Colin Sherrill wanted to do something different than simply playing the drum set. Here he plays in front of the Pilot House. (Scott Chia -- The Beacon)
By Laura Frazier, Staff Writer -- frazier13@up.edu
People use buckets for a million different reasons, whether it's hauling water or holding softballs. But few people use buckets like UP sophomore Colin Sherrill does. He uses them to make music.
Sherrill, a Portland native, started drumming on buckets for his senior project in high school.
I played the drum set and wanted to do something different," he said.
Sherrill started doing some research, and while browsing YouTube, he came across a man from Portland that goes by Funk Plastic. Sherrill sent him an e-mail and played with him before a Portland Trail Blazer's basketball game.
Sherrill played in the hallway at the Rose Quarter before the game for about an hour and describes the experience as nerve-wracking but exhilarating. It was the first time he had ever played the buckets.
Sherrill can take his buckets everywhere, which enables him to play almost anywhere.
"My buckets all stack together," he said. "I just carry them around Portland and usually play all day. It's very mobile and creative."
Sherrill said that playing downtown can be stressful, as not everyone welcomes his music. He said that businesses or people in general have complained before, which has prompted a friendly visit from the Portland Police.
"One time a guy thought it was annoying and disturbing," he said. "But the cops react positively to it. They feel it's the spirit of Portland."
Sophomore Morgan Laug, Sherrill's roommate, has never gone downtown to watch Sherrill play but he hopes to at some point.
"It would be fun to see him make some money," he said. "But he's really just in it for the fun."
The most Sherrill has ever made in a full day of playing downtown is $60.
Sherrill traveled to New York City this summer and was in awe of the local bucket drummers. He worries that if he tried to play there, he would get booed off the sidewalk, though he has been drumming in general for eight years and recently competed in a nationwide drum set competition at the Portland Music Company.
"I feel the New York people are more demanding of their bucket drummers," he said.
But it's not only the audience that bucket drummers have to worry about, according to Sherrill. Sometimes there are issues with other artists as well.
"I have seen fights over locations," he said. "Street artists are very territorial."
Sherrill tries to avoid those issues.
"I just don't want to get mixed up in that," he said. "It's more about the music for me."
Sherrill often plays in front of the Pilot House but sometimes this is a problem.
"One time I was told to stop because there was some big test going on in BC Aud.," he said. "I guess they could hear me. But I am respectful of that."
Sherrill does not have a set schedule of when he plays, and normally just decides to drum on sunny afternoons.
Overall, Sherrill thinks that most people on campus appreciate his music.
"A lot of people just walk by," he says. " But there are people that give me thumbs up or wave."
Sophomore Aaron Ferris enjoys hearing Sherrill play, as his music showcases his talent.
"It's people getting out there and doing their thing," he said. "If he sucked, it would be a lot worse. He has a great rhythm."
Sophomore Fiona Thornhill likes what Sherrill's music adds to campus.
"I think it's a really fun thing to have someone out there," she said. "It makes our campus more lively when he plays."
But as his roommate, Laug hears Sherrill play in different ways.
"He drums on his legs," he said. "He always does that. But at least he waits until I leave and then he gets out his buckets or set and drums."
Sherrill said that though he has been asked to accompany other musicians on different instruments, his bucket drumming is a solo art.
"It's not a drum set. It's a solo thing," he says. "It's all improv. I just play whatever comes out of my hands."
However, Sherrill is specific about what actual buckets he uses.
"I read the bottom of the buckets for measurements," he said. "I know which combinations work with what kind of plastic."
Sherrill also alters the sound of the bucket by putting change in the bottom or creating air pockets by stacking. He has been approached about recording but he never has.
"It's a visual as well as an audio activity," he said.
Overall, Sherrill says he plays because he loves drumming, but more importantly he knows that other people love it.
"Music helps people. You hear someone in the street playing a groove and it takes their mind off the day for a bit," he said. "I want to be that bright spot."
