Medium Providence Drum Troupe Interview
Interview: Providence Drum Troupe Puts On ‘The Ok’est Variety Show’ at The Parlour to Raise Funds | by Rob Duguay | Culture Beat | Mar, 2023 | Mediu
Writer: Rob Duguay
Interview: Providence Drum Troupe Puts On ‘The Ok’est Variety Show’ at The Parlour to Raise FundsThe Providence music scene is incredibly diverse while having many subcultures within it. Name a genre or style ranging from metal, punk and hip hop to folk, jazz, funk, alternative and whatever else and there is a local band, musician or artist making music within one of those realms. There’s also an audience for each one of these styles in the city and often times a concertgoer is an appreciator of a lot of them. The most unique subculture within the music scene of “The Creative Capital” has to be the one revolving around the street bands that perform around Providence in various capacities. One of these bands is the Providence Drum Troupe, who are more of an artistic experience than a typical musical act.
You’ve probably seen them perform near the PVD Innovation District Park on the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge on Tuesday early evenings this past summer. You’ve also probably seen the “PDT” make their presence felt at various events and venues as well. On March 11 at The Parlour, the troupe will be doing it once again with an event called “The OK’est Variety Show”. Along with performing, they’ll be joined by an assortment of burlesque dancers, comedians, poets and other acts you’ll have to see to believe starting at 8pm. It’s all to raise funds for the band to be a part of HONK! TX happening in Austin happening from March 31 — April 2 and I had a talk with founding member David Lee Black all about it and more.
Who initially had the idea for “The OK’est Variety Show”? How did you go about getting these other folks involved?
This is the second fundraiser for our goal to take the Providence Drum Troupe to Austin, Texas for the HONK! TX festival. The first one was at Ogie’s Trailer Park and we’ve been fundraising on our own by selling merchandise at Farm Fresh Rhode Island while partnering up with different creative entities in the Providence area. This includes The Parlour, Gregory Rourke, who is the owner, has been a fan of the “PDT” since its inception and has graciously let us use his place. Jeff O’Neill, who also goes by “Rev”, is one of our members, plays the bass drum and is a man about town, he’s good at emceeing and organizing things and we’ve all partnered up together for this quirky, kind of campy entertainment to provide an evening of fun while supporting a good cause.
It sounds like it’s going to be an awesome time. With HONK! TX, how did you find out about this event and how did you get networked with it? Do you have any connections to the festival outside of the band?
Several members of the group have performed in such festivals before. I’ve actually performed at this very festival with the Extraordinary Rendition Band years ago and I’ve always loved the community there. It’s a celebration of street bands from all over the world that brings a spontaneous combustion of joy. There’s also an activist vibe to it, however “PDT” is more about celebrating music for art's sake and keeping it simple with our one and only rule, which is don’t be annoying.
I totally get that rule and I also dig the community-based aesthetic that the band has. When it comes to the versatility of the Providence Drum Troupe, what made you want to have this thing where you all can perform pretty much anywhere either on bridges, in venues, on the street and everywhere else?
We were born during the pandemic. It was just me inviting some other drummers because no one had any gigs at the time, and everyone was unsure how to proceed in life during the early months of COVID-19. At the same time, a lot of us were starving to create and have some human connection. Not unlike a childhood playdate, I invited a couple drummers including John Cote, we call him “Cocktail Cote”, and we all met at the Michael S. Van Lessten Pedestrian Bridge. Then we started vibing on some grooves, we invited some other drummers, and we grew to two by two, four by four.
Then the public started coming out, we stayed six feet away and all that stuff, and they would ask us when we were playing next. We eventually asked ourselves “How about next Tuesday?” and it became a weekly thing. Organically we grew into having over 30 members today along with having some freaky circus friends including firebreathers, jugglers and stilt-walkers. We’ve added that element to it, so it’s kind of a visual feast as well as having these funky grooves going on. It’s certainly not drum circle and there’s nothing wrong with that but what we do is a little more elevated.
