Toy piano electronica songwriter • producer • engineer • arranger • keyboardist
Is there a certain type of person you write your songs for?
I’m my own primary audience first and foremost. This project is about getting the crazy music swirling through my head out into the real world, with varying levels of success.
It’s a surprise and delight when someone takes time to tell me they enjoy what I do. They’re usually non-cynical types who can see the world with a childlike wonder, or actual kids themselves. Beyond that I have no idea who my audience is. I think it requires a high tolerance for whimsy that many people don’t possess!
Who were your musical influences at an early age?
Some of my earliest influences still inspire me with every listen. Prince for his ability to breathe funky life into technology. Devo for crafting offbeat space-age nursery rhymes. Depeche Mode for proving that synth-pop can be emotional as well as stylistic. Descendents, Black Flag and Ramones for their no-frills bursts of sonic energy that never fail to deliver a hook. Einsturzende Neubauten and Throbbing Gristle for turning the rubble of dystopia into a (dangerous) musical playground.
Warner Brothers cartoons and old kids’ shows like The Little Rascals also influenced me heavily. It’s great that those soundtracks are finally recognized as masterworks worthy of their own attention.
What’s your writing process like?
Songs usually start as melodies plunked out on a toy piano or glockenspiel, captured with a Zoom handheld recorder or a mic plugged into my MacBook. Those parts get edited and arranged in Audacity, GarageBand and Reason. I have a ton of electronic and mechanical musical toys that I sample and mix with Reason’s built-in synths and drum machines as accompaniment.
Recently I’ve been having fun with gizmos like Korg’s Monotron and the Pocket Piano by Critter & Guitari. I’m also enjoying weird iPhone music apps like The Badlion’s Garage Synth and Tweakybeat, which is all over the new Twink album.
Where did you come up with the idea for your featured song, “Pigeon Walk?”
My wife has raised fancy pigeons for a few years as a hobby. They’re simple creatures that spend most of the day marching around constantly establishing pecking order. In addition to photographing and drawing them I wanted to try capturing their personalities as a musical sketch.
I sampled phrases using funny percussion, musical toys and household items. As much work went into building it up as removing unnecessary notes and parts to keep it focused. It’s still busy enough to suggest its subject without being as overly decorated as my songs tend to be.
Listen to the featured song!
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
