On Friday, August 8th, 8/8, 88 drummers played for 88 minutes at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. The event was titled “88 BoaDrum.” Lead by the Japanese psych-rock band Boredoms, the drummers played full drum kits arranged in a spiral formation. Onstage, under a clear sky, Boredoms were the spiral’s center. Yamatanka Eye conducted by banging colored polls on his seven-fretted guitar tower. I was drummer 56, on the outer shell of the spiral, and the 88 minutes were a blur.

88 drummers playing simultaneously creates immense volume. In Asian cultures, 8 is an auspicious number. It’s pronunciation sounds similar to a word that means “prosper.” There are also ties to the symbol for infinity. Whatever the meaning and reason, there was no way to get around the bigness of the sound.

Also of note are the saber tooth tiger fossils that have been pulled out of the tar pits over the years.

As the beats made their way around the spiral you could feel them as much as hear them. Audience members were right behind the drummers interacting with the rhythmic army. Snare rolls ebbed and flowed like tides and 4/4 beats washed into cymbal swells. The cumulative vibration seemed like enough to roust whatever long-dead beasts sitting at the bottom of the tar pits. See: saber tooth tiger fossil.

Eye’s blue poll meant make an accent (hit a cymbal) and keep playing the rhythm. Red meant hit a cymbal and stop. The white poll, which looked like a trident, meant go nuts, or free form. Instructions for the white poll were “Please play strong and powerfully.” The rhythms began with Boredoms in the center and grew out sequentially around the drum spiral. The rule was to follow the drummer to the right for the pattern and follow Eye for tempo and volume swells.

I had a clear sight line to Eye. And Yoshimi. Yoshimi hits the drums with huge, roundhouse strokes which make it easy to follow her. There were points when I was lost. One glance toward Yoshimi and I was back again. It was strange to make Eye contact with eye. His energy and mind come from someplace other than here.

“Last year’s 77 drum event in New York on 7/7 had such an impact on me I thought we should do it again,” Eye said. “It is very enjoyable to be a part of such a large, plural, and united sound. There are so many drummers here, each with their own version of making the beat. I am honored. I want them to hear us in Osaka.”

When Eye’s white poll came out the final time, the drummers went nuts, exploding in 88 different ways. In the finale we raised a giant saber tooth tiger fossil out of the tar pits. It hung there in the air, turning and leaning on its haunches, looking back at us all. Purring like we were giving it scratches.

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