Rhythm of the city

It’s not hard to find John Scalici.

If you hear the sound of drums anywhere in Birmingham, he’s probably there.

Scalici is a lifelong drummer, but he began leading drum circles about 15 years ago. He’s also someone I heard about long before Iron City Ink was a reality. From teachers to artists to amateur enthusiasts, if someone mentioned drumming to me, they also mentioned Scalici.

A drum jam isn’t just music to Scalici. It’s creative expression, community building and personal empowerment all crammed into a circle of hand drums.

Scalici’s job is to create the “pulse” of the circle, “something people can easily feel” as the rhythms change and drummers enter and leave the group.

“John truly is an icon in the city of Birmingham,” said John Powers, who has played with Scalici for eight years. “I think because his whole message is positivity, inclusivity and community.”

I played drums for many years when I was younger — shout-out to my short-lived high school band — but a drum circle is nothing like the orderly beats I was used to playing. The circle of hand drummers feels more organic and the sound is constantly shifting as people try out their own rhythms. “It takes every part working together,” Scalici said.

One minute, the music might be almost indecipherable, then a few players adjust their small parts, and the greater whole becomes clear. And underneath it all is the steady sound of Scalici keeping the whole group together.

On a full night, there can be dozens of drummers along with people playing shakers and small instruments, dancers and spectators.

“It’s just to find a little part to play to add … and all together it’s awesome. It’s moving,” Powers said.

Scalici is reluctant to talk about himself, preferring instead to tell me about his mentors, the experience of drumming and the jams he has led in “every nook and cranny throughout this entire state.”

It’s part of a mental change that happened about halfway through his life; as Scalici describes it, he went from “all about me” to “all about we.”

As a lifelong drummer, Scalici said he began to see his music as a tool for communities. “My father said, ‘Do something that makes a difference,’” Scalici said. “I never wanted to quit drumming.”

Now, drumming is his day job — through his business, Get Rhythm!, Scalici teaches drumming classes and leads circles in schools, hospitals and corporate training events. But the drum jams that pop up around Birmingham are something he does just to give back to the city.

It takes more than just a solid beat to lead a drum circle, Scalici said. He has to constantly watch the drummers to make sure they’re enjoying themselves and being active in the circle. Every group, whether friends or strangers, has a different dynamic, and Scalici has to keep enthusiastic drummers from overpowering the circle while also encouraging timid participants to step in. “The energy is different everywhere you go,” Scalici said.

Part of drumming, Scalici said, is making sure he’s doing it authentically. One of the drums Scalici uses most frequently is the djembe, which originates in West Africa. When he was first learning about hand drumming, Scalici said he found a West African teacher to learn not only the proper way to play, but also the history, songs and cultural place the djembe holds.

These lessons are things that Scalici imparts particularly to his students, but also in drum circles, so that players are aware of the culture they are borrowing from when they pick up a djembe or other drum.

Over the past 15 years, Scalici said he has seen the drum circle community significantly grow in Birmingham, and his jams now usually include a couple of regular players. He has led circles in Railroad Park and local breweries, as well as events such as The Happening, the International Street Fair and CukoRakko.

The regular drummers say they come because it’s therapeutic; it allows them to meet new people; it’s a mental challenge, or simply because it’s fun.

“Everybody’s always smiling because it’s fun to do,” Powers said.

Fellow drummer Steve Daniels, who is also a regular, said he stumbled upon a jam eight years ago in a music shop. The jams have taught him how to feed off other players and be part of the give-and-take they create, but there’s never a pressure to get things exactly “right.”

“It’s amazing how many good things happen in this town, and John Scalici is there,” Daniels said.

Information about Scalici’s classes can be found at getrhythmprograms.com. But if you simply want to find out where a drum circle will show up next, your best bet is to join the “Birmingham Drum Circle” group on Facebook.