Fittingly, Mitch Harris was born on Halloween

 

          Mitch Harris will turn 51 this Halloween, a fitting birthday for a member of Napalm Death.  Napalm Death’s latest material you will definitely want to check out, but he also teamed up for a project called Brave the Cold with Megadeth’s Dirk Verbeuren.  Their first video was “Hallmark of Tyranny” on their hard-hitting debut album called Scarcity.

          I got to hear a lot about Mitch before talking to him for the first time, as he had grown up with Tony Costanza, who I would talk to for hours on the phone for the last 16 years of his life, meeting up with him whenever we were on the same side of the country as the other.  Before his death, Tony and I had been working on book about him growing up in Las Vegas, and Mitch was one of the characters he had told me about growing up with, along with a few other of their mutual friends, including Ahrue Luster.  It was interesting that these guys grew up together and all made it in music as far as they did, independently of each other, but still in touch.

          Having relocated to Las Vegas from New York when he was young, Mitch moved to England for 26 years, but he made his way back to Las Vegas.

          “Well, I took a break from Napalm when my parents got sick,”  Mitch explained.  “I lost them both in a few years, but I was there when it mattered.  I’ve always been writing music behind scenes, and Napalm Death had asked me to write music, but I just write. Let it flow.  No writer’s block. I had enough for an album of material, and I didn’t want to let go of my own vision.  I didn’t feel comfortable with anyone else playing my stuff.  I had recorded some songs, some from as far back as ’96 and  Order of the Leach album.

“I sent it to Dirk, and he’s such a nice dude,” Mitch gushed.  “He’s into the underground, and this is an underground old school band with a modern twist.  I asked him to pick some tracks that he’d like to play with, and he chose 12 tracks.  After I lost mom, I went to LA, came home, and flew to England for the next Napalm, ‘Throes of Joy.’ 

“Two years ago, it was hard for vocals in between tours, hard to find a label.  The music industry’s upside down.  I found transition from Victory and mine from Napalm.  We got the deal done, got happy for Napalm.  It’s all timing.”

          With Logan Mader, formerly of Machine Head and Soulfly, producing the album, I asked Mitch how he had gotten involved.

           “I was surprised.  He had been playing in Once Human when they played with Fear Factory.  I was like, ‘dude, I haven’t seen you in some time.’  We exchanged numbers, had a studio, and I had to go to California to record drums, but I did vocals and got most the tracks done.  I had been so used to Russ Russel since 2000, but I said, ‘Logan, I need help with mix.’  Believe it or not, it’s hard to understand where it’s coming from, but I brought hard drive over.  I had no idea how good he was at producing! He’s so quick!  He maps it out, and I was blown away.”  Mitch sounded elated just thinking back to the first time he heard it.

“I took it home and thought, ‘it sounds awesome,’ but I still needed to figure out what I was doing vocally.  Usually, I do a handheld mic, but I was doing voices I haven’t done.  The way Logan had it setup made it easy.  We went through, selecting the ones that sounded so good, or the parts that don’t sound quite so good, so we’d redo it.  It took three weeks all together, so quite quick.  I sat on it for two years, thought of releasing it myself, but I got them involved.  I’m so excited to have a team to help get it out with the pandemic.  Nobody’s touring, so it’s difficult to get people’s attention, with everyone worried about current state of the world.  Music is important, and I appreciate spreading the message.”

His way of writing reminded me of how Tony Costanza would record.  “Blind Eye, for example. I just record. Just record. Don’t practice.  I pick up the guitar and get a part I like.  If I have to put it down, plug it in, and by time I did all that, I’d forgot what I was doing, so I just push record for 20 minutes a day.  If it’s flowing, it could be an hour of part of material.  I do not even use a click track.  It seems boring if not playing with someone, so I visualize what drums would be.  I don’t listen to anything for a while.  If playing, it’s more obvious where the next change and next part would be.”

That process had changed for him over the years.  “I used to lay and not forget; it’d take me a year to finish a song.  Have an hour of material to listen to, get rid of the shitty parts, get it stuck in my head, get a magical feeling, and if it was worth learning, I figure it out again, program drums, break it up how I see it, open to interpretation.  I’ve been working like that since 2012.”

