Composer Reacts to TERA MELOS - 40 Rods to the Hog's Head (Live) (REACTION & ANALYSIS)

Bryan reacts to and talks about his thoughts on TERA MELOS "40 Rods to the Hog's Head" Live @ The Media Club
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0:00 Intro
00:38 Reaction
13:16 Initial Thoughts
15:12 Analysis - Bonkers Performance
20:06 Analysis - Sonic Creativity
27:57 Analysis - Drum Work
30:01 Wrapping Things Up
31:02 Outro
#reaction #teramelos #mathrock

[@tylersmith3979]

The best show I've ever been to was Tera Melos (before I knew who they were, and they blew my mind), The Dear Hunter, Foxy Shazam, and The Fall of Troy. Tiny venue, packed to capacity, absolutely mad sounds and energy. Tera Melos played this whole song and the amount of raw creativity from all 3 members was insane. I think it was the first time I saw a bassist really go ham with pedals as much as a crazy guitarist would. And goddamn, did Nick (the guitarist) go bonkers with pedals and even some samplers and drum machines. Also Casey (the singer) from The Dear Hunter still mainly played piano (nowadays he plays guitar) and he used a vocoder a ton to make essentially a choir from his voice, it was wild. Sorry for the long comment but this song always reminds me of how epic that show was.

[@tylersmith3979]

Also you should listen to the album version of this a few times, then go watch this again and see how well they keep the song together while adding so much improv.

[@axelthesot]

@@tylersmith3979 I went to that tour as well. God damn that was one of my favorite shows ever.

[@PepisMusicmx]

I was there. Made me fall in love with tera melos. Awesome set

[@uhhh___tyler]

I also saw this tour, amazing experience. i would do it again in a heartbeat

[@mattanimation]

those were good times

[@andrewrigney5888]

So surprised and stoked you reacted to this band and song! The EP this is on (Drugs To The Dear Youth) has 6 tracks that all sort of flow into each other as if it's one song with multiple movements. The 3 albums they released after DTTDY are a bit more conventional with more structure and the addition of vocals. You should check out more of their stuff!

[@crystalskunk3658]

Every time i listen to this i am shocked all over again at how they even wrote or can remember the parts of this song

[@nilssonschmillson5395]

This record really opened the gateways for me when I first heard it, they toured with Fall of Troy back in like 2008 so I first heard of them then and playing this to people as a 14 year old… people thought I was crazy but I still stand by this song as being, sonically at least, very interesting and just awesome🤘

[@mirrastyle4524]

Same experience. Changed my whole life!

[@LeonardoRodriguez-hx6tl]

As soon as I saw Tera Melos on the title I knew I’d be focused on Bryan’s facial expressions

[@CriticalReactions]

There were some wild sounds in here that even I couldn't be completely straight faced for 😂

[@stevencunningham520]

John Clardy is a phenomenon on drums, the organized but chaotic way he plays is unlike any other drummer I’ve heard

[@dangxious]

As Chef B said, that bass is a Gibson Grabber and that recessed piece you’re seeing is a plate under the pickguard that the pickup is mounted to allowing the pickup to be shifted closer to the neck or closer to the bridge. It is set in its position closest to the bridge here.

[@SpeedOfThought1111]

Yep, Nick is definitely one of the most creative experimental guitarists out there. Jimi Hendrix was the first of course. Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine) was a pioneer and inspiration to many. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (the Mars Volta) is another prime example of mastery of effects. Mike Einziger of Incubus is well known for this too, especially being a phaser master. Adam Jones of Tool loves unique noise too. Buckethead is known for doing it all and he likes to experiment with noise. Fred Frith, Igor Ogogo, or in modern metal as well like the guitarists of Car Bomb or Daughters.

[@make.tapesounds]

You left out Adrian Belew my dude!

[@HeyIntegrity]

What did tom morello pioneer?

[@CatmanJimbo]

@@HeyIntegrity Buying a Whammy 1 from Guitar Center!

[@LeviDozier]

There’s some improvisation with the solos and some of the note choices, but as far as the time, signatures, and all of the hits, it’s spot on to the recorded version.

[@notbrandonion]

That bass is a Gibson Grabber. One of the best electronic bass guitars ever made.

