Bell’s quirky type of pop resonates
IF YOU GO
Who: Maza Blaska, Dane Terry, Abner Trio and Christopher Bell
When: 10 p.m. Friday
Where: The Lemon Grove, 122 W. Federal St., Youngstown
Tickets: $3; call 330-301-0282
- Place:Knox Bldg
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110 W. Federal St., Youngstown
By JOHN BENSON
Upstate New York artist Christopher Bell considers himself a loop artist. However, unlike similar performers who turn their act into an ostentatious one-person show built upon dozens of looping tracks creating a shtick-y wall of sound, this cello-based musician says his use of modern technology is borne out of necessity.
“The easiest way to say it is I love having rhythm, and I’ve gotten more into looping percussive instruments or me tapping on the cello to give it more of a dance-y feel,” said Bell (vocals, viola, percussion). “To me, it’s really hard to hold attention when you’re just like strumming an instrument — be it a guitar or banjo — or just playing piano. People want to have fun and tap their feet at least or maybe dance, and so I try to bring that to it.”
He added, “Generally when I’m looping, I’m singing or doing something else. I try to keep it very subtle or hidden, like it’s going on when you don’t know it. I don’t like that kind of thing where you build up these huge songs or you build up the chorus before the song. So when I’m looping, I cut stuff in and out. Sometimes they’ll just loop drums for the song. Sometimes I’ll do a bass line and play over that for most of it. It all depends on the song, but I try to do it very transparently.”
Often compared to Andrew Bird, Bell, who has two EPs to his credit, is looking ahead to releasing a new effort in the fall. Among the styles he’ll be exploring on his next project are bluegrass and piano rock. Even though the sounds may be familiar, Bell admitted in the concert setting when there’s a cello in the room, audiences can easily get confused.
“I get a lot of dumbfounded looks because I have my cello on a guitar strap, which I use to hold it up,” Bell said. “I don’t think people know what to expect because I’ll show up at a bar or some kind of venue with all of these bands that play guitar and bass, and here I am this cellist. So a lot of times the audience doesn’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve gotten that a lot. They say, ‘When you got up on stage, I didn’t know what to think,’ because sometimes people think I’m playing an upright bass. I get a lot of misconceptions on what instrument I’m playing.”
In Bell’s mind, the only way to dispel the confusion is to edify the audience one show at time. Over the past three years, the Jamestown, N.Y., native has toured the country incessantly. That is, except for Northeast Ohio. Bell is about to change that, bringing his evening of something-different music to Youngstown on Friday at the Lemon Grove.
“I’m a cellist and songwriter,” Bell said. “I’ll be playing cello and keyboard doing something modern that’s been called quirky pop. I’ve had three people saying that to me in the last month, so I’m calling it quirky pop, and I’m bringing my brand of pop music on classical instruments.”