Drums and Tuba offer much more than that
by John Sewell
The naive adage, "it's all about the music," has created delusions in countless wannabe rockers the world over. Contrary to popular belief, if you want to make even a pauper's wage as a musician, marketing and presentation are as—if not more—important than the sonic outpourings you create.
Choosing the name of a band is usually a make-or-break decision. A band's name, like the name of a candy bar or a brand of shampoo (Snickers? Prell?), is an attempt to present exactly what is being purveyed in a terse but oh-so-clever way. And there are umpteen more bands with interesting names and a mediocre sound that have "made it" than there are bands with difficult names and interesting, challenging music that have.
It seems that Drums & Tuba has totally defied the daunting odds of the name game. Not only is their moniker not very spectacular sounding, it doesn't exactly represent what you're getting when listening to the band. So if you're expecting some kind of folksy-yet-quaint, whimsical combo with lots of oom-pah tuba sounds, forget it. Yes, Virginia, the band really does have drums and a tuba. But they seemed to forget to mention the important roles that guitar and electronics play when they chose their name.
Listening to the band's most recent long-player, Mostly Ape (Righteous Babe Records), one not previously informed would be unlikely to identify the low tones of the recording as being an actual tuba. Sure, the sound is in the mix. But it could just as easily be electronically produced.
Mostly Ape fits most easily into the post-rock mold alongside groups like Tortoise, UI and Triztessa. All of the D&T members have chops that rank up there with the best of jazz players, and the electronic element fills in any sparse areas, excepting the passages where the group is purposely minimalist. The taut rhythms and occasional dissonance of the album also reveal a dash of punk influence. So no matter how you slice and dice it, it can't be denied that the band has successfully evaded the pigeonholers.
Asked how he would describe the D&T sound to a neophyte, Tuba/trumpet player Brian Wolff is somewhat flummoxed. "You know, that's always the dreaded question," Wolff replies, laughing. "We've really come to the point where we don't even bother trying to find a description. I usually just tell people it's rock 'n' roll."
D&T's current sound actually represents a continuing metamorphosis. At its conception, the group sought to be more horn oriented. The addition of former Knoxvillian Neal McKeeby on rhythm guitar started an avalanche that continued as electronics became more prominent in the group's sonic output.
"Our sound just kind of evolved that way (electronically)," says Wolff. "Our recordings have all been really different as to how the electronic stuff came along. The transitions were pretty smooth, though. Our first record had no electronics on it at all and now we have a lot. But it wasn't a big jump from one style to another. We just followed the new direction by playing out a lot."
With a daunting schedule of around 200 shows a year, D&T has honed its chops to perfection. The band has experienced a groundswell of fan support, but they're not riding around in limos just yet. It's actually quite a job lugging around the racks of equipment necessary to create their tightly woven sound.
"We carry a lot of gear everywhere," says Wolff. "And we don't have a road manager. We have about 15 digital delay units, tons of pedals and a rack mount looping system. That's a lot of stuff to carry and sometimes it's hard to keep up with all of it on the road."
As fate would have it, the band found
a savior in the form of alterna-folk, riot grrl princess Ani DiFranco. After a tour
of opening shows for DiFranco, D&T was signed to her label and somehow ended
up touring with several post-hippie, fusion/groove bands like Les Claypool's Frog Brigade and Oysterhead.
"That's actually been an interesting phenomenon, playing with those kinds of bands," says Wolff. "Sometimes we improvise a little bit. But, for the most part, the songs are short and we don't take solos. I'd actually lump us in having more of a post-rock, indie vibe. The groove crowds have actually taken to it, though. It's also great when we play small shows on our own in out of the way places. Then, we just get a big mix of people and it's really interesting."
April 24, 2003 * Vol. 13, No. 17
© 2003 Metro Pulse
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