Tonos Triad

by Scott Hall

Sure, suitcases make great bass drums. They're practical, too, because you can carry other equipment inside.

But how does one select the right model? Rod Schindler, utility man for Tonos Triad, found his at a Goodwill store.

"He picked it out by hitting various suitcases with a ladle until he found the right tone," says the band's guitarist, Yevgeny Baburin.

The unorthodox drum kit, with its cardboard box for a snare, is a visual hint to the subversive spirit behind this smartly dressed trio, with its otherwise conventional instrumentation.

In less than two years on the local scene, Tonos has carved a unique niche with its lineup of Aaron Ransdell on upright bass, Baburin on nylon-stringed classical guitar and Schindler on a rotation of instruments that also includes accordion, melodica and mandolin.

Composing together, the players assemble miniature suites that can shift in style, tempo and time signature several times over the course of three or four minutes.

They're half joking when they call the music "jazzpop/Eurofolk," but that's about as close as you'll get to a manageable description. Otherwise, you'd end up with something like "acoustic instrumental Latino-Celtic minimalist Gypsy funk-jazz," which is an unwieldy tag for such a sleek sound.

Little footprints

Simultaneously groovy and cerebral, the music can appeal to different audiences on multiple levels. And the band's small footprint and moderate volume are suited to unconventional spaces. If necessary, they can skip electronic amplification altogether.

As a result, Tonos Triad has built its reputation at an unlikely series of venues, from punk-rock bars to art museums, from libraries to underground happenings to upscale weddings and parties.

"Our music is flexible enough that we can play in all kinds of situations," Schindler says. "Sometimes we're background music, and sometimes people are sitting 10 feet away, watching our every move."

One frequent stop has been the Big Car gallery and performance space in Fountain Square, where Tonos will appear Saturday to mark the release of its first full-length album.

The self-titled CD, which reflects the band's stripped-down live performances, was recorded in just three days in Schindler's Noblesville living room, with engineering and co-production by Paddington Productions. Available soon at local indie stores as well as at the band's Web site, it offers 12 songs in 45 minutes, all between two and five minutes long, each tightly structured with small windows for improvisation.

Opening track "Abacadabacus" is a laid-back funk gem reminiscent of the Meters, built around a four-bar guitar melody. "Bad Turn" has a similar feel, with its irregular boogie riff played in unison by the guitar and bass.

"Three Martinis," on the other hand, is all over the map, jumping from a Spanish film noir vibe to a blues vamp and back again.

"Fisherman's Sweater," a waltz with a seafaring air and a melancholy accordion theme, is inspired by the folklore of Schindler's Irish heritage. "Guiro Joint" is the clearest example of a thread that Baburin carries throughout the album, the '60s bossa nova jazz of saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist Joao Gilberto.

Guitar teachers only

Tonos Triad came together in late 2006 but traces its origins to an earlier point, when Ransdell and Schindler met while working as security guards at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. They bonded over their common experience of classical-music training and classic-rock fandom.

"We've been in the garage bands and the basement bands," Ransdell says, "playing for 30 bucks and free beer."

Later, they both worked as guitar teachers at a Northside music store where, as they spent their days in confined spaces with budding six-string prodigies, they vowed to start a band that did not include a guitar.

"No vocals, no steel-string guitars," Ransdell said. "Those were a couple of the first rules."

Into the store one day came "Yev" Baburin, a classical guitarist who had emigrated from Moscow with his mother at age 5.

"I remember tanks rolling through the capital," he says. "That's about the time we left."

Also a guitar teacher, Baburin shared his love of South American composers Heitor Villa-Lobos and Astor Piazzolla. All three were fans of NYC avant-garde icon John Zorn. A band was born.

Ransdell, who had picked up electric bass guitar in high school pep band, decided to try his hand at the upright double bass, a far greater physical challenge. Schindler, a guitarist who had taken some piano lessons, picked up an accordion for the first time.

They took their name from an ancient Greek term, a reference to musical tension. Preferring tight arrangements to noodling jams, they spent most of the year developing material before playing in public. Spotting a promising market, they aimed specifically for a repertoire that would suit the city's broad range of low-key cultur - NUVO Newsweekly

by Scott Hall

Sure, suitcases make great bass drums. They're practical, too, because you can carry other equipment inside.

