That 1 Guy

It’s hard to avoid sexual innuendos when discussing That 1 Guy, the alter ego of Mike Silverman. For starters, he calls his instrument his Magic Pipe, which is made up of two six-foot steel pipes (dude’s seriously packing) wired with a single bass string. The thing looks like a Blade Runner version of the washtub bass. But hearing the Guy on record is one thing. Watching him beat on his pipe, well, that’s a whole other experience. Every time he slaps the thing, he’s simultaneously laying down a bass line and a beat, with a little help from his feet, which simultaneously work a few bass-drum pedal things rigged up to another contraption. In the end, Silverman seems to have a special place in his heart (and his pipe) for other envelope-pushing artists such as Frank Zappa, Les Claypool, Tom Waits and Harry Partch.