Mike Silverman, better known as That 1 Guy, abandoned his double bass and invented an entirely new instrument - The Magic Pipe. This Pipe that looks like a strange hybrid of Industrial Revolution and Dr. Seuss (whom Mike cites as one of his biggest influences), is equipped with two bass strings and a bunch of buttons that trigger samples and loops.

What looks like a strange monstrosity at first, is a brilliantly constructed instrument like you’ve never seen before, and the funky futuristic sounds that Mike produces with it are nothing like you’ve heard before!

After the release of four albums, That 1 Guy is constantly on the road performing as a one-man band and adding to his cult following in the US and around the world. His latest release is PACKS A WALLOP, and it’s just as packed with part-industrial, part-rock, part-funky grooves and silly, yet well crafted songs like Laser Beans and Suckatash, as his previous releases.

When Mike came through Chicago, Vocalo’s MusicVox producer Fyodor Sakhnovski got a chance to talk to him about pipes, his “futuristic funk” music, and his inspiration for songs like Guava, Buttmachine and Wiesel Pot Pie.

For more pictures from That 1 Guy show at Subterranean, click here.