[@danielcollins4009]

That bass pickup is able to be slid up toward the neck and back to the bridge to change tone

[@mattanimation]

it sounds so good in person / live

[@notbrandonion]

@@mattanimation if only Tera Melos still played live 😫

[@CargoManshark]

My buddy reached out to them at the start of their 2013 tour w/ Circa Survive, which was the touring debut of the second drummer to their line-up, and extended an offer to put them all up at his parents house for four nights while they were on vacation and he would drive them to and from 3 of the venues, across 2 states and ultimately save them from a lot of confusing inner-city routes and hotel arrangements. In return, they played this whole ep "Drugs to the Dear Youth" for about 20 of us in another friends garage that just prior became a licensed venue in town for small punk shows. I stuck around after the set w/ about 5 other people and we all proceeded to drink 2 cases of PBR and shoot the shit about anything and everything from The Simpsons, to ideal pedalboards, to early Album of the Year predictions, etc. sorry to just drop-in and gush-out waxing all historical and over-privileged but the way my buddy teased us about a secret show in the city that weekend just 2 hours prior to the wild af reveal and experience is an all-time high memory/moment in my life to this point.

[@nublahdough]

Damn dude that’s dope

[@jackozeehakkjuz]

no waaaaaay goddamn

[@lifesoldier]

an all-timer experience!!!

[@nublahdough]

Wish I could hear this song again for the first time

[@wilderbuchananhorton3356]

Its an older bass from I think either the early 90s or late 80s (Dont quote me on that) where instead of having a pickup selector, you could physically just slide the pickup wherever you wanted it. Also watching somebody come at this from the live version of this song is the funniest thing I've ever seen thank you lol. Listen to the album version if you want a more digestable-breakdown-able version of this, they for sure ham it up a bit here, that being said, the structure is still very close.

[@uhhh___tyler]

it's a late 70s to early 80s Gibson Grabber

[@47Jonesy]

sort of counting. my theory is the guitarrist sets the tone sotospeak, initating cues for change in weirdo guitar sounds or whatever, and the drummer and bassist are waiting for cues to start THEIR countdowns. Ive seen melos live a handful of times and each show is different so itd be ridiculous to memorize that much. Its like theres a skeleton of a song, and selected deviation points where reinhart fucks off on his own and the other two jazz out until the cue hits and they come back together again. My theory at least🤷

[@kazisamagicaldolphin]

Nick Reinhart sent me here.

[@SnatchtheSnail]

I used to check KZbin everyday when they were on tour. Gotta get my fix

[@adambedingfield1289]

Somehow I’m 4 months late to this video. So glad to see you doing tera Melos. Their live stuff is definitely amazing but you should give some album stuff a listen sometime as well. I might suggest the song purple and stripes.

[@puddlesplashers]

Kind of a random comparison but the guitar at 3:48 sounds just like the guitar line from little fury bugs by death cab for cutie - drove myself crazy for a minute trying to figure out why it sounded so familiar

[@visserjs]

Whoa. Didn’t know Death Cab had a song named as a Dinosaur Jr nod. Going to check this out!

[@phultontheband9775]

Yes, tysm for doing this

[@tomcopsonjr9463]

Tera Melos is an incredible band. The "Van Halen of noise" hah. Nick Reinhart is a musical force and a innovative guitarist/composer/musician. He is always pushing his pedals and effects to different level like no other, for many years.

[@JuliannaTTTT]

Their guitarist touring with Death Grips this year makes so much sense now...

[@DegenerateArtExpress]

nick reinhart did most of the guitars on The Powers That B and Bottomless Pit

[@JuliannaTTTT]

@@DegenerateArtExpress He is also credited on Fashion Week (Runway H)

[@giovannidiaz4487]

This is much more rehearsed and written out than you think. There are moments of improv flourish and playing with pedals spontaneously, but listen to the record and it's not that far off. Nick has also talked in at least one interview about how intense and calculated their rehearsals are.

[@CriticalReactions]

That's bonkers! The sheer memorization required for this is wild.

[@baTonkaTruck]

I have a friend who plays in a mathrock band inspired by these guys. It’s highly highly written, scored, rehearsed, rehearsed, and rehearsed. These are high-level jazz conservatory guys.

