| STAGE NAME |
Mechanized |
Natron (and His Outer
Space Rhythm Robots) |
Roger Nusic |
Reload/Tubeway Navy |
Shoehorn |
| REAL NAME |
Don Rich |
Nate |
"Roger Nusic" |
Brian Applegate |
Michael Conley |
| AGE |
24 |
25 |
36 |
29 |
41 |
| RHYTHMS COURTESY OF: |
Roland 808 drum machine |
Hammond Hammer-Head (a Roland 330 and Hammond Auto-Vari
64) and Mr. Maestro (an old Maestro rhythm box).
|
Boss DR-5 drum machine |
Boss DR-5 drum machine
|
His feet, a pair of "groovy Italian shoes
with taps on them, and a Tappercussion™ MIDI-controller" |
| SAMPLE SONG TITLES |
"Lovesick," "Felon" |
"Rocket Driver,"
"Preaching Blues" |
"Lovers Loving Lovers Loving Love," "Flower
of a Woman" |
"I Like Everything That You Think Sucks," "Sex-Ray"
|
"Tapnosis," "Acid Raindance," "Le Swing
Shoehorn" |
| DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC: |
Johnny Cash meets electronica--'80s electronic
stuff with country-type vocals |
It's budget blues, driven by flying chunks
of art-ificial beat box and hollow-tone whacks of a
cheap, old-time six-string. It's resurrecting the Ghost
of Delta Past, all saturated with slide guitar. |
I kind of think of it as being dance-y,
because of my drum machine. And trippy because I use
a lot of echo. Y'know...it's rocky, poppy, whatever.
|
In-your-face hard-ass synth-pop-alt.com...or something
to that effect.
|
Very organic and very jazz-influenced.
My favorite sax player would have to be Coltrane....
Gene Kelly would be my first influence on tap, [though]
I'm more of a jazz hoofer [like] Baby Lawrence Jackson,
Jimmy Slyde. |
WHAT INSPIRED YOU
TO GO IT ALONE? |
To be honest, everyone was just flaking
out on me. I could do it faster by myself without relying
on anyone else, [so] I just went home with a case of
beer and started recording. |
Living next to the Goodwill--Hammond Hammer-Head
is made entirely from Goodwill items--and the whole
idea of playing music with the little junk you have.
I couldn't find a drummer so I made one. |
I've had a ton of band member changes [which
made it] very hard to make progress.... I've found with
the drum machine, I'm able to give a pretty consistent
performance, pending technical difficulties. |
The music that I wanna hear doesn't exist,
so I felt that I had to create it myself. |
I have collaborated with many people, but it's just
that the economics of the music business make it easy
to do a solo act.... I love to play with other people
but I'm also happy to be a one-man band.
|
| ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 10, HOW WOULD YOU
RATE YOUR "CONTROL FREAK" INDEX? |
I'd have to be a 10.5. I've done everything
on my own. I moved up here just to get out of California
and away from the pretentious people who wanna look
like Hollywood. |
I would say 2 when I'm alone, but Hammond
Hammer-Head makes me shake my hips and provokes me to
try the craziest of things. |
It's true that being a solo person is kind
of being a control freak, but if you were in a band,
you wouldn't expect outside people to be able to tell
you what to do. |
It's off the scope. It's a plus-20. It's a lot easier
for me to work under the guise of myself--I can make
a song in a couple hours. If I was in band, we'd have
to have a committee, and then I'd have my ideas spoiled
by others.
|
I'm so used to playing with different people
all the time that I usually adapt myself to other players.
When I do a one-man band, being a control freak is not
an issue. |
IS ONE REALLY THE
LONELIEST NUMBER
THAT YOU'LL EVER DO? |
Yeah. Well, half. |
With Hammond Hammer-Head and Mr. Maestro,
I'll always be 2-and-3/4. |
Everyone used to tell me, "You have balls
to get up there and do that on your own." I thought,
"That's the easy part. The hard part is practicing." |
It depends on how much
I've had to drink. (Kool Aid, that is.) |
No. Sometimes I feel lonelier when I'm
playing with other people and they aren't happening....
When you're doing two things at once--tap dancing and
playing sax--doing it with other people can be very
difficult if they're not used to it. You have to pull
them rhythmically and melodically. |