That way of writing can be cumbersome, as the hours of recoding adds up quickly.  He shared, “At one point, I had 17 hours of material to go through, and it took me three months to arrange.  It’s not just sit in a room and jam with each other; I work alone.  If I have structured idea with someone, I’ll have a song finished in 20 minutes, because it’s already prepared, so I work alone.  It gets lonely and frustrating, and it’s not how others work, but I don’t really jam.  I come in with finished songs and get it done.  It’s not a hobby where it’s hang in the garage and have a great away time.  That’s not overly professional.  The fun part is playing live, knocking their socks off; for writing, it’s more productive this way.”

When he was younger, his writing process was a little different.  “In the early days, it was me and a drummer, jamming.  It’s stress related.  Me and Alan Strong jammed as many days a week as we could, record stuff, come back the next day, remember what we did, and go.  Have another part for middle, and that thing was a song.  What is a song?  What’s considered a song?  What’s the definition?  I didn’t even care.  We went into the studio, recorded, played it tight, and now I write alone for the most part.”

He detailed the difference when in a studio and keeping things organic.  “In the studio, I want the most natural feeling possible.  You can punch in and fix things, but sometimes mistakes are cool.  Leave the little things in, like a little noise, and that’s what gives it character.”  This is true in all kinds of art.

“My favorite part is the lyrics. I listen back to tapes and write a lot of lyrics.  We had studio coming, needed to do it quick, and wasn’t sure if it would work, but somehow it did.  I tried to keep it as organic as possible, like the olden days, but raw, in your face, with the song already arranged.  I had a book of 300 pages of ideas printed out, spent a lot of times on lyrics of the band, and mostly about the message of where humanity went wrong.  I had been following the downside of humanity, the elite, the control, where we are going, post apocalyptic views, eutopia, not to be doom and gloom, but historic account of where we are going.  In the last 20 years, it’s changed dramatically.  It’s the good old days of 2019 already.  WTF?   People need to that to get through what they are going through.

“To them, Napalm was a way of life, a community, a shared vision.  People into Napalm Death are more intellectual than the average person, but if you can understand the messages involved and respect it, then you’re a higher level thinker.  To some people, it’s just a speck.  It doesn’t convert them to the band; it’s a love or hate it type of thing, but it’s more freeform.  Freedom of expression, but it’s a tricky situation what not to say these days.  I hope it gives comfort for someone somewhere.  It also gave Dirk a lot of pleasure having input.  What do you think of this title? Should we end here? What about the artwork?  It’s not a one man show.  I like that input.  When there’s too many cooks, everyone has their own vision, but this is fresh and new.  Anything goes.  It’s always exciting when hearing new vocals, and that feels good.”

Brave the Cold’s sound throws back to some of his early influences.  “The influences growing up, by the time I was playing guitar, was Cryptic Slaughter, Death, DRI, Celtic Frost, Corrosion Of Conformity - the old stuff and new stuff, Slayer, Venom, and Exodus came a part of that.  Somehow, I never thought about it.  Arhue (Luster), who’s in Ill Nino now, I sent him the album, and he said, “it reminded me of stuff we loved in the 80s.”  Somehow, it’s all in there, a little of everything, but it’s own thing now.  People got into that music as a second wave.  Before, there was thrash and metal, no classification like grunge core.  People don’t have those older influences, so a lot of things sound similar.  It doesn’t sound old.  It’s pushing the boundaries of it.”

Of course, it’s hard to be hardcore all the time.  “Sometimes I’ll almost whisper into the mic and save my screaming voice for when it matters.  It I like the way it goes, I’ll write if it follows the drums, the melody follows the riff, or is its own thing, but lyrics become important.  On the opening line of each song, it’s very picturesque, almost like Lord of the Rings.  They melted; where did they go?  It was a pandemic moment before the pandemic, Dead Feed.  Underlining theme is poetic and scenic.  I took the liberty of editing videos to b-songs, the video with the lyrics, a story within the story, superdeep, but made for each other.  Pink Floyd’s The Wall, it’s not just an album.  Thankfully, I worked with directors that gave permission to use their footage, supporting the arts.  I wish more people would support the artists these days, on the good days and the bad days.”

We talked about growing in Las Vegas for part of the book that I was working on with Tony Costanza before he died, and Mitch talked about an early project he had with Tony and Brian Brassfield, explaining how Tony and Brian had often recorded together.  Tony had said, “We didn't know if we wanted to call ourselves Afterbirth or Dead Fetus.” 

