Review and video by Joel Patterson
Photographs by Al Goldberg and Timothy Reidy
Okay, so you’re determined to write an algorithm that will capture the magic that is the Chandler Travis Philharmonic. The pj’s and bathrobes, that’s easy to program, and the goofy hats. Every one a charming misfit – but devastatingly fluid on their chosen instrument. So far this is little more than online gaming – witty characters doing a splashy, pseudo-campy routine. A Motown/Dixieland/salsa/Mersey beat/big band octet, or a nonagon.
What you’ll have to do is something that algorithms rarely do – include your audience as part of the show. Make every song a vital puzzle piece that helps the world make sense. Carry your listeners along like you’re leading a caravan into a land of hopes and dreams and half-submerged memories and delirious, delightful wonders. You’d better get coding!
