Didgeridoos by Troy Page

Jake Duncan, Freestyle - IndidjInUs 2011I shot this clip on my...

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 00:34:44 -0500

Jake Duncan, Freestyle - IndidjInUs 2011

I shot this clip on my second pilgrimage to the didgeridoo woodland gathering called InDidjInUs, located in central/western Oregon. The performer from this video has learned from, and has been influenced by this beautiful gathered group of musicians since his childhood, since InDidjInUs began 16 years ago. Jake’s style is both powerful and technical, his sense of rhythm spot on, an unique style that many strive for and none can recreate. It was a pleasure meeting Jake for the first time, I remember approaching him nervously to ask him permission to post this video. Jake was excited to learn that I captured his last song, a improvisation piece that included some new sounds he’s been experimenting with.

To hear more songs by Jake Duncan see Jake’s Myspace Page or youtube search him. Lots of great Jake Duncan didge clips out there.

Flood Page, “Tranquility” Big Island Style In ...

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:40:00 -0400

Flood Page, “Tranquility” Big Island Style

In 2009 Encinitas resident and guitarist Tim Flood embarked on a vision quest to the Big Island of Hawaii. There Tim met my father Brant Page and spent a few days helping out on the coffee farm I grew up on. Brant encouraged Tim to connect with me upon his return to California. At the time I had recently moved to Encinitas and thanks to my pop, Tim and I met up and we quickly became good friends.

This video has been years in the making. In fact, I started filming for it a decade before I ever met Tim. In 2000 after I finished high school, I gathered up all the money I saved from videotaping weddings and shooting photos of Hilton Luau guests and spent it on a Sony VX2000 DV camcorder. It was my favorite toy and it went everywhere with me including a couple dozen strenuous Big Island hikes and camp-outs.

I’ve always been amazed by how beautiful our world is and when she shows her magnificence I feel the need to capture it. At the time I didn’t know what I’d be using it for, but I was going far out of my way to capture it. Tim tells me, “You were receiving the download.” Yes, “the download”!

The timing was perfect for shooting this performance, I had just finished constructing the largest didgeridoo I’ve made to date. Eight feet long with a bell a foot wide, plays in the key of C. Spring bloom was in effect and Tim’s Encinitas backyard had nasturtium flowers blooming all around a small wood deck, a perfect colorful stage.

We both feel it’s fitting to have our music paired with the beauty of the Big Island as our first music video. It brings the Flood Page story full circle.

Troy Page Didgeridoo Solo, “Cascade” This is my...

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:37:00 -0400

Troy Page Didgeridoo Solo, “Cascade”

This is my first video playing the djembe and didgeridoo at the same time, something I’m still getting used to. I called this song Cascade because it reminded me of a waterfall, steady but moving and tumbling forward.

I challenged myself on this video project from the start by tilting the camera on its side, giving the longest width of the image to the vertical space rather then the normal shape of video. I did this because I knew it would force me to creatively find ways to fill in the blank areas on either side of the video clip. Plus I’d have more resolution to work with when digitally zooming in.

In the editing process I first started experimenting with duplicating & mirroring the original video image. Once I ran out of ideas for the mirroring effect, I looked to my collection of photos. Adding colorful Hawaiian nature photographs was just what the video called for. Worked out perfectly because I happen to be wearing a Aloha shirt the day I shot the performance.

My friend Tim Flood gave the audio track a good EQ mix and got the levels just right. I also incorporated a couple Big Island photos that my friends Michael Peters and Kanoa Kimball took. I’m happy about how this one turned out and I plan on making more videos like it. Aloha!

Video by: Troy Page

Mouthpiece Design

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:34:00 -0400

Didgeridoo mouthpiece on the left by Troy Page,

Didgeridoo mouthpiece on the right by William Thoren.

Didgeridoo design and playing styles are relatively new in the west, and it’s exciting for me to be crafting and playing in this era of exploration and refinement. William Thoren is a talented didgeridoo player, didgeridoo crafter, photographer and inventor of this mouthpiece design. I’ve adopted this shape after meeting Will and trying out his didgeridoos at InDidjInUs 2010.