But how does one select the right model? Rod Schindler, utility man for Tonos Triad, found his at a Goodwill store.

"He picked it out by hitting various suitcases with a ladle until he found the right tone," says the band's guitarist, Yevgeny Baburin.

The unorthodox drum kit, with its cardboard box for a snare, is a visual hint to the subversive spirit behind this smartly dressed trio, with its otherwise conventional instrumentation.

In less than two years on the local scene, Tonos has carved a unique niche with its lineup of Aaron Ransdell on upright bass, Baburin on nylon-stringed classical guitar and Schindler on a rotation of instruments that also includes accordion, melodica and mandolin.

Composing together, the players assemble miniature suites that can shift in style, tempo and time signature several times over the course of three or four minutes.

They're half joking when they call the music "jazzpop/Eurofolk," but that's about as close as you'll get to a manageable description. Otherwise, you'd end up with something like "acoustic instrumental Latino-Celtic minimalist Gypsy funk-jazz," which is an unwieldy tag for such a sleek sound.

Little footprints

Simultaneously groovy and cerebral, the music can appeal to different audiences on multiple levels. And the band's small footprint and moderate volume are suited to unconventional spaces. If necessary, they can skip electronic amplification altogether.

As a result, Tonos Triad has built its reputation at an unlikely series of venues, from punk-rock bars to art museums, from libraries to underground happenings to upscale weddings and parties.

"Our music is flexible enough that we can play in all kinds of situations," Schindler says. "Sometimes we're background music, and sometimes people are sitting 10 feet away, watching our every move."

One frequent stop has been the Big Car gallery and performance space in Fountain Square, where Tonos will appear Saturday to mark the release of its first full-length album.

The self-titled CD, which reflects the band's stripped-down live performances, was recorded in just three days in Schindler's Noblesville living room, with engineering and co-production by Paddington Productions. Available soon at local indie stores as well as at the band's Web site, it offers 12 songs in 45 minutes, all between two and five minutes long, each tightly structured with small windows for improvisation.

Opening track "Abacadabacus" is a laid-back funk gem reminiscent of the Meters, built around a four-bar guitar melody. "Bad Turn" has a similar feel, with its irregular boogie riff played in unison by the guitar and bass.

"Three Martinis," on the other hand, is all over the map, jumping from a Spanish film noir vibe to a blues vamp and back again.

"Fisherman's Sweater," a waltz with a seafaring air and a melancholy accordion theme, is inspired by the folklore of Schindler's Irish heritage. "Guiro Joint" is the clearest example of a thread that Baburin carries throughout the album, the '60s bossa nova jazz of saxophonist Stan Getz and Brazilian guitarist Joao Gilberto.

Guitar teachers only

Tonos Triad came together in late 2006 but traces its origins to an earlier point, when Ransdell and Schindler met while working as security guards at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. They bonded over their common experience of classical-music training and classic-rock fandom.

"We've been in the garage bands and the basement bands," Ransdell says, "playing for 30 bucks and free beer."

Later, they both worked as guitar teachers at a Northside music store where, as they spent their days in confined spaces with budding six-string prodigies, they vowed to start a band that did not include a guitar.

"No vocals, no steel-string guitars," Ransdell said. "Those were a couple of the first rules."

Into the store one day came "Yev" Baburin, a classical guitarist who had emigrated from Moscow with his mother at age 5.

"I remember tanks rolling through the capital," he says. "That's about the time we left."

Also a guitar teacher, Baburin shared his love of South American composers Heitor Villa-Lobos and Astor Piazzolla. All three were fans of NYC avant-garde icon John Zorn. A band was born.

Ransdell, who had picked up electric bass guitar in high school pep band, decided to try his hand at the upright double bass, a far greater physical challenge. Schindler, a guitarist who had taken some piano lessons, picked up an accordion for the first time.

