In Depth Interview with Jim Donovan

Melissa Yerkov
Philly News : Trend Editor
2512 Metropolitan Drive
Trevose, PA 19053
MYerkov@phillynews.com

• How long have you been a drummer?
>>I have drummed since I was 8 years old. I am 38 now....

• When did you pick up your first drum?
>> When i was 8 years old my grandmother Olga took me to Florida. There I fell in love with a little drum from a gift shop made out of coffee can. She bought it for me and I've been hooked ever since.

• What first intrigued your interest in drumming?
>> On that same trip, I saw my first parade. There was a drum line with several large bass drums that stopped in front of me. When they started to play it gave me such an intense feeling in my gut that I knew I always wanted to experience. the vibration from those drums changed me somehow, I knew I would play drums from that moment.

• What other aspects of your life has drumming influenced?
>> Most aspects of my life have been touched by drumming in some way.
Drumming affects my general sense of well being, it has given me several wonderful careers that allow me to support my family. Drumming keeps opening new worlds for me to travel to whether it is teaching at a home for deaf children, or traveling , playing and teaching through the cities in Italy. Besides my wife and children and good health, I'd say drumming is the most significant blessing in my life thus far.

• What differences are there between hand drumming at sitting at a drum set? Which do you enjoy more? Which is more fulfilling?
The Drum set involves a very different physicality. I engage my entire body with it. Hand drumming allows for more freedom to move around with the drum (strapped on). I honestly love both ways of drumming equally, each one has it's own gifts, challenges and growth opportunities.

• What first inspired you to teach drumming? What do you enjoy most about them?
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A good friend of mine asked me if I would consider facilitating a drum circle at a festival he was running called the Great Blue Heron Music Festival. I agreed and immediately found that teaching was significantly more challenging than any of the performing I was doing. This challenge really caught my attention. I also was enamored with the way teaching gave me close interaction with people. Performing in front of tens of thousands of people was always fun and had a unique kind of rush to it, but it truly paled in comparison to watching someone have a real progression of growth in one of my workshops.

• How long have you been teaching these workshops?
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• >>About seven years now
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• What should someone expect when taking one of your workshops?
>> First you can expect to be in a very relaxed no pressure environment where you can feel free to learn at your own pace. Beginners are highly encouraged to attend. Drummers with experience, even professional ones will find ample opportunities for real growth and expansion.
Here are a few more points from my literature:

Develop a stronger rhythmic foundation as you learn about yourself
Feel purpose and connection as you play music in an energized group setting 
Deeply explore rhythms from around the world
Learn to express your creativity through music 
Sharpen listening skills and dexterity
Learn how to create your own rhythms and solos
Leave feeling enlivened and focused
Experience drumming and music in new ways and learn to understand them more deeply.
Leave the workshop feeling rejuvenated, excited and focused with new skills, understanding, and friends.
• Are there any prerequisites for the workshop?

>>Only showing up and the desire to try. I even bring drums.

• What is the most rewarding aspect of teaching drumming workshops?

>>Seeing someone go from thinking they can't make music and progressing to the point of enjoying themselves doing it and then seeing them come back again and again to workshops and other drum circles knowing that I had something to do with helping them along their path.

• How long have you been teaching at Saint Francis University? How do you like it?

>>I've been at Saint Francis University part time for about 2 years. I start full time this fall where I'll be teaching World Music, hand drumming as well as running a World Drumming Ensemble. So far I really love it there, the students and faculty are some of the warmest people I've had the pleasure working with. I really feel fortunate because I've been given a very open situation to create a program for them of material that I love doing. It also allows me to travel much less and spend more consistent time with my family.

• How did you become involved with the World Drumming Ensemble?
>> I created, designed and direct it for Saint Francis University. I wanted to create an ensemble that was open to everyone on campus, that had no pre-requsites or auditions. My teaching style very steeped in the concept of inclusiveness.

• How did you learn songs from West Africa, Central Africa and the Caribbean?

>> Several places. During my time at the University of Pittsburgh I had the great fortune of being able to play, study and perform with some of the foremost performer/educators in the field of African Music. I studied with a very well known ethnomusicologist from Ghana named Kwabena Nketia. I also studied and still continue to perform with a gentleman from the Democratic Republic of Congo named Elie Kihonia. Over the years I've had the great pleasure of playing, attending workshops and speaking with many West African musicians as well as several gifted American musicians. All along this journey I just kept my ears open for new things to learn and incorporate. It continues to be a life long process.

• Why do you think it is important to experience music from other cultures?
Music from other cultures help to give us a small window into the lives, customs, stories, and joy of places around us. I feel like the more we can understand those who are different from us the more we are able to grow ourselves. This kind of education also helps to eliminate fear and things like racism since we tend to fear people less as we learn more about them.

• How have your experiences of touring with Rusted Root influenced your life today?

>>Rusted Root was one of the greatest joys and learning experiences I could have asked for. That experience with those particular people taught me how to play music directly from my heart and it showed me on a daily basis the power that heart centered music has both for myself and a dancing audience.

• What is it like sharing the stage with legends like The Allman Bros and The Grateful Dead?
>>Very surreal, humbling and yet very eye opening. Playing with these legends was like going to musicians school everyday. Just watching all the interactions from music on stage to life off stage really helped me to understand that even though these musicians are supremely gifted, they also are real human beings with many of the same concerns that all of us go through.

• Do you enjoy touring with a group more, or life as a solo artist?
>> During most of the time i was on the road, i really enjoyed myself. Now as life changes and my family grows I prefer to be home and experience the richness of that.
I know i'll always perform, record and teach. I also know that the way that manifests will change like everything else. Doing recording and performing projects on my own is incredibly rewarding and I feel lucky just to be able to experience both sides both with an group and solo.

• What are your future plans? Can we expect more solo albums to be released?
>>I have several new projects set for release this yhear and next. the first of these is a new disc called Jim Donovan : Drum the Ecstatic International : Live
This disc is a recording of my new performing group which consists of myself along with West African, Central African musicians. We play a blend of highly energetic traditional songs, original compositions consisting mainly of drumming and acapella vocals,
I also have several new volumes of instructional drumming cds I'm finishing up this summer. Last is a meditation/relaxation disc titled "The Yoga of Drum and Chant" which I hope to release later this year.

• What advice would you give to others wanting to learn how to drum?
>> Definitely try it, and just like anything, the more energy and attention you give to it, the more it will give back to you.

• What is your favorite aspect of drumming?
>>Watching others react to it.

www.JimDonovanMusic.com