Toychestra
Encyclopedia
Toychestra is an all-women experimental music
group from Oakland, California
that plays toys. They use toy musical instruments and other noise-making toys to perform their own compositions as well as interpretations of works by other artists, from Dvořák
to Black Flag
. Toychestra have performed at several venues in the San Francisco Bay Area
and have toured Europe three times. They have released three CDs, including a collaborative album, What Leave Behind
with English experimental guitarist Fred Frith
.
at Hotel Utah in San Francisco. Among the original members were Mary George, Paula Alexander, Lexa Walsh and Shari Robertson. Walsh described their first rehearsal: "we got together and brought our regular instruments, and I brought some toys too. We tried both, and the toys definitely won." They started improvising
with the toys and within a two weeks they had put together a set
.
Toychestra played at a variety of venues, from experimental music spaces and rock clubs, to schools and community centers. They arranged and performed "symphonic miniatures" using toy musical instruments, including tiny pianos, recorders, bugles, drum sets and xylophones, plus other noise making toys, like pink zoo trains and jack-in-the-boxes. They also used a variety of found object
s for percussive sounds. Contact microphone
s were attached to each "instrument" for amplification and the feeds were mixed
live during their performances. They dressed up in "dime-store costumes: bridal gowns, superhero outfits, and cowgirl regalia" with "future-shock hairdos and fluorescent wigs". The San Francisco Bay Guardian
described Toychestra as an "ongoing experiment in naïve sound."
Composer Dan Plonsey
from the San Francisco Bay Area Improv Scene
first got to know Toychestra in 1998 when he booked them at his Beanbender's music venue in Berkeley, California
. He liked their eccentric style and decided to combine their creative talents with those of fellow Bay Area Improv Scene member and experimental guitarist, Fred Frith
. Plonsey wrote a concerto
for electric guitar and toy orchestra for Toychestra and Frith to perform, and it was recorded and released in 2004 on a CD, What Leave Behind
.
Toychestra went on to tour Europe several times, playing for the first time in large concert halls, and became quite popular in France. Later they began incorporating more conventional instruments like the melodica and kalimba to counteract the "shrillness" of the toy instruments.
Since their inception, Toychestra went through a number of personnel changes with founding member Walsh remaining at the helm. Their first two releases were both self-published
, an eponymous 7" vinyl single
in 1999, and a CD, Live in Leipzig in 2000. This was followed by three CDs on the French label, S.K. Records, including What Leave Behind with Frith.
With Fred Frith
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
group from Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
that plays toys. They use toy musical instruments and other noise-making toys to perform their own compositions as well as interpretations of works by other artists, from Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
to Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
. Toychestra have performed at several venues in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and have toured Europe three times. They have released three CDs, including a collaborative album, What Leave Behind
What Leave Behind
What Leave Behind is a 2004 studio album by Oakland, California-based experimental music group Toychestra and English experimental guitarist Fred Frith. It was recorded in May 2003 and January 2004, and was released in 2004 on the French label, S.K. Records...
with English experimental guitarist Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
.
History
Toychestra began as a once-off experiment in 1996 at a women's festival of experimental musicExperimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
at Hotel Utah in San Francisco. Among the original members were Mary George, Paula Alexander, Lexa Walsh and Shari Robertson. Walsh described their first rehearsal: "we got together and brought our regular instruments, and I brought some toys too. We tried both, and the toys definitely won." They started improvising
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
with the toys and within a two weeks they had put together a set
Set list
A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...
.
Toychestra played at a variety of venues, from experimental music spaces and rock clubs, to schools and community centers. They arranged and performed "symphonic miniatures" using toy musical instruments, including tiny pianos, recorders, bugles, drum sets and xylophones, plus other noise making toys, like pink zoo trains and jack-in-the-boxes. They also used a variety of found object
Found object
A found object, in an artistic sense, indicates the use of an object which has not been designed for an artistic purpose, but which exists for another purpose already. Found objects may exist either as utilitarian, manufactured items, or things which occur in nature...
s for percussive sounds. Contact microphone
Contact microphone
A contact microphone, otherwise known as a pickup or a piezo, is a form of microphone designed to sense audio vibrations through solid objects. Unlike normal air microphones, contact mics act as transducers which pick up vibrations and convert them into a voltage which can then be made audible...
s were attached to each "instrument" for amplification and the feeds were mixed
Audio mixing (recorded music)
In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
live during their performances. They dressed up in "dime-store costumes: bridal gowns, superhero outfits, and cowgirl regalia" with "future-shock hairdos and fluorescent wigs". The San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Bay Guardian
The San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
described Toychestra as an "ongoing experiment in naïve sound."
Composer Dan Plonsey
Dan Plonsey
Dan Plonsey is a jazz saxophonist, popularly labeled as a free jazz musician. -Career:...
from the San Francisco Bay Area Improv Scene
Bay Area Improv Scene
The Bay Area Improv Scene is a commonly used name for a loose association of musicians and composers centered in the San Francisco Bay Area who create a style of music that evolved largely from avant-garde jazz and modern classical music, with influences from other areas such as Electronic art...
first got to know Toychestra in 1998 when he booked them at his Beanbender's music venue in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. He liked their eccentric style and decided to combine their creative talents with those of fellow Bay Area Improv Scene member and experimental guitarist, Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
. Plonsey wrote a concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
for electric guitar and toy orchestra for Toychestra and Frith to perform, and it was recorded and released in 2004 on a CD, What Leave Behind
What Leave Behind
What Leave Behind is a 2004 studio album by Oakland, California-based experimental music group Toychestra and English experimental guitarist Fred Frith. It was recorded in May 2003 and January 2004, and was released in 2004 on the French label, S.K. Records...
.
Toychestra went on to tour Europe several times, playing for the first time in large concert halls, and became quite popular in France. Later they began incorporating more conventional instruments like the melodica and kalimba to counteract the "shrillness" of the toy instruments.
Since their inception, Toychestra went through a number of personnel changes with founding member Walsh remaining at the helm. Their first two releases were both self-published
Self-publishing
Self-publishing is the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of an established third-party publisher. The author is responsible and in control of entire process including design , formats, price, distribution, marketing & PR...
, an eponymous 7" vinyl single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1999, and a CD, Live in Leipzig in 2000. This was followed by three CDs on the French label, S.K. Records, including What Leave Behind with Frith.
Albums
- Live in Leipzig a.k.a. An Evening of Charm (2000, CD)
- Sassy Pony (2002, CD, S.K. Records, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) - My Good Side (2005, CD, S.K. Records, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
)
With Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
- What Leave BehindWhat Leave BehindWhat Leave Behind is a 2004 studio album by Oakland, California-based experimental music group Toychestra and English experimental guitarist Fred Frith. It was recorded in May 2003 and January 2004, and was released in 2004 on the French label, S.K. Records...
(2004, CD, S.K. Records, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
)