Famous Potato
By Steve Blair
The computer age is surely here and Famous Potato is not only keeping up with the intelligence level, but even tapping into the sounds that are becoming more and more prevalent in this age of technology. The Blips, Bleeps, and the RRRs of computer-synaptic connections are permeating out world and the so-called dissonance which results is seeping into our musical vocabulary.
What is dissonance? Webster’s Dictionary describes it as “a mingling of discordant sounds, a clashing or unresolved musical interval or chord.”
In earlier times, a major third was considered dissonant. Nowadays, the same chord is extremely acceptable, if not commonplace. As the years, decades. And centuries fly by, the harshness of dissonance slowly melts into consonance, as the more evolved, elastic ears of modern human beings find these sounds more acceptable, if not desirable.
Musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, Nadia Boulanger, and Paul Hindemith among others, base the measurement of dissonance, as well as music theory in general on a very interesting scientific phenomenon: The Overtone Series (Harmonics).
Whether sounds are emitted by a musical instrument, a vacuum cleaner, or even a planet, any vibration generates a specific series of tones in addition to the obvious note that is heard (the fundamental).
Play a low note on the piano, for example. Besides the fundamental note, if you listen closely, you will hear other notes that exist within that individual note. These notes, called overtones, greatly contribute to “why music is the way it is.”
While the ancient harmonies of Gregorian Chant (circa 850 BC) deal with the lower areas of this series, the twentieth century atonal composers such as Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg explore the higher extremes of chromaticism.
In the world of popular music, all the extremes are applied. Power chords of heavy metal borrow from the first two portals, while the more complex chords of jazz extend to the twelfth and beyond.
Famous Potato utilizes all this and everything in-between. Conventional chord progressions simultaneously mingle with the magic dust applied from higher areas of the sonic spectrum, sometimes exceeding the confines of an existing equation. This mixture of simplicity and complexity makes for a unique sound as Famous Potato pushes the boundaries of the ever-rising ceiling of harmonic possibilities.
For example: “Sand and Water,” found on Famous Potato’s latest CD, Milk and Motor Oil, is based on major and minor chords that have been used in similar fashion countless times before. As the band weaves through these chord patterns, and creates a tapestry of complex textures, one of the guitars frees itself from the established groove and ascends into a bizarre landscape of distorted sonic fibers which reach into undefinable frequencies. This distortion effect applied to the guitar, gives the instrument immediate access to accentuating the harmonics available in the overtone series, and this guitarist takes full advantage of the opportunity.
A favorite of mine is “Travelin.`` It's the simple “ding” of a small cymbal that first caught my attention, almost as though everything in the song pointed to that recurring target. It was the form of the song rather than a theoretical perspective that struck me in a kind of abstract sense:
As I listen to this CD, I am confronted with the question, “How much dissonance is too much?” Is Famous Potato going too far with this mixture of order and chaos? The answer is ultimately subjective. It seems that the general population still finds it difficult to accept certain degrees of dissonance. The majority of record sales sometimes indicates a tendency toward the safer side of the spectrum. Thank goodness Famous Potato isn’t playing it safe, and perhaps more and more people are ready to accept this musical challenge.
*For more information about the Overtone Series, check out
On the Sensation of Tones, BU Herman Helmholtz published by Dover Publications.
Steve Blair is a professor of Jazz at Johnson State College and the University of Vermont and he’s also a member of the band Freefall