Since 1994 I’ve had the pleasure of contributing to KUOW’s Weekday while on the road via commentaries and interviews. For our latest trip, I sent in 24 sound clips that aired on the show’s “sound of the day” segment. Here are clips 1-4.
Guy Banging on Stuff, National Stadium Skytrain Stop, Bangkok
For many a year, it seemed like no matter where we traveled, we would run into a Peruvian band playing in a town or city square. I think the Peruvian band thing has waned in popularity on the international circuit. What’s the new trend? Guys banging on stuff. You’ve seen (and heard) them on the streets of Seattle. A guy sets up a percussion set consisting of common items like plastic paint buckets or garbage cans … and there’s usually a cow bell. Then they wail away on these items, very often with some impressive results.
Well, here is the Bangkok version of this new trend. This guy was just outside the National Stadium Skytrain stop. Plastic buckets, pieces of metal, and (one I haven’t seen before) an old Samsonite suitcase. If only he had a Peruvian band backing him up.
Student Band, Limpini Park, Bangkok
It’s 11am and it’s hot, humid and around 90 degrees. We are in Lumpini Park, the big central park of Bangkok. A teacher is putting the percussion section of his student band through drills. What you have to imagine to make this sound byte complete, is that every time a kid makes a mistake, they drop down for 2 to 5 pushups. I’ll spare you the long version of this clip. They ran this short section no less than 20 times. The kid with the gong just couldn’t quite come in at the right time, no matter how many times they ran it. On the positive side, he was getting one heck of a good upper body work out.
Mynar bird, Bangkok canal
Kat and I wandered along the canal near the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok. Tiny little living spaces packed together in the shadow of huge residential, business and shopping towers. As you walk along the quiet alleys, it’s hard to believe that a massive traffic jam is 500 meters away. Tiny little gardens are planted and tended. Shops the size of a walk in closet offer soft drinks, drinking water and snacks. At first we thought the sound was a video game. Turned out to be a caged mynah bird.
Express Boat, Bangkok
These whistles are familiar to anyone who rides the Chao Phraya Express boat in Bangkok. The pilot of the boat is up front. The passengers embark and disembark from the rear of the boat. A man at the back whistles commands to the pilot. Each whistle has a different meaning, and gives the pilot the information he needs to back the boat up to the dock, when to cut the throttle, when the passengers are clear, and when to speed on to the next stop.
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