Interview: Sound Manipulation with Troy Zeigler of Beat Music

When I hear there is some new pedal on the market that does something that no other pedal does, I immediately check it out, either through a store, video or sound clips that I dig up on the internet. Once I own the pedal, and that thing delivers the goods, I rave about it through Pedals And Effects and social media. Music is no exception here, and I found music that has me inspired me like Earthquaker Devices Afterneath or Mantic’s Vitriol inspires me. That music is Mark Guiliana’s Beat Music: The  Los Angeles Improvisations.

On August 19, 2013 Guiliana and three of his favorite musicians set up in a small studio in Los Angeles and improvised for the entire day. The results are here, on Beat Music: The Los Angeles Improvisations. All of the music was performed in real time by four distinct musical personalities creating one “voice”, in the moment, with no overdubs. The album captures the confluence of four “rivers”, influence, inspiration, risk-taking, and open-minded and openhearted engagement in the avant-garde. Guiliana elaborates, “this session was inspired by a handful of shows throughout the past few years that created many musical moments that I wished had been documented. This specific configuration, with Tim Lefebvre on electric bass, Jeff Babko on keyboards, and Troy Zeigler on electronics, has cultivated a selfless and compositional approach to group improvisation that I think we really captured on this album.”

Mark Guiliana, Beat Music’s creator, is an amazing drummer in his own right. He plays in Halo Orbit with me and suGAR from Buffalo Daughter! I have had the pleasure of working with him many times and I can definitely say that he is a true pioneer.  His beats are as futuristic as his concepts towards music. Mark started this group with musicians he admires and they pull off some of the most unique and original improvisation out there.  Bassist Tim Lefebvre (on the recent cover of Bass Player Magazine) kills it with hooky basslines and wildly effected bass sounds.  This album is a must for Pedals And Effects fans. 

Now I have known Troy Zeigler of Beat Music for almost 15 years. Troy is a recurring member of Big Sir and played drums on the first three records we put out. I always knew Troy had a pedal obsession from way back, because he owned 3 or 4 Kaos Pads when they first came out. He soon developed quite an arsenal of effects and put his drums through absolutely everything he could find. 

Within the last year I caught a Beat Music performance at the Blue Whale and I walked up to Troy's pedal table and I recognized about half of what he was using. He brought to my attention some amazing Recovery Effects pedals, a few eBay gems that, and he introduced me to one of my favorite loopers ever, the small, but incredibly useful Hotone Wally Looper. Now that same board of his has grown even more, and the sounds he creates are absolutely mind bending. 

After hearing the Beat Music Los Angeles Improvisations, I asked Troy if he would be interested in sharing his gear and ideas. Lucky for anyone who is a fan of Pedals And Effects, Troy is here to inspire and hips us to his sonic contributions to Beat Music. 

Every single piece of gear in this video, and more, can be found on Reverb.com!

-Juan