Wes Carroll Interview

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1.  How old are you?

I'm 35.

2.  Where are you from?

Born and grew up in Gary, Indiana, USA. Went to school in Boston, and now live in San Francisco.

3.  How long have you've been Beatboxing for?

Most of my life, really. My grandma's neighbour remembers me imitating the sound of her car's turn signal when I was four. But professionally, about ten years.

4.  What got you into Beatboxing?

I honestly have no idea. Even as late as college, I kind of thought that everyone did it! Mouthdrumming was always just my way of communicating rhythms to drummers and other musicians. I never expected to do anything else with it. But then I discovered that it didn't have to just be a way of describing drums -- it was rhythm in its own right.

5.  What type of equipment do you have?

In order: my ears (Thanks, Mark Orton and Dave Moulton!), my mouth, and a Rode NT3 microphone.

6.  Have you ever done any live shows, events, concerts?

Probably about a thousand. Certainly hundreds, thanks to my groups throughout the years. For the last eight years, I've been a member of The House Jacks of San Francisco. We're the original "rock band without instruments." Details at www.housejacks.com -- check it out!

7.  How do you feel about the Beatboxing movement?

I think it sucks. *Nah*, just kidding. I think it's great, of course. I love it when people make music, and it's great that so many people are learning to make music without any instruments at all.

One thing that actually does kind of suck, though, is when people keep all their techniques secret. It's like they think the rest of us aren't going to figure it out. Lame. Just teach us how it's done, and then we can give you the props you're due. Otherwise we'll just figure it out without you, and then what good did that do you?

Maybe I'm just a little bitter because when I started out, no one would teach me anything, so I had to learn it all the hard way. So I decided that anything I learned, I would teach. That led to my making two instructional DVDs (check 'em out at www.mouthdrumming.com) Since then, though, people have started to open up, and I think that that's great.

I like what Semerock said in his beatboxing.com interview: "...each one teach one, that's the rule. If you have a skill like beatboxing, pass it down to others. ...we all need to be teachers and keep this thing moving forward." I couldn't agree more.

8.  Who is your favourite Beatboxer?

Tough call. I love my old Run-D.M.C. albums, and I dig Rahzel... but mostly I listen to drummers, not beatboxers. Steve Gadd, Ed Thigpen, Neal Peart, etc. (I had the honor of getting a picture with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson last year. I should really post that somewhere. Too many projects, too little time...)

9.  What other stuff (besides Beatboxing) are you involved in?

Well, like I mentioned, I perform a lot with The House Jacks. That includes some song writing, singing, and production work, all of which I dig. I write and record my own material (www.thatwesguy.com). I tutor high-school math. I ride my bicycle a lot. Occasionally I read a good book. Offstage, I'm just this random regular guy.

10.  What are your future Beatboxing goals?

I'd like to be able to perfect the lip-buzz trick where you make two pitches at once. I think that is totally badass, but I don't have any control over it yet. But I don't have any real Goals. I just try to find and make music I like. That's gotten me a long way so far.

11.  Is there anyone you would love to work with?

I'd really like to work on a major-release album. I think if I had my choice, I'd sit in on a Peter Gabriel album. He works with some amazing people. Tony Levin, for example. Man, I'd love to work with him. What a heavy hitter, but so low-key. I love that about him.

12.  What are your musical influences?

Most of my musical influences are really producers and production teams. I love what The Matrix did on those three tunes off Avril Lavigne's first album. I love the sound of Linkin Park's singles. I love Ben Folds Five's sound, though in that case, I have to say that Ben himself is a pretty strong influence. Love his work. What else... Butch Vig and Garbage. Richard Shindell (flatpick guitarist and great songwriter). I like Ravel and Stravinsky. Liz Phair. The Beatles. Tenacious D. Lots of random junk from the 80's that I still love even when it's junk. I dunno. I listen to whatever comes up on the iPod, and if I love it, it sticks in my head.

13.  Does anyone else in your family beatbox?

No way.

14.  Where's your favourite spot to beatbox? In the shower?

On stage: the better the sound system, the happier I am. (Although I admit that the inside of my windshield has been known to get a little gross from time to time.)

15.  What's the best Beatboxing memory that you have?

One of my favourites was from the summer of '96. I did an outdoor festival with my first pro group. About ten thousand people, and we were an opening act, late afternoon. It was a huge hillside, with about a thousand people crowding around the stage, and everyone else listening on the lawn, some far enough away that they had echo towers set up and cranking.

We finished the first tune and women's underwear started landing on the stage. I'm just standing there thinking, "how did I walk into *this* movie?"

It did not suck.

16.  What advice do you give to someone who wants to get into Beatboxing?

Listen. Experiment. Practice. Be great, but also do good.

17.  What's the best collaboration you've done with Beatboxing?

That's a toss-up: A few years ago I did a duet with tap prodigy Savion Glover. He has some DAMN fast feet. Turns out I'm faster than I thought, though, 'cause we kept up with each other just fine. That was a good time!

More recently, I was honoured to be The String Cheese Incident's guest performer when they performed here in SF at The Warfield. Travis and I went at it for a good long time. It was awesome -- and that man can PLAY. I've got an MP3 up at www.thatwesguy.com.

18.  Any Shout-Outs?

Any House Jacks fans reading from the US, Europe, or Japan: thanks for checking in. Anyone who visits thatwesguy.com: thanks, hope you dig it. Anyone reading about me who's never heard of me before: thanks for taking the time, and check out www.mouthdrumming.com for more info. And thanks to beatboxing.com for introducing me to a lot of new up and coming beatboxers, fans, and people who are just interested in learning more.