In the beginning, anybody could play, and we encouraged everybody to come out and create but now it’s by audition only because we’ve grown into quite the thing. What’s beautiful about wearing drums and being mobile is that you can just appear out a dark alley and play in Providence or you can be in the dark corner of a room of a club or an event and become an expert in activating a space. We usually don’t play all night long, we just come in to do our thing and fade to black with people wondering what the hell just happened.
There’s also the interactivity of it all, which I find to be really cool. What can people expect from “The Ok’est Variety Show” when they come check it out?
The Parlour is well-known for being a place where creativity thrives, and we certainly like to keep our mission aligned with that. You never know what quite to expect there but it’s always something cool. The evening will be comedy, raffles for prizes and there might be a surprise visit by our friends at Big Nazo who we often collaborate with. There will be some different musicians and a little bit of everything with it all being emceed by our favorite “Rev”, Jeff O’Neill.
Will this be the final fundraising event before the “PDT” goes to HONK! TX or where there be other events people can look forward to over the next couple of weeks?
We’re self-sustaining so there will be ongoing fundraising events and people can also donate to us directly via our website at providencedrumtroupe.com. We appreciate all the support because we’re literally carrying the spirit of Providence to the funky city of Austin. We wear the word “Providence” on our shirts, which means many things when you’re outside of Rhode Island. It has a divine aspect to it and there’s a lot of cool connotations to the word itself. We love Providence and we want to spread what we do as an interesting element because there’s not a lot of bands who just have drums with no horns.
We do have vocals, but they’re sung through bullhorns, which is unique. We feel like we’re both a part of and separate from what’s going on out there while being in our own beautifully weird uniqueness.
Interview: Providence Drum Troupe Puts On ‘The Ok’est Variety Show’ at The Parlour to Raise Funds | by Rob Duguay | Culture Beat | Mar, 2023 | Mediu
Writer: Rob Duguay
Interview: Providence Drum Troupe Puts On ‘The Ok’est Variety Show’ at The Parlour to Raise FundsThe Providence music scene is incredibly diverse while having many subcultures within it. Name a genre or style ranging from metal, punk and hip hop to folk, jazz, funk, alternative and whatever else and there is a local band, musician or artist making music within one of those realms. There’s also an audience for each one of these styles in the city and often times a concertgoer is an appreciator of a lot of them. The most unique subculture within the music scene of “The Creative Capital” has to be the one revolving around the street bands that perform around Providence in various capacities. One of these bands is the Providence Drum Troupe, who are more of an artistic experience than a typical musical act.
You’ve probably seen them perform near the PVD Innovation District Park on the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge on Tuesday early evenings this past summer. You’ve also probably seen the “PDT” make their presence felt at various events and venues as well. On March 11 at The Parlour, the troupe will be doing it once again with an event called “The OK’est Variety Show”. Along with performing, they’ll be joined by an assortment of burlesque dancers, comedians, poets and other acts you’ll have to see to believe starting at 8pm. It’s all to raise funds for the band to be a part of HONK! TX happening in Austin happening from March 31 — April 2 and I had a talk with founding member David Lee Black all about it and more.
Who initially had the idea for “The OK’est Variety Show”? How did you go about getting these other folks involved?
This is the second fundraiser for our goal to take the Providence Drum Troupe to Austin, Texas for the HONK! TX festival. The first one was at Ogie’s Trailer Park and we’ve been fundraising on our own by selling merchandise at Farm Fresh Rhode Island while partnering up with different creative entities in the Providence area. This includes The Parlour, Gregory Rourke, who is the owner, has been a fan of the “PDT” since its inception and has graciously let us use his place. Jeff O’Neill, who also goes by “Rev”, is one of our members, plays the bass drum and is a man about town, he’s good at emceeing and organizing things and we’ve all partnered up together for this quirky, kind of campy entertainment to provide an evening of fun while supporting a good cause.
It sounds like it’s going to be an awesome time. With HONK! TX, how did you find out about this event and how did you get networked with it? Do you have any connections to the festival outside of the band?
Several members of the group have performed in such festivals before. I’ve actually performed at this very festival with the Extraordinary Rendition Band years ago and I’ve always loved the community there. It’s a celebration of street bands from all over the world that brings a spontaneous combustion of joy. There’s also an activist vibe to it, however “PDT” is more about celebrating music for art's sake and keeping it simple with our one and only rule, which is don’t be annoying.
