The Roving Musicologist

Maths Balance Volumes of Mankato and Toledo

MBV is constant change.  Any attempt to classify them will be out of date by the time you hear them again.  They have never been too crazy about traditional song structure, and in time they moved past jamming, past performance, past reckoning with anyone but themselves.  It’s not that they don’t want you to listen to them; they just want to be sure about what they are saying, even if it stamps out any idea of what others think music should be.

Music can be fun, although at times a standoff may develop.

Maths Balance Volumes began as a music collective but the prime movers have always been Jameson Sweiger and Clayton Kohlbinger.  After releasing the album “Lower Forms” featuring vocals by Alena, they went on a tour of the Midwest and Northeast with Weyes Bluhd.  Their only instruments at this time were vocals, tapedecks and a reel-to-reel, run through various effects.

Wood becomes a table for instruments in the hands of these intrepid performers.

This recording is from Charlottesville, Virginia, from a show they crashed when the show they were supposed to play fell through.  By fell through, I mean the venue was locked and darkened, the owner didn’t answer his phone, and the late October cold kept getting colder.  Fortunately, some kids at an art gallery were nice enough to let them play, although they didn’t fit with the mellow form of folk-rock that preceded them.  In order to set the mood for yourself, imagine a crappy James Taylor wanna-be coming on before these guys, and I think you will understand why they were almost literally swept out the door.  I was right there…they opened the door and swept a cloud of crap right in our faces.
The last I heard, these guys had moved on to Toledo, Ohio in search of a bit larger town.  Their releases are available on the Chocolate Monk label.

The Maths Balance Volumes web page:

mathsbalancevolumes.tripod.com/