Every Saw Has A Song

Just ask Neutral Milk Hotel's singingsaw-man Julian Koster.

by Brian Howard

When's the last time you heard a rock band use thesinging saw? When's the last time you heard anyone anywhereplay the singing saw, let alone an indie rock band from Georgia?But Neutral Milk Hotel is not your ordinary rock and roll band.

Singer/songwriter Jeff Mangum's Neutral Milk Hotelis part of a burgeoning group of bands based in Denver and Athens,GA, that goes by the name Elephant 6 Collective—it includesApples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control and several splinter groups.And each band has its own pet sounds—Apples in Stereo have theBeach Boys and Olivia Tremor Control have nouveau psychedelia.

But Neutral Milk Hotel is the most idiosyncraticof the bunch—a cosmic calliope of No Depression-style folk ampedup with definite marching band overtones. Meanwhile, Mangum'snebulous non-sequiturs string together to tell surreal and otherworldlystories with nods to historical figures like Anne Frank and circusfreaks like the two-headed boy and the mysterious King of CarrotFlowers.

The approach is both modern and antique. On the band'slatest, In The Aeroplane Over the Sea (Merge), the foundationof guitar, bass and drums is complemented by brass and all mannerof oddball instruments—from bowed banjo to one-note piano tothe zanzithophone. But the singing saw—played, in oversimplifiedterms, by bending and contorting a common hand saw—is a perfectsymbol of the band's shotgun marriage of present and past. Itproduces an at-times eerie sound reminiscent of the Theremin.

Julian Koster, Neutral Milk Hotel's musical jackof all trades and self-taught singing saw specialist, spoke onthe phone from the Elephant 6 house in Athens (where he and Mangumboth live) about the fine artisanry of making music with handtools.

How does one start playing the singing saw?

When I was little I saw an old guy in Central Parkplaying it. It was the most amusing thing I ever saw. It tookme awhile to figure out that you have to find a saw that wantsto sing. I think mostly you have to learn how to pet the saw injust the right way and get it to where it's comfortable singingand then you just let it go. Once it's caught up in the vibrationit sings its heart out. And be considerate. Most saws can sing- they're like people, some are gifted and some don't need tobe coerced and some do, but any saw can sing.

Is it possible for a saw to be out of tune?

Oh sure. It's sometimes very difficult for a sawto be in tune. It's usually the sort of thing where the relationshipbetween the saw and the person is fresh. It's kinda like thatsound with young kids playing in the orchestra. It can be a lotlike that.

Are there different pitched saws, like a tenorsaw, an alto saw and a bass saw?

Oh sure, definitely. The smaller ones sing higher.I have this picture of these women in the '40s playing these reallybig saws.

Do you have a favorite brand or kind of saw?

No, I try not to discriminate. I've yet to meet abad saw. There's one that was here when we moved in. He singspretty low. Every one's different… where it came from andits lineage and how it was treated. There's abuse in a lot ofcases. Being experienced and confident has a lot to do with beingable to generate a certain vibration, and once it's happened [it'simportant] to not prohibit it.

So you're playing it as much as you're lettingit play?

In a sense. You have a lot of responsibility in guidingand reassuring it. In some respects they're shy.

Can you reveal any trade secrets?

There's really specific things that you couldn'timpart with words. Patience is really important. And I think thatif it hurts, keep trying different ways. The way I learned I gotmyself hurt a lot. It shouldn't kill your fingers. It's not hardto show someone, but it's kind of hard to describe.

How is it that you guys can work all these oddinstruments into songs without going nuts trying to arrangethings?

In some respects what Neutral Milk Hotel is is Jeff'slittle world and we all have our own little worlds and we allcare about each others' little worlds. I think that's the coolestthing about the time and space we share together. There's alwayssomeone who loves your ideas and is willing to add their own ideas.Sometimes your ideas have such a strange one-dimensional feelto them. It makes it more real and human to be able to open upto your friends and let them breathe life into them. Jeff hasdreams and visions and says, "Hey, just come and screw itup so it's not just a pile of me."

The liner notes say that you also play an instrumentcalled the wandering genie. What's that?

I think that's best kept a secret for now.

Neutral Milk Hotelwill play Thursday, July 23, with Of Montreal, at The PontiacGrille, 304 South St., 925-4053.