Recorder's music has got the look
By KAREN SHADE, 10/20/2009
Rob Robertson (left) and Lynn Robertson of Recorder rocked the crowd at this year's South by Southwest conference in Austin. The electronica trio brings the multimedia "Dear Nebulon" to the Nightingale Theater on Friday and Saturday. Jeremy Charles / Courtesy
Demand grows for groups to add visual appeal
They wear sensory deprivation suits from Japan, and when they speak, their voices are unrecognizable. But the trio under the taut silvery skin of Recorder know what's happening around them — and to them.
"It's simply a spandex suit from head to toe, and that's it," said Recorder band member Jeff Whitlatch. "We are very warm in them."
So much for avoiding the sensation of overheating under stage lighting in the middle of summer. A little "deprivation" might have been useful to Whitlatch and bandmates Rob and Lynn Robertson when they performed during Dfest this year or at Austin's South by Southwest or at any of the gigs they get in crowded clubs.
These days, there's a growing appeal for Recorder's emoting synth "robot dance music." And, it seems that the band is adding an even stronger visual element to make the sound more memorable.
This is a growing trend.
In June, New York City musician Morgan Taylor introduced Tulsa to Gustafer Yellowgold, an animated character he created and would later write songs for. At Connor's Cove Children's Theatre at Hardesty Regional Library, audiences listened and watched the sun creature's adventures come to life through Taylor's live band and the pan-scan animation projected above them.
In July, Tulsa rockers the Red Alert took advantage of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center's theater setting to create a program making the band's music the feature attraction, yet they used video and visuals to enhance it for listeners.
And, tonight, "Star Wars: In Concert" adds to the George Lucas cinematic legacy with a full orchestra performing music to montage clips from the "Star Wars" film saga.
Multimedia and theatrics is hardly new to music, but locally, musicians seem to be experimenting with not only the sound but the "look" of their music.
Recorder's "Dear Nebulon," which plays at the Nightingale Theater Friday and Saturday, is the most recent concert to add that extra dimension of experience.
John Cruncleton, a co-owner of the Nightingale like Whitlatch, will design the visual aspects of the show, but they only aid in telling the story that is "Dear Nebulon."
"Dear Nebulon" is a song by Recorder sprung from a chance meeting between the band and a man in a bar who told them his name was Nebulon and that he was from a far-off planet, also called Nebulon.
Whitlatch is earnest when he talks about this inspiration.
"It wasn't as much funny as it was riveting," he said. "I mean, this was just a fact for him. It was more fascination. We were really wanting to know more about it. I think it was genuine curiosity, and the experience definitely left an impression on all three of us."
Rather than dripping with sentiment for this man, the music the Robertsons and Whitlatch created from that meeting was programmed to get a listener moving and imagining.
"It comes down to your perception and what your reality is," Whitlatch said. "I can't say whether Nebulon was born and raised in Tulsa or if he did come from another planet. He tells me he did."
DEAR NEBULON
When: 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Where: Nightingale Theater, 1416 E. Fourth St.
Tickets: $7; 633-8666