and play the way I’d like. I’d have
carpal tunnel syndrome in two
weeks, and I couldn’t play strange
unnamable chords either! I think
my jazz chops -- but more impor-
tantly the jazz approach to impro-
visation and to composition -- re-
ally lays the foundation for what
goes on in Secret Sound. Our
keyboard player, Andy Feldman,
also has ridiculous jazz chops, a
fantastic ear for unconventional
harmony and is a super sensitive
group improviser with almost in-
stantaneous reaction time inside
the musical moment. He blows
my mind every time we play.
Comment on how you literally
make the guitar talk and what
effect enables you to do that.
The literal piece of equipment
is the Electro Harmonix Iron Lung
Vocoder pedal. It’s like a talk box
but uses a vocal microphone that
is part of my guitar effects chain.
I’ve tried more recently to make
my phrasing more speech-like and
less like Coltrane sheets of sound,
which I accomplish with varying
degrees of success, but the Vo-
coder is really entertaining to peo-
Watch Secret Sound perform “Deccan Traps”
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 59
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