My mouthpiece design has been evolving slowly since I started crafting them in 2008, but there have been two notable changes that have helped my playing tremendously.

The first came after I took a workshop with Ondřej Šmejkal, Ondřej describes the importance of a mouthpiece that has minimal contact with your face. Basically you don’t want to smash your face up against your Didgerdioo to make an airtight seal. Thinning down my mouthpiece walls gave me freedom of my jaw and around my lips.

The next big improvement in my mouthpiece design came after meeting Will Thoren. Will uses a larger opening then most didgeridoo crafters, where the largest part of the opening is side to side. He also uses a concave for the ease of a tight seal against one’s rounded face. Before I met Will I had already adapted my design to a concave shape but it was Will’s larger oblong opening that has done a lot for my vibrations.

William has developed a playing technique that he calls Drop Octave and Multi Drone. He’s able to play drone notes with his didgeridoos that are an octave lower than standard drones and several more notes in between. Although I haven’t yet learned how to play Drop Octave or Multi Drone there has been a flurry of new sounds and a new style emerging in my playing since I’ve adapted his design.

Thanks to Ondřej and William I’ve taken leaps forward in what’s possible in didgeridoo design. I’m learning from the best, and I have a long ways to go.

To read more and see videos about the Drop Octave and Multi Drone technique and craft please visit William Thoren’s website: www.wetdidgeridoo.com

Photos by: Troy Page

Bing Family Tree - surf video featuring music by Flood...

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:27:00 -0400

Bing Family Tree - surf video featuring music by Flood Page

Produced by Saltwater Collective, in this video Bing Surfboard team rider Chris Del Moro enjoys riding three new surfboard designs: the Speed Square, the Dharma and the Spork.

It was Chris’s idea to shoot the sunset silhouette which I find visually stunning. Overall I’m happy with the footage, the animations and the art direction. Most of all I’m happy to have music that I recorded of my friends and I jamming out featured as the video’s soundtrack.

The first track of music is called “Spaceya” by Flood Page, my buddy Tim Flood on electric guitar and myself on didge. The second track by Cosmic Teepee is a jam track I recorded in Australia featuring the musicians Dave Rastovich, Howie Cooke, OJ Newcomb, Hilton Dawe and Chris Del Moro. The third track is a Mellow Tribe original jam called “Aviator Glasses”, recorded here at my home in Cardiff with my friends Nathan Westergren and Nathan McConnell on guitars, Matt Westergren, Daniel Compton and myself on Djembe drums.

As I write this, I notice the total youtube views has exceeded 10,000 today, and it’s only been two weeks since I posted it. Bing Family Tree is becoming one of the most popular video I’ve edited in a long time.

“If there was ever a good time to go….”

Chris and I shot this video locally around San Diego during the January/February swells of 2011, and on one of those days, just as we pulled up to the beach a man had died while surfing. As we walked down to the shore Chris encountered one of his friends who was coming in and she said just before the man died he appeared to be having a lot of fun, catching the longest and best rides of anyone in the water. Further down the beach we encountered a lifeguard who still had the man’s board and hat. He asked us if we knew the surfer because they still had not identified the mid-to-late 40 year old who apparently died of a hart attack.

Chris paddled out and I set my camera up on the rocks above the beach. A moment later three older men who had just come in from surfing walked down the beach and started talking with the lifeguard. I watched as the men broke into tears and after the lifeguard left the surfers walked out into the water waist deep. While holding each-others shoulders they shared a prayer for there late friend. Everyone on the beach that day kept saying the same thing, “If there was ever a good time to go…”

Bing Family Tree

Produced by: Saltwater Collective

Filming, animation and editing by: Troy Page

Artwork by: Chris Del Moro

Additional surf footage by: Rick Starich

Aussie "Rasta" Didgeridoo

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:24:00 -0400

There was solid rock on three sides of me and the lapping sound of ocean waves from the front. No one on the beach, nothing to distract from my concentration. I feel centered, I feel alive. To be all the way down under and not have an experience like this would have been a regret.