Brian confirmed that they had been about 14 at the time of the project.  “I think it may have been both of our first attempt at some kind of music I guess,” he laughed.  “That’s woodshed right there.  Drum throne in a cedar closet, me playing through 1 x 12 practice amp.  Playing original guitar riffs.  Trying to do something, but we were clueless.  And we knew it.  But it was the idea; we both saw it.  Hilarious.  I remember one song:  ‘Torture Murder Raping Killing.”’

Tony had also told me that Mitch had borrowed a riff from his song ‘Arcade.’  Tony had said, “It was a funny song, because even though we had long hair, we weren't stoners.”  He added, ‘“Arcade’ was about taking your girlfriend down to the arcade and letting her play video games.  It was knocking on stoners that wore moccasin boots.  We were against stoners.  It was a funny song to us.. Another line was, ‘put on your moccasin boots and your parachute pants...”’

When I asked Mitch about this, he started laughing and singing the song.  ‘“Take your baby down to the arcade, give her a quarter, and let her get started…’  We needed an intro riff, and I played that, which became ‘Misconduct.’  I asked Tony if he minded if I used it, and he said, ‘yeah, go ahead.’  It’s the same riff in ‘Scum,’ but in reverse, in Napalm Death.  Tony was in the mix.”

There are so many more stories about the thrashers who grew up in Las Vegas, and I guess you just might have to wait for my book to read more…

 

Marisa Williams earned her Master’s in Writing from the Johns Hopkins University.  She is the author of more than 100 books:  www.lulu.com/spotlight/thorisaz 

Follow her on Twitter @booksnbling

Exploring Downtown Atlanta

When you're sent out of town to work on assignment, you have to try to make it as fun as possible.  After being cooped up for quarantine, there's a lot of people eager for an excuse to travel, even if it is for work; in my case, work happened to be covering the AACC conference in Atlanta, GA.  Before I even arrived, I was looking up the hotel, seeing what was nearby, planning my short stay.

The American Hotel Atlanta Downtown Doubletree Hilton was the first bus, the red shuttle, from the convention center, so choice came down to proximity and convenience. No rental car on this venture meant having the shuttle access, which meant staying close to the massive ferris wheel that's randomly plopped in the middle of the city.  There's nothing like stumbling upon an unexpected massive ride.

About the hotel:

Both good and bad things linger with me, such as the showerhead being so tiny, having to nearly squat to not have to hold it, just longing for a bath, looking so forward to going into the pool, only to nearly piss myself when my toes hit the water. No wonder nobody was swimming.  An outdoor pool that's not heated is kinda useless there in the fall, winter and early spring; invest in a hot tub or indoor pool.

My computer got hacked the first day trying to sign into their wifi.  My publisher did not want to believe me, another editor said I was like the girl who cried wolf, and they asked how did I know.  Well, usually, when you sign in on Hilton connections, it takes you to a page, asks you stuff like your room number, maybe a password or whatever, but this would not take me to that part my first day, and without me touching anything, things started moving on my screen, words typing, when my hands were not on the keyboard; yet, the computer would not respond when I did touch the keyboard.

Sure, maybe it could've been ghosts, like someone from an old jazz era that would've liked Billie Holiday, just wanting to mess with the frequencies of the electronics.  Might as well have been ghosts, because it's not like the manager or front desk did anything about it when I told them.  Just like it was useless to try to order off of Uber Eats, as my food never arrived, even though the app said it did.

Ghosts probably stole my food, too.  Never know.  Stranger things have happened.

Other than that, the bed was comfy, the breakfast was not free, and it may have been phenomenal, but I had free food waiting for me in the media room at the AACC conference.  One thing I will say, the attendant of the food at the convention center went out of her way to know every single person's name.  There's something about the good ol' Southern hospitality where they strive to go the extra way.

Found this interesting:

The AACC conference had all the major medical laboratory players there.  Some companies had themed outfits, with one even allowing their workers to wear white sneakers with their signature color shoelaces, which popped, but not as much as some of the amazing LED displays, like on the ceiling.

One OME company was handing out urinalysis reagent strips for at-home testing that facilities could put their own logos on. When I was learning urinalysis at Florida Gulf Coast University for interdisciplinary laboratory studies, I remember thinking these reagent strips are just simple color matching, and why can’t people do these at home? Now, they can, and hospital systems, for example, could put their logo on the packaging for patients to be able to test themselves at home. There were four options for home testing urinalysis. One was the full typical lab-used urinalysis reagent strip with all the options. The other three were more specific, such as for testing vaginal ph level. I asked the rep if this is would come into play for those who truly wanted home therapy, a little dose of boric acid to change the vaginal ph. He was unaware of this at-home gyno hack, but there are definitely companies online that basically sell boric acid to change that level when odiferous.

