Music:
Member Since: 07/09/2006
Band Website: U R there.
Band Members: A. Che Why - sequencer, guitar, and vocals
Sounds Like: from Flagpole, Spotlight, December 19, 2007:
It's easy enough to describe Athens and its music scene in terms of stasis: low expectations, consistent number of bands, those who leave being replaced by those who arrive. But there's also continual growth and experimentation. You'd think that Bob Hay, having been in The Squalls and Athens, Ga.: Inside/Out, would rest on his laurels, but then he went and started Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars to play Robert Burns songs, and he formed The Squallz to do quieter versions of the old Squalls songs, and the Noogeez to do very similar things but with drums and altered arrangements, and Supercluster, with his wife, Vanessa Briscoe Hay of Pylon, and a lot of younger folks. You'd think that this would be enough.
But there's also A. Che Why, Bob's solo project, which he describes on MySpace as "Pop/Disco House/Other" and is pretty much exactly that, only pared down to the molecular origins of those genres. Is there singing? Sort of. Bob says, "My working definition of a 'song' for this project is a beat with some sounds thrown in, topped with some words." Could you do that in your own living room if you had a sequencer and some spare time? The answer to that question is another question, which is "What, exactly, is wrong with that?"
There is a joy in screwing around musically with no expectations, and one of the things that's particularly impressive about Bob is how willing he still is to do that.
A. Che Why is playing at the Go Bar on Friday, Dec. 21 with The Noogeez.
Q & A
Flagpole: How many bands is too many bands to be in? Also, techmologie: what are its costs and benefits? Yea or nay?
Bob Hay: I don't know what would be too many, but I know how many are enough. The thing about bands is that sometimes scheduling practices and gigs is a real difficulty. That's one reason I got started with A. Che Why. When I feel like playing music I just turn on the sequencer and just start messing around and maybe play along on guitar. It's not the same as playing with a band, but so what? There's room for lots of different approaches to music. I guess this ties in with the question about "techmologie." People versus machines. I am a little apprehensive about the future. Things have changed so much in the last 25 years. It's hard to grasp what it all means. But in one way, it's a dream come true. Twenty-five years ago, you could record songs on a cassette deck, and you had one cassette. Now not only are low-budget recording tools incredibly more capable, but you've got immediate world-wide distribution, potentially.
Flagpole: Is this just an excuse to hang out at Go Bar more than you already do?
Bob Hay: Yeah, probably so.
Flagpole: What do you want for Galaxy Day [which was Dec. 18 and is the subject of one of A. Che Why's songs]?
Bob Hay: Yeah, just what we need - another late-December holiday.
Flagpole: If A. Che Why were a beverage, what beverage would it be?
Bob Hay: Cafe Bustelo with milk and a shot of scotch.
- Hillary Brown
-------------------------
from Flagpole, Threats and Promises, Dec. 6, 2006:
Creativity Never Rests: Longtime Athens musician Bob Hay, formerly of The Squalls and currently heading up The Jolly Beggars, has a new solo project going on and it’s seriously one of the more exciting and cool things I’ve heard this year. Hay has placed the music under the moniker A. Che Why and has posted four tracks online. The songs so far have a heavy dub and post-punk influence and end up sounding more like England circa 1978 than Athens circa 2006. In any case, they’re wonderful and serve to display the many talents of Bob Hay. Check 'em out over at www.myspace.com/achewhy.
Record Label: Unknown Indie
Type of Label: Unsigned
