3 Bands, 2 Arms, 1 DIY Street Fair

Sean Sommer just wants to relax, have fun, and hang out with friends. In doing so, he'll be drumming three times, with three separate projects this weekend for the DIY Street Fair.

Today, Sommer, 31, plays with his main band, , on the Metro Times stage on East Troy between the Emory and the Woodward Avenue Brewers at 5:40 p.m. Saturday.

"That's the band I'm in and I try to live up to the name when I drum," he said.

On Sunday, he'll play solo sets with local musicians Allen James (A.J. Sherman) and (who is also in the Destroy This Place with Sommer.)

"A.J. and I used to be in the Cold Wave, but these are not Cold Wave songs. It's totally new stuff from A.J.," Sommer said. "The A.J. thing, I'll be very conscious to play less hard."

Ryan Allen recently released a solo record called Ryan Allen and his Extra Arms. Sommer will play a couple songs with him. "We'll do some songs, we'll also be doing a cover song from Friendly Foes," Sommer said.

Friendly Foes was the previous band Allen, Sommer and bassist Liz Whitman were in, and has since disbanded. (Wittman is now the force driving the pop-electro group who played the DIY Street Fair Friday evening.)

Whew.

Sommer started playing drums when he was about 15 years old. He was in bands through the end of high school and into his early 20s. "I was in this one band called Space Camp and we were trying be Our Lady Peace," he said, laughing.

He would eventually stop drumming and sell his kit because he needed the money. Then he met Sherman.

Sherman was in a band called the Cold Wave and the drummer at the time was leaving. "I told him I could play drums," Sommer said. "He told me to come over but I think he was a little skeptical. Plus, I hadn't really done it in a while."

That session would work out. Sommer would become the Cold Wave drummer. Sommer would then meet Allen, who would eventually join the Cold Wave as a guitarist. Allen was in the Friendly Foes at the time and that band's drummer was on his way out. So, Sommer would then become the Friendly Foes' drummer.

"It was weird to think at one point I was going to give it up," Sommer said. "But now I spend $50 on pieces of wood. I'm shelling out 50 bucks for wooded sticks. ... I realize now that the most fun I've had in my life is drumming for bands."

Though Sommer said the weekend is about having fun with friends, hanging out and relaxing, playing in Sherman's group has a sentimentality to it.

"It's part meaningful to me," Sommer said.

In Allen James, Sam Conant will be playing guitar. "This guy, Sam, bought a guitar from my dad. My dad passed away early this year. There is something about him using that guitar that was attractive to me," Sommer said. "I'll be sitting there, looking up and knowing that my dad used to own that guitar."

But despite all the drumming and shows Sommer has been doing recently, he's not nervous and he doesn't have blisters.

"I'm really looking forward to this weekend. I'm going to enjoy being outside, in Ferndale, looking forward to hanging out with my friends," Sommer said. "I do tech support for Dearborn Public Schools and the last two weeks have been the beginning of the year and it's been crazy. So, I'm looking forward to not thinking about that and just playing."

Destroy This Place plays at 5:40 p.m. Saturday on the Metro Times stage on East Troy, between the Emory and the Woodward Avenue Brewers.

Allen James plays at 4:30 p.m. Sunday on the Metro Times stage.

Ryan Allen plays Sunday evening, second to last, on the Loving Touch stage inside the Loving Touch.