trying to do what they feel is right.

Thats the lesson I learned later in the same day.

Next post

My bad.