Drums & Tuba was an

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instr ...

group. The band formed in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, before relocating to New York City. Their sound fuses

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

and occasionally

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

. They were signed to

Righteous Babe Records Righteous Babe Records is an American independent record label that was created by folk singer Ani DiFranco in 1990 to release her own songs in lieu of being beholden to a mainstream record company. History Righteous Babe Records was originally ...

History

The group began as a duo with Brian Wolff and Tony Nozero performing weekend nights for tips on Sixth Street in downtown Austin. The band was originally called "Just Drums & Tuba" and consisted only of a drummer (Nozero) and tuba player (Wolff). They eventually added a guitarist (Neal McKeeby) to their lineup.

Musical style

Their music combined many disparate genres, including jazz fusion, alternative hip hop, and

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

. Their live performances sometimes included McKeeby playing two guitars simultaneously, and Wolff using effects boards as well as his tuba. They have been compared to Sonic Youth,

Soul Coughing Soul Coughing was an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. Soul Coughing developed a d ...

, the guitar sound of Grateful Dead, Isotope 217, and

Tortoise Tortoises () are reptiles of the family Testudinidae of the order Testudines (Latin: ''tortoise''). Like other turtles, tortoises have a shell to protect from predation and other threats. The shell in tortoises is generally hard, and like oth ...

Discography

*''Box Fetish'' (1997) *''Flying Ballerina'' (1998) *''Flatheads & Spoonies'' (1999) *''Vinyl Killer'' (2001) *'' Mostly Ape'' (2002) *''Live: Hoboken, NJ 5/14/2004'' (2004) *''El Tubador/The Peleton'' (2005) *''Battles Ole'' (2005)

Lineup

*Drums - Tony Nozero *Tuba - Brian Wolff *Guitar - Neal McKeeby *Andrew Gilchrist (on The Peloton/El Tubador)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drums and Tuba Righteous Babe Records artists Musical groups from Austin, Texas 1995 establishments in Texas American experimental rock groups American musical trios Musical groups from New York City Musical groups established in 1995