"It scared the hell out of me the first time we used it, but it works great," says James Taylor, referring to the drum machine he built, as reported by Alan Light in The New York Times (11/7/06). "When people think of a drum machine, they think of something that's made up of bits and bytes," James explains. "But I designed and built this Rube Goldberg thing, this big, kinetic sculpture -- bigger than a piano. It's a revolving drum with big fins attached to the outside that activate and actually play the drums for four bars."

James built the thing as part of his current stage show -- a solo act, where the only other musician on stage is pianist Larry Goldings. James says he "wanted to do something more than just sit on a stool and play his songs." Says James: "I needed things in between, stories, film ... So we tried to enhance the show and leaven it. But we did it all locally, with friends and family. We didn't call Las Vegas and ask the Cirque du Soleil expert to come in. It gives it a certain shabbiness, but a certain cohesion, too."

He continues: "It's how I started, and it has an immediacy and an intimacy ... When we went out with a 12-man band with horns and singers, it depends on a certain economy of scale. But when I'm playing to 15,000 people, there's some question of how far you can expand yourself. A lot of these songs are well placed in a smaller venue, and there's something very calibrating about just playing with piano and guitar." James hasn't released an album of new songs in four years, but he is now plotting a new record. "I think I'd like to keep it pretty spare this time," says James. "That seems to be working for me these days." Pa rum pum pum pum. ~ Tim Manners, editor