A lil laugh:

At AACC, they were taking volunteers to give blood samples for a COVID-19 study. As I am used to the students playing guinea-pig-ology with me, turning me into the human pin cushion, I had no fear of getting poked by the people that some believe must be vampires, since they are so into getting blood. Though I tried to warn her that I can be a slippery poke, she first attempted inside my elbow and missed. I had to say something, as she tried to go back in and fish for the vein. When I told her to try again, she did not take the tourniquet off and instead went into the same arm. I reminded her that I’m fat, and she had to go deep. This time, she found it. She laughed, saying she was looking bad, as she had trained others on how to do phlebotomy, and I assured her anyone can have a swing and a miss. She giggled and told me about a student of hers who had tried to get blood from a stretch mark, going for it, convinced it was something to hit. The teacher did not stop her, and when no blood came out, the student asked why. The teacher explained she hit a stretch mark. The student still wanted to know why there was no blood coming out of the stretch mark. The teacher had to explain that when people get fat, they get stretch marks on their skin, which is the outer epidermis, not necessarily a blood vessel of any type.

Bonus ice cream:

Just when appetites were starting to sore, a guy with a pushcart meekly fights his way through the crowd to the back of the showroom. With a selection of healthy cups filled with a selection of fruit and berries, or veggies with humus, the cart contained a cool surprise, locally made ice cream from Yum! These were COVID-19-friendly, as they were individually wrapped like push-pops. Instead of old school creamsicles, they were filled with ice cream that surely made me say Yum! First, I tried the pistachio, and honestly, some of the best pistachio ice cream I had in a while, but then one of the guys at a booth nearby suggested to try the praline pecan for the shot of bourbon that’s in it. That was pretty good, too. Topping the ice cream list was Yard’s Milkshake Bar, just a short hike from the convention center, where they roll glasses in gooey chocolate, peanut butter, frosting, along with other options, roll it in a topping like sprinkles, chocolate chips or crushed peanut butter cups, then start filling it with the ice cream concoction, topped with brownies, donuts, and all kinds of crazy stuff, including creations that wind up shaped like unicorns and other artistic designs. After hoofin’ around the convention center and downtown Atlanta, there’s nothing like some fattening ice cream to cool you down.

Transportation was public:

Honestly, I was a little leery when the company said we would not be getting rental cars, reassuring that public transportation was available, and everything was nearby. Downtown Atlanta gets a bad reputation when you talk to travelers taking I-75; thus, public transportation made getting around a little faster. Traffic jam? Accident go traffic tied up? Construction causing detours? The MARTA sails past any of those typical highway concerns, and having a hotel within walking distance of the convention center meant having many amenities nearby.

In one of those got turned around moments, when I was looking at my phone, trying to figure out which direction my GPS was pointing me and realizing that I had been hoofin' the wrong direction since getting off the subway, I smelled someone burning.  Not even trying to hide it, a few guys with matching outfits on did not care by trying to hide by smokin' in the boys' room.

Not only did their outfits coordinate, but they had the telltale lammies hangin' off of 'em.  Noting that they were in front of a swanky hotel, I could tell these guys were on some kind of a tour.  Before I could ask who they were, a shiny 'beamer pulled up, and they all got inside, squealing off to wherever.

Here I am, lookin' like a bag lady, pulling my laptop, my huge pink suitcase, with my camera case on my back, and I didn't know who the heck these guys were.  Flashforward to later that night, when I'm strollin' round downtown ATL, looking for this milkshake bar, and I just see this sea of people in a line that looked about three miles long, wrapped around massive buildings.  When I ask what the line is for, of course, they say a rap concert, but I honestly could not tell you correctly who the heck it was.

What I can tell you is that Downtown Atlanta has a lot of cool stuff packed in close together.  Just wander down the street, and you can find all sorts of food and entertainment. Always places to spend.

Florida International Airshow Last Day

Tomorrow is the last day to check out the Thunderbirds flying at the Florida International Airshow at the Punta Gorda Airport, PGD, in Florida.  The day after Halloween started with more scares than kids in masks, as pilots did death defying feats in the air, challenging gravity, and making so many precise maneuvers that cause spectators' muscles to clench automatically when watching.  Simultaneous gasps are heard from the audience, as experienced fliers show off their skills.

