I heard it before I saw it. A deep groove reverberated down the hallway as walked to the Mayor’s room with my guitar and amp in hand. I was next up to play, performing a solo set of Brazilian Music for the Australian Jazz Convention. As i entered, my eyes searched around for the source. I could see a flute player, guitarist and a trumpeter.
Where the hell was that beat coming from - was it a backing track? The guitarist’s undulating legs gave it away. I was impressed with the huge kick and snare sounds coming from this little unamplified wooden box. I was even more impressed how he was keeping a rock solid groove whilst playing a rhythm guitar part, soloing and also singing at the same time.
I had to have one. We chatted after their set and Pat showed me around the instrument. He gave me the details of the builder, Mark Aspland, and a few emails later he knocked one up and posted it to me:
Prior to the arrival of the Kikbox, i’d been playing some Brazilian pop with my friends Douglas, Barbara, and Julia - A bass guitar, two singers, and myself on electric. We’ve been struggling to find a drummer/percussionist to join us, and the Kikbox seemed like the perfect solution to inject a bit of oomph into our sound.
I’d forgotten what it was like to be a complete beginner with an instrument. Our first rehearsal with the box was absolutely humbling for me. I struggled to even hold a steady pulse. My guitar playing fell apart as well. There was a lot of practice that needed to be done.
After a couple of months trying to get the most basic of a groove together, I got a lesson from Pat. He gave me some very useful tips:
Sing/Vocalise one of the parts whilst playing the other. Then swap over. Way harder than it sounds.
Swap the two parts around - play the guitar part on Kikbox and play the feet part on the guitar. Again, this is surprisingly difficult.
When playing the Kikbox live, start with something simple before launching into a complex syncopated beat. As with everything, execution is much harder on stage than in the practice room.
Here is a rough clip from a recent rehearsal:
Our little group (now called Azul) played it’s first public performance, a 3-song set at Marks Point Sports Club Open Mic night. Until this point i’d only played the box barefoot. It took a while for me to sink into a steady beat while wearing shoes, but I managed to survive. It’s quite addicting to have some of the power/responsibility of a drummer.
Thus documents the beginning of my journey with this fun little instrument…I’m looking forward to see where i can take it.