"Sir-Boy" — Live in Concert, Feb. 28th

His upcoming show will also be the release party for his new CD, Memoirs of a Robotic Mind. Sir-Boy worked for a year and a half on the project, and copies of the CD will be available at the show. It tells the story of a young man who undergoes a black market procedure to become a robot, in order to be with the female android he loves. The set list for the show includes 25 original songs, and is approximately 3 hours in length.

Additionally, Sir-Boy will be raising money for charity. In addition to having CD's available for $5.00 each, he will also have t-shirts for sale at the concert. Each shirt is $5.00, and all the money will be donated to a charity to raise lupus awareness. If CD and shirt are bought together, the price will only be $7.00 for the pair.


Show Date and Details:

This Ain't No Disco! Presents Sir-Boy
February 28th, 8:00 pm
The VClub
741 6th Ave
Huntington, WV
304-781-0680
http://www.vclublive.com/

For more information about the man, and his music, I recently conducted this interview with the artist:

First, for folks who haven't seen you perform or heard your music yet, who is Sir Boy?

"Sir-Boy is quickly summed up as an electronic musician. What you get from me is what's known as house music, a sub-genre of dance or electronic music. I do cover a lot of genres: electro-house, drum n' bass, glitch, experimental, ambient and soundtracks. I also work on soundtracks and meditative, relaxation music."

What is the most important thing people should know about a Sir Boy performance, what can they expect from one of your shows?

"Come to a Sir-Boy show and you can expect something very different, even from typical electro. I'm one guy standing behind a bunch of electronic instruments: keyboards, mixers, a laptop, a sequencer... All of these tools come together to help me present the songs in a "live" way that is different from the studio versions. Some of my songs have singing but with a robotic voice. I can accomplish this live by singing into a vocoding synthesizer in which I manipulate the tone of my voice by playing the notes. One thing you're not going to see is a DJ spinning other artists tracks... That is a whole other talent."

Do you collaborate with anyone else when creating or playing your music?

"I have collaborated with other artists in the past to but not for a long time. If I do anything these days it's most likely to do a remix of someone else's song. However, I have been considering having a good vocalist work with me. I'm sure people all around Huntington would recognize him but I'll save that information for later."

Which instruments do you play?

"I've been a drummer for 20 years. I also play keyboards and a whole variety of improvised or experimental instruments. Anything that makes an interesting sound, I will try to play it and record it."

How long have you been performing electronic music?

"I started recording dance music, or techno, when I was 19 (10 years ago). It took me a long time to actually get out and perform because that kind of thing just isn't done around the Huntington area. Also, the way you record and produce songs can be very different from performing them. I can't very well just stand up somewhere and press play right? But my first performance was in the winter of 2008... That was very scary and liberating... Very different from playing drums on stage with a band."

What motivated you to become an artist?

"I've always been ready to give my input as a songwriter. In different bands, I was always active in the songwriting process. But to be a solo artist, I suppose I was motivated by enduring emotional turmoil. There really wasn't much I could communicate by playing drums so, I got started simply by recording strange sounds and tones and piecing them together to form structured music. If I'm going to be honest, being a solo artist probably saved my life and helped me release the pain and dark stuff I had built up. Then it was about getting all the junk out. Today, it's about loving who I am and making good music."

If you can, describe the basic process you typically go through when creating and recording a new piece of music.

"The first thing I do is decide what kind of album I want to make. I go ahead and decide on the album title, theme and write out all the song titles. From there, l try to make my way down the list of tracks.
The song title usually has an implication, in my mind, as to the tempo, key signature and type of texture the song will have. As far as recording, I usually start by creating a few different drum loops (riffs) and maybe some synth lines. I mix those together and if it works out I continue with the song... If not, I start over. I've been known to record my vocals, chop them up and use them as drum or synth sounds.
What draws you to create and perform electronic dance music in particular?
Electronic dance music has no real confined limits or rules. I can be as strange and unique as I want. It also allows me to get huge, full sounds as a solo musician. I can literally produce an entire song in an evening... If I have a particularly motivational day, I can go right home and record a song. I don't have to run it by other band members or spend money on studio time. Electronic dance music in particular is my thing because I can make people dance. To see people really moving and enjoying your music is a special thing."

Can you tell me a bit about your musical influences?

"My early electronic influences were artists like Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Chemical Brothers and Autechre. But these days it's artists like Daft Punk, Justice, Deadmau5 and the original electronic artists, Kraftwerk."

Do you ever get nervous before a performance?

"I get quite nervous before performing. Being one person and using so much equipment means a ton of things can go wrong... Especially when dealing with computers. After I start playing though I usually settle down and become my alter ego."

Looking to the future, what would you like to accomplish over the next 5 or 10 years?

"I think if I'm to ever become notable as a solo artist I will have to get more involved in film. If I could get on some commercials that would be awesome. For now, I will pick up whatever soundtracks I can. To be honest though, I come from Huntington. Without massive fan support and accepting venues, I won't be able to rely on music as a career."

How can folks contact you, or find out more about your music and future performances?

I can be found at Facebook.com/sir.boy.sam

Some of my music can be found at soundcloud.com/sir-boy