With the tragic news of an accident happening at the airshow in Stuart, Florida, it is an unfortunate reminder just how dangerous stunt flying can be. Accidents happen when flying.  Nobody could probably tell stories of first hand experiences quite like the veterans, and to honor them for their services to the nation, The Florida International Airshow does offer discounts for service members.

The opening ceremony today started with a parachuter descending from the air with the American flag, followed by a team of synchronized jumpers that glided down from the sky. Friday night had jumpers with fireworks attached to them and colored smoke.  Friday was the only night event, and though a large fireworks display was supposed to close out the night, an unfortunate round of lightning a little too close for comfort stopped the display from being able to take place that night.

Of course, that did not stop the Lincoln Jet Truck from lighting up the ground, as the flames from his jet fueled engine could be seen from nearly a mile away.  Pedal to the metal full throttle, the jet truck raced a jet in the sky today.  There may be a rematch tomorrow if you're curious who would win.

From fun little skits during the show, to those Thunderbirds that might cause some pants to unexpectedly get a little wet when they drop below the sound barrier.  The sound is so loud, it can take one by surprise, causing a jump or a little more, followed by that feeling in the chest that vibrates the heart a little with the intensity.  By the time you can hear them, they've already passed.

Bring the kids to bounce out some energy at the bounce houses.  Get freebies like vouchers to the casino and cell phone powered fans to keep you cool as you walk around to check out the static display of war birds and the coolest planes around.  Chow down on a variety of food, and count how many times you gasp at the tricks the pilots are doing as they zoom through the sky above.

Sunday, November 3rd, is the last day to join in on the festivities at the Florida International Airshow.  Take a ride in a helicopter, a hot air balloon, or a plane.  Check out Southwest Florida's largest aviation event of the year at the Florida International Airport from 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m..

Bachelor Party Concert

Why do the same old boring bachelor party?  Why not have a concert where everybody can show up, have an awesome time, and enjoy some really cool music?  Sounds as amazing a plan as any.

While some may be going to see the headliners, Captured By Robots, which consists of an electrical genius and his companions, robots with the ability to play musical instruments, jamming.  Honestly, I'm really curious to see what this could be like.  I've heard really good things from people who have seen the band live, but from just hearing people talk, I'm still not 100% sure what it will be like.

Okay, so I'm sure there's going to be people interested in checking that out, but there's the whole bachelor party thing going on at the same time.  This could turn a geek into a freak potentially.  Who knows what the night will have in store when there's musical robots at a bachelor party concert?

Will people do things to surprise the couple?  Did I even mention who the couple is yet?  Well, the groom, Brian Sanderson, will also be playing on stage with his band Vilest Breed, while the other groom, Josh Morrison, will probably be sipping something with just a tiny hint of alcohol in it.

Will there be dancing and shenanigans?  Probably.  Mosh pits are most likely.

Here's a little flavor of the bands from the Filth Fest.  Held at the Sky Bar in Sarasota, the concert was a couple of weeks ago, but Vilest Breed played with Must Not Kill, who will also open for Captured By Robots.  Thus, it serves as a recent point of what the opening bands have been up to, and I'll even throw in another local band as a bonus, Feast of the Antipathy.

Come out and rock out on Saturday, October 19, at the Crowbar in Ybor City.  Doors are at 8 p.m.  Vent some frustrations with the grindcore moshing aerobics plan, and get to sweating.

Pyrotechnics and blowing stuff up

Yesterday, happy belated 4th of July by the way, was my first day working pyrotechnics.  This is something that was first brought up to me about a decade ago, and it just now came to fruition.  The process is not for everyone, as you must qualify for an ATF background check as the first step.

The call came at the last minute.  It woke me up.  I had to scramble to get ready.

There's things you have to be mindful of, such as wearing natural fabrics, as they don't burn as fast as some of the synthetics.  That means, heavy jeans, steel toed boots, a long shirt, and a hat, as well as things like sunscreen, drinks and whatever else you need.  Once you're there, there's no leaving.

Fireworks cannot be left unattended.  Thus, a cooler with sandwiches, snacks, drinks and whatnot can be essential.  There's essential tools of the trade, such as electrician's scissors, a hammer and more.

Most people think of it as a guy's job, but it was a girl who hired me and ran the whole event.  She's part of the Santore family, one of the oldest firework families in America.  She grew up around fireworks being manufactured and handling the explosives, even getting a degree in chemistry.

