Another Gypsy Remembers…

Since officially joining the tribe, I can always remember Brian generously giving his time and energy to help with all the heavy stuff. He kindly stored and hauled “the encampment” consisting of beautiful and numerous brightly colored tent coverings, rugs, pillows, and other equipment. He was always there for set-up and tear-down, two of the chores I never managed to do at faire (I found it better to stay out of the way and let the experts do their thing).

I remember dancing on stage at my first Ren Faire performance as a TRM gypsy.  I’m sure he and Chris and Greg were drumming for us. I was so nervous getting on stage that first time, but the audience was very kind, and I felt reassurance from the drummers that they would play a simple rhythm for me to improvise to. It was so much fun, and it helped me get over my stage fright to be surrounded by such warm and welcoming people.

The thing about music and dance is that they are so intertwined… especially in improvisational dancing. As a dancer you rely on the musicians to read your energy and be in sync together. For in that moment, all of us are woven together… dancers, drummers… each hearing, feeling, and moving to the same rhythm… it really is a beautiful thing to experience and leave you feeling connected.

There were also the silly dances like competition dance, where the drummers got to ‘mess with’ the dancers by changing rhythms from insanely fast to suuuper slow… Brian always had a smile on his face when he’d see our surprised reactions.

In-between the shows, Brian was king of napping. It seemed like he could sleep through anything. Gypsies are known to charge for naps, so I imagine he was quite wealthy for his skill.

I remember coming over to The Pits for drum practice a few times, too. It gave me the opportunity to review some of my favorite Middle Eastern rhythms on my otherwise silent Doumbek. But it didn’t take me long to realize that drum practice was more of an excuse to socialize than of hard-core drum training. Not that I minded, it was definitely a good time had by all. And watching he and Chris play Grand Theft Auto was just about as entertaining.

Most of all, though, I remember Brian’s enthusiasm for all the things he loved — his family, his friends, his hobbies — and his big-grinned smile when he was doing and being with those he loved.

“…The drumming shook the dancers

the dancers shook the ground

the ground sprouted answers

and the world was free…”