Thomas Doggett has been an active performer and educator for over 20 years and enjoys all styles of music.
Thomas began 2013 by performing in Gent, Belgium at the 3rd European Clarinet Festival with his wife Cynthia. The Duo performed Mad Rush to the End by composer Charles Savage. Mad Rush was the first of many works written for Thomas and Cynthia.
Tommy plays a TM Custom tenor saxophone designed by Randy Jones at Tenor Madness and an EWI4000s: Electronic Wind Instrument by AKAI.
Tommy’s teachers include Greg Banaszak and Bob Reynolds
In 2008, Tommy became a member of Corey Taylor’s Junk Beer Kidnap Band. Throughout 2009, JBKB performed at clubs and festivals including Rockfest in Kansas City, Lazerfest in Des Moines, End of the Summer Scorcher in Phoenix and the Key Club in LA.
At the beginning of 2011, Tommy joined the Free Style Variety Band. Prior to that, Tommy regularly performed with Des Moines’ premier R&B/Funk group One Nite Stand.
Tommy is featured on Cleo's Apartment's 2010 release: Off At The Shoulders and the 2012 Axis Manifest film production: Flick
Thomas was an ASCAPlus Award recipient in 2006 and 2007.
As an educator, Thomas has taught at Muskingum College, Ohio University-Zanesville, Kent State, Hiram College, Cincinnati School for the Creative and Performing Arts, College of Mount St. Joseph, South-Western Community College and Central College.
Originally hailing from Covington, Kentucky, Tommy established himself throughout Cincinnati, Ohio as a performer with Lo-Fi (2006 Cincinnati Entertainment Award (CEA) nominee "Best Funk”), The 4Track All-Stars (2005 CEA: Best Hip-Hop) and Two Turntables and a Saxophone (“One of the Top bands to see at Midpoint Music Festival in 2004” Citybeat).
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
This was the last song I recorded in 2012 and it was originally titled “Pointless 2.” That version can be heard on my album “Pointless Vignettes” and is available for free on my Bandcamp page . I was proud of how it turned out in December and I’m happy that it wasn’t a stroke of luck. So many of my compositions are really just me noodling around over some drum beat. I’m putting more effort into following forms; keeping track of information and how it’s presented. As much as I love exploring both as a player and listener, I also love form and predictability. The track you’re listening to is the third take. I respect editing but the player in me just wants to get it right all of the way through. The track is built from three elements: saxophone, wind synth and drum machine. The “drum machine” is the Roger Linn AdrenaLinn. The drum sounds are split between dry and amp + filter. That same amp + filter is also on the saxophone and wind synth. The saxophone and wind synth are also going through the same delay. If you’re keeping tab: that’s eight tracks stemming from three sources. That’s what gives the track depth. Enjoy.
Pedal Board 2 is complete. The first one was a prototype and taught me what I needed to improve upon. This one is smaller which leaves more room in the case I carry it in. On the first board, I had two Flashback delays. I decided to only use one and route the EWI (electronic wind instrument) to both the Flashback and AdrenaLinn. The red button is a Kill-Switch for the AdrenaLinn because it lacks a Kill-Dry circuit and I run my effects in parallel. It creates more depth that way.
I’ve used it on a couple of gigs already and I’ve been happy with it. I’ve recorded three songs this year with the new rig and I’m happy with those also. You can hear them on my SoundCloud page. I added the corner brackets tonight.
The only thing I need now is a new microphone. I’m getting a LDM94 by SD Systems this summer. I’ve wanted that mic for years. Having a clip-on mic means one less stand to carry to a gig. Plus the SD Systems microphones sound wonderful.
Now that I’ve practiced my saxophone and built a pedal board, I’m going to bed. Good night. Thanks for reading.
Another Vignette from last year that I re-imagined. With these recent recordings, I’ve focused more on melody and less on noodling. However, I take off at the end of this piece and have some fun. Enjoy.
Nouvelle Direction Aerofone Electroniq
I wrote this song last year and originally called it Vignette 7. Now that I’m multi-tracking again, I wanted to revisit it and put it in a new setting. The distorted drums and wind synth help darken it up and add balance to the “beauty” of the saxophone. The Roger Linn AdrenaLinn pedal provides the drum beat, wind synth distortion and the filter on the saxophone.
New Directions Aerofone Electroniq {edit}
Some people just want to rock out. They don’t want to wade through improvisatory explorations for 43 seconds. So here it is: the fun part of what I recorded yesterday
New Directions: Aerofone Electroniq
This is the first multitrack recording I’ve done in months. I’ve been focusing on capturing ideas in real time but now I’m ready to layer ideas. Everything you hear is either tenor sax or wind synth except for the drum machine. The Adrenalinn pedal is on both the tenor and wind synth. I’ve also put more effort into song form and less about improvisation. I start with free ideas and then get right to the form.
Misty {solo} - YouTube
A solo from my gig tonight. I’ve always enjoyed soloing over this tune. The video is not so hot unless you enjoy looking at ceilings. Enjoy the song, ignore the ceiling.
Liner notes from Pointless Vignette
I decided at the beginning of 2012 to record short ideas: vignettes. I had music for short movie scenes but no movie: pointless. I listed them in reverse order because I feel strongest about what I did at the end of the year. For me, this album represents what I accomplished over the period of a year; it’s a documentation of my progress. The tracks range from free improvisations to set ideas with layered tracks. The tenor saxophone is the main voice throughout the album but it’s always wrapped in delay or some time-based effect. Some tracks feature the wind-synth and drum machine. I never thought about genre. I thought about mood. I thought about colors and space between notes. All of these tracks got me into 2013. This year I hope to accomplish more; more focused, more polished, more depth. Thanks for listening. TD
My first performance in Europe! The piece was composed for us in 2001 by American composer Charles Savage. This performance was Saturday morning of the 3rd European Clarinet Festival in Gent, Belgium. I felt good about this performance because for the first time in my life, I didn’t have a ton of stuff going on. All I had to do was practice and play Mad Rush. Cindy performed three other works that were also recorded. We’ll post those later today.
I first heard Håkon Kornstad in the band Wibutee in 2006. I bought their album Sweet Mental and kept Håkon on my radar. When I first heard about the “opera”, I wasn’t sure what it was. This video explains everything. 4:05 is hysterical and the piece he plays at the end is beyond words. So beautiful!
Pointless 1: solo tenor sax & efx
This is a live take of tenor saxophone, Nova Repeater pedal & AdrenaLinn pedal. I recorded this after listening to Bon Iver and reading this.
Another pointless song that made me happy today
Aerofone Electroniq: tenor saxophone, wind synth, two delay pedals and an AdrenaLinn II pedal.
I spent a lot of time panning and muting parts. My mixing has become a lot like my EQ’ing: less is more.
I’ll be there!
I’ve been working on original ideas this year. Instead of laboring over long song structures, I’ve been working with short ideas. The concept is to create something in one day and record it. Vignette 7 is a live performance with no overdubs. I’m playing my saxophone through a TC Electronic Repeater pedal and a Roger Linn AdrenaLinn II pedal. The AdrenaLinn is also providing the drum beat.
To hear more Vignettes, visit http://soundcloud.com/thomasdoggett
