OTHER BUILDINGS

Rita: Musicians build things other than bands. And I’m gonna find out right now what they build. Amanda, what have you built besides a coin operated boy? AMANDA PALMER (the Dresden Dolls): I once built a love parlor in my basement. We used to have parties down there when I was a teenager and I thought it would be awesome to create a kind of tent where people could make out. I made a huge sign for it and filled it with pillows. As far as I know, nobody ever went in there except me, when it was first built, in celebration. Alone. *** KEITH NELSON (Clatter Clatter): Oh, okay… I get it. Ha ha guys. God, it seems like we’ll never live this one down. *** TIM MUNGENAST (Tim Mungenast & His Preexisting Conditions): Back in the ’80s I built a guitar out of teak. Dubbed the Teak Wonder (a.k.a. the Paul Klee Custom), the design I came up with could be described as Hallucinogenic Swedish Modern. Jim Mouradian and Wolf Ginandes did the machine-tool work, while I did countless hours of shaping and sanding. One bonus was the sweet smell of the teak sawdust: like cough syrup, only good, if that makes any sense. *** DAMIAN DAVID (4” Stud): I have finally finished building that wood chipper out of common household parts and that’s great because it has helped me with my “dead hooker problem.” *** JOHNNY ANGEL (Blackjacks/ Thrills): A massive media empire. *** ERIC BETTEBCOURT (Eric Bettencourt Group/ Giraffe Attack): A Fender Stratocaster with Gibson electronics. *** JON MACEY (Fox Pass/ Urban Caravan): I am remarkably non-mechanical, so in literal terms, I have built very few things. However, I did set up and wire my own recording studio. I have also built a complex fantasy world that I visit often. *** MATTHEW McLAUGHLIN (Slow Century): In sixth grade I entered my school’s “invention convention” with a practical means of keeping my kid sister at a safe distance while traveling with my family. I called the invention the “Sibling Separator” and as its name implies was built to allow me the peace of mind and personal space I required during those long trips to our relatives. Years later Marya (my sister) and I still joke about it on stage. It figures that now as adults we spend most of our time together writing songs and playing music. Despite overcoming our differences, I still find myself trying to invent new ways maintaining some freedom. *** SUSANNA PORTE (the Cello Chix): I’ve built several miniature houses out of scrap paper, cloth, and plastic packaging. *** CHRIS DEVINE (Onebigmess): A car, a 1974 MGB convertible, great car, only downside is I can’t fit my guitar in the trunk! *** NOEL COAKLEY (the Autumn Hollow Band): Once I built a record shelf. It came out great until I stained it. It’s now “buffalo tender orange.” The stain can did not designate ‘buffalo tender orange—for I would not have bought it. I hated it at first. Now it looks spicy and delicious and functional. *** MICHAEL BLOOM (Tim Mungenast & his Pre-Existing Condition/ Sgt. Maxwell’s Peace Chorus): I used to build my own speaker cabinets, bolting half-inch plywood onto a substructure of 2x4s. They sounded okay, especially considering I bought my drivers at Radio Shack. The experience served me well when I rebuilt my rear deck, except I never quite finished it. *** MARTIN DOYLE (Underground Control): Provincetown Rocks!—the festival headlined by our own Chris Ballew of Supa Group, Egg, and the Presidents of the United States of America! And about 200 other local rock groups from Underground Control and Martin Doyle. Hey, you just got the scoop. *** JOHN HESS (the Vogon Poets): I build things for a living. I've built racing motorcycles and restored vintage European sports cars including a 1941 Indian Sport Scout, 1949 Vince Black Prince racing sidecar outfit, 1953 Harley KR sidecar racer). My automotive work includes a 1951 Ferrari 212 Export Vignale Spider, 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Speciale Coupe, 1961 Ferrari TR-61 Testa Rossa, and a 1954-1956 Mercedes 300SL Gullwings. Several of these cars were owned by Ralph Lauren and were in the exhibit at the MFA a few years back. I'm a machinist by trade and have also manufactured components for the international space station. Lolita: Wooo—the space station! I think that was a club I used to go to. I must have been there a lot because I remember hearing “Earth to Lolita” constantly.