Day 272: Drums, Oh Drums!

Drums, Oh Drums!
by
Matt Zurbo

Sammy had a new shirt.
It was a LOUD shirt!
He loved it!
(Kid with long wavy blond hair, a bit overweight, holding the end of, admiring the loud, oversized Hawaiian shirt he is wearing.)

He went around to his friend Ben’s place.
(Sammy marching, shirt on, to friend, Ben, who has hair back on a pigtail.)
“Let’s be in a band!” said Sammy.

“Sweet! I’ll play guitar!” said Ben.
“And I’ll play drums,” said Sammy.
(Boys with instruments. Ben with a one stringed guitar, Sammy with basic drum kit and sticks.)

And they played…
(Each image of following sequence, Sammy has different patterned loud shirt.)
(Boys busking, playing to commuters, who are ignoring them.)

and played…
(Boys rocking out on one of the tables at school cafeteria, other kids watching, one or two dancing. Ladies in canteen watching, preachers watching. Sign says: Lunch special.)

and played!
(Kids playing to garbo’s Christmas party. Garbos all smiling, dancing.)

And, wow, they played…!
(Boys playing at top of vert/pool structure at skateboarding park. Skateboarding kids/dudes hanging around them, skating, dancing while skating, etc…)

They even got a job for the government…
(Boys looking perplexed as they are ushered into a white van by men in black.)

playing to aliens!
(Boys looking out van window into restricted area with spaceship.)

“The aliens speak in music,” said Mr Noface and Colonel Private Major.
“What do they want?” asked Sammy.
“That’s what we need to find out!” barked Mr Noface.
(Men in black showing kids a blueprint of the aliens, octopus like, with bubble helmets, one of them, pulled-back, pigtailed hair, is obviously a girl. One is playing a flute, the other a circular alien keyboard. Colonel is punching his fist into his hand.)

(Kids nervously playing to two aliens in front of space ship. Aliens looking startled.)

(Benny wincing/ducking, Sammy tapping his shoulder, smiling, pointing to aliens playing music.)

(Kids and aliens rocking out. Military men and with weapons surrounding them, hiding behind this and that.)

“So? What do they want!?” squawked Mr Noface.
“I bet it’s war!” shouted Major Colonel Private Major.
(Boys exhausted, panting, sweating, hunched, Colonel and Noface surrounding them, gleefully rubbing their hands.)
“Pizza and video games,” said Sammy.

(Boys and aliens lounging on coaches eating pizzas, playing video games, surrounded by their instruments.)

For a while the aliens joined Sammy’s band.
They played Jazz… in a weird way.
(Four of them playing to a crowd of school kids. The girl alien has let her hair down.)

But Mr Noface and Colonel Private Major were having none of it!
(Noface setting running aliens’ pants on fire.)

The aliens came back with their friends.
(Aliens and military everywhere, in stand off. Sammy and Benny very small in middle.)

“Let’s go talk to them,” said Benny.
But someone had stolen Sammy’s drums!
(Noface sneaking off with drum kit, Colonel cutting Benny’s guitar string.)

“What can we do?” said Benny.
“We’re doomed!” said the school kids.
“Relax,” smiled Sammy.
(Benny holding up Guitar with no strings, kids around them frightened. Sammy relaxed, smiling, picking up a 2ft stick from ground. Alien ships looming over them all.)

“Why do you think I played the drums, anyway?” Sammy asked.
“…” said everybody.
(Everybody watching Sammy who is smiling, breaking a stick into two sticks.)

“Cavemen used to play them!” Sammy laughed. “Just think of it! Cavemen!”
(Dopey-looking caveman with same two sticks as Sammy.)

“Drums don’t need money…”
(Sammy playing two sticks on fire hydrant.)

“Their sound is as natural as fire…”
(Sammy playing like a wild man on wood stump in front of a big fire.)

“Your heart beats like a drum!”
(Close up of Sammy’s chest, another loud shirt on, drum/symbol sounds going off around it.)

“And best of all, all you need is two sticks!”
(Sammy smiling, throwing two sticks in air.)
“The WORLD is your instrument!”

(Kids gathering anything they can find to use as drums sticks, Chopsticks, knives and forks, pencils and pens, wrenches and spanners, knitting needles, etc…)

“So, let’s drum!” Sammy said.
(Sammy hitting down on garbage bin, with kids behind him, all happy, run with their various types of drum sticks in all directions.)

(Sammy playing on a cardboard box, while other kids playing on each other, floors, ceilings, traffic lights, stop signs, legs of confused business man, business man’s briefcase, etc…!)

(Benny and other kids playing on garbage storm drains, fences, trees, drink bottles, car tyres, one kid holding gumboot up on a stick, while the other beats out a tune on it, etc…)

Drums…
(Kids doing the same in Japan. A few of the aliens that are watching them are dancing.)

Drums!
(Kids doing the same in Europe. Next to sign that has many European nation’s names on it. More of the aliens dancing.)

DRUMS!
(Africa, one African kid playing drums on a hollowed log, all aliens dancing.)

After that, things were pretty different.
(Streetscape of kids and aliens paired up, each pair is laughing playing music. Ignoring adults, who are watching with various reactions. Sammy and alien from start, and Benny and the other alien from start are there, too, sharing music.)

Thanks, Sammy!
(Sammy has arm over ‘shoulder’ of alien. Alien has tentacle over shoulder of Sammy. Sammy, with huge grin, holding up drumsticks to reader. Alien holding up flute to reader. Sammy is wearing alien’s skin-tight top, alien is wearing one of Sammy’s loud shirts. Men in back in background, shoulders slumped, heads lowered, walking away in defeat.)

 

 

The End.