We are The Garbage-Men, a band from Sarasota FL who since 2010 have been sharing sustainability and creativity with our community playing music on DIY recycled instruments!
The band started in March of 2010. After seeing
Jack build his first guitar from a recycled cereal box and an old yardstick, Ollie had the idea to make a band that played music exclusively on instruments made from trash.
Click Here to see our instruments.
We now have seven members and have made more than twenty-five instruments that we play at our shows. We perform regularly across the state, on the streets, and at festivals and charity events. In addition to many Florida venues, the band has played at
CNN,
NBC,
ABC,
SNN, NYC Hall of Science,
Times Square, Atlanta's Fox Theater for America's Got Talent,
St. Petersburg's State Theatre, Tampa's MOSI,
The National Guitar Museum Exhibit, and many others. We have been featured in
The Blue Man Group Invent an Instrument contest,
NPR's Science Friday, Time Magazine,
Wired, and our
PBS Gulf Coast Journal with Jack Perkins segment won an Emmy. We've been featured in a book called
Garbology, written by Edward Humes, and even appear in a Chinese middle school English textbook!
We have recorded three albums and are working on our next one, we collaborate with and donate proceeds from CD sales and our other merchandise to both local and international non-profits, charities, and grassroots community organizations such as
Community Harvest SRQ,
Transition Towns,
Phillippi Crest Community Club,
WSLR Community Radio, and
Heifer International. So far, we have raised over
$6000.
Current Lineup:
Wesley Backer: 7-Piece Trash Can Drums, Baking Sheet Gong
Jack Berry: 1-String Lucky Charms Lead Guitar, Fax Machine Handset Vocal Microphone
Trent Berry: 1-String Frosted Flakes Bass Guitar
Harrison Paparatto: Hula Horn, Fisher Price Corn Popper Toy Saxaphone
Jamie Tremps: Glass Bottle Marimba, Walker Whistle, Rotary Dial Telephone Vocal Microphone
Syndie Pennavaria: Cigar Box Rhythm Guitar, Push Button Telephone Vocal Microphone
Jamieson Martel: Tin Can Timbales, A/C Vent Washboard, Bottle Cap Tambourine, Spoons
The instruments are:
Electric Guitar - The electric guitar is a 1-stringed, plucked string instrument featuring a cereal box body, yard stick neck, bottle cap pick-up, lipstick bottle bridge, tooth pick frets, and shoelace strap. It is the lead instrument and is used to play melodies.
Strings
Electric Bass Guitar - The electric bass guitar is a 1-stringed, fretless bass featuring a cereal box body, yard stick neck, comb bridge, soda can thumb rest, and duck tape strap. Occasionally the upright bass is used in place of the electric bass for songs that require a more jazz-like feel. It is made from a wooden box and a PVC pipe.
Winds
Alto Saxophone - The saxophone is a keyless aerophone with holes drilled to play an E♭ pentatonic scale. It uses a Corn popper toy for the body, a balloon for the reed, and a medicine bottle ligature.
E♭ Contrabass Bugle - The bugle is made from re-purposed PVC pipe and a traffic cone for the bell. It is limited to notes within the harmonic series because the embouchure controls the pitch.
Trombone - The trombone is made from re-purposed PVC pipe and a oil funnel bell. It uses a slide made from PVC and a mouthpiece made from a bottle.
Flute - The flute is made from a small section of PVC pipe with drilled holes to play an E♭ pentatonic scale. It is keyless.
Electric Violin - The electric violin is a 1-stringed chordophone played with a shoe horn bow and made from a cereal box body, paint stick neck, clothespin bridge, and cassette tape tailpiece. It plays harmonies and leads.
Percussion
Drum Kit - The drums include various items found in the garbage. The kit features a paint bucket snare, water jug toms, compost bin bass drum, metal trash can lid cymbals, tin can cowbell, and a porcelain bowl gong. The drum kit is used to keep time and fill empty measures.
Mailbox Snare Drum - The mailbox snare drum is made from an aluminum mailbox we found by the road in a neighbor's garbage can.
Chromatic Percussion - The glass bottle idiophone is made from recycled glass bottles and uses tooth brush mallets. It can play chords and melodies.
Our Current Set List
We play music from all genres, but mostly classics from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Email us for a copy of our setlist or any song requests you may have thefabgarbagemen@gmail.com