[@matereo]

yeah but also their more ordinary songs like Westham united are cool.. Like Cardiacs they get into parts thet are really good and begin to build and then it just changes and f's up.

[@israelbrandongarcia3911]

Tera Melos is definitely an experience live. See them on Halloween if you can ☺️

[@FonzoDangus]

I have 2 of the Halloween shirts from the Houston show with By the End of Tonight

[@bocajeijlem]

Compare it to the recorded version; nick is going off because he had the space but it’s very close in structure to the original track

[@samuelbanya]

You should do Piglet - any of their videos from their live at Mickey's Birthday videos. Tag me if you do it. Liked your insight on this.

[@stevebanning902]

lol this guy thinks they aren't keeping time on the 'noisy bits'. They are largely reliant on muscle memory and repetition. If you listen to the album recording of this track, it's just as whacky - but over time you'll be able to count it from feel and memory alone. At the time the performance was filmed, they were probably playing the song for at least a decade.

[@lotusnaturals1897]

Tera Melos play this song differently from how they used to, it's much different from the studio version, just sayin

[@banaunth1240]

I think this show is great, but the earlier ones with Vince are so much cooler

[@jacvic0790]

I love John Clardy, he's a beast. My only issue is: you can tell her was not the drummer at the time these songs were made. But when he performs songs that he wrote with the band he really shines through

[@banaunth1240]

@jacvic0790 Yes, but Nick's playing was a lot better in the older ones. He relies a bit too much on pedals in the 2010s era for 40 rods

[@jacvic0790]

@@banaunth1240 yeah I guess that's true, he's probably bored of playing it by now lol

[@banaunth1240]

@@jacvic0790 fair though

[@umiey2150]

I only know 1 other band that sounds a little like these guys: Nuito

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

Strong DEP vibes. Similar with that band I can appreciate the off-the-wall chaos and creativity but I'm always wishing there was something more consistent to latch onto. I generally think music can get away with a huge amount of chaos as long as you have some consistent element, but when there's none it just becomes too much. Still definitely a lot of interesting ideas happening here pretty much everywhere, especially in the rhythm and a lot of the guitar ideas.

[@shred_savage]

This is why, I feel, people should skip taking music theory classes. Because after, you'll never be able to feel the music as it's intended to be listened to or played, and your ear becomes consumed by counting time signatures and trying to figure out the illusions behind the tricks being presented to you. Your reactions were great though. Reminds me of: "I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it." -M. Mcfly

[@CriticalReactions]

I don't think it's fair to extrapolate my experience to the experience of everyone who's studied academic composition. This isn't my cup of tea normally for many of the reasons I explained in the video BUT theory at least gives me the vocabulary and skills to understand what they're doing so I can appreciate it on some level other than pure enjoyment. And that's not even to mention that I can turn off my critical listening whenever I want. Most of my favorite music isn't anything special theoretically but I love the way they sound and make me feel. All of this is to say that "skipping theory" is a suggestion that gets thrown around a lot in both modern composition and general listening circles but I can't subscribe to it at all. My appreciation for music grows exponentially when I know how it was crafted. To me it's the ultimate love letter, to not just feel the music but understand it as well. But I am a tinkerer in all things, I love taking things apart and putting them back together. It's possible that that character trait is what drives my appreciation and isn't applicable to everyone. Some people prefer the wonder, the magic, of things -- and that's perfectly OK too. We all have different needs and wants out of art and being able to choose how we interact with it is key to the human experience.

[@shred_savage]

@@CriticalReactions I think it depends on what style of music you are attempting to play. Learning song structure, time signatures and how to read music, play your instruments, practicing scales and chords, those are all essential with any style. But the 'theory' beyond that, I feel, could limit your ability to play with innovation. Cliche to mention, but Miles Davis probably wouldn't have been molded into the musician he was, if he attended all his classes at Juilliard, but instead, skipping out to develop his sound by playing with other musicians. Thanks for your reply. I get where you're coming from when it comes to explaining what you're listening to.

[@dingleberry8229]

@@shred_savage when you say "-could limit your ability to play with innovation" suggests that, between you and the composer reacting in the video, you're the only one letting yourself be limited by music theory. Just because someone might know the "rules" doesn't mean that they are now limited by those rules. Musicians only stand to gain from knowing music theory.