Rage on! EOTO at the Highline Ballroom; the Technique

EOTO took the Lotus Stage by storm and thrilled fans at the Highline Ballroom in New York City on November 23, 2012 as they presented The Lotus Experience on their fall Bass Invaders Tour.  The Lotus is a flower that symbolizes beauty, majesty, grace, and knowledge, all of which are embodied by the music of EOTO.  In this side project, Jason Hann and Michael Travis, both of whom are percussionists in The String Cheese Incident, display their love for electronica by creating an electric jam dance infusion.

This epic electronic collaboration began back in 2006 and since then has been electrifying crowds with electronic instrumental dance sets that regularly ignite a groovy dance party.   EOTO has already performed over 700 live shows in 48 states, with each show having its own distinctive flavor.  Theory behind the name EOTO eludes that it may have originally played acronym for End of Time Observatory, and through the progression of time has blurred into the pronunciation EeeeOhToe, explained by some Japanese fans to mean “good sound”.

EOTO definitely has a good, perhaps even exceptional, sound.  Their live performances include the use of instruments such as drums, guitars, basses, and keyboards, which, together with accompanying vocals are recorded and mixed, and then even remixed, on the spot!   EOTO’s music entails a live improvisation that creates a unique epic jam electronic dance experience for each show.  Fans are able to relive each show over and over again by downloading/listening to the recorded set of their show.  With Jason Hann on the drum kit, percussions and sampler and Michael Travis in charge of the tonal elements, playing the electric guitar, electric bass, keyboards and sampler, this dynamic duo generates a deep rhythmic groove that other electronic artists strive to create.

Jason Hann has been playing professionally since he was only 12 years old.  Jason’s father was a musician and he exposed Jason to rhythms from all parts of the globe, allowing him to experience international music at a very early age.  Jason has studied in several countries outside the U,S., including Mali, Ghana, Haiti and Korea.  He is an extremely dynamic artist who has performed internationally and in many different genres of music, including rock, R&B, pop, hip-hop/rap, jazz, Latin, Latin-jazz, flamenco, African, Persian, electronica, techno, Brazilian, Indian and other fusions of the world.  He has his own solo electronica side project with all percussion recordings, and enjoys helping his fellow band members (from String Cheese Incident) with their respective side projects.  A few of the artists Hann has collaborated with include Youssou N’Dour, Keller Williams, Ricki Lee Jones and Dr. Dre.

Michael Travis is best known for his jam-rock drumming in the String Cheese Incident, where he often plays the hand drums and the drum kit simultaneously.  However, Travis takes a very different position in EOTO, handing over the rhythmic elements to Hann so that he can try his hand at the electric bass, electric guitar, keyboards, and samplers, in addition to his EOTO mini kit.  EOTO has given Travis the chance to prove himself as an extremely versatile and talented musician.  He has collaborated with artists such as Keller Williams, Karl Denson, Steve Kimock, Warren Haynes and Bela Fleck.

The first show that EOTO ever performed was at Sonic Bloom in 2006.  Their studio albums includeElephants Only Talk Occasionally (2006), Razed (2008) and Fire the Lazers!!! (2009).  They occasionally perform their music in Apple Stores in order to demonstrate how they produce their music in concerts.  What really makes EOTO a pioneer in electronic music is the technique they use when performing their music.  Since their music consists entirely of spontaneous composition, they use quite a bit of complex equipment, and the quality fot heir sound is quite reliant on their effects unit.  The looper pedal, or “phrase looper” plays an important part in their live musical composition.  This pedal allows the performer to record, and then later replay, a phrase or passage from a song.  These loops are created right on the spot during EOTO’s shows and are mixed and remixed several times throughout the night.  Travis is in charge of looping the keyboards, bass, guitar, and vocals through his laptop, while Hann handles the vocals and electronic percussion.  Both of the musicians’ laptops are midi looped together through an ethernet network hub, allowing for easy collaboration.  Travis also has a second laptop setup runningReason that contains keyboard and bass sounds that he programs himself.

EOTO uses Ableton Live as their primary software for looping; it’s installed on both Travis’ and Hann’s laptops.  The specific equipment used by Jason Hann is a Jazz Mutant Lemur Multi Touch pad, 2 Apple iPads, a Motu Ultra Lite, Netgear Ethernet hub, Paiste Cymbals, Spaun LED Drums, a Spaun LED 8” popcorn Snare, a Toca Djembe and Telefunken Microphones.  Michael Travis gears up with his 2 MacBook Pro computers (one running Ableton and the other running Reason), 2 Behringer BCR 2000 MIDI controllers, a Roland Gaia keyboard, a Nord lead keyboard, a Korg MS 2000 keyboard, a Korg Kaossilato, a 5 string P Bass, a Les Paul Custom Guitar, a ONYX 12 Channel mixing board, and a Behringer Xenyx 502 mixing board.