Edinburgh: Where My Drumsticks Met the Mist

so i rolled into edinburgh dragging my road-worn snare case behind me, and immediately felt that damp chill that slithers under your jacket like a ghost’s handshake. as a touring session drummer, i’ve played in some questionable venues, but this city’s air has its own kind of percussion - constant drizzle hitting cobblestones. if you think drumming in a humid club is tough, try tuning toms when humidity’s at 81% and pressure’s dropping faster than your paycheck after a bad gig.

i just snuck a glance at the weather app and it’s… clinging to 8.5°C like a second skin. hope you brought thermal underwear. locals call this ‘summer’ but my fingers think it’s arctic tundra. spent yesterday busking on royal mile where some old dude with a bagpipe warned me: “the castle’s haunted, son. heard drums from the dungeons when no one else was there.” coincidence or my tom frequencies vibrating through centuries? you decide.

someone at the *trusty brew pub told me the underground vaults amplify bass frequencies like crazy. tried testing it with a practice pad - sure enough, my ghostly triplets rattled chains in the corner. also heard from a bartender at The Last Drop that tourists think haggis is spicy. nope, it’s just aggressively seasoned. stick to the oatcakes, folks.

if your eardrums need a break from my racket, glasgow’s only an hour away for industrial grit. but honestly? edinburgh’s fog makes my drum silencers* look like a feature, not a flaw. packed my sticks damp as dishrags after this trip. played a session at The Jazz Bar where the crowd grooved so hard my cymbals sweated. humidity’s hell on hardware, but your bass player’s low notes? they’ll thicken into something majestic here. just pack a spare head and dry socks.

“if ye hear rattling in wynd wynd close, it’sna ghosts - it’s just the 9pm soundcheck from the next room.”

“that castle? paid three quid to see the crown jewels. my snare case holds more shine.”

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