A dream come true, Canton's Danny Thomas on making 'musical wallpaper'
When we launched The Underscore Project in the summer of 2020 Danny Thomas came to mind right away. His hip soundscapes were already on our radar. What we didn't know then, and are just learning now is that music beds are his passion.
I sat down with Thomas in his kitchen in Canton, New York last summer. Eddie the dog entertained us while we discussed the joys and process of music making. Click the link above to hear the story told by the composer of NCPR's Northern Light theme and many other pieces you've been enjoying on North Country Public Radio. The transcript below has been edited lightly for clarity.
Doyle Dean: What's the best part?
Danny Thomas: The best part of making music?
DEAN: Of this process.
THOMAS: Hearing it on the radio. I'm not even kidding, like 100%. That's the payoff.
Music For me, it's the escape, right, from the day job. It's the fun and it always has been. I grew up in a musical family. My dad and mom both were, like, folk musicians. One of my earliest memories is the Bicentennial, I was three years old in 1976. And we played folk songs, Woody Guthrie songs, all day in the park for the Bicentennial. And, you know, my dad playing the gut bucket, like full-on hippie shit.
DEAN: So how do these pieces come together? Can you take me through the steps?
THOMAS: Yeah, that's interesting, process is fascinating to me. I honestly don't feel like a song is ever done. My process really is often I'll start with a couple of loops, you know, start with like a bass loop and a drum loop. And sometimes they're loops that I find, or that GarageBand provides, or sometimes I'll write a loop, and then just play with it. And usually it's drums and bass or drums and a melody.
DEAN: So you made kind of like "a guy playing bass" hands when you said "maybe I'll start with a loop or throw something in there." Are you physically playing a bass guitar? When you do that?
THOMAS: Rarely, almost always it's digital and I'm just you know, twiddling knobs or pressing buttons on an iPad. And it is definitely something that gives me imposter syndrome, right? Because I'm not a technical musician. Like I don't have... I've never studied it. And then the fact that I, you know, do a lot of what I do with a computer and it's computer generated, I sort of feel like I'm faking it. But I like being able to generate all those sounds with one box. That's why I do it digitally. I don't have to carry around a big heavy instrument and a bunch of cords.
THOMAS: My true aspiration is like, music that is in the background and you don't notice it until you notice it. And then when you do it's like, "oh, there's a lot of layers there." It's like wallpaper, right? Like musical wallpaper that's like, you're not really looking at the wallpaper. And then when you do, there's this amazing scene in the toile.
DEAN: This Underscore Project came along, and I was aware of your music and it was perfect. And it's perfect because of what you just said.
THOMAS: Exactly. Well, I'm so happy to hear you say that. And it's I mean, honestly, it's the weirdest thing to say but it's like a dream come true for me to make music beds. Like, that's the kind of music I want to produce.
Take a deep dive into the music of Danny Thomas here. Learn more about all of the regional artists you've been hearing as part of our Underscore Project here. Support the one of a kind experience you're enjoying as a consumer of regional public radio here.
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