Scott Amendola has seen and done almost everything in the world of free music. He’s unlocked something new with SticklerPhonics, the trio of Raffi Garabedian, Danny Lubin-laden, and himself. Their debut, Technicolor Ghost Parade, is a shapeshifting sonic wonderland, moving between freeform expression and complex instrumental textures. I talked to Scott about how the group came together, collaboration, blurring the lines between improvisation and composition, plus a whole lot more.
Technicolor Ghost Parade is out tomorrow via Jealous Butcher.
To start, I always like to go back to the beginning. What are some of your earliest experiences and memories about music and sound?
The earliest memory I have is gathering coffee cans, and pots and pans, grabbing chopsticks, and banging on all that in the living room of my house. I was very very young. My mom has said that started at 18 months. Which is crazy. I have a very vivid memory of that. I also used to love it when it rained and the windshield wipers were going and music was on. They made a squeaking kind of noise. When music was on the radio I was fascinated by how it related to the rhythm of the song. But I was also fascinated by the sound and rhythm of the wipers by themselves when the radio was off and whatever sounds I could hear.
Was there a specific point where you realized that being a musician and creating music became the thing you had to do?
When I was 11. We had this neighbor. When I was 10 she was very insistent that by the time I was 11, I should know what I want to do! Hahaha. She never had kids. I mean, how weird. But I felt like I had to answer her when I turned 11. It actually stressed me out a lot! The following year, I told her I was going to be a drummer. Truth is, that’s what I did indeed want to be. What’s also interesting, I feel at that point in my life I actually made that commitment to myself. Never looked back.
Obviously, collaboration has been an important part of your career and practice. What kind of mindset do you approach new projects with? And are there certain things you look to bring to a collaborative process, and other things you hope to learn or come away with?
Collaboration has always happened organically. Meeting someone and feeling like there’s a connection. Getting to know them, and then thinking about them and feeling like I really want to work with them. Or a phone call! Laurie Anderson called, well texted me, out of the blue, and asked if I’d play duo with her. OMG! I was freaking out. It was incredible. That wasn’t even on my radar as possible. We had an amazing time together.
The mindset is simple: I’m here and I’m going to be me and I’m going to figure out how that works with whomever I’m collaborating with. I heard Mike Patton say in an interview, “The easiest thing to do is be me.” It’s true. But first, for me, I had to figure out what that is. And feel good about that. It takes time, and it should. So the mindset of being myself and figuring out how to make it work with others is how I go into something. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. I love being led by folks who know what they want. At this point in my life, I’m very comfortable with who I am. I feel like I’m playing drums/music better than ever. And I feel super open and ready to work with people to make the best music possible.
I hope to come away a better person and musician and having made a connection. And if the situation didn’t feel right, try and figure out what could have been different, etc.
Let’s get into the SticklerPhonics project and record. You’ve been involved in a lot of projects and incredible ensembles throughout your career, so how did you meet Raffi and Danny, and what inspired the formation of SticklerPhonics?
I was playing a show at a club in Oakland, CA. As I walked in Raffi was playing with a trio in the front room of the club. I immediately fell in love with his playing. We met exchanged numbers and I invited him over to play in trio with a bass player. He mentioned Danny and said we should play with him. Danny came over and we started playing in quartet. Then the world shut down. About a year in I reached out to see if Raffi and Danny wanted to come over and play, as a trio. We started doing that. Playing standards. Then I brought out some of my music, and then both of them started bringing in music. Outdoor shows started happening and I said I was going to book a gig. They were a little unsure of how it would be playing a whole gig in trio. I wasn’t worried. The gig was super fun.
The absence of a bassist and chordal instruments is so interesting and such a nice surprise in the SticklerPhonics setup. Can you talk about the challenges and opportunities this configuration presents?
