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Toyboat Toyboat Toyboat

US

A.k.a. toyboat toyboat toyboat

toyboat toyboat toyboat is a popular jazz–punk ensemble from Portland, OR, in the United States. The band's music is simultaneously heavy, danceable, and provocatively unusual. Reviewers have described it as “Sun Ra meets Devo,” “Miles meets Fugazi,” and “Afrobeat meets the Melvins.” Jonathan Boober's review for allmusic.com claimed “if Raymond Scott, Martin Denny and Bootsy Collins decided to form a band at Ennio Morricone’s house, it might sound something like toyboat toyboat toyboat.” Travis Henderson plays electric trumpet reminiscent of Bitches Brew-era Miles. The rare photoreactive synthesizer, The Drum Buddy, invented by New Orleans' Mr. Quintron, is symmetrically matched with drum set and electric bass. Despite befuddling journalists' efforts to categorize their aesthetic, the combo have enjoyed happy pairings onstage with national and international acts including Pere Ubu. Drummer Mehmet "Memo" Vurkaç earned his PhD in computational ethnomusicology and brings Brazilian rhythms and Turkish funk to an already eclectic melange of influences. He has performed on numerous occasions with Pink Martini and Jorge Alabê as well as one-offs with Obo Addy, Vi Hart, Michael Spiro/Mark Lamson, an early MarchFourth Marching Band, and Brazil’s Olodum, and live radio braodcasts with Mirah and Fishbone. Vurkaç appears on Mirah's 2009 album (a)spera (K Records) also featuring members of The Decemberists and The Haggard. The band have played over 90 shows across the West Coast in venues including Doug Fir, Mississippi Studios, Someday Lounge, Dante’s, Rotture, Ash St., Valentine's, Berbati's, White Eagle, and The Know in Portland, the Funhouse, Highline, and The Mix in Seattle, the Stork Club in Oakland, Hemlock in San Francisco, and a recurring showcase in the Idaho/Washington Valley. Their first EP, AMPLE FiRE, was released at various times on LEGO USB, CD, and 10-inch record. The band's second EP, COMPLICATED BODIES, was released March 2017 on CD.

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