May 5, 2014 Gravity

In continuing with my ever-increasing need to explore what’s Over There, I set up my drums backwards last week.

It’s something I’ve always wanted to try. Those of you who play any instrument know it’s not as easy as it sounds to just switch-hit. It reverses your gravity. Everything you know comes crashing down! It feels like learning the instrument all over again, but perhaps more specifically, it’s what I imagine it’s like to go back to something after being in a major car crash or a traumatic event. There’s a familiarity, but there’s a dissonance between your mind (I know how to do this!) and your body (I don’t know if I can do this). Excitement/confusion.

What’s been great is re-discovering that energy you only have when you’re learning the ropes. Every trick I tried was like seeing a new color or reconnecting with an old friend after years away. I haven’t had so much fun practicing in years.

Driving home after these sessions (I drive a stick), I’ve felt the physical residuals of reversing my center of gravity, especially in my feet. I sway across my lane without even recognizing it, like that Seinfeld episode where Kramer widens the highway lanes. It feels a little like floating, but then again I get buzzed after a single beer so maybe I’m just a lightweight to 180s…

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