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Recyclers Create Rhythms from Junk
by Melanie King
It is dark, and a booming stadium voice announces over the speakers, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present the Recycled Percussion of Massachusetts."
Out of the dark, irregular beats of wood hitting plastic gain momentum, pulling the audience's adrenaline along as they become louder and louder, by now a distinct rhythm.
The lights are thrown on and we are looking at what seems to be the plastic section of a recycling center. Worn plastic barrels and trash cans covered with graffiti and stains are duck taped together into makeshift drum sets. Clean backdrops displaying the group's icon stand in stark contrast to pots, pans, and other items seemingly rescued from a landfill.
The stage of Mars Hill College's Moore theater was covered with junk on the evening of March 27 as Recycled Percussion, a group known all over the United States, performed for the community.
Employing the use of anything with a hollow inside, the group performed with things like empty propane tanks, rusted 50 gallon barrels, and any kind of plastic bucket lying around. Without having to worry too much about damaging their "drums," the group let lose, pumping adrenaline into the crowd with each drum stick they broke.
The band has previously performed at places such as the National Association for Campus Activities conference in Indianapolis, has played with performers Godsmack, Staind, LL Cool J, and Stroke 9, and travels to more than 200 colleges and universities per year.
Recycled Percussion has also been featured in magazine articles and in such newspapers as USA Today, Union Leader, Chicago Tribune, and The Citizen newspapers. The group has been invited on television shows such as "Chronicle", "Talk Soup," "Crook and Chase", and HBO.
Justin Spencer founded Recycled Percussion over seven years ago. On the Recycled Percussion web page he explains that after years of concert, jazz, and marching band, he "came up with the idea to start a band that plays drums on recycled objects instead of drums."
The first member he recruited and helped coach was his good friend Aaron Fairhurst. Taking trashcans, buckets, and other household items, the group began to practice. After Aaron had been "settled in the group," Justin instructed Greg Kassapis in the art of recycled percussion. Spencer explains, "Greg was a young kid with the talent growing in him." These three made up the original group, performing for the first time with the name Recycled Percussion on March 21, 1994 at a local high school talent show. From there, their career as musicians was catapulted into what they are today.
Losing and gaining members over the past years, the group that performed for Mars Hill College consisted of Fairhurst, Zach Holmes, Kassapis, and Spencer.
"Meeting and joining forces with Recycled Percussion has proven to be an amazing endeavor," Holmes says on the web page. Like the rest of the group, he has been interested in music since he was a small child.
Predominately humorous, Recycled Percussion performs impromptu and constantly interacts with the crowd. Taking requests for songs, the group then imitated them with vocal sound effects using the microphone. Although the four members made what they did seem easy, the crowd started to appreciate the difficulty early on.
Cheering a soloist on, the noisy audience quieted with awe as a drummer's arms disappeared from motion blur. The group even used a chain saw to make music, rubbing it on a 50-gallon plastic barrel. A grinder on a rusted metal barrel sent sparks flying high into the air and cascading down over the performing members.
Wrapping up, the group brought out something that symbolizes their diversity…Recycled Percussion uses everything, including -- the kitchen sink.
Note: Recycled Percussion will play next at the Asheville Civic Center, April 6, at 7 p.m.
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