Song Of The Day 7/17/2015: That 1 Guy – “The Moon Is Disgusting”

Playing With Myself: One-Person Recordings – Mike Silverman has a Magic Pipe. Not only does he have it, he built it himself. Which means Silverman’s most likely the only person in the world to have a Magic Pipe, or at least this particular Magic Pipe. I am striving so hard not to fall into crass double entendre mode with this writeup. Please sympathize. Anyway, Silverman – who plays under the moniker That 1 Guy, with the arabic number 1, like the Jackson 5 – built his Magic Pipe out of, apparently, literal pipe. His website doesn’t really go into much detail about what the Magic Pipe is, specifically, just that it’s “a monstrosity of metal, strings, and electronics.”

You can see above just what the Magic Pipe looks like, and more importantly how it’s played. It looks like a collapsed harp, with two vertical poles surrounded by what I think are long bass strings. (Silverman’s a bassist.) I figure there are some kind of conductors housed inside the pipes. Then there are a few rubber-looking hinges towards the base and the joints of the Pipe. When he whacks them open-palmed, they seem to simulate power chords. Obviously there’s some looping going on as well, but it’s hard to tell how he modulates it. Wait, I see some footswitches. That’s got to have something to do with it.

Website The Weirdest Band In the World describes the Magic Pipe as “hooked up to various electronics and a few bass strings.” Well, I could have told you that. They also properly call it a “Chapman Stick on steroids.” (Chapman Stick. Moment of silence.) And I’m also informed Silverman, who’s from Vegas if your intuitive GPS hasn’t kicked in yet, has invented a “Magic Boot,” a “Magic Flute” and a “Magic Saw.” And, naturally, his actual compositions sound something like early Ween tinged with the bearable parts of Primus.

(I know what you’re asking: What are the “bearable parts of Primus”? Well, there’s “My Name Is Mud,” and… and… well, shit, why do I have to be the one that comes up with everything? There’s “My Name Is Mud.” Be satisfied with what you got.)

Finally, as you can see if you make it to the end, the Magic Pipe fills in perfectly as a normal jazz bass, if you happen to be in a pinch and have That 1 Guy's number.