Podblast! Eban Schletter's Fantastical Musicorium

Every now and again my attention gets grabbed by something small.  It might be the origin of those YKK zippers that seem to be on every article of clothing owned by everybody everywhere, or a single minor actor or actress that I recognize from more than one thing.  Every now and again, though, it's music that catches my ear, and when I discover that someone's doing something new and exciting with an instrument that's not really in the public eye, I get intrigued.

For instance, I've been following the news story of the man whose rare bamboo flutes were either destroyed or lost by customs agents, putting him out of a job with quite some interest because I find the fact that he could make them fascinating.

Another instrument I find interesting is the theremin, an instrument that seems extremely corny until you hear it performed by someone with great skill.  Such is Eban Schletter, the most unusual name I'll probably ever put on my blog.


Eban Schletter is one of those guys who seems able to play any instrument he wants to.  Listening to his own podcast, "Eban Schletter's Fantastical Musicorium," my mind is boggled by how intricate his songs are.  He's written songs for television, movies, and commercials, as well as songs for other podcasts and other events.  I don't want to list his full list here because I'll probably forget something and it's also more fun to look it up yourself, but he's done everything from Spongebob songs to Battlebots themes to award shows.

He's also the piano player on the Pod F Tompcast, another podcast I need to review, where he plays the piano and is able to keep up with every twist that a stand-up comedian might try to trip him up with.

I tend to hate people who can play so many instruments, but only because I'm insanely jealous.

Anyway, the Eban Schletter's Fantastical Musicorium is six episodes of Eban presenting songs of his that are either so old he's not worried about being sued, ones that were sampled for projects that fell through, or simply ones he doesn't have any room for anywhere else.  He also involves friends and family in the production, doing skits and telling stories that are as charming as they are technically amazing.

It's also the first time that I ever heard anyone pronounce Chanukah as "Cha-nook-uh."  I'm totally stealing that.

The man is technically amazing with whatever style of music he wants to make.  You can hear western themes, science fiction themes, a song about pirates from a children's cartoon, even a song he wrote when he was frustrated and wanted to tell his employer where they could stick their job.

If you have any interest in music and want to hear songs done in unique ways that I, at least, have never heard done before, I recommend giving it a look and a listen.  It's only six episodes, and even if you listen in your car or while lying in bed, you'll probably find it as interesting as I did, if not more so.