The STOMP Cast Freestyles In The Young Hollywood Studio

What's up guys? Leslie Robbins here in the Young Hollywood studio joined by the touring company of Stomp. We have Jeremy, Chris, Andrew, Artist. Welcome to the Young Hollywood Studio.

Thanks for having us. It's incredible.

You have your drumsticks in your hand, you're ready. I have to tell you a few years ago back in 2012, I was on your stage in the East Village in New York. I was in a harness up banging the drums. I was doing sticks on the stage. What a rush. Do you guys feel that every performance as well?

Oh yeah. Every single night. Every single night. For sure. We wouldn't do it otherwise.

Now the funny thing about the show is it's not just people banging drums and making music. There's some humor. There's there's drama. It's a story.

There's a lot more comedy than people would expect and I think that's why the show's still here 25 years later. It's still going strong.

What do you think gives it that life?

I think it's the the people, the cast that comes through. There's a lot of different personalities on stage mixing at once. So those personalities clashing on stage, I think really brings the show to life.

The amazing thing about you guys, you're not just all drummers. You're not just dancers. You come from all different backgrounds as performers. Talk about some of your backgrounds coming into Stomp. And how you got the gig, first of all too.

Uh, the gig is like an open call audition. It takes about a week to get through. Nobody's really a good stomper right out of the gate. I uh, I was a breakdancer when I was a little kid and I found music later and this show really bridged that gap for me and I've been doing it for 15 years.

Do you want to breakdance for you?

I will not.

Ooh.

Anything now? But yeah, I grew up a drummer so I'd been behind a drum kit my whole life. So, like Jeremy was saying, holding a broom, no one has formal training in brooms. So it was really awkward when I first started.

I mean, I actually kind of similar background. I was classically trained as a percussionist and drummer. So it was the same. It was weird for me getting on stage with these different props. It is a completely different animal.

I think for me, you know, I'm just more of an all-around performer. I drummed a bit, moved around a bit. You know, I have a background in stepping, which is uh percussive dance form that really translates to the show uh very well.

Will you do a little dance for us?

I will.

Yeah, let's see it. Let's see it. Yeah. Come on. Yeah.

Okay. So, it'll be uh Hey! That's it. It's really simple.

Now, before you guys set up on our set, you rated our production space.

Rate is a strong word. I think we perused. We're going to give it back. No, that's what we do. I mean, the premise of the show is to make music with mundane objects. So whether it's here or any other news station and we grab things from either the kitchen or the utility closet and we actually use those things. So, we don't bring them. I mean, it's as as organic as it could possibly be.

That's a Yeah. No. This is not. Yeah, it's a make-up brush. This is a glass bottle. But I can take this white thing actually. Can you move that over here cuz then I can put this on top of it. Break it. There's this whole bar over here too. To the ground. We got some mixing bowls. Okay. A cup of coffee. Well, there's no coffee in it. We have a cutting board. What do you guys have?

We all grab whatever we need. We've got a telephone. Some Christmas bells.

Now, when you're looking for stuff, what are you actually looking for?

Usually things that aren't too delicate cuz we try not to break things but it happens. And we just go top to bottom timberwise. So if you have some nice tinny sounding things, maybe the cup and then something nice and low like a trash can and everything in between.

Now you guys are at the Pantages Theater. That's why you're here in Los Angeles. Do you guys bring all of your stuff with you to the Pantages or you do the same thing at that theater and you raid and play whatever you can? I'm assuming you bring all your goods, right?

We actually have a proper set and it rides in a big big truck. Yeah.

Okay, well the stage is yours. All right. Take it away. Oh my goodness. Yeah! It was dancing behind the camera. You were dancing.

I was.

But would you like to play? I think you should. Here we go. So you will have the hot sauce. I don't even like hot sauce but I'm going to play it like I love it. Let's make a little room. Yeah. All right. Oh my goodness. Wow!