I totally get that rule and I also dig the community-based aesthetic that the band has. When it comes to the versatility of the Providence Drum Troupe, what made you want to have this thing where you all can perform pretty much anywhere either on bridges, in venues, on the street and everywhere else?
We were born during the pandemic. It was just me inviting some other drummers because no one had any gigs at the time, and everyone was unsure how to proceed in life during the early months of COVID-19. At the same time, a lot of us were starving to create and have some human connection. Not unlike a childhood playdate, I invited a couple drummers including John Cote, we call him “Cocktail Cote”, and we all met at the Michael S. Van Lessten Pedestrian Bridge. Then we started vibing on some grooves, we invited some other drummers, and we grew to two by two, four by four.
Then the public started coming out, we stayed six feet away and all that stuff, and they would ask us when we were playing next. We eventually asked ourselves “How about next Tuesday?” and it became a weekly thing. Organically we grew into having over 30 members today along with having some freaky circus friends including firebreathers, jugglers and stilt-walkers. We’ve added that element to it, so it’s kind of a visual feast as well as having these funky grooves going on. It’s certainly not drum circle and there’s nothing wrong with that but what we do is a little more elevated.
In the beginning, anybody could play, and we encouraged everybody to come out and create but now it’s by audition only because we’ve grown into quite the thing. What’s beautiful about wearing drums and being mobile is that you can just appear out a dark alley and play in Providence or you can be in the dark corner of a room of a club or an event and become an expert in activating a space. We usually don’t play all night long, we just come in to do our thing and fade to black with people wondering what the hell just happened.
There’s also the interactivity of it all, which I find to be really cool. What can people expect from “The Ok’est Variety Show” when they come check it out?
The Parlour is well-known for being a place where creativity thrives, and we certainly like to keep our mission aligned with that. You never know what quite to expect there but it’s always something cool. The evening will be comedy, raffles for prizes and there might be a surprise visit by our friends at Big Nazo who we often collaborate with. There will be some different musicians and a little bit of everything with it all being emceed by our favorite “Rev”, Jeff O’Neill.
Will this be the final fundraising event before the “PDT” goes to HONK! TX or where there be other events people can look forward to over the next couple of weeks?
We’re self-sustaining so there will be ongoing fundraising events and people can also donate to us directly via our website at providencedrumtroupe.com. We appreciate all the support because we’re literally carrying the spirit of Providence to the funky city of Austin. We wear the word “Providence” on our shirts, which means many things when you’re outside of Rhode Island. It has a divine aspect to it and there’s a lot of cool connotations to the word itself. We love Providence and we want to spread what we do as an interesting element because there’s not a lot of bands who just have drums with no horns.
We do have vocals, but they’re sung through bullhorns, which is unique. We feel like we’re both a part of and separate from what’s going on out there while being in our own beautifully weird uniqueness.
Motif Magazine - July 2021
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| Downloadable Motif Magazine Article |
Independentri.com, July 2021
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South County Times, October 2021
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When asked about what PDT meant to her, Cape Cod photographer Suz Karchmer summed it up this way:
"There are rare opportunities in life when you are invited into and welcomed to join a whirlwind of creative energy. If you can be at a PDT happening, you will be treated to such an opportunity. Whether you are a photographer documenting the beauty and antics, a musician making a joyous racket, a performer and creator of magic and beautiful mayhem, or a quiet witness to all of the action...you are free to be your own true self."
“Connecting creative forces for the greatest good.”
"There are rare opportunities in life when you are invited into and welcomed to join a whirlwind of creative energy. If you can be at a PDT happening, you will be treated to such an opportunity. Whether you are a photographer documenting the beauty and antics, a musician making a joyous racket, a performer and creator of magic and beautiful mayhem, or a quiet witness to all of the action...you are free to be your own true self."
“Connecting creative forces for the greatest good.”
"A MUST-SEE act!"
Wakefield OktoberFest
Wakefield OktoberFest