When Tony Levin debuted the Chapman Stick on King Crimson’s “Elephant Talk” from 1981’s Disciple album, the combination guitar/bass/ukemandocello (OK, maybe not that last one) that plays like a mutation of a guitar/bass neck, a keyboard and a drum was an immediate sensation, as far as pure curiosity is concerned. While the Stick struck a chord with fans and the media, it didn’t quite turn into the ubiquitous instrument that its makers might have optimistically anticipated (“Billy, if you don’t practice your Stick, you’ll never be a great player like Tom Petty…”). In all fairness, it might well have been Levin’s instant mastery of the odd instrument that intimidated the uninitiated and kept them from fetching a Stick.
There were at least two guys that weren’t the least bit afraid of following Levin’s lead. Drummer Pat Mastelotto (who uses different kind of sticks: drum ones) has also spent time in King Crimson, and Michael Bernier — a Jazz multi-instrumentalist whose credits include work with Sonny Rollins, Jack DeJohnette and Natalie Merchant — is a self-avowed Chapman Stick wizard, presumably making him the Harry Potter to Levin’s Dumbledore and Mastelotto’s Ron Weasley (three guys making magic with sticks, get it?).
Given all that, it’s not the least bit surprising to find the three of them presenting their Stick skills collectively, like a Prog/Rock version of The Three Rotund Opera Guys. Billed as Stick Men (what, Stickheads was taken?), the trio is out in support of the just-released album, Soup (what, Sticking Around was taken?), which offers a broad stylistic spectrum, from Classical structure to free form Prog jamming.
On stage, Stick Men will run through the Soup songs, a few improvised passages and a handful of King Crimson classics. Prog fans in general and KC fans in particular, don’t miss this chance to see three acknowledged Chapman maestros stick it to one another.
(Buy tickets, check out performance times and get venue details here.)
This article appears in May 5-11, 2010.