Keith Cary

Commodium

And now for something completely different...

Keith Cary, muti-talented musician, luthier, and repair technician has crafted out of his own twisted genius, an instrument absolutely guaranteed to get you noticed at the party, the Commodium.

Also affectionately nicknamed by West Coast multi-instrumentalist and David Grisman sideman Joe Craven, the "Pandolin" this mechanism of music and mayhem, crafts from the "Dark Side of the Force," a special gift of slaying banjos. Without a doubt, it's the loudest instrument we've ever played.

We'll take you on a brief tour of this piece of precocity...

A stainless steel bedpan (Scout's honor!), we tell you the truth, this novelty is pinched from the very bowels of the very worst hospital encounter. Instrument of the immobilized? We think not, and after you've tamped your first G chop, you'll agree...

Resonant isn't the word. Plangent, reverberating, resounding don't do the instrument justice either. It is just plain hands-down LOUD. Keith's secret is the cone of "no-silence," a hyper-boisterous, take-no-prisoners membrane that hides deep in the belly and entrails of the pan. Neatly sliced, this prized utensil encases the wood frame and fills with deep tone and the signature honk of a resonator mandolin.

Topped off with a hospital food cover that has been strategically punched, holes positioned to avoid nodal points and strengthen internal integrity, the symmetry betrays its raw sonic appeal. (Notice the fork tailpiece; nothing but the finest cafeteria utensils for this creature...)

A well-fashioned 14.5" scale maple neck juts from its heavy body. (This is NOT a light instrument either, by the way...) A professionally fretted neck by a craftsman with years of seasoning and experience in repairs plays smoothly and comfortably.

The tuners are simple and Spartan, an inherent economy that rounds out the utilitarian personality of this instrument. An understated "Commodium" headstock logo gives an honest, but complete introduction to the rest of the machine.

You can thank us now for sparing you the obligatory bodily fluid jokes. The owner of this instrument is free to create his/her punchline at every opportunity.

And believe us... you will!

For more of Keith Cary's magic and how you can steal the show with your own instrument like this, email him at kcary@dcn.org.

If you want to hear the Commodium mandolin, as recorded on the Joy Buzzards CD, check out CDBaby.com. Tracks #2,3,9 and 10 were recorded using a Commodium. Also, visit his page on MySpace.com.

MySpace Page: Keith Cary