In the spring of 2010 I took a trip to Australia to help my friend Justin Krumb film a couple of projects. On one of the projects we were working with Dave Rastovich, a professional surfer and marine conservation activist who lives in Byron Bay, New South Wales. Among many other amazing instruments, Dave plays didgeridoo. Rastovich stoked me out by letting me borrow one of his personal didgeridoos for the duration of our nearly three-week stay. Thanks to Dave I was able to continue my daily practice on the road. So grateful for the generosity and hospitality I received from Rasta and his friendly Ozzie mates.

Shortly after I took these photos I bought a fresh bar of bees wax and re-waxed the mouthpiece nice and clean. Again, so grateful for the opportunity.

Photos by: Troy Page

“All Fly Like Eagles” - Healing Vibrations For...

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:11:00 -0400

“All Fly Like Eagles” - Healing Vibrations For Japan

This project came about when my friends Tim Flood and Michael Joseph Ferguson asked me to join them in a concert event they arbitrarily planned for March 19th, 2011 titled “Music For The Planet”. They started preparing for this event months ahead of time and just one week before the concert, a devastating 9.0 earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.

Japan was on every one’s mind but there were also a number of other things happening at the same time. On the night of our performance, a multi-state coalition led by US, British and French forces started a bombing campaign against the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his army. Also the night of our show we were experiencing a full moon that happened to be closest to earth since 1992. I got a glimpse of the moon as it rose over the eastern hills that late afternoon and it was noticeably larger then I had ever seen before. Plus, March 19th happened to be the eve of the Spring Equinox placing our event on the last hours of winter. Good night to slow down to songs of positive intention.

This song is an American Indian chant call, “All Fly Like Eagles” and this performance was my first time playing along to this chant. Pre-show during rehearsal & mic-check, Michael asked me, “Do you have a b-flat didgeridoo?” My favorite didgeridoo at the time was in the key of b-flat, but I left it at home because b-flat wasn’t going to be used in any of the other songs we planned that night. Luckily my roommates attended and brought my b-flat didge just before the show started, and we were able to sneak one last song into the mix. “All Fly Like Eagles” became my favorite performance of the event. I especially liked hearing the audience join in.

Our performance was held at a little yoga studio in Del Mar, Bindu Yoga. The next day a large storm rolled in and my friend Matt and I took a trip back to Del Mar to film the weather. Over the duration of the week- long storm I picked up shots here and there and added them to the video.

Drawing from my experience working for truthout.org, I searched the photo website flickr.com for creative commons photos related to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami. (Creative commons photos are photos that have been authorized by the photographs owner, enabling others to legally re-purpose the image {under preset guidelines} without having to pay royalty fees). Thanks to these photographers contributing to creative commons I was able to add a montage of disaster, rescue and relief images to the video.

I hope that my efforts in creating this video leads to more donations towards those Japanese earthquake and tsunami survivors in need.

Michael Joseph Ferguson - lead vocal, acoustic guitar
Tim Flood - electric guitar, backing vocal
Troy Page - didgeridoo
Prem Das - tabla
Jill Jancic - backing vocal

Video Shot & Edited By
Troy Page

Audio Engineer
Tim Flood

Chris Del Moro’s "Dream Time" Didgeridoo

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:10:00 -0400

My friend Chris Del Moro and I decided to collaborate on a didgeridoo project and display the final product at a show alongside Chris’s other works of art at the Western Union Pacific Surf Gallery in Cardiff. This didgeridoo originated in my neighbor’s front yard in Del Mar and I began constructing it long before I ever met Chris.

I split the agave in half, hollowed either side, then became busy with other projects. The two halves sat in my room for months and the wood started to warp. After resin-ing and gluing the warped half’s back together, an obvious seam revealed itself down either side. It was playable, but I planned on decorating the outside to hide the seam. I procrastinated… then moved on to other projects and it sat uncompleted for over a year.

Once I met Chris and we talked about collaborating, the unfinished didgeridoo came to mind. It was waiting for him all along. I sanded down two strips on either side, smoothing out the seam and giving Chris a place to create his magic of paint and wood-burning.

