|
Toxic Audio's sound will surprise
you
From NorthJersey.com
Their name suggests an ear-shattering heavy metal or grunge
band. Their performance suggests anything but. Toxic Audio, an a cappella
quintet that opens a five-day run Sunday at the Atlantic City Hilton, isn't
your garden variety street-corner doo-wop group harmonizing on hits from the
1950s.
Instead, they take the human voice where few groups have gone before,
managing to sound like musical instruments and accompanying themselves on
familiar songs like the Beatles' "Paperback Writer," Ben E. King's "Stand by
Me," Vicki Sue Robinson's "Turn the Beat Around" and the Johnny Mercer
standard "Autumn Leaves." Then they wrap many of the songs around scripted
and ad-libbed comedy.
If the harmonizing group Manhattan Transfer merged with the off-Broadway
musical "Stomp," the result would be closest to Toxic Audio. "We're a
theater piece without a story," says Rene Ruiz, who created the group in
Orlando, Fla., nearly a decade ago to participate in a fringe festival. It
paid off; the group won a 2004 Drama Desk Award for best unique theater
experience.
Ruiz says it's difficult for people to describe the show to their friends,
but that actually works in Toxic Audio's favor when it comes to attracting
an audience. "Word of Mouth" is more than just the title of their latest
album; it's turned out to be their best marketing tool. "When people go home
after [the show], it's hard for them to describe what we do, so all they can
say is that they saw a show where we were singing and making all kinds of
noises, but they can't make the noises themselves," Ruiz says. "So the only
way for them to get someone to understand the show is to bring them to the
show. We see many of the same faces at the end of a run that we did at the
beginning, because people are coming back with their friends."
Although there's not a single musical instrument in the show, and no
recorded tracks or samples are used, Toxic Audio relies on a variety of
complex amplifiers, mixers and processors to bring its sounds from the stage
to the audience. The group's non-performing sixth member, technical director
John Valines, joined the group six years ago. In command of sound and
lighting, he needs to be quick at the switch when the singers move between
music and comedy. "We had already been working for about four years when we
picked up [Valines]," Ruiz says during a phone call from his home in
Orlando. "He was the first person who got what we did, probably because his
background is theater and comedy."
That artistic diversity is typical. Some members have strong theater
backgrounds, while others lean more to the musical side. "That's why the
collaboration works so well," says Ruiz, who was directing shows in Orlando
when he created Toxic Audio. "When one of us comes up with an idea, we bring
it to the table, and then we all start working on it."
Ruiz, who often uses two microphones to create the bass and beat-box sounds
in the show, admits the name might scare away some people. "I picked the
name because we needed to be called something when we began working the
fringe festivals," he explains. "But we're not heavy metal or scary or
anything like that. We're a show for all ages."
Toxic Audio performs at the Atlantic City Hilton at 7 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m.
Monday and 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday. Tickets are $25, available
through Ticketmaster.
Click on the links below to read what other
media outlets
are saying about Toxic Audio!
|
