Buke and Gass: don't judge 'em on their name - Oh My Rockness

Band We Like

Buke and Gass: don't judge 'em on their name

November 15, 2010
I'm ashamed to admit I resisted this duo for a long time because of their name. How superficially judgmental. My loss. Buke and Gass are actually named after their crazy modified instruments -- instruments from the straight-up future.

A buke, pronounced "byook," is a bass ukulele played by Arone Dyer (she does the singing too). A gass, pronounced "gase," is a bass guitar with guitar strings that go to two different pickups and amps... or something... that's played by Aron Sanchez (he also drums the heck out of lots of things... that's what happens when your other job is building instruments for The Blue Man Group).

You've definitely not seen a buke and a gass being played by any other band before, because these two created them. But Buke and Gass are more than a novelty act. They rock out too. Their wonderfully weird rapid-fire music can best be described as noise-pop, I guess. But melodic.

There are all sorts of scattershot rhythms at play here, they stop and start and go up and down. And when Arone Dyer gets to shrieking, things get really fun.

Live, Aron and Arone are doing too many things at once, so they sit. You try playing a buke and a gass and a drum and a tambourine and some bells and whatever else percussive that's around and stand at the same time. It takes your breath away watching these guys try to keep up with their own deranged creation. They even get some crazy foot percussion action in the mix.

Buke and Gass are set to play a few dates with their neighbors, The National. That should bring them some of the bigger exposure they deserve.

Buke and Gass play le poisson rouge, on Monday, November 22nd.

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