In the construction of this didgeridoo there are a couple unique things that I most likely will never attempt again, primarily because of how much work it ended up being. First, at the bell of the didgeridoo I layered applications of resin, fiberglass and colored pigment (black, red, yellow & green) to create the layered effect. The second unique aspect of this instrument is inside the mouth piece where I used a similar method of applying pigmented resin and fiberglass to create rings of color.

I picked black, red, yellow and green because I was inspired by the music of Bob Marley. Once Chris had the didge he spent time playing it and was inspired by the music of Jimmy Hendrix. He decorated the outside with the words, “Are U Experienced” and used the psychedelic colors of Hendrix’s records. I find it interesting that Chris’s art direction was also inspired by cultural music especially because I had not told him about my motivation for picking Rastafarian colors. It’s Reggae on the inside and Rock’n Roll on the outside.

We decided not to sell this piece of art and Chris keeps it as his own. To read more and see a video about this art show please click here.

Photos by: Keziah Benson & Troy Page

Troy Page Didgeridoo Solo, Desert Meditation So many crazy...

Sat, 28 May 2011 01:05:00 -0400

Troy Page Didgeridoo Solo, Desert Meditation

So many crazy things happening in my world and the world at large… so much all at once, it can sometimes make me feel disconnected and uncertain. My remedy is to take time, slow down, meditate by focusing on my breath and the sound of the instrument. Didgeridoo meditation helps me let go of the negative thoughts before they have a chance to alter my direction.

March of 2011, a small group of friends and I headed out to the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park to celebrate the birthday of our good friend Nathan McConnell. We pulled up to an absolutely picture-perfect campsite just as the evening sky turned golden. We ate, drank and kept warm around a blasting hot fire in celebration.

I initially got up early after a good night’s sleep to capture the sound of the morning birds in the frigid winter air. After setting up my audio gear I realized it wouldn’t be much more trouble to set up a camera to shoot a performance video as well. As I began to play I could feel the wildlife around me reacting to the sound of the didgeridoo, especially the birds. After I finished the meditation I turned the camera around and shot a series of scenic shots in the adjacent area and WALLA!… a simple video that I feel well represents the emotions and energy I received while playing in this beautiful desert landscape.

Video by: Troy Page

I make it a habit to play didgeridoo everyday. It’s time...

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:59:00 -0400

I make it a habit to play didgeridoo everyday. It’s time I use to clear my head, meditate, recharge, and create something from nothing.

Photo by: Lance Page

Didgeridoo Heaven ~ LA Outback

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:55:00 -0400

Everywhere didgeridoos, like a kid in a candy store!

Do you plan on buying a didgeridoo? If so I highly recommend playing the stick you’re interested in, and then compare it to an assortment before purchasing. I’ve found that every player is looking for an unique quality that fits his or her playing style. The right didgeridoo will call your name and more importantly it will call you to practice.

LA Outback owners Berry and Mark have an amazing, evolving assortment of didgeridoos in the hills behind Hollywood and were kind enough to let me examine and try out any stick in there inventory.

If you happen to live around the LA area or are visiting, give them a ring for an appointment. For more info and to spy on their online inventory visit: www.laoutback.com

Photo by: Keziah Benson

Clifbar Lightwaves w/ Chris Del Moro, Californian...

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:50:00 -0400

Clifbar Lightwaves w/ Chris Del Moro, Californian Adventures

Clifbar, Lightwaves is a joint effort between the energy bar company, Clifbar and the production team I work with, Saltwater Collective. In this episode, professional surfer and artist Chris Del Moro heads out on a surf road trip along the California coastline from San Diego to San Francisco with the goal of painting a whale mural on the side of a co-op preschool.

I wasn’t able to make the trek up north with the boys but I was able to contribute to this video with editing, animation and music…

To my liking and enjoyment we invent a lot of original tunes at my home in Cardiff, the “Mellow Tribe” casa. One stormy weekend evening my friends, the Westergren siblings, Matthew, Nathan and Sara, came by to hang out and share a jam. The first track of music in this Clifbar video was recorded that evening, a song called “It’s Raining, Inside”. Sara was inspired to sing this line because we had a leak in our ceiling that was dripping into buckets on the floor. I had to edit out the lyrics for the Clifbar video because they didn’t match the theme, but if you’d like to listen to the entire jam while also watching two cute baby chihuahuas click here: “Its Raining” - video by Matthew Westergren.

