Russell Buddy Helm

A  young boy was walking  home from grade school when he spotted an old man sitting on his front porch strumming on a guitar. The boy approached the old man and asked him,

“What is your secret to a long life?”

The old guitar player smiled and said, “Sex, drugs and rock n roll.”

The little boy was amazed, “Really? How old are you?”

“I’m twenty four  years old.”

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

Drumming as a detective story. Why do we do the things we do in our lives? Krishna, the charioteer, warned his charge, Arjuna, that there would be no way to understand the actions of the universe. But we still try.

Drumming can be like Krishna the driver of horses; Pushing onward with the groove unveils insights unspeakable with words. We tend to do certain things, deny ourselves certain benefits, and then try to fathom why. There is a place of forgiveness in the universe and it can be reached by following the grooves to the heart of the situation. Music, poetry, song take us there and we feel better, having received comfort or insight, The beat underneath the words carries it’s own message of hope.

As a therapy, drumming becomes a detective story. The client comes to the drum because there are mysteries in their lives that do not have easy solutions. The steady relaxed tempos, with alternating hands, creates a sense of well being and cooperation between the lobes of our feuding brain hemispheres. The resulting processing of distracting trauma history into calm acceptable memories creates a really good drummer as well as a balanced individual. They can even tell their own story while hitting the drum. Some for the first time.

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

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

Driving in Santa Monica, listening to KCRW. Fred Neil’s  “Everybody’s Talking'” played. What a great surprise to hear his version on the air. Hoorray for Fred’s Music. Then they played a second Fred Neil song, “Dolphin” and my happiness dissipated with the realization that Fred had died and this was his post humous reward. I can trace back the arc of the good things in my life, music included, to Coconut Grove and to Fred Neil. The life path through the Byzantine world always connected with that beginning in Southern Florida and the amazing and wonderful people in Coconut Grove. A magical, mysterious time and place that will always exist.