And the beat goes on...

There is rhythm in everything we do. With day-to-day walking, talking, traffic, noise, sound and music, rhythms surround us whether we notice them or not. But there are some people around campus who are always aware of these beats and use them to their advantage. Drummers of local bands internalize the natural sounds of Bloomington to inspire their art, the music. \nDrummers are responsible for setting the pace and rounding out the sounds of songs their bands are working to create. Producing original music and generating the respect of music fans and students alike are the goals of Dan Hirons (Blue Moon Revue), Rory Sandhage (Laborious Clef) and Justin Shaw and Ben Handel (the drummer and percussionist team of Run of the Mill).\nHirons, Sandhage, Handel and Shaw were drawn to the drums for different reasons, yet their passions for the music are similar. Hirons began his career with the drums when his father gave him a snare drum six years ago. It was then that he knew he was a drummer and wanted to develop as a musician. Sandhage also began playing on the drums when his dad purchased a drum set for him to play, beginning Sandhage's self-described obsession with the drums. Handel got an early start on the drums as well, when in the third grade he and his brother started the Toxic Twinkies. \n"Our first gig was a parade," Handel says. "We played 'Louie, Louie' the entire parade."\nEach has a style all their own, drawing inspirations from the likes of drummers such as Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa), Jonathan Fishman (Phish) and Carter Beauford (Dave Matthews). \nThese Bloomington drummers compare the role of a drummer to the foundation of a house. \n"Drumming is a very aggressive thing," Sandhage says, "and it is also very calm and nice and sensual. It's evil, it's all these different emotions trapped into one. These emotions have to come out to make you a good player. Life is drumming and drumming is life. It's seamless." \nThese guys take their music seriously and pride themselves on their abilities to create the rhythmic undercurrent for their bands. Making a band successful takes long hours of practice and dedication, especially here in Bloomington, where the music scene is filled with talent. \n"We take it very seriously, when it comes to the music," Handel says. "How the band sounds is how the picture looks. I think that at least for us we just take such an ownership in it, because we're doing our own songs and we're writing the parts and we're doing it all. I just hope that's something people recognize, that we're putting a lot of work into it." \nSandhage says musicians in Bloomington who play original music are constantly at wits with cover bands, who he says make their money recycling someone else's good music. Bands like Run of the Mill, Blue Moon Revue and Laborious Clef fill the bulk of their sets with original music. \n"Just trying to do original music in this town is hard enough, and then trying to do original music that's not necessarily what you would hear on the radio right now, double whammy," Sandhage says. "But we're all really good, and we believe in what we're doing so it couldn't be stopped." \nWhile they are glued to their seats, these drummers have the freedom to improvise within the confines of their songs, constantly transforming it. \n"I just wish people knew more about what it takes to put it all together. There are so many more parts," Handel says. "There is so much that goes into making one note happen on stage. I think the whole thing is underrated." \nThis collective frustration aside, these drummers continually work on their improvisational skills and toe-tapping rhythms. All four of the drummers say the trick to performing the perfect drum solo is to not think about it.\n"The less you think and the more you listen, the better it turns out," Handel says. "Sometime you think about trying to do some crazy lick or something like that, but 99 percent of the time I am just thinking about trying to make it sound good, and usually the more I think about it the worse it sounds."\nThe drums can be an intimidating presence on the stage, which can be attributed to the set's large and bulky size. The set up and tear down for a drummer can be both time-consuming and exhausting. Being in local bands, these drummers have to do this themselves, without the help of roadies or assistants. But the payoff comes from the rush these drummers receive while playing. Despite the work involved in drumming, Handel, Hirons, Sandhage and Shaw love playing the drums. \n"My favorite part is just when you hear good music being made -- a tingle runs down your spine," Hirons says. "Being a part of good music is my favorite part of being a drummer."\nOne of the trademarks of a drummer is a secured location at the rear of the stage, but this is not always a bad thing. Especially in bar venues, their vantage facing the potentially boisterous crowds provides these drummers with some protection from fans. \nShaw recalls a time when two girls monopolized the dance floor to perform synchronized dance team moves to their songs. \n"It was like they were cheerleaders," Shaw says. \nWhile the guitar and bass players usually have specific notes that go into creating the melody of each song, the drummer has no specific track, especially when playing original music. It is up to them to pay attention to what the other members of the band are playing and pull everything together. \n"Just because their job in the band is rhythmic, a good drummer's job in the band is to know what everyone's doing and to understand everyone's instrument," Sandhage says.\nThere is a lot that goes into making a band successful, and the musical talent of a drummer can be a huge underlying force. \n"A bad drummer doesn't listen to his bandmates," Sandhage says. "There is a language taking place, at least with some musicians. It is like a conversation. A bad drummer is somebody with too much of an ego that's letting that get in front of the music. Good drummers are truly musicians, not just drummers"