Sheboom!

Some days start off with a bang, But today started off with a boom, actually it was more of a SHE-BOOM! 

Sheboom booming.

We met Aimee Bass of Sheboom when she played percussion on the 15th with Elie Kaplan's band, the gHOST project. After that show Aimee told us about Sheboom, the all women drum ensemble she was a part of. American women playing African rhythms, we loved the idea and invited them to come and do a rehearsal here in our space.  Today was the day, Sheboom is four women, Aimee Bass, Corkie Neuhaus, Donna Donahue, and Beth Pestka.

Tali and the girls.

At this point we have worked with and observed a lot of musicians, not only do these women rock, they do it with style and more joy than anyone we know. Let's put it this way, you can't see and hear Sheboom without dancing with a big smile on your face. 

Sheboom in action.

The acoustics of our space were really interesting, because of the open beams of the ceiling there was not a lot of reverberation, yet at the same time the wide open brick walls and cement floor gave a real clarity to any sound. In fact, for the most part amplification was hardly needed most of the time. Well, volume is one thing that Sheboom has no problem with.

How Sheboom inspired Tali.

If you have seen or participated in any sort of drum circle sort of thing you have a jumping place for what Sheboom is all about. First of all these women don't sit, as they play their own version of these West African beats you are more like to feel like you are watching the fancy synchronized moved of the Four Tops.

Kickin' it!

From the first "Pa pa pa Bam Bam, ba Ba Bam BAm BAM" we were off and running, or rather, painting. They play for about an hour and when they stopped for a break Tali and I looked at each other and then to Sheboom, and said, " They can't stop now!" Then we turned to them and said, "You can't stop now!"

Royce's impressions.

Finally we agreed to let them have a break, and after a short breather everybody got back into it. We went on for another hour and took another break. While we were just hanging out, I think it was Corkie, asked us if we minded if they played a little more.  All I will say is that after another hour they packed up. 

Until next time.

I think we all learned a lot in that three hour session, and what was so cool is that we weren't finished in the least bit. We were energized by the Sheboom experience, which was a good thing because we had a session scheduled for tonight with the infamous Sid Yiddish.

©2011 The Colorboration Project is the property of Tali Farchi and Royce Deans.