Back to match box art. I'd heard about an engineer who used transistors and had made a miniature sound system, a fully functioning radio with a little dial set into a matchbox and speakers using match boxes as the speaker housing, all of which functioned and sounded just like a big grown up over-sized stereo system. (And I could be pretty certain he would pump up the volume to fill an entire room when showing off the muscle of his creation, to daze and amaze). Well, I couldn't do that and wasn't so sure I wanted to. Someone just had done that, and what music would come through the little speaker and how would it get there. So I made a small musical instrument, which was several small seeds I had found out on a walk, and rested them on top of a bit of puff cotton. When you shook the match box, quite close to your ear, it made a very soft, gentle sound like a miniature shaker or rattle. I'd realized later I must have heard about this instrument somewhere, too. Someone else beat me to the punch, and it took me a long time to realize I'd read about this instrument on the back cover of one of Sandy Bull's lesser known albums. Match box percussion. So everything comes from somewhere else, it seems, and it's all been done before. I still liked the sound it made.  ¶ 1/18/2012 07:47:00 PM