---------- A
8
M ay 15, 2002
ThE CI ac I camas P rìnt
To the beat of a very different drum
Ken Butler brings his unique art and music to Clackamas
only a hybrid of instrument
and strange object, but also of
Staff Writer
string and percussion.
The first number was called
For almost 25 years, Ken “Par 12,” and Butler played
Butler has been creating an instrument made from a
instruments made from axes, golf club and one guitar
telephones, gardening tools string. He picked the string to
and a plethora of other unusu produce a whiny guitar sound,
al items. He has formed a and banged on various parts
career around his unique tal of the club to create rhythm.
ent, and his work has sent him His second song, “Untengo,”
from Amsterdam to Thailand was played on a two-stringed
and finally to Clackamas violin made from the end of a
Community College.
cane.
He then played
On May 11, as a tribute to “Building a Desert Wizard”
the artists that recently on a small snow shovel that
adorned our campus with he’d formed into a guitar.
their engaging sculptures,
From there, Butler’s instru
Ken Butler took the stage. His ments grew more unusual and
brother John Butler accompa elaborate. His next tune was
nied him on the guitar, while played on a combination of a
Martin Zarzar played the cane, a metal tennis racket, a
drums. Butler calls his cre vegetable slicer, some hair
ations “hybrid instruments. pins, and various other items.
Most of my instruments come I was amazed by the myriad
from off the street,” he of different sounds that this
admits. His inventions are not conglomeration emitted.
SHADRA BEESLEY
The finale was entitled “Icon
Ergonomics,” and Butler
began it playing a hockey
stick attached to a wooden
tennis racket and adorned
with bits of saw blades, a
plastic comb, a spring-style
door stopper, and several
other small objects. I heard
noises resembling car horns,
old-fashioned telephones, and
some almost human sounds.
Throughout the last song,
Butler switched instruments
frequently,
playing
an
umbrella, a violin bow, a
knife, a paint brush, tooth
brush, the zipper on his pants,
his own head and nose, and a
“viberband” (a long, flat
piece of rubber that sounds
amazingly like a trumpet.)
Following the performance,
Butler presented a slide show
containing pictures of instru
ments made from bike seats,
plastic guns, coat hangers,
chairs, sleds, pool cues,, and
all sorts of other unexpected
objects.
When Butler is
asked if all of his instruments
are playable he responds,
“what is playable?” or “what
is music?” Butler’s career in
creating hybrid instruments
began when he noticed that
many objects resemble the
bodies of instruments. He
admits that his work is creat
ed primarily for visual rea
sons, and often refers to his
instruments as “sculptures”.
You can visit Butler’s website,
Hybrid Visions, at www.mind-
spring.com/~kbhybrid/.
To reach Shadra Beesley e-
mail shadrab@hotmail.com
or drop by B-104
Above: Ken Butler (left) plays a tune on one of his hybrid
Instruments made from a small snow shovel.
At left: Ken Butler (right) jams on one of his hybrid instru
ments with his brother John (left) and Martin Zarzar (cen
ter)
Photos by J J. PearsorvThe Clackamas Print
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