NOMAN ISLAND

This afternoon was the first rehearsal of my neighbor's band, Noman Island. I hung around outside the barn to listen. it sounded like a trio: loud singing, loud drums and and an occasional quiet flute. Obviously Noman had grabbed the vocal position. The flute seemed to actually be playing a melody. The drummer was terrible. He seemed to have the impression that drumming was simply hitting the drum with a stick. Drums are actually one of the more complicated and sensitive instruments requiring a great deal of finesse and skill.

Hearing them brought back memories of Randy and I before we decided to launch The Residents. We were certainly much worse than Noman Island. I had a funny feeling of pride that the barn was giving birth to new music.