[Trombone-l] Spike Jones

[Bill Dinwiddie]

Speaking of Eddie Kusby. Does anyone have any info on this guy?  I would 
like to know more about him. I know that he was originally from Chicago 
(orig. name Kusborsky), and that he made the move to LA, where he did very 
well, and was on the sound track of about a million cartoons. He really had 
all the comedy bits down.

Thanks in advance,

Bill Dinwiddie
billdin at comcast.net


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Millar" <mwmillar at ca.rr.com>
To: "ALEX ILES" <alexiles at earthlink.net>; "Brian Boyes" <BBoyes at Golden.net>
Cc: <Trombone-l at server5.samford.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 11:51 AM
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Spike Jones


> Great post, Alex! I can do this ok, but could not have explained how to do
> it nearly as well.
>
> About 6 or 7 years ago I had a conversation with Phil Gray about his stint
> as Spike Jones' trombonist. We did talk about the sound in question. Phil
> said that there was a specific term used on Spike's band: the "fonk". Each
> time the sound was called for in an arrangement, "fonk" was written on the
> part beneath the note.
>
> My favorite fonk usage on a Spike Jones record is at the end of Eddie
> Kusby's wild opening cadenza on "Old Black Magic." Nice and juicy!
>
> Michael Millar
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "ALEX ILES" <alexiles at earthlink.net>
> To: "Brian Boyes" <BBoyes at Golden.net>
> Cc: <Trombone-l at server5.samford.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 7:59 AM
> Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Spike Jones
>
>
>> Hi Brian,
>>
>> This has come up before on the list. There is probably a better
>> description somewhere in the archives, but I can give a basic outline
>> for you to play with.
>>
>> Forget what you've learned about "correct" playing for the moment!!
>>
>> This technique has been called many names including, the "nerd", the
>> "golden tone", "spike tone" and others. It is basically one of
>> several alternative vowel sounds brass players can use. Didgereedoo
>> players use it too.
>>
>> The sound works best for most players on second partial notes...[and
>> for some reason, it is BEST on trombone, but I have heard some horn
>> players do it pretty well too!]
>>
>> Try playing a Bb in the staff. Buzz pretty much the way you normally
>> do, but instead of playing "tah" or "dah". Annunciate...in a VERY
>> exaggerated way..."dreeeeer" or "diarrhea" or just "rrrreeeear" [like
>> a mean old cat]. The key is to REALLY exaggerate the way you "say"
>> the vowel sound as you play.  Draw it out very slowly to get the
>> "feel" of this strange sound....
>>
>> DiiiiieeeeaaaahhhhrrrrreeeeEEEEeaaahhhhh
>>
>> rrrrreeeEEEeeeeerrrrrrrr.
>>
>> You might also want to "tighten" the buzz a little more than you
>> would normally to make your everyday "nice" sound!!
>>
>> Like any other technical aspect of playing, it takes a little
>> practice to get the "knack" of it. Not everyone can do this either it
>> seems. It is a little like "rolling r's". Some people might just need
>> to practice it more to get the hang of it.
>>
>> There are other recorded examples around to check out...Tommy
>> Pederson [one of Spike's trombonists] was a master of this sound. So
>> is Alan Kaplan, He used it frequently when Warner Bros rekindled
>> cartoons back in the nineties [Taz, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain,
>> etc]. Wycliffe Gordon likes to whip into that sound sometimes when he
>> is soloing and Stuart Dempster gives a great demo of the technique in
>> his book/cd, "The Modern Trombone".
>>
>> Good luck!! Hope this helps.
>>
>> Alex Iles
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>> On Jul 17, 2007, at 7:20 PM, Brian Boyes wrote:
>>
>>> Having now listened to several Spike Jones tracks and then sat with
>>> my horn
>>> and made all kinds of funny noises, I still can't reproduce the
>>> trombone
>>> sound that occurs throughout his music. Anyone know what I'm
>>> talking about?
>>> Specifically, the "heil" sound in "The Furher's Face". How do I
>>> make that
>>> sound?
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>>
>>> Brian
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