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| A band of brothers |
My eldest son Josh plays the drums. Real drums. Loud drums. At my house.
Yep.
Josh was given his first drum kit for his thirteenth birthday. Full size. Full noise. His parents bought it for him.
I know!
You're wondering... "What parents in their right mind encourage their kid to play drums, by buying them a drum kit?"
I know!
I'm wondering the same thing. And I was one half of those parents. The other half moved to Canberra.
Josh had drum lessons, for many years. I paid. I even drove him there.
I know! Does the word 'dumbshit' mean anything to you?
He was pretty a good drummer, especially when I had ear plugs. The neighbours didn't agree. More than once we had the cops on our doorstep. I can understand that. I really can. Although I used to think the neighbours got off lightly. Their lounge room wasn't vibrating! (BTW... If noise can be heard from the street, a noise complaint is valid and an fine can be issued. Any time of day. At least in NSW. I know.)
So when I went from renter to owner-occupier six years ago, the garage was converted into a sound-proof music room. I am such a cool mum. And my dad and brother are builders. I am a cool mum with cheap (read: FREE) labour.
That room was the best. Josh and his muso mates would 'jam' in there to their heart's content. Whenever. For as long as they could sustain it. You could hardly hear the
A couple of years ago Josh decided to sell his drum kit (the current, bigger, louder one) to buy a car. He'd taken up 'singing' (of some description) in a band and had essentially given up playing drums. I was sad. Not.
And after living out of home for a bit, Josh moved back (kids do that - twice!) and took up residence in the music room. My dad replaced the window that we had initially removed during the sound-proofing exercise. Just so the kid wouldn't suffocate in his sleep.
The sound-proof room is no longer sound-proof.
Recently Josh decided he wanted to start drumming again so he bought a second-hand drum kit off a friend. Real drums. Loud drums. At my house. Again.
What musical instruments do your kids play? How good are you at pretending that you like it? Academy Award level? Or just a Logie?
We are just starting piano lessons... Will definitely keep this post in mind if my kids ever express interest in drums :)
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you! Just wanted to say thanks for your lovely comment on Honey's blog! And gosh - I think you're a very brave (& tolerant) parent to let your child learn/play drums!!! :-) I don't have any kids - but when I was younger, I learnt piano and I thought having to put up with me practising scales endlessly every day was bad enough for my parents! :-)
ReplyDeleteHsin-Yi
Oh Lisa, that was so funny! So glad you dropped by 'cause you gave me the best laugh of the day. My daughter played the trumpet for awhile but the next door neighbours used to poke fun at her over the fence so after two years she gave it up. The trumpet was provided to her by her school which was a good thing because if I had bought it I may have forced her to play for longer.
ReplyDeleteElectric guitar and clarinet goin on here at the mo...Golden Globe for me...we are cool Mums xx
ReplyDeleteOh we've got guitars too. About five of them! Lucky no wind instruments though. I managed to avoid that one, with the except of the recorder when the boys were in primary school!
DeleteMy son has an electric plastic drum kit complete with microphone that my brother-in-law decided to drop in on Boxing Day morning. The headset is hidden and the brother-in-law hasn't been back since! I think real drums are pretty cool though, my nephew played from a really early age and it was a good outlet for him.
ReplyDeleteYou might want to read Lou's post on this subject.
ReplyDeleteCranky Old Man
http://waitingtoemigrate.blogspot.com/2012/02/nasty-neighbours.html
Hey thanks Joe! It's nice to know I'm not alone ;-)
DeleteHa! Such a great post!!! I couldn't stop smiling :) My brother started teaching my kids to play the drums this Christmas...now all they want is their own drum kit!....I'm not sure what to do??? I think you are a great Mum supporting your kids in whatever they choose to do!!
ReplyDeleteMy dad is a drummer and taught all my brothers and I hope that one day he will teach my kids. I loved it, he would play us to sleep when we were little - yes, really.
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I have to admit that in the last week I have become quite annoyed with our new neighbour who practices his drums at nap time every day. He's probably just not as good as my dad (I may be bias, but he's pretty amazing ;) You're a rocking mum, letting a drum kit into your house. The best thing about a dad with a kit is that they can go to his to practice!
I come from a musical family, so I will totally encourage the CrashKids to play an instrument, just not the drums! ;)
ReplyDelete