There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “If your enemy wrongs you, buy each of his children a drum.” In Santa Cruz, some local businesses are wondering who the enemy is that they wronged.
Bang! Whang! Whang!
For the past three weeks, they have been forced to put up with the public drum circle that meets downtown every Wednesday. They used to meet in a parking lot, where the drumming was somewhat muffled. Then the farmer’s market expanded, and the drummer found new quarters, much closer to local businesses.
Bang! Whang! Whang!
One of these businesses is Jack’s Hamburgers. The owner, Connie Hutchinson, says that the “drumming is driving my customers nuts!”
Bang! Whang! Whang!
Faust Salon manager Anna Wu echoes this sentiment. Her customers want a massage or facial to relax. Studies have shown that it is very hard to relax when, to quote Robert Browning, “Bang-whang-whang goes the drum!”
Bang! Whang! Whang!
Police spokesman Zach Friend says that there have been complaints about the drum circle since it was founded about 15 years ago. Nevertheless, things have gotten much worse since the percussionists were forced to move. He puts the onus squarely on the musicians, who are not all Charlie Watts or Jack Dejohnette. He blames the drummers’ sense of entitlement and their willingness to flaunt the law by claiming their right to freedom of expression.
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He must be thinking of another proverb: “A fool is like the big drum that beats fast but does not realize its hollowness.”
Bang! Whang! Whang!
Peddlers Put Out With Percussionists
