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KA’U “BEACH-MADE” DIDGERIDOO
My First Didge
I believe that every passionate musician would agree, one grows fond of their instruments. My sentimental value matures as I learn, collaborate and travel with my didgeridoos. Over the course of this blog I plan on sharing with you stories of the sticks I make and the places and people whom I share them with, starting here with my first didge.
It was early 2008 and I was at my girlfriend Keziah’s house party. Keziah’s friend Daniel Compton, (whom some of his friends refer to as “god”, I think because of his massive size, 6’7” tall) brought a didgeridoo to the party. I’ve heard the sound of a didgeridoo previously in my life but no one as skilled as the god Compton. After Daniel gave us a mind-bending solo performance Keziah’s brother Zack, whom also lived there, brought out his didgeridoo from upstairs. I took a close look and thought, “bamboo, nothing to it.”
A couple months later I was in Hawaii visiting friends and family. My lifelong close friend Kanoa Kimball lives on and works a farm just above Kailua Kona. Kanoa was building a ladder for his house from bamboo that he grew (a special strong strain of scaffolding bamboo that his dad brought back from Bali). Remembering Zack’s didge I asked him if we could make one. Fifteen minutes later after breaking the inside sections out with a rebar and using an angle grinder to shape a mouthpiece we had a working bamboo didgeridoo.
That evening Kanoa and I took the didgeridoo to Ka’u for beach camp out and hike. When we got there I used a tin can and my camp stove to heat wax that my mom gathered for me, a mixture of paraffin wax, bees wax and patchouli oil. I molded the hot wax to the top of the bamboo for a more comfortable mouthpiece. It was still a little hard to play so I used my leatherman tool to cut it shorter, (the note of the beach-made instrument ended up somewhere around B-flat). The bay we camped at is one of my favorite places and this further helped me fall in love with the sound and the sensation of playing. To this day the smell of patchouli reminds of this experience.
This didj went everywhere with me for about 6 months before I discovered agave.
Photos by: Kanoa Kimball
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KA’U “BEACH-MADE” DIDGERIDOO
My First Didge
I believe that every passionate musician would agree, one grows fond of their instruments. My sentimental value matures as I learn, collaborate and travel with my didgeridoos. Over the course of this blog I plan on sharing with you stories of the sticks I make and the places and people whom I share them with, starting here with my first didge.
It was early 2008 and I was at my girlfriend Keziah’s house party. Keziah’s friend Daniel Compton, (whom some of his friends refer to as “god”, I think because of his massive size, 6’7” tall) brought a didgeridoo to the party. I’ve heard the sound of a didgeridoo previously in my life but no one as skilled as the god Compton. After Daniel gave us a mind-bending solo performance Keziah’s brother Zack, whom also lived there, brought out his didgeridoo from upstairs. I took a close look and thought, “bamboo, nothing to it.”
A couple months later I was in Hawaii visiting friends and family. My lifelong close friend Kanoa Kimball lives on and works a farm just above Kailua Kona. Kanoa was building a ladder for his house from bamboo that he grew (a special strong strain of scaffolding bamboo that his dad brought back from Bali). Remembering Zack’s didge I asked him if we could make one. Fifteen minutes later after breaking the inside sections out with a rebar and using an angle grinder to shape a mouthpiece we had a working bamboo didgeridoo.
That evening Kanoa and I took the didgeridoo to Ka’u for beach camp out and hike. When we got there I used a tin can and my camp stove to heat wax that my mom gathered for me, a mixture of paraffin wax, bees wax and patchouli oil. I molded the hot wax to the top of the bamboo for a more comfortable mouthpiece. It was still a little hard to play so I used my leatherman tool to cut it shorter, (the note of the beach-made instrument ended up somewhere around B-flat). The bay we camped at is one of my favorite places and this further helped me fall in love with the sound and the sensation of playing. To this day the smell of patchouli reminds of this experience.
This didj went everywhere with me for about 6 months before I discovered agave.
Photos by: Kanoa Kimball
YouTube - Troy Page Didgeridoos
Tumblr Blog - Troy Page Didgeridoos
KA’U “BEACH-MADE” DIDGERIDOO - on Troy Page Didgeridoos Tumblr Blog