Truman Peyote

By David Day

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At the rate Boston is churning out legitimate dance music producers (Plus Move, Tronstep, Tanner Ross, et al.) expect a host of even younger talent to capitalize on the buzz. The latest to bend our ear? Truman Peyote. "We don't make straight up dance music, but the genre is a big influence for us," writes Caleb Johannes, one of three members of the group and the one currently based in Boston. "We use electronics that have the ability to make dance music, but we use these tools to sequence and create a much different sound." To say the least. Truman Peyote is an astonishing mix of primitivist clattering and modern electronic twerks. It sounds like a Martian tribe emulating pygmy music, or ghostly reverberations from a dancefloor in the future. "The internet holds a seemingly bottomless pit of sound clips for sampling that we use quite often," he writes. "Along with CDs of animal sounds or drums we get at the library ... and so many other sources." Johannes and the two other Truman Peyote members, Jeff Joyal and Eric Farber, play at the Lily Pad this coming Saturday night. "I wish more venues would email me back," he writes. "I prefer the house party scene much better. Nice people, good time." Perhaps the reason the group already sounds so developed is Johannes' commitment to the project. "Truman Peyote right now is my life," he writes. "I don't go to school and am between jobs. It takes up almost all my time, whether it's making a song, booking a show, sewing or printing T-shirts, creating graphics or other art pieces for the band. Everything." It seems this leisure time is to all of our benefit, as the music is startlingly good for such a new project, and already the group has booked April gigs at the Oxfam Café and P.A.'s Lounge. It's also helping raise an improv-beat scene that includes names like Guatamala City, Many Mansions and Main Fader. "I applied to MassArt for fall 2008," write Johannes. "But if that doesn't work out, I'll just have more time for Truman Peyote."

[Truman Peyote with Guatemala City, Max Alper and Jordan Schnee. Sat. 3.15 7pm/all ages/$10 suggested donation. 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Sq., Cambridge. 617.395.1393. lily-pad.net]