The challenge in any band is to find a sound. Without a bass player and chords, with this configuration, could it work? For those digging around you’ll realize this isn’t the first drum, tenor saxophone, trombone trio. Joey Baron had a great band called “Baron Down”. I saw them a couple times. And I thought they were super cool. I call SticklerPhonics an “accidental band” because I figured we’d keep playing in quartet. I love a chordless quartet with bass. I love the openness and how the horns have more room to create harmony, texture, etc. Take out the bass and things really change.
The first thing I realized was how I needed to up my game and become a very solid anchor for the band. I wanted them to lean on me. They have to breathe, and I’m used to playing throughout a song. It made me shed with a different mindset. And honestly, I’m a much much better drummer/musician because of it. I’ve never felt more connected to my instrument, and I’ve never felt more comfortable soloing, and being the one thing that keeps the music going. So there’s a way we all get showcased. But there’s a way in which I’m out there more than ever. And it’s super fun, great, and it was a challenge to figure it out and really feel comfortable with it.
The opportunity is to use space as the 4th member. I think in any ensemble space is a challenge, and a very strong musical statement. In this setting, it can become more apparent. But also, I’m good at filling up space! Hahahahaha! So I have options! And that feeling of comfort behind my instrument at this point in my life… I’m ready for anything.
Technicolor Ghost Parade features a mix of compositions by all three band members. How did you approach the composition process for your pieces on this album? What themes or ideas were you exploring?
Composing is the most challenging, but the most rewarding part of music for me. With SticklerPhonics, I wanted groove to be a big part of my compositions. But I also wanted to express my love of expression through sound and melody in a looser way. I wanted both to be a part of it. I’m a huge Paul Motian fan. Massive. “Lion’s Heart” is a song that is in that direction of rubato, melodic, and lots of improvising, the music can go anywhere. I need that to be a part of what I do. Then there’s “Well Blazed” which is a very strict form with a couple short “open” sections, and is based on a slow hip-hop kind of groove, mixed in with an Ornette Coleman “interruption” section that then goes into a sort of Papa Jo Jones fast swing. Hahaha. I mean, right? What is that? Well, that’s just what happens when I write. I hear things, try ideas, and see where something’s going.
You all dig into a variety of jazz practices, from traditional to free jazz, which really broadens the scope of Technicolor Ghost Parade. How do you balance all of these influences and styles while keeping the sound cohesive within the trio?
That’s who we are as musicians. The music reflects our collective direction as players and improvisors. If we didn’t have such a deep musical connection and similar love of music and open minds, this trio wouldn’t work. We all love to write and we’re totally open to what we each bring in to try. That’s the beauty of our connection. And that’s just how I am.
When I was tracking my record Believe back in 2004 with Nels Cline, Jeff Parker, Jenny Scheinman, and John Shifflett, I had a wide array of songs. As we’re breaking down, Nels turned to me and said, “Good luck sequencing this record!” He said that because he and I have this thing about loving such a wide variety of music. We’ve talked about how weird we are and have both felt at times we didn’t have a place. I sent him the sequence and he was into it! He heard what I was going for and loved it. That was a big moment for me as a composer and really, a record maker.
I especially love “Oumou” and that it’s an homage to Oumou Sangaré. Could you share more about the inspiration behind this piece and how you aimed to capture her essence in the music?
OMG, Oumou. I waited for like 30 years to see her live and finally did in 2022. And I saw her 3 times! Her music hit me hard when I heard it. I love African music. Love it. I can’t remember where I first heard her, but I ran out and bought 2 CDs and listened to them a lot. Her early work doesn’t have a drum set. Her voice is like the voice of a god. It just hits me. And the textures of Malian percussion, and all the instruments. I feel it deeply when I’m listening. I came up with the first melody and then wrote from there. I had the first section of the song. Then I wanted to write a long melody as the “outhead”, which is somewhat unusual.
