Russell Buddy Helm

Standing in front of a new refrigerator in the appliances section of Sears. 1962. I was hot and sweaty from drumming and marching all morning every Saturday with the Wavettes, our drum and baton corp in Elkhart, Indiana. We  were national champions and we worked hard at it. I opened the large white metal door and felt the cold rush of refrigerated air hit me in the face. But it wasn’t plugged in. Our brains make assumptions; like assuming that we cannot drum. That we are not allowed to be or are incapable of being cool….. Heartland has once again left its impressions on me. I feel a distinct increase in Orgone energy in my system. I am feeling really good and others have commented on it. So this again, is proof that what we generate in that amazing place in Kansas, is palpable and real, and it is very, very good. I am so lucky and blessed. This drumming thing brings good things and good people into my life.

Clearing the Mind for Positive Success. The steady state consciousness created by the laid back grooves at forty two beats per minute will induce a suspension of critical mind.

Sandwich Islands

1945.  The blue South Pacific skies over the Sandwich Islands were filled with dark puff balls of anti aircraft flak as Japanese kamikaze planes attempted to crash into the destroyers and the U.S.S. Forrestal aircraft carrier in Admiral Halsey’s advancing Pacific fleet. On shore were a company of American commandos. Tappy and his commanding officer were digging themselves out of being covered in dirt from exploding Japanese and American artillery shells. American Naval bombardment walked down the beach in pounding footsteps toward the Japanese bunkers. “I have to urinate, Tappy.” Lt. helm said. His sense of humor could be droll. “You’ll have to wait til the barrage is over, sir.”  They didn’t laugh. The thunder of Japanese artillery and the off shore pounding from American battle ships made further conversation difficult. Tappy caught his CO’s gaze focused up into the sky above the dogfights between the American Tom Cats and the Jap Zeros. The Lieutenant was studying a formation of white silver disks, high above the air battle; five strange shapes moving from the south toward the Northeast at a slow methodical pace above the battle. “What the heck are those?” Tappy yelled uneasily. “I don’t know. I saw them over Nordhausen in Germany, when I  brought out the V2 rockets.”  He didn’t like unanswered questions. “Are they the German secret weapons?” Tappy yelled as more rubble rained down on them. “I don’t think so.” Lt. Helm said to him in a tone that cut through the din. “Our bomber pilots called them…. Foo Fighters…. I think they are off world.” Tappy ignored what he had just heard and looked around at the deserted island. “Are we close enough to Tokyo, yet…Sir?” The Lt. shook his head. “No. The V2 range is only two hundred miles. If we want to hit Japan mainland with our atom bomb tipped V2, we’ll have to get closer.” Tappy grimaced through the oily fog of burnt cordite. “You think it’ll work? Sir?” Lt. Helm nodded his head under his helmet. “Yes. I saw the results of the first atom bomb test. It will end the war…..But you can’t do that to Mother Nature and get away with it.”

excerpt: “History of the Groove, book four” Russell Buddy Helm ©2014 all rights reserved

“”Back by popular demand for a fifth Heartland appearance is Russell Buddy Helm. He has done it all in the realms of music, film, and print. With vast experience as a professional musician and producer, Buddy now emphasizes the spiritual. He teaches drumming meditation in California and around the country. His continuing development of the healing aspects of rhythm have brought health and joy to many around the world. He conducts drum healing seminars around the country. His books include: Drumming the Spirit to Life and Way of the Drum. His current CDs include: Protection Drum Prayers, Martial Arts Drumming with Dan Inosanto, and Let the Goddess Dance. Buddy merges his experiences as a professional musician with a deep desire to heal through rhythm. Part drum lesson, part meditation, part spiritual journey, Buddy’s workshops are perennially well attended and impactful, and definitely not to be missed. ” Heartland Spiritual Alliance brochure  2014. Lawrence, Kansas

Otis Redding’s recording studio was in the back of a store front, facing opposite across the street from the Macon Hotel.There wasn’t much action in this small rural south Georgia town that fostered greats like Otis, James Brown, Little Richard, The Allman Brothers, Clarence Carter, and Johnny Jenkins.. After my parts were recorded I would climb into the glass windows display area and watch the night life while I dozed on the carpeted platform. I watched the working girls across the street coming and going til dawn, when they went home. Under the store was a dirt floored basement where the echo chambers had been built; cinder block rooms just big enough to place a microphone and a speaker inside the tiled interior. During one session, the engineer heard giggling on the vocal track and there was no one giggling in the vocal booth. I went down into the basement and found Danny squeezed inside a tiled echo chamber with a local Macon girl. excerpt: “History of the Groove” Russell Buddy Helm ©2014 all rights reserved