A different drummer

The drummer for the Newsboys is following me on Twitter.

This may not seem like a big deal to you if you are being followed by celebrities on Twitter or if you don’t know who the Newsboys are. But let me assure you, it’s a big deal to me. You might have noticed that this blog is titled “Syncopator Familias” with drum art on it. I wish that meant that I’m a brilliant drummer, but, sadly, that is no more true than the fact I was able to get the Twitter handle Tweetologian means I’m a brilliant theological thinker – or even a decent tweeter.

But I do like to play the drums when I get the chance, so when I’m followed by an actual professional drummer, that’s pretty cool. What’s more, I didn’t even follow him first – or mention him in a tweet. Kellie Pickler follows both my @OwenTew and @Tweetologian accounts, but she followed neither until I mentioned her – and used her Twitter handle – in a tweet. Pickler’s follow seemed to bring in some other folks, including Reba McEntire’s drummer.

I’m followed by some authors, musicians, politicians and pundits. But most of them set up autobots to follow people who follow them first.

But Duncan Phillips appears to be following me solely over something I wrote. I want to know what it was. The last thing I tweeted before I got the e-mail he was following me was: Dear, Westboro Baptist: "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." Romans 12:15 http://bit.ly/mipkIo

I suppose that was it.

I’ve been a Newsboys fan for more than 20 years. I actually own a cassette tape of their debut album. A friend gave it to me as a groomsman’s gift because he and I were both newspaper reporters – and because I listened to Christian music outside the cookie cutter stuff. So to have their drummer following me is a full circle.

It’s odd, though, that as a wannabe drummer I get followed by the Newsboys’ drummer and Reba’s drummer. Even stranger was when I met the drummer for the Barenaked Ladies.

I was killing time between work and a class about 10 years ago, taking photos of a church a block away from my office. I saw a guy out of the corner of my eye and tried to ignore him. But after he yelled, “Hey, Mr. Photographer!” it was difficult.

Hardly anyone walks up and talks to you on the street in downtown Birmingham without hitting you up for cash, so I was poised for this. He sensed my wariness and explained he was the drummer for the Barenaked Ladies. “Can you tell me where I can get a sandwich and an Absolut?” he wanted to know.

I hated to tell him, but there’s hardly a place even today – and certainly back then – to get a sandwich and an Absolut in downtown B’ham at 4:30 on a weekday afternoon. It finally hit me that there was place about six or seven blocks down, but I couldn’t verify they’d be open. He looked a bit letdown, but was on his way.

I went straight to my car where I had three Barenaked Ladies CDs – and there he was on the back. I looked at my camera and realized I was an ignoramus for not taking his picture.

You should follow me on Twitter here and Facebook here.

Photo: Newsboys Facebook page