Hard Wares

Many of us that make music primarily by hitting stuff with sticks tend to spend a lot of time in hardware stores.   Necessity is the mother of invention and a lot of times we're asked to produce sounds that you just can't find at your local Music Shoppe.  So, we cut and grind metal pipes to exact pitches, salvage auto brake drums from scrapyards, or spend a Saturday afternoon selecting the perfect set of terracotta flower pots (to the consternation of the garden department staff).  It can take a little time, but it's always fun in the end to step back and see what we've created, like some kind of Mr. Wizard meets Bob Vila.  And then hit it with sticks.

After a day devoted to gathering supplies and testing my carpentry mettle I've completed setup version 1.0 for Graham Reynolds' in-progress piece.  Check it out:

Here's the rundown:
Four oak planks suspended on weather stripping, four saw blades mounted on blocks with cymbal sleeves drilled onto them, and four sink strainers hung from a rack made of PVC pipes and joints. And yes, I strung the strainers with old shoelaces for extra Eco-points®.
Sure it took all day, but it beats cutting reeds and after all it's the easy part:  Graham has to write all the music.