Pahka Dave Cowan, RN. - Community Drum-Circle Facilitator

By all Cowan family accounts - Pahka Dave began drumming at the age of 3!  SO - as of this writing - Dave has been drumming for the past 53 years!  Yeah, he had some chops and skills down...

As an accomplished musician and songwriter - and with years of experience leading classes, workshops, seminars and retreats - as well as performing as a professional multi-instrumentalist musician, David had a lot to bring to a Drum Circle.  Literally!  All the drums seen in the picture above - plus a dozen or so more - reside down in Dave's Basement Recording Studio when he was not out on the road making music or building community through World Beat Drumming, Gonging, Jazz, Blues, Folk, or Singer-Songwriter performances for audiences large and small.  SO... When you want to put together a Community Drum Circle - who you gonna call?   

Once the Van pulled up and all Dave's drums and shakers and bells and rattles and conch shell trumpets start to be unloaded the excitement began to build. 

One of the the treasures of Pahka Dave's Community Drum-Circles is his home-made 30" Buffalo-Hide Pow Wow Drum...  Along with the long-handled drum-beaters he brought... NO ONE had to be a skilled drummer or percussionist to feel right in the thick of all that excitement.  Add 6 or 7 African Djembes, Congas and Bongos, Hoop and Frame Drums, Cajons, and maybe a Trap Kit, some 5-gallon plastic buckets and empty water-cooler bottles, and you have one riot of a Good Time! 

Few things build community faster or create instantaneous sacred space as successfully as a well-led Drum-Circle.  With a skilled Facilitator the initial chaos actually gels into poly-rhythmic healing vibrations.  The Drums instantly affect the Heart.  The group drumming soon brings out smiles and deep excitement to people of all ages - whether you are drumming, rattling or dancing - and very often Dave inspired participants to continue drumming when they got home...

Pahka Dave's commitment to Community Drumming for both Beginners & Advanced Drummers often saw him volunteering his personal Drum Hoard to Hospice Groups, assorted Charities & Benefits, Community Building Events and Celebratory Gatherings of all kinds.