Works for Wind Ensemble by Composer-in-Residence John Gibson
Almost from the birth of the Dallas Winds, Elliott’s Hardware was one of the major sponsors. We hatched a plan to honor Elliot’s in 2010 which would involve creating a piece using only things from a hardware store as the instruments. Things got a little out of hand, and before the April 20, 2011 concert, we (and by we, I mean I) had created over 20 instruments, handmade from stuff you find in a hardware store. It involved tools, a lot of PVC pipe, wooden structures, oil pans, string trimmer string, a bar-b-que cooker, assorted parts of actual instruments, drainage pipe, assorted hardware, a rubber chicken (which I bought at Elliot’s) and one rubber glove. The ensemble of about 16 performers was augmented by an electronic keyboard to provide harpsichord, animal sounds and “natural” sounds.
“Man Dreams in Hardware,” my salute to Elliot’s Hardware includes the following instruments: PVCicolo, Slide Clarinet, Coronary Trombosis, Btuba, Ptuba, Upright Single-string Fretted Oil Pan Spring Bass, Santiago Calitravatar, Wazooti, Bar-B-Quong, Toolaroolaroo, Springsteens, Texas Hail Stick, Snakes Alive, Sawsophone, Allophone, a trap set called the Contraptalon, Electronic Keyboard and Narrator…that would be me.
The piece is categorized as a “theater piece,” which is music with some theatrical element, such as acting, narration, costumes…you get the idea. I have actually written several of this sort of piece, including “Children of Pearl Harbor” and “The Challenger Seven,” both of which many of you know. It is the story of man’s conflict with God and how his creation of hardware led to all our troubles. After much research, I just made it up from vague memories of Sunday-school stories, forgotten history classes and stuff you wouldn’t even find on the internet.
I wish you could have seen the piece, as the instruments were created mostly for show. But, alas, all I have is the recording. I spent a year building instruments and wrote the piece 4 weeks before the concert, because it wasn’t until then that I knew what I had to work with instrumentally. Why do I get involved in these things?
WARNING: THIS PIECE IS RATED PG13. That means, if you have anyone under the age of 13 living with you, they can explain some of the double entendre and innuendo woven into this master piece.