The Hippodrome

Maladroits Union Download
Times Are Hard Download
Come Go With Me Download

Getting into music through another artistic medium is fairly common these days, but rarely does it really allow the musician a new and original way to create. Alex Bogs, founder and leader of Bogs Visionary Orchestra, didn’t start looking into musical performance until he was confident enough in his visual art to start exploring other forms of creative output. Growing up with a passion for drawing, Bogs knew art would play a significant role in his future and in college switched majors from illustration to fine art when he realized it was more important to make art as a lifestyle rather than a career. For Bogs, being an artist means sharing the art you make with the people you love and people who appreciate what you create. Bogs’ primary musical project is just this — an admirable culmination of his work between friends and the artists he respects.

Bogs is unique in several ways, especially in his musical upbringing. Though raised on a steady diet of Morrissey and Sex Pistols, Bogs never enveloped himself fully into a specific musical culture, until he came around to “the strange world of 1930’s old-time music.” Finally finding a niche for himself in the wide world of music, Bogs had a place to get “excited about listening, collecting, and learning about the artists of that period.” Indeed, Most of BVO’s musical inspiration comes from the sounds of the 30s, resulting in a product as refreshing as it is genuine.

This affinity for the 30s piano bar style has allowed BVO to experiment with many now unconventional instruments. Besides the standard bass/drum/guitar, BVO has seen (to name a few), cello, lap steel guitar, violin, jug, harmonica, musical saw, and piano pass through the studio. A favorite instrument, you may ask? “I love the banjo!” Bogs proclaims unabashedly. Bogs favors the plectrum banjo, like a five string banjo sans the high fifth string. “It’s like having a backup singer, percussion and melody all in one.”

BVO’s originality can be traced back even further than Bogs’ predilection for unconventional instrumentation. Taking a normally backwards approach to creating music, Bogs began random experiments with guitar sounds and structure while still in college. While many skip past this phase and stick to the basics, Bogs found it most interesting to search for ways to make the guitar “talk” within its natural constraints. Fittingly, BVO’s latest disc, Maladroits Union, is unique in its minimal guitar effects. Instead of relying on overwhelming pedals and modulations, the songs available for download here and on the record achieve great sonic intensity through off kilter-vocals, interesting composition, and a rock-solid do-it-yourself ethic.

When questioned further on this DIY ethic, Bogs said that he didn’t “consider DIY as a term in opposition to commercial music or art. For me being creative is a natural and healthy part of being human. I believe most people don’t create because they think they need to create something as refined as the commercial counterpart to the artistic expression they want to work in. A lot of the other stuff I do and am (a husband, father, teacher) although wonderful in their own ways, doesn’t fulfill me in the same way as making art.”

So there you have it folks, a visual artist with a musical mission to create and not just consume! Do yourself a favor and pick up Maladroits Union, Bogs Visionary Orchestra’s latest relic that is as eccentric as it is beautiful.

This entry was posted by Erik Sutch on Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 at 9:44 pm and is filed under Features, Written By Erik Sutch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.