Yeah, I've heard good bongo-players from time to time. But in Seattle's Pamir House, where I sang often, we ran into the other kind a lot. Pamir House was kind of a hole, but it was a neat place to sing. There were usually two or three, sometimes four singers up front most of the time, and we'd alternate songs, sing impromptu duets and trios (usually unrehearsed, but they generally came off pretty well), and play off each other, complete with wisecracks and by-play. Nothing planned ahead of time, just off-the-cuff. It was like singing at a party, and the audiences loved it.

We guys and gals up front were on the payroll, but the informality of it gave some folks the idea that it was a free-for-all. This attracted a lot of kids who came in with bongos (a way for the non-musician to participate), and they'd try to bonk, thump, and bang along with the singers, much to the irritation of the singers and the rest of the audience. Once John Timmons, the proprietor of the place, became aware of the presence of yet another kid with a set of bongos, he'd come out of the kitchen and ask them politely but firmly to cease and desist.

Don Firth

P. S. 'Course, in some performances of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture," in the finale, they use real cannon. Fairly impressive!