NYR 2-8-14

When Jimmy and I lived in NYC 15.5 years ago, we went to see Stomp on Broadway. This show birthed the latent percussionist in me. I loved the syncopated rhythm and the transition of "noise" into music. For Christmas that year, the first of our marriage, Jimmy gave me a practice drum pad which was a much better alternative in our tiny NYC apartment than a full-blown drum set.

Fast forward more than a decade.  When Mac started school in Bogota, he had to choose which musical area he wanted to pursue as part of his curriculum.  The choices in the 2nd grade included violin and Stomp, among others.  Mac really wanted to play guitar but that wasn't offered until the 3rd grade. So he chose violin with the thinking that the violin was fairly close to the guitar and he could switch to guitar in the 3rd grade when it was first offered to students at his school.

I pleaded with him to choose Stomp.  I sang the virtues of percussion.  Beating on trash cans and making noise.  All to no avail.

He was adamant that he wanted to learn the violin.

I would love to believe that my son was a violin prodigy, but that was not the case. Playing the violin and practicing the violin was a torturous experience for those 9 months for all of us.  He wanted to switch to "Stump", as he called it, nearly from day one.  

He stuck it out but chose to do Stomp for the next two years.  He really seemed to love it, but maybe it was no practicing at home that he loved.  Or wearing jeans and t-shirts for the concerts. It was a much less traumatic experience for all of us involved, even if the musical education wasn't superior.  I'm sure he learned rhythm and who knows what else, but when we attended the concerts at school, it felt kind of like we were the bad kids who sat on the last pew at church to be as far away from the preacher's eye as possible. Our kid wasn't playing the violin or singing like an angel.  He was the one who looked like a thug beating on a bucket.  

Fast forward to now and Stomp came to DC.  We took Mac to an afternoon performance, and I do believe he was riveted by it if seeing him leaning forward in his chair for most of the show was any indication. If nothing else, I think he finally got the concept of what Stomp can be and for that, I'm most thankful.