Mongoloid, drum machine?

[s***@trailing-edge.com]

OK, I don't exactly listen to it in digital hi-fi (all I have is an
original almost-30-years-old Are We Not Men LP), but are the drums on
Mongoloid real drums or some sort of super-funked-up drum machine? They
don't sound "real" (except for the spastic beat they sound like a cheap
80's drum machine) but maybe they fuzzed up some real drum playing to
make them sound that way? (And seeing as how nobody else had a drum
machine at the time...)

Tim.

[Todd Spango]

Real drums played by a very talented drummer named Alan Meyers. Those
are some crazy beats, eh? Yeah, there's some kinda Eno-fication on
'em, but the drum-robot feel is all Alan.

[Rev. Richard Skull]

<<Real drums played by a very talented drummer named Alan Meyers.
Those
are some crazy beats, eh? Yeah, there's some kinda Eno-fication on
'em, but the drum-robot feel is all Alan. >>

And if you Google "Great Rock Drummers" you get all the drumemrs form
"Big Entertainment's" Sock Monkey Bands!

Personaly, I feel Alan was one of the BEST drummers in both Technical
Ability as well as timing.

But, since he played for DEVO, we will be unknown to those minions of
the "Con" who think that what they see on TV is true, and that a $300
Hair Cut makes you "cool."

[s***@trailing-edge.com]

Post by Todd Spango
Real drums played by a very talented drummer named Alan Meyers. Those
are some crazy beats, eh?

Absolutely. I've had this album for about 3 decades now - dusting it
off
every couple of years - but only recently did I realize how absolutely
essential/rocking/robotic the drum playing can be. I gotta go back
and listen to Satisfaction and Come Back Jonee until the drums on those
get through too. So far Mongoloid is the only one where the drum work
completely entrances me.

Post by Todd Spango
Yeah, there's some kinda Eno-fication on
'em, but the drum-robot feel is all Alan.

Amazingly enough, his performance predates the Casio drum machines of
the 80's by like a decade! Not like they could do what he does, but
his sound/style presaged the feel to a large extent.

Many years ago (and possibly the cause of this thread) I read about
somebody in Devo making a home-built drum machine. Was this the
Q:Are We Not Men era, or later, or a joke related to the style of
drum playing?

Tim.

[Pink Pussycat]

Post by s***@trailing-edge.com
Many years ago (and possibly the cause of this thread) I read about
somebody in Devo making a home-built drum machine. Was this the
Q:Are We Not Men era, or later, or a joke related to the style of
drum playing?

None of the above. ;-)

Jim Mothersbaugh, the first Devo drummer, made his own electronic drum
kit in the early days of Devo. I may be wrong, but I think it can be
seen in the "Secret Agent Man" video.

~Pink

[Stiiv]

On 18 Dec 2005 21:29:24 -0800, "Pink Pussycat"

Post by Pink Pussycat
I may be wrong, but I think it can be
seen in the "Secret Agent Man" video.

Nope, right on the money, Pink. Just watched it again. I'm sure it was
a hell of a technical achievement for Jim, but, frankly, they sound
just awful. No bottom.

Stiiv
http://www.stiiv.com

[Gary Childs]

Post by Stiiv
I'm sure it was
a hell of a technical achievement for Jim, but, frankly, they sound
just awful. No bottom.

It was basically guitar pickups attached to roto-toms.
It's a toss-up which is worse, the way they sound, or they way he played
them.
They were kind of an unsuccessful experiment.
Besides the Secret Agent Man video, you can also hear them on some tracks of
the Hardcore Devo CDs, and The Mongoloid Years.

[Boom]

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 12:00:25 -0500, "Gary Childs"

Post by Gary Childs

Post by Stiiv
I'm sure it was
a hell of a technical achievement for Jim, but, frankly, they sound
just awful. No bottom.

It was basically guitar pickups attached to roto-toms.

Yeah, but he had some sort of white noise generators and/or synths
hooked up to them, too. But the guitar pickup/roto-tom was the basic
structure.

Post by Gary Childs
It's a toss-up which is worse, the way they sound, or they way he played
them.
They were kind of an unsuccessful experiment.

I wouldn't say that. Jim later invented MIDI and became one of the
top dogs at Roland, and it was a direct result of those experiments.
Plus they did sound pretty cool if you take them for what they
were...a primitive drum synth. But yeah, his drumming wasn't the
greatest.