They took their name from an ancient Greek term, a reference to musical tension. Preferring tight arrangements to noodling jams, they spent most of the year developing material before playing in public. Spotting a promising market, they aimed specifically for a repertoire that would suit the city's broad range of low-key cultur - NUVO Newsweekly

In Threes: Tonos Triad
By Andrew Duncan • Jun 24th, 2009 • Category: Categories, Lead Story

There is a degree of confusion when it comes to multi-instrumental music in the 21st century. The term, in a pop context, can be broad enough to mean one person overlaying many different instruments together or a single group of musicians cramming as many instruments into a band’s repertoire, sometimes masking talent with layer upon layer of instruments, which result into a bleeding wall of sound.

While that is sometimes a good thing, if done properly, it makes one reminisce back to the late ‘80s when the coffee shop scene was booming with strange, eclectic instrumental groups that existed more in the classical sense of multi-instrumentalism. Poets and musicians alike flooded the downtown java joints to pluck out the evening on a rooftop down Ohio Street, or embed themselves in a basement on New Jersey. Musicians grabbed whatever they could fit in a suitcase and acclimated themselves to an environment that allowed them to be creative and diverse without sacrificing the essence of their style.

For Rod Schindler, he has taken that philosophy to heart with Tonos Triad, keeping things simple and all of his instruments confined to none other than a vintage, baby blue suitcase.

“I didn’t want to tangle with a lot of gear,” Schindler said. “I don’t envy bands that are hauling in amps and big stacks to a gig. We originally wanted to play all acoustic, but you just cannot do that.”

For as diverse as the Noblesville three piece is, their set up is quite simple. Schindler trades off between an accordion, a mandolin, and a melodica. Aaron Ransdell towers above on a double bass, while Yevgeny Baburin effortlessly riffs on a classical guitar, plucking away notes with pieces of ping pong balls cut out and glued to his fingertips, a simple solution to the long fingernail technique that is common with classical guitar playing only without the long fingernails.

“It started with the accordion,” said Schindler. “I got a small one and Aaron bought a cello, then the melodica. Aaron wrote this piece that sounded good with a mandolin, so we introduced that into the mix.”

…And about that suitcase? Schindler not only uses it for hauling gear and to display the band’s signage, — handwritten on a cut-out paper bag stretched along the front of the case — but he also converted it into a suitcase drum kit, using the suitcase as a kick drum and a cardboard box as the snare.

“I was really fascinated with the suitcase set up The Eels had on The Eels With Strings’ Live At Town Hall. He was playing this old tanned suitcase and something that looked like a 50-gallon drum. And it sounded good.

“I asked a couple people what they thought I should use as a snare. One day I was talking to my best friend from Wisconsin, who suggested a shoe box. I didn’t use a shoe box, but instead tried a cardboard box. I grabbed a generic USPS box and turned it inside out. I still use the original box to this day.”

A utility mic and some brushes go into creating a laid-back and cool percussive instrument that not only visually identifies the band, but also really adds character to their well-rounded sound. When you see Tonos Triad play, you cannot help but be mesmerized into watching what they do and how they do it.

“Our favorite show is where you can play a room where everyone can sit back, and they want to hear the music,” said Ransdell. “The appeal to this band is that if you don’t like what you are hearing, just wait for a few minutes. It’s still fun to watch people like us play all of these types of instruments.”

After intrigue dissipates, you begin to discover that these people can really play each and every instrument as accomplished musicians with a breath of stylistic diversity rarely seen in a band. From sea shanty to gypsy jazz, waltz rhythm to tango, there is no boundary this band is tied to.

“We would like to say that we are decent song crafters,” said Schindler. “It doesn’t matter what the instrumentation is as long as the song is good. We incorporate a pop element to the songs, a verse-chorus-bridge style with sometimes an outro section or space for some avant-garde experimentation. And even though Yev’s style is completely different while Aaron and I tend to write similar instrumental styles, it works out really well.”

But a band of this caliber was not easy at first.

“The sound was more of a crutch to us at first because we didn’t know what direction to take,” said Ransdell. “It took up to a year to develop enough material to go out and play. During the early gigs, we would play our set list twice.”

“It was tough at first for me,” Baburin added. “It took six-to-eight months to really get comfortable. At first we asked ourselves, ‘Is this good? Does this sound good?’

