Video: Didgeridoo to You, on the Morristown Green

Tyler Sussman and AJ Block of the Didge Project perform at Music Beyond Borders in Morristown. Photo by Scott Schlosser
Tyler Sussman and AJ Block of the Didge Project perform at Music Beyond Borders in Morristown. Photo by Scott Schlosser
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Say “good vibrations” to most California musicians and you may catch a wave of surf tunes.

Tyler Sussman and AJ Block shared a very different interpretation this week on the Morristown Green.

They are partners in the Didge Project, which celebrates all things didgeridoo.

It’s an Australian instrument, mate.  AJ, a jazz trombonist by training, produced primordial, trance-inducing drones on Tuesday through a long didgeridoo carved from a pear tree.

It was a fitting finale to the 2013 Music Beyond Borders lunchtime series, a production of Morris Arts and the Mayo Performing Arts Center.

Photos by Scott Schlosser for MorristownGreen.com

Tyler, who accompanied AJ on flute, explained that their fascination with the didgeridoo started a few years ago on a road trip… from their native California to Portland, Ore.

Their keyboard player at the time was into the instrument, and introduced them to a Tibetan “sound healer.”

One thing led to another and now the duo own what is believed to be the only didgeridoo store in New York, where they give lessons and sell instruments ranging from about $80 to more than $1,500.

Tyler Sussman and AJ Block of the Didge Project perform at Music Beyond Borders in Morristown. Photo by Scott Schlosser
Tyler Sussman and AJ Block of the Didge Project perform at Music Beyond Borders in Morristown. Photo by Scott Schlosser

Down Under, eucalyptus trees are converted to didgeridoos by termites, which hollow out the insides.

However, it’s possible to get started without voracious insects or large wads of cash.  Some PVC piping from your local hardware store can suffice, Tyler said.

The Didge Project sells didgeridoos in different keys, though the one that AJ played on Tuesday boasted a telescoping barrel that enabled him to alter the pitch–almost like an aboriginal trombone.

“It can take you to many places,” AJ said.

Including, he hopes, to Australia someday.

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