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A few drumming related things I've done

rec.music.makers.percussion is a great USENET newsgroup frequented by drummers, percussionists, lurkers, loiterers and various flame-throwers pretending to be drummers.

Known by the acronym RMMP, its a great little zoo with a world-wide assortment of the weird and wonderful, the good, the bad and the ugly, and a general talent pool of drumming know how. Some people just come to stare at the strange life forms that inhabit this corner of cyberspace, and others jump in with both feet, diving into any and all threads that mention a subject on which they think they'd like to voice an opinion (well considered, or otherwise).

Its a great place to learn about drums and drumming, meet other drummers, listen to what other drummers are doing, and - in between the incendiary devices - benefit from the accumulated centuries of total experience represented by all the regular posters.

There are also drum builders, drum shop owners, and drum distributors all giving us the benefit of their knowledge and experience. Pro's and amateurs alike all rubbing shoulders and occasionally taking pot shots at each other. This is the melee that makes RMMP one of those great news groups.

Various RMMP traditions have grown up over the years. For instance, those people who regularly frequent the news group are known as "Shriners" after some posts by Bill Ray, or "Apes" as started by RMMP's resident poet, wit, self-style custodian of the Ape House, and birthday greeting composer par-excellence, JMT - who is sometimes wise, and sometimes otherwise. :-)

The last time a poll was taken on how long shriners had been playing the drums, we reached a total of over 2200 years drumming experience, with the average being just over 23 years!

Here are the web sites (in alphabetical order) of some of the RMMP regulars. This list is continuously being amended, so if I've left any shriners off, don't panic, just contact me through RMMP and I'll add your web site to the list.

© Chris Whealy, 2005