But it brings it all together and creates a shape that I really love. That’s the thing, with the mindset of “anything’s possible” I was able to just do what I was hearing. I’m grateful for her music and I’m in awe of her writing and all the sounds, etc. She should be an international huge star!
You all have both structured compositions and improvised pieces and soundscapes. Again, the sonic palette and approaches here create such an expansive sonic landscape. How do you prepare for performances that may feature a wide range of improvisational elements?
That’s where I’m at. I’m ready, always. Improvising is in my DNA. A funny thing: I thought EVERYONE could improvise. It came so naturally to me, that I thought every person on the planet knew how to do it. I was very wrong about that! Hahahaha. I found out the hard way a couple times when I was much much younger.
If I’m doing a gig with Phillip Greenlief, a wind player I’ve been working with for over 30 years, I’ll “practice” before we play shows, but I’m just working on the concept of improsing. I have no idea what’s going to happen. And I’m just ready for it.
But that’s because the most important aspect of being a musician, in my humble opinion, is using one’s ears and listening. Keep those ears open, be super present, and be ready for anything. That comes in handy in any musical situation. Someone drops a beat, okay, we’ll fix that. Someone goes to the chorus and drops a verse, no problem. We have to improvise to get back on track. And when playing with the level of musicians I usually play with, they are throwing lots of things at me, and I’m receiving and throwing things back. We are fully engaged. Some shows might be better than others, but that’s just life.
Throughout your career, you’ve often incorporated electronics into your drumming. How do you integrate electronic elements in SticklerPhonics, and what do they add to the trio’s sound?
Yes, I’ve spent many many years working on using electronics to effect the sound of the drums, create sounds, etc. I mainly use guitar pedals and a mini Kaoss pad. I have one little clip mic that picks up what I need, and I can move it around. The newest thing I’m doing is putting a mic (or getting a direct line) on the horns. I can run them through my pedal board, and turn them on and off. Blend my sound with theirs. They love it. On the album, there are a couple tracks of improv where all I’m doing is turning knobs, flicking switches, and using the Mini Kaoss pad.
On “Well Blazed” I started messing around at the intro and wanted to create the idea that I’m a DJ kind of with turntables, but also maybe something like Squarepusher, but live. I’m capturing/manipulating sound live. There are no stored samples or tracks. It’s all live. It’s taken a long time to figure it out, and honestly, it’s taken some time for technology to catch up with what I want to do! Hahahahaha! But it’s there now! So many great devices!
I do not want to use a laptop. I like the tactile feeling of knobs and switches, and the X/Y Pad on the Kaoss Pad. There’s a connection/feeling that I get that is emotional, and not “technical”, if that makes sense.
Oh, I also wanted to ask if there was any specific story behind the name of the record? It’s such a fantastic title.
Thanks! I love riffing with words. I have a list of possible “titles” on my phone. I think of SticklerPhonics as a micro brass band. In New Orleans, they have 2nd line bands that are a big part of a funeral parade, and parades in general. The name just came to me when thinking of those things. But I’m so glad you like it! I really like it as well! Hahahahaha!
What were some of the biggest challenges you had to overcome in making this record? And what surprised you about it?
The beauty of SticklerPhonics is that both Raffi and Danny live in the East Bay. We have spent a lot of time rehearsing and playing gigs. It’s amazing to have created a deep musical connection. We played a whole bunch of gigs and then went into the studio. That was the idea. We were totally ready. I think what surprised me was how easy it was, meaning, we had two great days that just felt so great. And I brought in Eli Crews to record us and mix it.
Eli is a brilliant engineer who is super super inspired. And he gets me. He brings in this very joyous and excited attitude. He’s having as much fun as were are. We just did our thing, all of us, including Eli, and it just worked so great.
I’m really proud of this record. I feel we captured what were about and made a record people can listen to over and over and discover new things every time. And I’m grateful Rob Jones from Jealous Butcher felt that same way and wanted to put it out. I’m excited to get the record out to the world and get the band out in the world!
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