At a private party this weekend, I got to see The Golden Greats perform another excellent set of booty shakin’ garage funk. After the show, I interviewed Dr. No No about the unique musical instrument that he plays in the band. The Drum Buddy is the invention of a Louisiana musician named Quintron. According to Dr. No No, very few have been made, and no two sound alike. The Drum Buddy site states, ” . . . the basis for its entire sound and playability is a delicate interaction between photo sensitive resistors and 5 specially designed oscillators.”

Photo Credit: Tim Oakley | Oakley Design Studios

Quintron uses his like a drum trigger to enhance his performances. Dr. No No uses his to make a variety of sounds – DJ scratching, theremin tones, analog bloops and bleeps, and percussive sounds. The instrument is played by twiddling knobs, tapping buttons, and by moving your hands near a light bulb to change the tones coming out of the device. It’s extremely impressive to watch him play it. There are flashing lights, a spinning gizmo, and elaborate hand movements. It looks like something out of Frankenstein’s lab. Dr. No No has an excellent sense of rhythm, and the organic sounds are timed precisely with the beats that drummer Mykle Hansen is laying down.

In a future post, I hope to interview Mykle about the homemade drum set he has assembled out of found items.

* Photo Credit: Tim Oakley | Oakley Design Studios (The photo is from a 2008 Last Thursday performance).

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