Comments on: David Byrne and St Vincent on Letterman

By: Dan Gordon

Dan Gordon — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:48:00 +0000

Sorry, but as a professional tuba player of 25+ years, I have to correct you on this. On a hot day, when none of the moisture from your breath condenses against the cold tubing, no water is released through the ‘spit valve’, which is actually called a water key. The consistency is definitely that of water — it runs out of the water key, it doesn’t drool out. Plus, the amount you release on a cold day is far far more than any human salivary gland could produce. Plus, you release condensation from crooks right through the instrument, and sometimes through the bell itself. Saliva can’t possibly travel that far. You get a little saliva in the mouthpiece, but that’s about it. If you’re spitting into the instrument that much, you’re doing it wrong.

By: Les Hutchins

Les Hutchins — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:13:00 +0000

The sousaphone has a screw on bell, but most tubas don’t. anyway, you only need to attach it if you take it off.

By: euansmith

euansmith — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:11:00 +0000

David Byrne: The Televangelist of Cool Daddy God.

By: LinkMan

LinkMan — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:10:00 +0000

I’m with you. I love the guy’s stage presence and have the utmost respect for the effort and artistry he puts into his music and other projects. He truly seems like an awesome guy on so many levels. But 95% of his output just doesn’t do anything for me either.

By: otterhead

otterhead — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:35:00 +0000

Can’t disagree more. Have you listened to his album? Or his recent solo stuff? Or his album with Brian Eno (another ‘has-been’?)

St. Vincent approached HIM to collaborate, and it turned into an album. He didn’t seek her out trying to add hipness to his act.

Of all people, the last person who needs a ‘hipness aura’ is David Byrne.

By: dculberson

dculberson — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:28:00 +0000

It’s amazing how succinctly you communicate the fact that you have no idea what you’re talking about.

By: Justin Sabe

Justin Sabe — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:15:00 +0000

I think there is a brass renaissance happening lately with the Honk radical marching band scene and every earnest folk punk pop group turning to concert instruments that everyone learned in school. Tuba Christmas concerts are getting bigger every year and I keep getting forwarded news articles about sousaphone theft rings in Southern CA. Tubas are nerdy cool with people doing amazing paint jobs and mods to the bells and seeking out more rare helicons and alto horns.

At Honk I think a good portion of what comes out of spit valves is backwash from flasks and probably flammable. We have a spittoon for band practice at home after being asked not to use the potted plants anymore.

By: Bangorian

Bangorian — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:32:00 +0000

Confession time. I’ve spent 30 years trying to ‘get’ Byrne and like his music. I can’t do it. I feel like I’m missing something. I wish I weren’t, but I am.

By: Dave Shorr

Dave Shorr — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:21:00 +0000

We had the pleasure of seeing Byrne & St Vincent in concert on this album’s tour at their stop in ATX. The Letterman show performance represented ~10% of the quality of a live show. In concert this group of brass players are amazing. And hearing the way the group has arranged familiar Talking Heads music was stunning! They did ‘Burning Down The House’ as an encore and blew the capacity crowd away.

By: Lemoutan

Lemoutan — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 10:30:00 +0000

So, basically, you can clone players from their instruments. Neat.

By: MatthewFabb

MatthewFabb — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 07:25:00 +0000

As mentioned by someone else St Vincent is the girl standing beside him and has her own musical career. This most recent album, they tend to take turns on who takes leads on vocals. With the occasional song where it really jumps and back and forth between them. Obviously this is one of the songs that he takes lead vocals and she just does the occasional back-up vocals.

By: zombiebob

zombiebob — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 06:51:00 +0000

blah, the guitar chick is cute though

By: bzishi

bzishi — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:55:00 +0000

And I’m geeking out because Letterman recognized that it was a sousaphone and not a tuba!

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:44:00 +0000

Mmmm. Phlegmharmonic Orchestra.

By: aperturehead

aperturehead — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 05:18:00 +0000

Having played a tuba for 6 years, I can attest that it’s saliva – that’s why the little spring-loaded release caps are called “spit valves” – the embouchure for a tuba is quite wide and loose, it’s basically as if you’re salivating and even drooling into the mouthpiece (especially after playing intently for a while – lips and tongue can become numb). With a tuba, you can allow the saliva to collect for quite long periods (in elbow pipes) before opening one or two spit valves. With smaller instruments such as the trumpet, the spit valves are sometimes operated many times within one musical piece. You probably never want to go barefoot when you’re in a concert band!

I guess what comes out of tuba spit valves could mistakenly be called “condensation” but the condensation sure has plenty of tongue and lip-borne saliva attached to it.

By: newhavenstumpjumper

newhavenstumpjumper — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:50:00 +0000

Byrne writes some really nice charts for brass. I love his music for “The Knee Plays”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_%22The_Knee_Plays%22

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 03:32:00 +0000

Great album! More pop music should have horns.

By: feedbackscratch

feedbackscratch — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:53:00 +0000

St. Vincent is the women standing next to him playing guitar. Her solo work is quite good and worth checking out, as is the rest of this album.

By: Dan Gordon

Dan Gordon — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:49:00 +0000

Condensation. Not saliva.

By: claytantor

claytantor — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:42:00 +0000

OMG that was so badass. Enthralled. Byrne brings it! That dude is timeless! The brass composition is genius.

By: aperturehead

aperturehead — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:38:00 +0000

The tuba has much going against it – it’s heavy – you have to screw the bell on to the body every time you need to play it – it creates ounces and ounces of dirty, brassy saliva during every performance – plus it has a sad, horribly stigmatized reputation because of its direct relationship to POLKA music – plus, if one drops the mouthpiece of a tuba, one could break one’s foot (those things weigh a ton) – every tuba player I’ve seen outside of the polka genre wears a vest. It’s required in order to maintain a certain post-Radiohead mystique

By: Noctilucent Studios

Noctilucent Studios — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:30:00 +0000

That was fantastic!! I had never heard of St. Vincent until she was on Comedy Bang Bang last year. That is one hella sexy and talented woman!

By: AwesomeRobot

AwesomeRobot — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:26:00 +0000

I like Daivd Byrne, but I like St Vincent so much more without him.

By: Les Hutchins

Les Hutchins — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:21:00 +0000

I dunno, I love the bicycling book.

Also, like every former and current high school tuba player, I’m geeking out on the sousaphone in the backup band. It’s not often you see one on network television and really not often in a pop song.

By: aperturehead

aperturehead — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:10:00 +0000

This comes off more as “David Byrne with Anonymous Backing Band” – is St Vincent the name of his current group? – Byrne is at his prime here, what a great showman! – wish he would stick more with music and go easy on the bicycles and blogs – in my view, he’s never worn the Renaissance Man cloak very well – he’ll always be the jerking dude in the “Once In A Lifetime” video to me. I wonder how many times a week Byrne gets accosted by crazies who start singing the lyrics to “Psycho Killer” to him? Probably many times.