The second song is also a jam from a Mellow Tribe party we had a while back.

“Its Raining, Inside”
Sara Westergren, piano & vocals
Nathan Westergren, lead guitar
Matthew Westergren, rhythm guitar
Troy Page, Didgeridoo

Video produced by: Saltwater Collective
Filmed by: Justin Krumb
Editing by: Troy Page & Justin Krumb
Animation by: Chris Del Moro & Troy Page

Keziah's "I Love You" Didgeridoo

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:45:00 -0400

Notice the I-love-you-Keziah heart, it was a natural bug bite that I filled in with red. Keziah and I took a trip to my favorite beach in Hawaii and I couldn’t help but notice stalks of agave growing in the brush behind the beach. I found this fallen agave stalk and brought it back to San Diego. I shaped and keyed it to E-flat, the same pitch as my “Desert Horn” didgeridoo and presented it to Keziah as a gift.

Keziah and I once took our E-flat didgeridoos to the meditation gardens at the Self Realization Center in Encinitas on a busy weekend day. We played together a slow “meditative” drone, of course. Visitors stopped and listened and thanked us for the enjoyable sound, but the caretaker had us stop because apparently the rules are no music in the meditation gardens. ooops

Photos by: Troy Page & Keziah Benson

The Thurston Experience

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:41:00 -0400

For me the sound of a didgeridoo is naturally full of power. Add this to the reverberating vibrations of a cave and you’re on your way to a state of cosmic and inner sonic mind levitation, oh yeah!

:-()============<

This photo was taken in the Thurston Lava Tube located in the Volcano National Park on the Big Island. Keziah and I went to the park for a hike and found ourselves in the lava tube late in the evening after the tourists had gone.

If you know of any large caves, please drop a line, I’d love to go didgeridoo spelunking with you.

Photo by: Keziah Benson

Honolua Surf Co. Commercial This commercial is a project...

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:38:00 -0400

Honolua Surf Co. Commercial

This commercial is a project produced by the Saltwater Collective production team and was first screened at the Save The Waves Film Festival in Victoria, San Francisco. I shot most of the footage, edited it and helped create the tune in the background.

This video’s soundtrack is a good example of how recording weekend jams can pay off. Contributing to this song titled “Outback”: Matthew Westergren and Nathan Westergren on guitars, Sara Westergren on drums and myself on didgeridoo.

Daniel Compton's "Midnight" Didgeridoo

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:36:00 -0400

This is Daniel Compton and his 7’6” key-of-A agave didgeridoo that we built together. Daniel was the first person I heard rock a didge and his vibrational rhythm was the inspirational spark that got me started.

I found this agave on the side of a canyon in Del Mar, California up the hill from where I once lived. It was the last evening before I moved to Cardiff from Del Mar. I packed my backpack with water, snacks, gloves, headlamp and a saw. Then I grabbed a didgeridoo and walked from my place up over the hill and into the canyon at the top. I found a comfortable place under a tree in the dark of night and “didj-ed” until it got late, then made my way back to an agave flower stalk that I noticed on an earlier visit. I pulled it up from its fallen position on the side of the canyon wall and carried it back. This area of Del Mar mostly consists of wealthy retired folk and is a very quiet neighborhood especially around midnight. I only passed one car on my walk back home, they looked frightened to see me bundled up for the cold night with a backpack and two large sticks.

Daniel now lives in Washington DC and he took this massive didge with him. I’m still waiting to see some photos of him rocking out on the National Mall.

Photos by: Troy Page

Mellow Tribe, “Reef” Mellow Tribe is the name...

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:30:00 -0400

Mellow Tribe, “Reef”

Mellow Tribe is the name associated around our group of friends here in Southern California. The name stuck perhaps because of our laid-back friendly approach.

On guitar is my good friend Nathan McConnell. Together we decided to make up some music on the spot and record it. So here’s the first time rendering of “Reef”.

