Guitarist, Didgeridooer, and New Taylor Artist in Utah

[didger]

Hello all!

I'm a composer, didgeridooist and the guitarist/producer of Sidecar Judy, a group that was recently invited to be Taylor artists. I'm originally from San Diego (home of Taylor Guitars!) but lived in a remote corner of Australia for several years and now find myself through a strange turn of events in Salt Lake City.

Here's a pic with all my Taylors - a 610ce, 556ce, Baritone-6ce and NS34ce (one of the original Taylor nylon string models).


Here's a super sweet song from Sidecar Judy featuring the 610ce & 556ce.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy5T_61rrE8
There's a lot more at https://www.youtube.com/c/sidecarjudy.

And here's a little of me solo on didgeridoo & guitar. You don't see that every day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdAGfb5xkBA

OK, that's me in a nutshell. Who are you? 

[TaylorGirl]

Wow, you've got to be the first didgeridooist on the forum! Welcome. My most exotic instrument has to be Native American Flute.....which I'm having a blast with, by the way. Love your Taylors. We look forward to your posts here on the forum. Great vids!

[didger]

Thanks! NA flute and mountain dulcimer are both very cool.
Let's try to get Taylor to make me a signature didgeridoo model, then I'll give you a lesson or two.

[TaylorGirl]

It would be cool to try one out!

[Gordo in OZ]

Great sound. Kudos from the land downunder.

[mgap]

Welcome to the forum didger.  Thank you for the introduction of yourself and picture of your gear, but where is the didgeridoo?
While in Australia I was able to see many didgeridooers as street buskers, good vibes.

[didger]

Thanks Gordo & mgap.

Ah, an Aussie! Gordo, hardly a day passes that I don't think about being back down there. I'm a dual citizen and will be back, but life is here for a few more years, I'm afraid.

mgap, I posted a video with one didgeridoo, but I have a few more.

[TaylorGirl]

Wow! Obviously the sizes make for different sounds, but are they also different keys like NAF's?

[didger]

Yeah, didgeridoos make one main note that's determined by the length and shape. It's often maligned as a one-note instrument, but that's because most people have never heard one played well. I think of it as more of a percussive instrument that happens to be played with your breath (if you know north Indian music, it's kind of like the tambura and the tablas all in one), and also as klangfarbenmelodie - Schoenberg's term for music that is created through changing timbre rather than changing notes.

ANYWAY! Yeah, when I was first starting out, I figured I had to collect all 12 keys to play with other musicians. You can make slide didgeridoos, but since they have to be smooth and regular, they just don't have the character of more raw instruments. After the initial collecting of keys, then I got into more cultural stuff and the different ways instruments are made in different regions. So I ended up with about 20. And then I moved to Australia not knowing how long I'd be there, so left the original collection behind and started a new one there. Now they're all in one place. My little living room forest.

[TaylorGirl]

Awesome!

[Cindy]

Hi didger and welcome to the UTGF. That's an impressive collection. When I lived in New Jersey, the mall had a store that imported all kinds of unusual items one of which was a didgeridoo. I always regretted not getting one.

I play guitar, keyboard, flute, piccolo, and recorder so the recorder would be my most exotic instrument.

[Cindy]

Lol...I hit reply by accident.

Nice to have you here. The didgeridoos are pieces of art. I imagine they are handmade, aren't they?

[didger]

Thanks for the welcome, Cindy!

Yeah, they're handmade, though like many things these days, the definition of that term varies. Most of them are authentic instrument made in remote areas of northern Australia by Aboriginal People. They're segments of eucalyptus tree trunks hollowed out by termites. A lot of the hardest work gets done before human hands ever touch it! A few of them were done with no power tools, but most had a bit of work done with angle grinders.

Many of the unpainted ones to the far right are American-made out of agave or hardwood, and those cheat with technology a bit more, using long drills, and in the case of the hardwoods, they are in fact split, hollowed, then sealed back together to form the tube.

Still, it's less modern and more handmade than our beloved Taylors.

[Dulcilo]

Welcome! I enjoy the videos.

What does it mean to be a Taylor artist? Do they provide any support?

I can't say that I appreciate the musician they are using with live Facebook videos to showcase the new models, but it seems they are trying to appeal to a younger demographic than I would fit.

[didger]

I believe there are different levels of official artists. We're brand new and the staff seem to be very busy, so it hasn't meant too much to us yet. It's still a nice honor that I hope builds to something more in the future. There were several weeks of silence, then an informal email saying, "We would love to work with you as an official artist." I wrote back providing info for the website and asking if we'd be able to get some support on social media now and then, but haven't heard back. We haven't showed up on the website yet, which makes it impossible for us to brag widely about it yet. I think like all things in the entertainment industry, we'd have to make a little bigger success of ourselves first, and then they'd be bending over backwards to help us out more and be associated with us.

We do get discount pricing on instruments and servicing, which of course is wonderful. I won't be able to come up with an excuse for a new guitar anytime soon, but my partner in the project should soon be upgrading from her no-name first acoustic that is all she has. This one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIDCHTON5BQ

See, she's young and cute! We'll get them to send us new guitars someday.