Drums and Tuba - Box Fetish
(My Pal God)
I wonder if guitarist Neal McKeeby ever feels sad and maybe a bit
marginalized by the name of the band he plays in "Drums and Tuba." I
mean, I think that's a fitting name for the band, and everything. I think
if, for example, you came up to me and asked, "Hey Ned, what in the hell
do you think that band Drums and Tuba sounds like?," it would make more
sense and give you a more accurate impression of the sound if I were to
say, "Well, it sounds like some drums and a tuba" than it would if I were
to say "it sounds like some guitar playing and some drums," even though
you can totally hear the guitar in every song. In fact, the name Drums
and Tuba is so apt I really don't have to say much of anything more about
the way they sound in this review. You get it.
So I guess I understand, and I imagine Neal is okay with it, too.
I mean I'm sure he knows that whenever there is a rock and roll band with
a tuba in it, the tuba becomes a fairly significant part of the sound.
That's understood. And anyone who's ever seen the band Paul Newman play
will know that Anthony Nozero's drumming is always going to be significant
as well. Just as the tuba is a strong, powerful rock and roll instrument,
Anthony is a strong, powerful rock and roll drummer. But what does that
mean for Neal McKeeby? Does it mean he's not important? Does it mean
that the band could survive without him?
When I inserted "Box Fetish", Volume 1 of the Drums and Tuba two
part Water Damage Re-Issue series (a collection of songs originally
recorded and released in 1996, now also including new bonus tracks) into
my CD player, I immediately noticed that unlike most tuba based groups,
Drums and Tuba (a band I had never heard before) had chosen to go neither
the typical strictly Oom-pah route, nor the less common, but still popular
strictly rock route. I was also surprised to find that they had safely
avoided sounding like a pure novelty group, although they had the charm of
a novelty act in that their sound certainly was novel. How had they
managed to straddle these three categories so neatly and thus completely
avoid tuba band stereotypes and sub-categorization? My answer: Neal
McKeeby's crazy ass yet subtle and intelligent guitar playing. Thanks,
Neal.
Seriously, Drums and Tuba is an interesting and certainly strange
band. Though I can't help but think of them as rock and rollers (as you
many have noticed) I guess they really have more of an angular big-city
jazz feel, with only the occasional reference to traditional rock and
roll. They are minimal but surprisingly dynamic, though even more
stripped down sounding than you'd expect from a trio. As an experiment I
listened to Cecil Taylor's "Air" followed by some live Miles Davis
followed by Drums and Tuba followed by the Denison/Kimball Trio and it
sort of (sort of) worked. And if there's a better way to describe it, it
defies me. This album probably won't become an all time favorite, nor
will tracks from Drum and Tuba's albums probably ever make it onto
anybody's boy/girlfriend's sentimental mix tape; it's surely too goofy for
that (one song on this collection is called "Adventures of Poo Poo and Pee
Pee"). But it's worth hearing if only because there's absolutely nothing
else quite like it.
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