Recommended: The Creative Weirdness of That 1 Guy

Tim Van Schmidt | New SCENE

It’s way past time to check up on one of the most creative artists I have seen over the years.

That would be That 1 Guy, or Mike Silverman, a performer based in Las Vegas.

Quite a few years ago, I went to a show at a long-gone Fort Collins nightclub called the Starlight featuring Drums and Tuba. The opening act was the Guy.

This is how I reviewed him in the NOCO press:

“Even more interesting (than Drums and Tuba’s set) were the antics of the opening act, That 1 Guy. Playing a very unique musical creation he calls ‘the Magic Pipe’, That 1 Guy set up funky layers of rhythm that he would rap to and tap to. He played a musical saw during his performance, but mostly whapped, sawed, strummed and bowed the Magic Pipe while adding talk-singing and mouth percussion. It was a crazy, tongue-in-cheek performance that would have made someone like Frank Zappa proud.”

The Guy is still at it and is scheduled to do a show at the Aggie Theatre on March 17.

Checking into That 1 Guy’s site, I found that Silverman continues to be a creative wild card — literally. Apparently, not only do the Guy’s appearances include a set featuring his own musical inventions — including the Magic Pipe, his Magic Saw, and a weird-sounding instrument he calls the Magic Boot, a cowboy boot wired for sound — but more, fans can sign up for a pre-show magic show. According to the promo video, the magic includes some mind-tickling card tricks.

Even the Guy’s album titles have a creative twist — like “Songs in the Key of Beotch” and 

“Set the Controls for the Heart of the Buttnoggin.”

That 1 Guy is not an island of strangeness, either. He has recorded with Tom Waits and released an album with avant-garde guitarist Buckethead titled “Frankenstein Brothers.” His song “Buttmachine” was also used in an episode of the comedy series “Weeds.”

Before striking off on his own, Silverman was classically trained on the bass in San Francisco and started out in a progressive jazz plus band called “The Fabulous Hedgehogs.” He counts both Rush and Dr. Suess as influences.

What else can I say? That all sounds pretty compelling to me. Opening the show at the Aggie on March 17 will be Hyzenborg.

Also coming to the Aggie: Whitney on March 21, Bumpin Uglies on March 29, and Outlaw Country Revisited on March 31.

More live music: Talk about weird, The Residents, one of progressive music’s most enigmatic bands, will be playing the Bluebird in Denver on March 21. John Mellencamp performs at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver on March 27. And the Marley Brothers — including Ziggy, Damian, Stephen, Julian, and Ky-Mani — play Red Rocks on April 19 and 20, along with Steel Pulse and Mykal Rose.

More Red Rocks shows include Trevor Hall and the California Honeydrops on April 30, Billy Strings on May 11 and 12, Chromeo on May 26, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, with Grace Potter, on June 10, and Rodrigo y Gabriella on June 11.

NOCO shows: Benise, “The Prince of Spanish Guitar,” returns to the Lincoln Center on March 19, Tank and the Bangas play Washington’s on March 25, and Vieux Farka Toure is at the Armory on April 15.

Looking ahead, the Greeley Blues Jam returns on June 3, featuring Tab Benoit, Southern Avenue, Carolyn Wonderland, Erica Brown, and ThreeShots.

Experience “Time Capsules by Tim Van Schmidt” on YouTube.