DRUMS & TUBA
Fri., May 30, 1997
Every December, dozens of tubists from throughout the Houston area descend on the Transco Tower's waterwall, serenading Galleria Christmas shoppers and passersby from Westheimer to the Ship Channel with "Joy to the World," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and the like. The effect is stunning -- like having a Panzer division deliver the mail. There's only one tuba in Drums & Tuba, but Brian Wolff twists and bends the traditional `oom-pah' role like an intestine until the finished product is far from what John Phillip Sousa or Richard Wagner had in mind. The tuba can do one of two things: play long, sustained notes, or sharp, staccato ones, and it must do both within an extremely limited range. This is the essence of Box Fetish, Wolff applying straightforward bursts of air while guitarist Neal McKeevy and drummer Tony Nozero embellish the lines with generous amounts of fuzz effects and polyrhythms. The effect is half free-jazz exploration (with a few tangents shooting way off into the ozone) and half sped-up Pee Wee Herman/clown movie soundtrack. It's oddly touching, too -- almost like 100 tubas piping out "O Come All Ye Faithful."
3.5 Stars -- Christopher Gray