[Gary Childs]

Post by Boom
Jim later invented MIDI and became one of the
top dogs at Roland, and it was a direct result of those experiments.

He didn't invent MIDI, but he was involved in it's development.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was originally thought up by a
guy named Dave Smith.
Jim's analog electronic drums showed his inventiveness and early interest in
music technology, but have little to do with digital interfaces.

Post by Boom
Plus they did sound pretty cool if you take them for what they
were...a primitive drum synth.

Exactly. I give him credit as an innovator.

Post by Boom
But yeah, his drumming wasn't the
greatest.

Yeah, he wasn't much of a drummer.

[Boom]

On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 15:53:43 -0500, "Gary Childs"

Post by Gary Childs

Post by Boom
Jim later invented MIDI and became one of the
top dogs at Roland, and it was a direct result of those experiments.

He didn't invent MIDI, but he was involved in it's development.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) was originally thought up by a
guy named Dave Smith.

Slightly nitpicky. He was highly involved in its development
according to everything I've read. Dave Smith thought it up, but
Jim's help greatly assisted in making it a reality that actually
worked.

Post by Gary Childs
Jim's analog electronic drums showed his inventiveness and early interest in
music technology, but have little to do with digital interfaces.

But it DID have to do with his early experiments because he
demonstrated a good understanding of how synth and digital music
technology worked. People might have thought of those cheesy little
PAIA synth kits as a joke at the time, but they helped Jim get a job
at Roland.

[Gary Childs]

Post by Boom
Slightly nitpicky.

You said he invented MIDI.
He didn't invent MIDI.
I was just correcting a factual error.

Post by Boom
He was highly involved in its development
according to everything I've read.

Where did you read that?
I know he was involved, but I'd like to know more about it.

Post by Boom
But it DID have to do with his early experiments because he
demonstrated a good understanding of how synth and digital music
technology worked.

His primitive, analog, electronic drums had nothing to do with digital music
technology.
Claiming MIDI was a "direct result of those experiments" is an exaggeration.

[Pink Pussycat]

Boom wrote the stuff with ">>" before it.
Gary Childs wrote the stuff with ">" before it.

Post by Gary Childs

Post by Boom
He was highly involved in its development
according to everything I've read.

Where did you read that?
I know he was involved, but I'd like to know more about it.

IIRC, Jim was already working as the service manager at Roland US when
the MIDI meetings happened.

Post by Gary Childs

Post by Boom
But it DID have to do with his early experiments because he
demonstrated a good understanding of how synth and digital music
technology worked.

His primitive, analog, electronic drums had nothing to do with digital music
technology.
Claiming MIDI was a "direct result of those experiments" is an exaggeration.

My understanding is that Jim's "early experiments" influenced him to go
the way of electronics instead of music. That's how he ended up at
Roland and at the MIDI meetings.

~Pink

[Gary Childs]

Post by Pink Pussycat
My understanding is that Jim's "early experiments" influenced him to go
the way of electronics instead of music. That's how he ended up at
Roland and at the MIDI meetings.

I agree with that.

[j t]

Oops, meant Dave Smith... and I see someone else already mentioned it!

Sorry for the redundancy.

That's what I get for posting before I read the wohle thread!

[Pink Pussycat]

Boom wrote:

(snip)

Post by Boom
People might have thought of those cheesy little
PAIA synth kits as a joke at the time, but they helped Jim get a job
at Roland.

Oddly enough, PAiA kits eventually helped my husband get a job at
Roland, too. :-)

On a sad note, John Simonton recently passed away. That's two synth
pioneers lost in one year. :-(


~Pink

[j t]

Post by Boom
I wouldn't say that. Jim later invented MIDI and became one of the
top dogs at Roland, and it was a direct result of those experiments.

MIDI was invented by a coalition on people lead by Tom Smith of
Sequential Circuits.

Don't know if Jim M was on that coalition or not, but he DEIFINITELY
didn't 'invent MIDI'.




JT

[Boom]

Post by j t

Post by Boom
I wouldn't say that. Jim later invented MIDI and became one of the
top dogs at Roland, and it was a direct result of those experiments.

MIDI was invented by a coalition on people lead by Tom Smith of
Sequential Circuits.
Don't know if Jim M was on that coalition or not, but he DEIFINITELY
didn't 'invent MIDI'.

Whatever. He was definitely on the coalition, so that counts.