用垃圾桶奏乐的人

    为什么最开始的时候与观众们联系在一起如此困难？

    在过往作为鼓手的经历里，我坐在演唱乐队或者管弦乐队背后，或者处于行进乐队中间。但是在台上，我会看到观众们盯着我，这就像别人在对你评头品足。刚开始的时候，我从不看观众的眼睛。我只是盯着他们的前额。还有头发。

    你如何克服这一点？

    直到我把自己豁出去。我跟演员们说：“如果我出错了——这种情况肯定会发生——只管跟着我来。”音乐正是这样创造出来的。在音乐世界，错误是可能发生的，我们需要做到这一点，因为这样我们才能相互交流，从而达成统一的看法。音乐从来都不会是完美的，音乐不应该是这样。音乐要求我们联合在一起。

    因此你不得不将自己对该节目的看法推销给你的同事？

    这就是挑战。但对我来说，这是一件有趣的事情。我彩排的时候，不仅要向人们作出不同的说明，去了解他们对音乐的认识，还要理解他们的个性。

    这些人都是专业人士。他们都是富有才华的音乐人、演员和表演者，不应该接受任何形式的说教。此外，如果你这样做了，你不会获得良好的表演，因为我们表演时都带着各种各样当时正在感受的情绪。

    我希望成为更好的领奏者。这个节目里困难的一个部分是，在不说一句话的情况下，预测我希望表演者们怎么做。

    没错，没有任何对话。请谈谈这种非语言的交流。

    好的。不过有时候，只需要很简单的动作——把节奏稍稍提前，然后弹奏你想要的节拍，他们就会意识到自己“令人讨厌”（dirty）。我说的“令人讨厌”，意思是没联合在一起。我一直说“控制节奏的发展，调整，然后维持”。这是这个节目的数学问题。最重要的是，每个人都拥有足够的聪明和才华去这样做。问题只是，他们是否会选择这样做？

    在Stomp担当领奏角色后，你还会再次回到演唱乐队后面的位置吗？

    我肯定希望再回去打鼓，因为我不想只是将打鼓作为兴趣爱好。但尝过了站在观众面前的滋味后，我明白了，这种体验并不在于“看，我是明星！”这是关于一种独特的体验。这是一个亲密的瞬间，你可以一次性和这么多人在一起，这非常特殊，令人着迷。这种感觉就是，每个晚上你都带给观众们很多快乐，他们站起来为你鼓掌喝彩。(财富中文网)

    译者：成鹏

    Why was connecting with the audience so difficult, at first?

    In my past experience as a drummer, I was behind a band or behind an orchestra or in the marching band. But on stage, I would see people staring at me and it's almost like you're being judged. At first, I never looked people in the eyes. I was just looking at foreheads. And hair.

    How did you overcome that?

    It wasn't until I put myself out there. I told the cast, "If I make a mistake, which I will, just come with me." And that's what makes it music. You need that point in the music where mistakes are probably happening, because then we have to communicate with each other and find a unified idea. It's never going to be perfect, it's not supposed to be. It's just supposed to be together.

    So you have to sell all your colleagues on your idea for the show?

    That's the challenge. But for me, it's kind of a fun thing. When I run rehearsals, not only do you have to speak to people differently, to understand their knowledge of the music, but you also have to understand their personality.

    These are professionals. These are talented musicians and actors and performers who don't deserve to be talked down to in any way. Also, if you do, you're not going to get a performance because we perform with whatever emotions we're feeling.

    And I want to be an even better leader. The hard part about this show is projecting what I want the cast to do without saying a word.

    That's right. There's no dialogue. Talk about non-verbal communication.

    For sure. But sometimes it just takes the simple act of stepping a little bit in front of the line and playing the tempo that I want them to play, and they'll realize they're dirty. When I say, "dirty," I mean not together. I always say, "establish what's going on, adjust, and maintain." That's the math problem to this show. And the thing is, every single person is intelligent enough and talented enough to do that. It's just, are they going to make the choice to do it?

    Having led Stomp, would you ever take your seat behind the band again?

    I definitely want to go back to playing a drum set because I don't want drumming to be just a hobby. But having tasted what it's like to be in front of an audience, it's not about, "Look at me, I'm a star!" It's about a unique experience. It's an intimate moment that you can have all at once with that many people and it is just extremely special. It's addicting. To feel that you can give that many people that much joy that they stand up and applaud every single night.