When I got to the Atlanta Braves stadium, which was recently built in North Port, FL, there was another girl on the crew, too.  She was a little firecracker herself, as her husband was on the crew and laughingly referred to her as a pissed off chihuahua.  These are girls that work just as hard - if not harder - than the men on the crew, showing that they are not afraid to get dirty and lift heavy things.

My job consisted of learning how to put in electronic matches.  This is something that you must be very careful with, as the tip is literally like a match head, and if you scrape it, you can strike it, which can cause an explosion.  After cutting the tip, slowly sliding in the electronic match, then the other end has to be connected to a board that controls when the fireworks will explode to the music.

Wiring up maybe half the fireworks, I was so pleased to see that I didn't mess things up too bad.  It's kinda like putting in wires for speakers.  Still, when it's your first time, you're nervous to mess up.

It's also kind of eye opening to see, after connecting all the wires, how the chain reactions occur.  When you're wiring, you don't really know what each firework does (unless you read the master list), so it's intriguing to see the gestalitist view where the whole is more than the sum of its parts.  The bombs wrapped in brown paper, like a grocery bag, is more than just a round explosive; it all comes together with colors, music, smoke, and parts of fireworks flying at you like shrapnel.

Once the fireworks start, another crew member confesses to me that he has PTSD from being caught in an explosion in a structure fire.  It makes me wonder if this is some kind of therapy, like facing his fears, but I can see him squirm uncomfortably.  Explosions can be scary for many people and pets.

Overall, things came together in an awesome array of explosive colors in the sky and a ton of smoke.  As it was the first 4th of July at the stadium, they had a slew of bounce houses, food trucks, music and more.  It was a long day of hefting and lifting, being in the sun so long that my body started shaking like a leaf when I finally got into air conditioning, but it was worth it to see the end result.

 

Drum Circles for Summer Solstice

In honor of summer solstice, I did the trifecta of southwest Florida's drum circles, starting out small on Friday night in North Port, building up for Nokomis on Saturday, and rounding out with Siesta Key Beach on Sunday evening.  North Port is more intimate.  Nokomis Beach is going to be of primary focus, and Siesta is, of course, probably the most well known of the three drum circles.

It was a Tom Petty weekend with Ras and Jose, as we kept hearing various Tom Petty tunes, especially after Ras mentioned the song, "Won't Back Down."  Some people don't believe in coincidence, and it was almost as if the rocker I was once start struck by had been passing me some musical inspiration to channel over the weekend.  We found ourselves busting out a rasta version.

Ras is the one who feeds the licks, and Jose brings the cow bell.  The two are known by many who venture to the drum circle as staples amongst a sea of familiar faces.  Sure, people may come, and people may go, as Florida gets a lot of tourists, but there's a few die hard drummers there, too.

There's people who get religious about drawing the circles, putting fresh flowers in a mound in the middle, even burning sage to clear the energies at the beaches.  These are the regular ones there day in and day out, only missing in case of emergency or going to visit "up north" for whatever reason.  These familiar faces are the ones that people come to know, regardless of many who may go.

Even though random lyrics do occur, the drum circle is mainly known for drums - or so people think.  There's actually a variety of instruments that show up, from the classically inspired variety, to the ones made by hand or in the spur of the moment tapping on whatever random object happens to be nearby.  People like to join in, and sometimes, necessity is the mother of inventions in any artform.

Sure, the basics of drumming is following the rhythm of the natural heart beat.  Get it to synch up, and as the drums slow, the heart rate slows.  As drumming speeds up, so does the heart rate naturally.

There's certainly people who play to the beat of their own drum, so to speak, but there's also a movement in the music itself.  It can also depend on what instruments are around, be it steel drums, something smaller that's designed to be tapped with the hands, or even coconut shells knocking.  Try to get lost in the music, drifting to another plane, whether dancing, playing or chasing bubbles.

The drum circles are designed for all ages.  Tiny tots run through hula hoops in the sand, while older kids practice gymnastics skills.  Fly with feathers or butterfly wings, and once the sun sets, grab the glow sticks and LED devices to create trails of color in the sky that can be seen a ways away.

The great thing about being at a beach drum circle, is if you get tired, just hop in the ocean, and if you get tired, lean back on the sand, and if you're lucky enough at night, you might see a couple shooting stars.  If you've never been to a drum circle, Florida has many, and other places do, too.  Check out drumcircles.net/circlelist.html for more information; there's also a drum circle finder on Facebook.