Mike Silverman, better known as That 1 Guy, is an American musician based in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

. He frequently performs and records as a

one-man band A one-man band is a musician who plays a number of instruments simultaneously using their hands, feet, limbs, and various mechanical or electronic contraptions. One-man bands also often sing while they perform. The simplest type of "one-man ban ...

, singing and using a variety of homemade musical instruments.

Career

Early career

Silverman is a classically trained double bass player who attended the

San Francisco Conservatory of Music The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodg ...

and developed a career in the progressive

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 ...

scene in the 1990s, performing live and as a studio musician. He started out in a funk, rockabilly, jazz band called "The Fabulous Hedgehogs" before he developed his own style of solo playing and gained a reputation as a one-man rhythm section, incorporating traditional and slap-bass playing with percussive elements using the body of the instrument. When he began to feel limited by his instrument and a heavy schedule of playing and recording for other people, he started to devise a new instrument that would allow him the range to create his own music. At first he sought out professional help in building his instrument, but decided to make it himself because of the projected cost. The end result was the Magic Pipe, a collection of steel plumbing pipes and joints, orchestral bass strings, and electronics.

As That 1 Guy

Since then, Silverman has developed a career as a

under the stage name That 1 Guy, first playing his upright bass, and later singing and beatboxing while playing his Magic Pipe, musical saw, various percussive elements, and using digital looping and sampling to perform his songs. His musical influences include Drums and Tuba, Rush, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, and was invited to play saw (and subsequently bass) on tracks for Waits’ Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards album. He has a cult following in the United States of America, as well as in Australia, which he has toured several times, including performances at major festivals such as

Big Day Out The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...

, Pyramid Rock Festival, and

Woodford Folk Festival The Woodford Folk Festival is an annual music and cultural festival held near the semi-rural town of Woodford, north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the biggest annual cultural events of its type in Australia. Every year ap ...

. He has also played many shows alongside

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

guitarist

Buckethead Brian Patrick Carroll (born May 13, 1969), known professionally as Buckethead, is an American guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has received critical acclaim for his innovative electric guitar playing. His music spans severa ...

, with whom he released a collaborative album under the name Frankenstein Brothers in 2008. He has received little mainstream recognition, but did garner attention after the use of his song "Buttmachine" (from his second album, '' The Moon is Disgusting'') on Showtime’s original comedy series Weeds, season 3, episode 9. He started a tour throughout the United States of America in early 2009, and performed at festivals in Canada and France.

Instruments

The Magic Pipe

The Magic Pipe, also known by his close friends as 'The Broken Bowflex', is a homemade, electronically rigged pair of machined aluminum pipes (previously steel in its first incarnation), connected by adjustable phosphorus bronze joints, with each pipe hosting an orchestral bass string. The harp-shaped instrument is roughly seven feet tall and features 13 trigger points, which can be mapped to various musical sound effects or samples. The front pipe uses a low C string, while the rear pipe's string is used to achieve more

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

ranged notes. The pipes themselves are employed to produce various percussive sounds while That 1 Guy slaps, plucks, or bows the strings, as well as occasionally using a drum stick to sound the strings and the pipes at the same time. The creation of the Magic Pipe was based on Silverman's double bass experience, as well as borrowing from the concepts of the gutbucket and the

diddley bow The diddley bow is a single-stringed American instrument which influenced the development of the blues sound. It consists of a single string of baling wire tensioned between two nails on a board over a glass bottle, which is used both as a brid ...

The Magic Boot

The Magic Boot is a scorpion-emblazoned

cowboy boot Cowboy boots are a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a high heel that is traditionally made of stacked leather, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing. Cowboy boots are normally ma ...

, which is wired and fed through the Magic Pipe's audio lines. It is then played as a percussive instrument by tapping on the sole while pinching the boot's opening to achieve different sounds, similar to an African

talking drum The talking drum is an hourglass-shaped drum from West Africa, whose pitch can be regulated to mimic the tone and prosody of human speech. It has two drumheads connected by leather tension cords, which allow the player to change the pitc ...

The Magic Saw

The Magic Saw is a musical saw, which is wired into the main effects box. It uses a small adhesive speaker and is played percussively as well as with a violin bow. It sounds similar to a

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

when played and renditions of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" have been performed on numerous occasions.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Let's Hear That 1 Guy'' * ''Songs in the Key of Beotch'' (2000, re-released 2004) * '' The Moon Is Disgusting'' (2007) * ''Mustaches Remix EP'' (2009) * ''Packs a Wallop!'' (2010) * ''Poseidon's Deep Water Adventure Friends'' (2014) * ''Set the Controls for the Heart of the Buttnoggin'' (2020)

Frankenstein Brothers (with Buckethead)

* '' Bolt on Neck'' (2008)

DVD

* ''Live in the Land of Oz'' (DVD, 2007)

References

External links

That 1 Guy
official website
Righteous Babe Records page

Interview with That 1 Guy on Amped Up TV (VIDEO)
{{DEFAULTSORT:That 1 Guy American musical instrument makers San Francisco Conservatory of Music alumni Living people One-man bands Place of birth missing (living people) American male composers 21st-century American composers 21st-century American male musicians Year of birth missing (living people)