05. Condre Scr "Remo Boys" You Are Genius [Oxide Tones]
Moment @ 0:42
There are three drummers in my life and they're all geniuses. The first I met in the 10th grade and this year I was a groomsman in his wedding. He, potentially more than any other friend I've ever had, taught me how to be kind. This is ironic because we bonded over mercilessly making fun of late 90s musicians like Eagle Eye Cherry, Vertical Horizon, Ja Rule, and Sixpence None the Richer as they blasted over the auditorium speakers during our gym class badminton tourneys. But really, this is a man that knows how to be humble and be the life of the party all at once. I think he knows sadness, but he never lets it control him. He'd drive me everywhere in his Geo Metro before I got my driver's license even though I lived on the other side of town. I undoubtedly took advantage of his kindness far too often, like the time I threw a temper tantrum during band practice, drove off, and then awaited his inevitable call to whisk me back to his basement. Today he lives two states away and we maybe talk once every few months but when we do it's raucous and calming all at once. The second and third drummers I met in college. I can't pinpoint it exactly, but it was because I recognized their friend on the bus as the loud guy that went to the same emo shows as me and asked him what he thought of The Promise Ring. The second drummer then introduced me to the third drummer, a close friend of his from high school. I attempted a band with the second drummer. We recorded two songs in a studio that are long gone by now, but I think of them fondly because he is a guy that knows the trappings of being an introvert. I don't know if I'd still call him one today, but many of my memories with him involve being quiet watching Gus Van Sant movies, laughing at bad opening bands at The Quest Nightclub, and/or talking snarkily online via a blog we co-created. That second drummer is back in my life as not only a friend but a drummer again. Here we are both with kids now and we're still making fart jokes and making music together. What the heck. The third drummer - well he's the guy I'm in two bands with, one of which is my longest-running musical endeavor to this day. And in that band, it's just me and him right now. He's unlike me in oh so many ways but he gets me. We can talk to each other more freely than many other people I know. And we can play music together so effortlessly that even if other people don't like it, it's immensely rewarding to us. He's the most laid-back and easy-going guy I know and while I'm an introvert often struggling with finding peace and kindness, I aspire to be his level of relaxed. I guess that's what all three of these timekeepers have in common. They all know how to be, or have learned how to be, over the years. I aim to someday have a steady tempo like they do.
