Classic Rock

Mary Bichner's still making orchestral maneuvers.

by Patrick Rapa

[ pop ]

A rock songwriter with an intense classical-math-composer streak, Mary Bichner of Box Five has always dreamed of assembling a "crazy pop-rock orchestra" to do her bidding. She got a step closer when she left Philly for Boston last year. "I now live within walking distance of three music colleges, two of them conservatories," she sighs. "Do you know how easy it is to find a kickin' bassoon player for your rock gig when [New England Conservatory] is around the corner?"

Case you can't tell, Bichner's pretty hardcore. She used to transcribe Radiohead for fun. She has perfect pitch. She's a polymodal synesthete (colors flash into her brain when she hears music). She's writing a ballet and co-writing a musical. Box Five comes to Philly on Friday to celebrate the release of a new single, "Unpredictable," and maybe kidnap a timpanist.

City Paper: Still a polymodal synesthete?

Mary Bichner: Yes I am! I've taken to dressing as different chords at live shows and am looking into finding a place that sells multicolored glow sticks wholesale, so I can start handing them out to audience members and have them take part in the synesthesianess. "OK, everyone with yellow, green and blue glow sticks, wave them in the air ... Congratulations, you're C major!"

MB: Apparently, once my brain has a deadline to deal with, it gets darn creative darn fast. Although not every song from those 31 days was a gem ("I Almost Threw Up in a Cab"), I was quite pleased with a number of them.

MB: The script is hilarious, and very heartwarming. Colleen [Campbell] sings the melodies she's composed into my MacBook's built-mic; I then go home, transcribe her vocal recordings by ear, and get right to work on arranging them. Working with Colleen has been great because she's been wonderfully indulgent with me as far as the arrangements go. I think there was only one or two passages where she'd said I'd gone a bit too Le Nozze di Figaro on her.

MB: It's only going to be about 20 minutes long, so I'm even toying with the idea of having it premiéred at one of our shows. All I need to do now is find a dance troupe with approximately six members that want to dance en pointe at a nightclub.

(pat@citypaper.net)

Box Five | Sun., July 19, with Goli, 8 p.m., $8, L'Etage, 624 S. Sixth St., 215-592-0656, boxfive.org