Different Matt, Same Omnichord

The other day Forces contributor Matt brought some musical gear over to my house. Among these items was a Suzuki Omnichord, and it got me thinking about the obscure instrument. While it is fun to tinker around with, you don't see too many people rocking ass on an Omnichord these days with the exception of one Matt Mahaffey. Matt is from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and the name of his solo project is Self. I first saw his band in Augusta in 1995 and have long since considered the dude a God among men and musical genius. Check out his one-man band Omnichord and drums performance of AC/DC's Back in Black live at Spaceland and dig the rest of his albums too. Although Matt is currently out in L.A., (playing bass for Beck, producing a ton of stuff and writing the Expedia.com jingle among other things) he has a show scheduled at Capone's in Johnson City, Tennessee at 8 p.m. November 29th. The show is a tribute to his late brother/former bandmate Mike, who was playing bass for Self the last time I saw them.

Matt was originally a drummer but the guy can literally play any instrument you place at his feet. Proof lies in the album Gizmodgery on which every instrument used is a toy like the See & Say, Fisher-Price My First Piano and the Star Guitar. For now enjoy the ass ripping omnichord: