Large Words with Nate Scheible of Small Object a

By Matthew Toledo - 5/8/2004

There is a drummer in Athens, Ohio who refuses to play the usual beats. Yet, instead of alienating his audience, he captivates them with his odd sense of rythm which never lacks a groove. Most people in town who know of Nate know him only as the drummer for the art-rock band Small Object a. However, Nate does much more. He's also a prolific home recording artist who releases self produced tracks under the name X Bolex.

As the sole full-time member of X Bolex, Nate has the opportunity to play the guitar, keyboard and even sing. His angular riffs and warm keyboard tones make you feel both bleak and relaxed at the same time, like coming home to an empty house after a long absence.

Besides being a top-notch local performer, I discovered during my interview with him that Nate has a deep sense of purpose and direction with his music. When you talk with him, you get the feeling that he sees the world through eyes that have a sharper resolution than most people.

Nate Scheible on the drums for Small Object a Lou Muenz

AMN: Nate, let me start off by saying that a lot of people think you're an impressive drummer with a unique style, myself included. Do you consider your style to be closer to jazz, rock, metal or something else?

Nate: Thanks for the compliment. I would consider my style to be closer to rock, considering that the bands I have played in have mostly been punk and rock oriented and my playing has inadvertently developed within those genres. However, I would say that there is a strong jazz influence. Although I don't play much within a jazz context, most of my musical influences (drummers or otherwise) are primarily jazz musicians.

AMN: How did you get started on the drums? Did you get lessons, take it up in school, or are you self taught?

Nate: I had taken piano lessons in elementary school, so when I joined band in 5th grade, I remember choosing to play the drums because it was the closest instrument to piano in that it was a percussion instrument. The logic there is a bit backwards, but that's how I got started. I taught myself how to play drum set in junior high and briefly took lessons, although I don't believe they had much of an impact on me. So, the short answer would be that although I have some instructional background, I am primarily self taught.

AMN: Can you remember the first record or CD you ever bought?

Nate: In fifth or sixth grade I was very much influenced by whatever was popular on the radio and with my friends, which in Lorain (my hometown) was generally rap. So, the first tape I bought was probably something along the lines of Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg. I honestly can't remember specifically what it could have been.

AMN: How do you think you got from that first record to where you are musically today?

Nate: I like to play connect the dots when it comes to music. When I was about 13 or 14 I experienced quite a surge of musical influences in my life. I started going through my dad's records and was extremely taken in by Frank Zappa and other jazz and classic rock albums. My Uncle Jerry, a musician in New York, really got me interested into fusion (The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, etc.). My cousin introduced me to more independent bands such as the Violent Femmes. I started playing in punk bands and going to shows, so there was the influence of that culture. And I also began doing my own investigating of CD's ranging from jazz to contemporary composition available at the library in Lorain. Basically, I've gotten to where I am today by filling all of the gaps and finding the links between all of the musicians, composers, and labels that have interested me, and by checking out anything my friends suggest. As a side note, I continue to use the library as a resource for finding music I'm unfamiliar with and the Music/Dance library at OU is a great resource for jazz, classical, and avant garde music that one normally wouldn't find in a record store. Ask for Greg and he'll help you out.

AMN: You're usually playing such odd time signatures and bizarre riffs that my first guess is that everyone follows your lead when it comes to writing new material. How do new songs come together for you? Does the rhythm dictate the structure of the melody, or do your drum riffs come from the melody?

Nate: small object a has been really fun in that it is the first band I've been in where writing for the band has been equally shared. When one of us has a song we bring it to the table at practice. Collaboratively, we write additional parts, arrange the song, make slight modifications, probably add some goofy part that doesn't need to be there, and tweak it up a bit. We tend to follow the lead of whoever the principle songwriter is. Most of the time, my drum parts result from my following the melody of the song. There have been songs that Todd has written that resulted from drum parts. But, those were drum parts that he had written and suggested that I play. When we do improvisations at shows it becomes quite a free for all. I generally dictate the feel of the song by whatever rhythmic backdrop I choose (i.e. funk, punk, free). Todd and Lou generally dictate the mood of the song by way of their melodic decisions. And, there are many times during improvs when what we do is dictated by Todd's Head Rush and the loops that he makes with it.

AMN: Do you feel the drums are a melodic instrument?

Nate: Drums are definitely a melodic instrument. I am very interested in the tonal qualities of my snare, toms, and cymbals and the variety of ways in which they can be played to produce different sounds. I hate to think of drums as just being a series of booms, taps, and crashes that form a beat. There are many cases where a song needs a rhythmic grounding, but most of the time it is better to think of the drums as harmonizing in some way with the other instruments, not standing apart from them and just keeping time. This is especially true in an instrumental band like small object a.

AMN: How did you first get involved in Small Object a?

Nate: When I first moved to Athens I was very concerned about finding somebody who would be interested in playing music with me. My friend Rich, from a band called the Washout Corp. that I was departing from to go to school, introduced me to Todd, who at the time was going to grad school at OU. We'd get together every weekend and play. About a year later, Lou began playing saxophone with us. Mitch joined up with us playing keyboards upon his return from Japan. We spent about a year as a kind of "free rock band" that would just show up and play at open mic nights under various names (The Jesus Christ Pooper Scooper, Fort Da, Dick Army) until we eventually started being more serious, began writing songs, and took on the name small object a.

October Bolex with Nate on the Drums

AMN: When did X Bolex come into existence?

Nate: The X Bolex came into existence about two years ago when I began pretending to know how to play the guitar.

AMN: Did you start X Bolex because you felt the need for some more musical control, or was it a desire to just do some more exploration?

Nate: The main reason I created The X Bolex was because I was writing a lot of songs that did not fit within what small object a was doing. For example, there would be lyrics, or they'd be written for keyboards, or they would be too dependent on layers and have way too elaborate of instrumentation for us to pull off. In order to still record and document these songs I created The X Bolex. I like to think of small object a as a live band and my primary role as that of musician, whereas The X Bolex is more of a studio project and my role is that of composer.

AMN: Do you play all of the instruments in your X Bolex project?

Nate: Yes. However, Todd will play bass when I can't play it myself and has reconstructed and remixed some songs for me. Lou has added sax on some songs and there have been a few guest vocalists (Zach from We March, small object a, The Math Squad). My friend Jeff made a phone call that I recorded as well.

AMN: I've had a long time to listen to the latest "unmastered" X Bolex CD and have to say the recording is pretty strong already. Did you record it all by yourself?

Nate: Yep... Todd and Leslie have helped me record in the past, but my more recent stuff has all been recorded by myself.

AMN: What sort of gear did you use to record the project? Be as specific as you want. Music geeks love to read up on stuff like gear and equipment?

Nate: I'll try to be specific as possible, but it is really far from interesting. First of all, I don't really own much gear. Most instruments that I play on The X Bolex stuff are borrowed from friends, so I couldn't really elaborate on that. I didn't even own the computer that I recorded my most recent songs on.

I guess I can tell you my process: I have one decent microphone. It is a Sennheiser E835. I use that for almost everything. I run that into a broken Tascam 4-track being I use as a mixer. The 4-track goes to the computer and I record tracks into Cool Edit Pro. I do all of my mixing and editing in that program or in Sound Forge. All of the electric instruments are run direct. I have integrated field recordings done on minidisk or on a shitty little tape recorder as well. That's pretty much it. I am ignorant in regards to most things related to audio production. I just try to make things sound like I want them to. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

AMN: Are you currently a student or are you an official townie yet?

Nate: I have been an official townie since November.

AMN: What is in the future for Small Object a? Any tours or plans?

Nate: We've been discussing that lately. We'd like to tour, but it is difficult considering that one of us works full time and another is in school. I'll have to get back to you on that when we actually decide to talk about it ourselves.

AMN: Who does the graphical design for small object a?

Nate: Todd, our guitar player: www.octobercomplex.cjb.net

AMN: I've seen you guys open for metal bands, garage rock, punk, even folk. Only once did I see you guys play with a band that had anything remotely in common with your music style, Don Caballero. Do you think that Small Object a is a hard band to pair up in shows with other local acts? Do you care?

Nate: I can see why most people who set up shows would think that we're a hard band to pair up with others, but I think that from our standpoint we don't really look at the music we play in those terms. I think that Athens could benefit from shows that don't try to represent specific styles or genres. The fact that there are so many good local bands in such different genres is an opportunity to take advantage of. I get discouraged when the same three bands are placed on the same bill every other weekend at a show and venue that the same people are going to go to. If the bills are a bit more eclectic then a wider variety of people are going to be alerted to all of the different bands that exist. Unfortunately there are those Athens residents who have only seen two or three local bands because they are always paired together to support a touring act that peaks their interest. I do end up caring because there are a few local bands playing every weekend, and other bands that don't have a particular niche that only play when a rare opportunity presents itself.

AMN: You seem to have a lot of fun when you are behind the kit. Is it a form of stress relief for you?

Nate: Playing shows is when I am generally having the most fun, and as a result I think that most of my playful characteristics end up being reflected while I'm playing. Whether it is a form of stress relief is difficult to say. I guess that if I'm having fun and am relaxed and comfortable then anything negative like stress is not on my mind. So, yes, I guess it is to some extent.

AMN: With strict noise ordinances, all that gear, and rental spaces that are practically on top of each other, do you think it is hard to be a drummer in Athens?

Nate: I've found it to be pretty difficult, especially if one is a student. I remember being in the dorms hearing people play their acoustic guitars and being pissed off that I couldn't have my drums around to drown them out. Fortunately, all of the houses I've lived in have been fine in regards to setting up my drums and having band practice. It wasn't until this year that we ran into problems. I'm subletting for somebody now and cannot keep my drums at my house, which makes for a sometimes annoying situation having to move pieces of my drum set back and forth. Overall, it is definitely more difficult because being a drummer in a band puts one in a position that forces him to find a place to play. Otherwise, he or she is stuck moving drums to and from a space- a task that is definitely more of a pain in the ass than moving guitars and amps.

AMN: Where do you practice? Have the cops ever knocked on your door to tell you to shut up?

Nate: Right now we're practicing at Todd's place in The Plains. The cops have never bothered us, but there was an instance a couple years ago when a woman from the area walked into our house and complained. We were polite and trying to be respectful, but she didn't seem too happy about the rock n' roll. In her attempt to prevent us from playing she let us know that the head of the biology department lived up the street and might be bothered. Needless to say, the threat of upsetting the head of the biology department was quite a moral dilemma for us and it almost broke up the band.

AMN: Do you think the Athens music scene is in a period of artistic expansion or regression?

Nate: On the surface I think that it may appear that the Athens music scene is in a period of regression. For example, like I said earlier, the average Athens resident generally sees the same bands over and over again without any newer ones popping up. However, I think that if one is more involved in the music scene and knows a lot of the musicians, then a period of artistic expansion is evident. I know plenty of people who are doing a lot of great music, but will probably never play any shows or be recognized by the general public. My friend Brian put out a comp called "The Moose is Loose" that one can get at Haffa's featuring some of these bands as well as others who are more well known in the Athens scene. So, there is expansion, but unfortunately, a lot of people aren't aware of all that is going on because it is not as out in the open.

AMN: What's in the future for small object a and X Bolex in the next few years.

Nate: small object a is finishing up on a new CD that should be available sometime in the summer. So far it's coming together really well and it will contain some of the best sounding recordings that we've ever done. For the upcoming X Bolex CD I'm going to be doing a composition about my hometown of Lorain, Ohio. Hopefully, at some point in time I'd like to tour with both of these projects and maybe get some kind of recognition from a label. Regardless if that happens, I'll just continue playing music and recording it and hope that a few people enjoy it.

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