WL 369 - Sunday, June 24 – 12am
Purveyors of: Digital-Analog Muscle Memory

If you like your dance music live then Bocce is a dream come true; their synthy symphonies anchor wildly infectious beats beneath layers and layers of striking keyboard melodies. One by one, Mike Bond, Ben Ong, Nik Must, and Tony Salomone, four long-time leaders in the Kitchener-Waterloo music scene, have come together to build Bocce's brilliant live show, which will make its Wavelength debut on June 24 th. Synth player/vocalist Tony Salomone kindly shared his band's silence-shattering and body-shaking secrets with Mika Posen.

The very first time I saw Bocce in the summer of 2005, it consisted of Mike Bond on drums, Ben Ong on keyboard, and a Discman playing the backing track. Now every time I see you there always seems to be a new member and a new keyboard or two. Explain how the band has evolved over the last few years.

Bocce essentially started as a studio project for Mike. Over time, as we've added members and keyboards, I think we've begun to operate more and more like a "rock band", except that we play electronic music. I think that the band's underlying philosophy has always been to take the best parts of both worlds of music.

Exactly how many keyboards do you use these days, and what kinds? Do you predict any future keyboard expansions? How many keyboards would it take to reach a point of total keyboard saturation in a band such as yours?

If I had it my way, I would have so many keyboards surrounding me on stage that they would have to lower me into place with a crane, or have me come through the floor like Neil Peart. The only thing holding me back is that our van is too small and I'm way too lazy to carry all of that equipment.

Our setup constantly changes because we keep destroying our instruments. Bocce has murdered many keyboards, including my very first electric piano. I think we reached our lowest point when we destroyed a classic old Yamaha Electone while trying to "optimize" it four days before leaving on tour. Bocce can't write songs in certain keys because the Casio Tonebank we use has some keys that don't work.

Our live setup is generally a mix of one analog synth through distortion, one fat bass synth, a MicroKorg for digital leads and bleeps, Casio Tonebank and Omnichord to keep things real. Mike also rocks an old Roland drum machine for added percussion.

When were vocals introduced into your music? Did that bring about any significant changes in the way your music and your live shows are received?

Vocals were mostly my fault. I used to freestyle over the songs that became "Bears" and "Disco Juan". Bicycle Cops even had vocals at one point, but it was mostly Ben and I yelling "Raptor!" Eventually, we had to settle on lyrics when we recorded the album. Originally, Bears was sung from the perspective of Goldilocks. At another point it was about a vegetarian trying to decide if laboratory-created meat was okay to eat. Several of our new songs have vocals but I think we'll always be pretty heavily instrumental.

Tell us a little about your label, Dadmobile records.

I started Dadmobile Records seven years ago as a way of organizing the twelve bands I played in. Last year, I decided to "get serious" by trimming the lineup down and focusing my efforts (it's just Bocce and Knock Knock Ginger, nowadays). Focus is important for ADD sufferers like myself.

Oddly enough, the fact that KKG and Bocce sound nothing alike has worked well for us. The two bands have attracted completely different audiences, and that attention has bled between the two bands well.

Rank your band members is order of average sweatiness after a show (from most sweaty to least sweaty).

If we're judging based solely on how we look on stage then the order is: Tony, Nik, Mike, Ben. This does not take in to account, however, that one of our members is seated all show and accumulates a tremendous amount of swass.

Your music is quite danceable. What sort of dance moves do you expect to see on the Sneaky Dee's dance floor at your Wavelength show?

Bocce is bringing the Rubber Beat to Toronto. Here is how to dance properly to this latest craze:

1. Pretend your left arm is a skipping rope tied to your body and there's a kid swinging the other end up and down.
2. Pretend your right arm is the coastal waters of Australia and there's a dude surfing up towards your head.
3. Pretend your feet are stuck to the floor and move your body like your are a cobra and the band is a snake charmer.

Try to get all of this working in sync or you'll look like a complete tool. (More so.)

By Mika Posen