Video by: Troy Page

Troy's "Desert Horn" Didgeridoo

Sat, 28 May 2011 00:15:00 -0400

My First Agave Didgeridoo

My uncle Korb and his lifelong buddy Sam have made it a tradition to spend time in Baja, Mexico at least once a year to get away from society, rough it and spend as much time as possible walking on water. Often they invite me along and I find it hard to say no, every trip brings exciting adventure and limitless inspiration.

It was the fall of 2008. Sam and I drove down and met up with Korb, who had already been camping out for about a month. We were greeted on our first sunrise by a 4 to 6 foot swell that lasted our entire week-long stay. Was honestly, to this point, the best surf I’ve ever had.

We shared waves with our friend Glen Horn and his wife Roberta who happened to be camping down the beach from us. Glen took a look at my home made bamboo didgeridoo and said, “I have a friend who made a didgeridoo out of the flower stalk of the desert cactus plant agave that grows natively in this area. If you’d like we could drive out into the desert to find you one?” Agave is a commonly used plant for didgeridoo crafting, but I did not know about it because playing didgeridoo was still new to me.

Glen and I drove out into the desert in his red Sazuki Samurai, complete with bull horns tied to the front and a ball sack and tail on the back. We found this beautiful agave growing on the hillside facing the ocean and overlooking a desert valley.

Of all the agave didgeridoos I’ve made, my favorite have come from Baja Mexico. I found the wood of this desert species is far more dense then others I’ve discovered. Also the natural skins of this variety are beautiful. On a lot of agave flower stocks the skin is thin and comes off fairly easy, but skins on these Baja cactus dry hard and the texture reminds me a bit of stiff rough leather.

I smuggled the agave Glen and I harvested back to California under a pile of camping gear in the back of Sam’s truck. A friend of mine helped me cut it in half using a table saw, I hollowed it and glassed the inside with fiberglass and polyester resin from my surfboard ding repair kit. Then I put a decretive wood strip down the center to hide the seem and to this day its one of my favorite didgeridoos.

Since this trip Glen Horn has learned to play didge too and he’s gotten really good, a natural musician. Glen is a surfboard shaper so naturally he’s taken to crafting didgeridoos as well and he’s made some amazing Baja agave didgeridoos over the last couple years.

My gratitude goes out to Sam and Korb for inviting me along and to Glen for introducing me to agave. The sound of agave didgeridoos I’ve found far superior to the sound of bamboo, and it has set me off on an agave didgeridoo crafting experimental quest.

Photos by: Troy Page

Ondřej Šmejkal

Fri, 27 May 2011 23:45:00 -0400

This man is an amazing didjeridoo player, one of the best. The photo on the left is a workshop that he held in LA in 2008. A small group of my friends and I attended and after the workshop he held an hour long solo acoustic performance, very inspiring.

The photo on the left is a amplified performance that he gave at the InDidjInUs gathering this last August (2010) in Oregon. You can’t see it in this photo but there is a microphone extending down from his headphones which mics his nose. Yep his nose, so that he can capture the sound of his inhales as an additional rhythm. Genius!

photo left by: Keziah Benson
photo right by: Troy Page

See Ondrj perform by clicking here and here, and get some didgeridoo playing tips from Ondrj click here.

Troy Page Didgeridoo Solo, “Spitfire” Anzo-Borrego...

Thu, 26 May 2011 00:59:00 -0400

Troy Page Didgeridoo Solo, “Spitfire” Anzo-Borrego Desert

“My new years resolution…”, I thought to myself as I looked up at the brilliant night sky while sitting next to our crackling camp fire on the last day of 2010, “This year I’m going to video myself performing and see if it leads to anything. After all I do have all the ways and means being that I work on video projects for a living. How hard can it be?”

The next day we headed out to explore the Canyons and Mud Caves in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I had my camera with me and I decided I’d try and shoot myself playing in the canyon while the rest of the group went ahead. Well it turns out… I can run a camera but sitting in front of one is much different. With nothing but the camera staring at me, I fell very much on the spot. After a couple attempts my friends came back down from there spelunking adventure and asked me If I’d play a song for them. Playing for my friends was so much easier then playing for a static camera. Here’s my first video and many more to come.

Video by: Troy Page