percussionists who have been able to make art within academic settings (esp. considering gear access) for most of their lives have little to no concept of how materially prohibitive 95% of the existing "mainstream" rep is for people who don't have that level of access or space

the people with the most money, connections, and general access end up dictating the aesthetics and [narrow] class dynamics of contemporary percussion culture. it's no wonder the majority of the most well-known/widely-played repertoire is so homogenous and expensive

if anyone wants to build a non-institutional percussion/drum commune with me in the next 10-15 years lmk

it's very sad to think about how capitalism+colonialism have slowly transformed what was once a historically essential communal/collectivistic practice into a, now, largely individualistic culture rife w/ impenetrable hierarchies, aesthetic gatekeeping/narrowness, & hoarding

the same could very easily be said about classical music™ but it's extremely rare for this sort of discussion to ever happen within the realm of western percussion as a whole. if orgs like P*S were to ever do so in a more public way their foundations would likely crumble