2008 Woodie Awards
The thunder that marches
Greensboro's radical drum corps group, Cakalak Thunder, sends a message loud and clear
Sue Edelberg
Issue date: 1/17/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Beginning as a tiny ensemble of roughly five people, they were beating on buckets with broomsticks at a peaceful protest for the Free Trade Areas of Americas (FTAA) meetings in Miami in November 2003. The progressive drum corps group Cakalak Thunder, of Greensboro, has since blossomed to about 25 members and are now taking on a myriad of political causes and opportunities to just play for fun.
Originally formed in 2003 for the one time FTAA protest, they were later met with much excitement and interest to revive the group and make it an ongoing project while at the Southeast Anarchist Network (SEANET) workshop at Guilford College. From there they salvaged drums and drum sticks from dumpsters, took donations, and used parts of their own drum sets. All they needed was a way to tie the drum around their waist to allow mobility.
Cakalak Thunder began playing rhythms of their own interpretation from both traditional and radical marching bands. In 2004, the drum corps provided a new atmosphere of percussion at protests such as the October 22 resistance against police brutality in Greensboro, the Republican National Convention protest in New York, and protests in DC. In 2005 they played in the Fayetteville antiwar demonstration among other peaceful protests and antiwar rallies.
Last year one of the members, Will Ridenhour, went to Sweden for six months where he discovered Brazilian Samba rhythms first hand. Ridenhour learned a mixed form called Samba Batucada that was started by African slaves taken to Brazil in the early 16th century. Samba Batucada is a music of resistance to the oppression of those that enslaved the Africans. The history of Samba is important in Cakalak's message. They are playing these rhythms in honor of this tradition and for the common thread our generation shares with those African slaves today in fighting various forms of social and political oppression. The Samba rhythms were brought home to Greensboro where Cakalak Thunder began to put them to use. Ever since, Cakalak has created their own blend of marching rhythms and traditional Samba.
The foundation of the group is a radical drum corps. The members have different degrees of radicalism, from very radical to conservative leftists, says member Gigi Burkhalter. The group is open for all to join, and there are no real requirements to join the group - except an open mind, of course.
The members range from teenagers to people in their 50s. About half of the group had prior experience with drumming before, but mostly this experience consisted of simply having tinkered with drums in the past. The rhythms are easy to learn with practice, and the group is more than willing to teach newcomers how to play.
Cakalak Thunder is a project affiliated with the Greensboro Community Arts Collective (GCAC). The GCAC is a networking organization for radical art groups in Greensboro. Other progressive and all-welcoming projects with the GCAC include a community screen-printing studio, an affordable recording studio, Food Not Bombs community dinners, a coalition of resource sharing, a collective housing info group, and a bicycle co-op, among other budding projects.
Currently Cakalak Thunder is talking about trying to engage more directly with projects in Greensboro, like anti-gentrification projects to raise awareness about the gentrification sweeping through Greensboro and other places, said Johnathan Henderson. They're using art as a conduit for political ideas and dialogues through music, Henderson added. The group is planning on traveling to schools to share their music and the history of Samba and their principles as a group, to gain interest and show others how to start their own radical drum corps.
If you are interested in coming out to a practice to check out Cakalak Thunder, you can visit www.GCAConline.org for more information or contact 274-1814 for directions to their Sunday practices at noon in downtown Greensboro.
Originally formed in 2003 for the one time FTAA protest, they were later met with much excitement and interest to revive the group and make it an ongoing project while at the Southeast Anarchist Network (SEANET) workshop at Guilford College. From there they salvaged drums and drum sticks from dumpsters, took donations, and used parts of their own drum sets. All they needed was a way to tie the drum around their waist to allow mobility.
Cakalak Thunder began playing rhythms of their own interpretation from both traditional and radical marching bands. In 2004, the drum corps provided a new atmosphere of percussion at protests such as the October 22 resistance against police brutality in Greensboro, the Republican National Convention protest in New York, and protests in DC. In 2005 they played in the Fayetteville antiwar demonstration among other peaceful protests and antiwar rallies.
Last year one of the members, Will Ridenhour, went to Sweden for six months where he discovered Brazilian Samba rhythms first hand. Ridenhour learned a mixed form called Samba Batucada that was started by African slaves taken to Brazil in the early 16th century. Samba Batucada is a music of resistance to the oppression of those that enslaved the Africans. The history of Samba is important in Cakalak's message. They are playing these rhythms in honor of this tradition and for the common thread our generation shares with those African slaves today in fighting various forms of social and political oppression. The Samba rhythms were brought home to Greensboro where Cakalak Thunder began to put them to use. Ever since, Cakalak has created their own blend of marching rhythms and traditional Samba.
The foundation of the group is a radical drum corps. The members have different degrees of radicalism, from very radical to conservative leftists, says member Gigi Burkhalter. The group is open for all to join, and there are no real requirements to join the group - except an open mind, of course.
The members range from teenagers to people in their 50s. About half of the group had prior experience with drumming before, but mostly this experience consisted of simply having tinkered with drums in the past. The rhythms are easy to learn with practice, and the group is more than willing to teach newcomers how to play.
Cakalak Thunder is a project affiliated with the Greensboro Community Arts Collective (GCAC). The GCAC is a networking organization for radical art groups in Greensboro. Other progressive and all-welcoming projects with the GCAC include a community screen-printing studio, an affordable recording studio, Food Not Bombs community dinners, a coalition of resource sharing, a collective housing info group, and a bicycle co-op, among other budding projects.
Currently Cakalak Thunder is talking about trying to engage more directly with projects in Greensboro, like anti-gentrification projects to raise awareness about the gentrification sweeping through Greensboro and other places, said Johnathan Henderson. They're using art as a conduit for political ideas and dialogues through music, Henderson added. The group is planning on traveling to schools to share their music and the history of Samba and their principles as a group, to gain interest and show others how to start their own radical drum corps.
If you are interested in coming out to a practice to check out Cakalak Thunder, you can visit www.GCAConline.org for more information or contact 274-1814 for directions to their Sunday practices at noon in downtown Greensboro.
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