Toby Driver
| Toby Driver | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 29, 1978 Meriden, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Genres | Avant-garde, experimental |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Multi-instrumentalist |
| Associated acts | maudlin of the Well, Kayo Dot, Spoonion, Tartar Lamb, Gregor Samsa, Secret Chiefs 3, Vaura |
| Website | kayodot |
Toby Driver is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and artist, best known for his work as the frontman of the experimental bands maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot.
Driver creates the majority of the album artwork associated with these bands, performs the majority of the lead vocals, and has written and arranged most of the music for both bands. Although several members of motW continued on when the band dissolved and reformed as Kayo Dot, Driver is the only remaining member of the original line-up of maudlin of the Well who is still active with Kayo Dot.
Toby Driver was born in 1978, in Meriden, Connecticut and currently resides in New York City. During his high school years, he recorded several albums under the moniker "Spoonion" using tape recorders and a karaoke machine. He later released his favorite cuts of these albums online as collections.
He attended Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, where he formed the band maudlin of the Well, and where they recorded their debut album. During this time, he also studied under composer and jazz legend, Yusef Lateef.
As evident in the bands and projects to which Driver has contributed, he generally utilizes unconventional styles of song-writing and song structure. Many songs he writes use odd time signatures, range from ten to twenty minutes in length, divert from typical riff-based structure, and employ elements of many musical genres outside of traditional rock and heavy metal, often shifting between these styles within the same song. Songs often incorporate musical qualities suited to styles as diverse as death metal, minimalism, chamber music, post-rock and jazz, while seldom completely conforming to any one specific genre. Driver has repeatedly denied any connection of his music to jazz, minimalism or improv. His work is strictly composed and rehearsed thoroughly, and the songs seldom see any changes after being recorded.
...
Wikipedia