As a rule, for every gig I try to invent something new. Usually it's a MIDI controller of some sort. But the Scream Tube was a cool invention that is actually a practical solution to a problem I was having.

I like to process my voice on stage with delays and distortion, and an open mike processed in such a way becomes a horrible source of feedback. I tried a couple shows with no processing, but hated the results. My voice was far too clear and intelligible.

So for a show at the Swan I made the original "Scream Tube". I took a couple feet of heavy duty industrial hose (from Seattle Marine) and wrapped some foam rubber around the outside edge of the mike, then jammed the mike into one end of the tube. The result was a mike that could be isolated from external sounds. I would press my mouth against the opening and sing away - creating a beautiful noise of distortion and flanging and reverb and so on.

"Scream Tube II" was a last minute brainstorm before the MTV shoot at the Black Citroen in Fremont. I wanted to create a new instrument that audience members would feel free to interact with. I put a mike on a conventional boom stand and then slipped a very thick rubber corrugated blower style hose (from Radar Electric) over the whole works, leaving a couple feet of the hose to hang down from the top of the contraption.

To make this into an instrument, I ran the sound through a pitch shifter (down one octave), two delays, and a bit of distortion. The result was a mike that anyone could use to turn their voice or an instrument into a whole chorus. And since it doesn't look like a mike, people are less inhibited using it.

I still use this live and in the studio for vocals. It's a fun instrument.