Reno drummer is ‘tour guide’ in ‘Stomp’ at MGM

Kimberley McGee

Friday, April 14, 2000 | 9:31 a.m.

It's the drone of the construction crane, the swish of speeding traffic, the yelling of taxicab drivers and the bang of metal trash cans as they settle on the street.

It's the harmony of the typical city street, and the musical "Stomp" organizes those everyday sounds into a pulsing, energetic performance of precise percussion using mundane objects such as trash can lids, brooms and even the hiss of a lit match.

"It's the music at the end of the day. It's everything that everyone ignores," said Cameron Newlin, a performer in "Stomp." "It's the rhythm of the world around you."

Created 10 years ago in Brighton, England, by then-street performers Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, "Stomp" makes its second Las Vegas appearance at the MGM Grand through Sunday. Newlin became one of the prime performers for "Stomp" last year after two years spent moving up in the ranks.

"There are no feature performers. We are all the same. I just happen to play the part of one of the guys who wrote the show so it looks like the lead," he said. "I'm not a self-righteous bragging (expletive) ... (but) I call myself the 'Stomp' tour guide."

The two-hour tour includes revamped household and industry items such as oil drums, sheets of metal, plastic buckets and seemingly everything but the kitchen sink. Although don't be so sure that won't show up, too -- the show is meant to surprise and titillate.

"We play pipes and radiator hoses that are cut to different lengths or pitched to a certain tone," Newlin said. "Other than that, it's all (our) percussion."

Although a trained drummer, Newlin stumbled into the professional precision cast quite by accident.

He dreamed of becoming a famous drummer while growing up in Iowa and Reno. He attended the University of Nevada, Reno, for three years on a music scholarship. At the end of his third year Newlin had enough of playing drums, drums and more drums.

"It was just time (to) move on," he said.

Newlin transferred to San Diego State University, where he floated a bit and mulled over what he wanted to do with his talent and his life.

"I didn't want to be a professional drummer, I wanted to be a rock star," he said.

A chance glance through the back of an entertainment magazine brought Newlin closer to his rock star dreams.

While in the middle of finals Newlin took a short drive to Los Angeles to an open call for the touring cast of "Stomp." He said he didn't think it would take more than a few hours, but it took days as he made finals of a different sort.

"I failed all my finals because I had to hang out there for a week and a half and go back for call back after call back," he said. "It happened so fast."

The crazy dance moves had Newlin in a spin. He had seen the Coca-Cola commercial featuring "Stomp" but otherwise didn't know what the show was all about. "I was laughing at the (stuff) they were making me do," he said. "I was throwing a broom, a pole or a trash can."

The group of 2,000 "Stomp" wannabes was narrowed to a handful with Newlin shakily in the final five.

"They told us to go home and they'd call," he said. "I didn't think much more of it."

Two months later they called.

"My parents had tickets to 'Stomp' that weekend, and I got the call I was in the cast," he said.

He quickly packed up his bags in San Diego and made the move to New York City where "Stomp" is based.

One year later he is playing one of the front men in the show.

Newlin's favorite part of the show involves scaling the back wall while beating out a rhythm with large sticks.

"We play the wall. There are no traditional musical instruments in 'Stomp.' It's the closest thing I do to playing the drums."

His drumming skills came in handy for the percussion of the show, but Newlin found he also had hidden talents for choreographed dance moves.

"I'm not a dancer, I'm a drummer," he said. "But once you learn the show your body becomes comfortable with it, and it becomes second nature."

The show is very visual and physical. Performers use their bodies as instruments, regularly suffering back problems, bruises and broken bones as they throw their weight into the floor, walls and props onstage to make the rhythmic noises that create "Stomp."

"It's a dangerous show," he said. "We swing poles at each other's heads and throw trash cans around and walk on 50-gallon oil drums."

In a small way Newlin achieved his dream to be a rock 'n' roll star.

"We get noticed all over the place, I've been on (David) Letterman and on all the talk shows. You get recognized in airports. It's kind of cool," Newlin said. "You don't get chased down the street like the Beatles, though."

He will continue to bop and bang for another year before retiring to let his body heal. The dream, he said, will continue:

"I'm never going to stop drumming."