Do you have an old typewriter collecting dust in your attic? Because the members of the Boston Typewriter Orchestra probably don’t, because they’ve found there’s, dusted them off and are making sweet, sweet music with them.
Seriously in 2004 Tim Devin, the founder, was tapping away at a portable typewriter in a diner when he told someone as a joke that he was a member of the Boston Typewriter Orchestra. But then he got some friends together and they started to take it seriously. Really seriously. They practiced on the different typewriters, seeing what kinds of sounds they could get, and eventually had their debut at the Art Beat Festival in Boston in 2006.
They don’t have much advertising and do relatively well with just word of mouth. They’ve been on National Public Radio and have even opened for Amanda Palmer, a musician. They usually do gigs at poetry readings, libraries, and clubs. On average they do about four to seven concerts per year, traveling around New England. Although there is sometimes a bit of a misunderstanding and writing-related groups will book them before realizing they don’t actually write anything on the orchestra. They actually don’t use any paper, they did at first, but it just looked like ‘ygfkhjsdguayfuhkjljfhuiasdkj’ and apparently it doesn’t make any difference in the actual sound.
Their concerts are more than just interesting music. They sometimes bring their own backdrops and settings that depict an office. As they hammer away of the keyboards of typewriters they’re making a statement to mock corporate culture. Their concerts normally start out with random, uncoordinated typing until they fall into a rhythm and begin their set. Between songs the players will bless the audience with some comedic lines like: “Reminder, next Tuesday is the company Leave Your Daughter at Work Day.”
The best part is there’s a chance you’ve heard them. If you’ve seen a commercial for the documentary called “California Typewriter”, starring Tom Hanks, then your ears have been graced with the beautiful tapping of the Boston Typewriting Orchestra
Their about to drop their third album, and first on vinyl, called Termination without Prejudice, Volume 1. Most of their pieces are just the typewriters but a few contain vocals.
Understand that these musicians aren’t looking for an overnight success. This isn’t their full-time job some of them are crossword makers, librarian, mortgage broker, and AIDS researcher. They have practice one a week and attend when their other responsibilities allow. One of their members even admits that the two-hour practices end up being productive until about half way through. They’re looking for a niche and, let’s face it, this eight person typewriter orchestra has been successful.
Their next gig is at the ONCE Ballroom in Somerville, Massachusetts on December 21. So if you’re in the area be sure to check their website for more information and see if you can go.
If you are interested in donating to their Kickstarter here’s the link, because those vintage typewriters aren’t cheap:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bostypeorch/boston-typewriter-orchestras-new-album
Here’s the concert they had at the Society of Professional Journalists Region 1 Conference:
