[review] Kim Thompson Drum Clinic
This past Monday evening I had the opportunity to attend a drum clinic given by Kim Thompson, who’s most known for her work with Mike Stern and Beyoncé. The clinic was hosted by DiCenso’s Drum Shop and South Shore Music, in Weymouth, MA. Andy Keesan from DiCenso’s Drum Shop introduced Kim, citing her many accomplishments. Andy thanked the companies who helped to sponsor the evening, including Vater Percussion and Zildjian, who were both offering special rare factory tours as door prizes for a couple lucky winners.
I was mostly unfamiliar with Kim’s work before a few weeks ago. I watched several clips of her playing on YouTube to get prepared for her clinic. The more I watched, the more excited I became, as her playing is full of artistic fire, passion, and beauty. Perhaps even more than the videos of her playing, though, the video that really had me excited to see her was an interview in a drum shop in New York. In the interview she said, “Jazz music is just you being you, and you just loving life, and you loving God, and God loving you back.” I was captivated by the depth contained within that quote, and it gave me a sense that I would be in for a treat. Though even after seeing that I was unprepared for the soul-cleansing experience that was Kim’s clinic.
Kim started from the very beginning, discussing her childhood entry into drumming. She talked of a brief stint in drum corps, which made my ears perk up, as I spent nine years marching in drum corps. She has the recollection familiar to lots of drummers of banging on pots and pans as a child. Her thirteenth birthday, which included being covered in cupcakes, culminated with the blue sparkle drum set that was her first kit. During her youth she balanced many activities, including basketball and band. Kim maintains this balance today, as when asked about her practice routine she spoke about practicing piano and trumpet as well as learning about engineering and production. She talked about her time at the Manhattan School of Music and playing with Kenny Baron, which included a whirlwind trip to Cuba. From there she played with Mike Stern, and eventually began working with Beyoncé, whom she’s been working with for about five years.
As she was talking about the companies that she works with, including Vater and Yamaha, Kim began speaking about her Zildjian cymbals. She found herself at a loss for words, and felt a need to start hearing her cymbals. She picked up a pair of tympani mallets, and hit her ride. She hit the cymbal and let it ring, and encouraged the audience members to do the same with their cymbals. “There’s a million sounds in your cymbals,” she said. She said that sounds can take you off of the earth, and that telling stories without being verbal can make you a magician.
Kim moved from hitting the cymbals one by one into a solo that was all too brief. Her touch on the drums was mystical, as she made her toms sound tympanic. She created a lush dynamic field, that was roaring with downpours in one moment and whispering with starlight in the next. I’m pretty jaded about solo drumming nowadays, having seen so many drummers just interested in showing off their coolest tricks and mad chops. Kim created a piece of music so emotionally charged that it gave me chills; she was composing before our eyes and ears. She moved from the near classical motifs into some clave-inspired playing before finishing off with some dancing swing. The demonstration of her art left the crowd breathless and wanting more.
After the short solo Kim spoke about her philosophy and spirituality. She talked about chakras and turning matter into spiritual form. A good portion of the evening was given to her philosophical and spiritual approach; she encouraged everyone in the audience to listen to their own spirit and make their own music; it was extremely inspiring.
Kim spent quite a while taking questions from the audience. She demurred when asked about playing with Beyoncé, and when asked about her favorite groove she that she doesn’t think about groove and that it makes her feel boxed in, like she’s captured and that she likes to be open. I found this perhaps her most intriguing answer of the evening, as drummers are inundated with the philosophy that groove is everything; it was refreshing and challenging to have someone say that groove feels limiting. That’s something I will take away and ruminate on for quite some time, I’m sure. When asked about her practice routine she said that she gets up at 5:00 AM everyday and does music until she passes out that night. In response to another question she said that her inspirations are spirituality, the stars, beauty, people being kind, and love. As far as drumming inspirations, she listed Ben Riley, Terri Lynne Carrington, and Lewis Nash. When asked about improvisation she responded she doesn’t plan what she plays, that she finds it disrespectful to the evolution of music; “we live in the moment and that’s how music should be as well.” She exhorted the audience to “play drums like your soul is speaking,” and assured everyone that “what you’re afraid of is going to make you grow.”
It was during this segment that she gave what was perhaps the most singularly practical piece of advice for me personally: when wearing a skirt that’s too short to maintain your modesty while drumming, bring a towel to cover up with.
She had a couple audience members sit in on the drums and offered encouragement. She was joined on stage by an audience member with a pandiero for a final jam. The two danced around some fun and impressive Latin patterns, and the evening ended with the audience member teaching Kim a cool lick.
Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable drum clinic. I spoke with Kim afterward and told her that it was the first drum clinic I had ever been to that felt like I had been to church. I’ve seen more than my fair share of drummers with blistering chops and the coolest licks. It was cleansing and invigorating to have a drummer speak to the issues larger than technique, to the complete mystical whole that makes someone have something to say with a musical instrument. I left Kim’s clinic feeling excited and energized, like I had just experienced a spa for my drumming soul. The clinic was not what I was expecting; it was so much more.