“We didn’t know if we would watch our own band,” Ransdell continued. “We just practiced our asses off, got out and played coffee shop gigs. - ZapTown Magazine

In Threes: Tonos Triad
By Andrew Duncan • Jun 24th, 2009 • Category: Categories, Lead Story

There is a degree of confusion when it comes to multi-instrumental music in the 21st century. The term, in a pop context, can be broad enough to mean one person overlaying many different instruments together or a single group of musicians cramming as many instruments into a band’s repertoire, sometimes masking talent with layer upon layer of instruments, which result into a bleeding wall of sound.

While that is sometimes a good thing, if done properly, it makes one reminisce back to the late ‘80s when the coffee shop scene was booming with strange, eclectic instrumental groups that existed more in the classical sense of multi-instrumentalism. Poets and musicians alike flooded the downtown java joints to pluck out the evening on a rooftop down Ohio Street, or embed themselves in a basement on New Jersey. Musicians grabbed whatever they could fit in a suitcase and acclimated themselves to an environment that allowed them to be creative and diverse without sacrificing the essence of their style.

For Rod Schindler, he has taken that philosophy to heart with Tonos Triad, keeping things simple and all of his instruments confined to none other than a vintage, baby blue suitcase.

“I didn’t want to tangle with a lot of gear,” Schindler said. “I don’t envy bands that are hauling in amps and big stacks to a gig. We originally wanted to play all acoustic, but you just cannot do that.”

For as diverse as the Noblesville three piece is, their set up is quite simple. Schindler trades off between an accordion, a mandolin, and a melodica. Aaron Ransdell towers above on a double bass, while Yevgeny Baburin effortlessly riffs on a classical guitar, plucking away notes with pieces of ping pong balls cut out and glued to his fingertips, a simple solution to the long fingernail technique that is common with classical guitar playing only without the long fingernails.

“It started with the accordion,” said Schindler. “I got a small one and Aaron bought a cello, then the melodica. Aaron wrote this piece that sounded good with a mandolin, so we introduced that into the mix.”

…And about that suitcase? Schindler not only uses it for hauling gear and to display the band’s signage, — handwritten on a cut-out paper bag stretched along the front of the case — but he also converted it into a suitcase drum kit, using the suitcase as a kick drum and a cardboard box as the snare.

“I was really fascinated with the suitcase set up The Eels had on The Eels With Strings’ Live At Town Hall. He was playing this old tanned suitcase and something that looked like a 50-gallon drum. And it sounded good.

“I asked a couple people what they thought I should use as a snare. One day I was talking to my best friend from Wisconsin, who suggested a shoe box. I didn’t use a shoe box, but instead tried a cardboard box. I grabbed a generic USPS box and turned it inside out. I still use the original box to this day.”

A utility mic and some brushes go into creating a laid-back and cool percussive instrument that not only visually identifies the band, but also really adds character to their well-rounded sound. When you see Tonos Triad play, you cannot help but be mesmerized into watching what they do and how they do it.

“Our favorite show is where you can play a room where everyone can sit back, and they want to hear the music,” said Ransdell. “The appeal to this band is that if you don’t like what you are hearing, just wait for a few minutes. It’s still fun to watch people like us play all of these types of instruments.”

After intrigue dissipates, you begin to discover that these people can really play each and every instrument as accomplished musicians with a breath of stylistic diversity rarely seen in a band. From sea shanty to gypsy jazz, waltz rhythm to tango, there is no boundary this band is tied to.

“We would like to say that we are decent song crafters,” said Schindler. “It doesn’t matter what the instrumentation is as long as the song is good. We incorporate a pop element to the songs, a verse-chorus-bridge style with sometimes an outro section or space for some avant-garde experimentation. And even though Yev’s style is completely different while Aaron and I tend to write similar instrumental styles, it works out really well.”

But a band of this caliber was not easy at first.

“The sound was more of a crutch to us at first because we didn’t know what direction to take,” said Ransdell. “It took up to a year to develop enough material to go out and play. During the early gigs, we would play our set list twice.”

“It was tough at first for me,” Baburin added. “It took six-to-eight months to really get comfortable. At first we asked ourselves, ‘Is this good? Does this sound good?’

“We didn’t know if we would watch our own band,” Ransdell continued. “We just practiced our asses off, got out and played coffee shop gigs. - ZapTown Magazine