Toby Driver

Toby Driver is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and artist, best known for his work as the frontman of the experimental bands maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot.

Driver creates the majority of the album artwork associated with these bands, performs the majority of the lead vocals, and has written and arranged most of the music for both bands. Upon Jason Byron's departure and the subsequent break up of maudlin of the Well, Driver also assumed the role of primary lyricist for Kayo Dot, although Byron is credited as a lyricist on Kayo Dot’s earlier releases. Although several members of motW continued on when the band dissolved and reformed as Kayo Dot, Driver is the only remaining member of the original line-up of maudlin of the Well who is still active with Kayo Dot.

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Biography and early work

Toby Driver was born in 1978, in New England, and currently resides in New York City. During his high school years, he recorded several albums under the moniker "Spoonion" using tape recorders and a karaoke machine. He later released his favorite cuts of these albums online as collections.

He attended Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, where he formed the band maudlin of the Well and where they recorded their debut album. During this time, he also studied under venerable jazz composer Yusef Lateef.

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Style and musicianshipAs evident in the bands and projects to which Driver has contributed, he generally utilizes unconventional styles of song-writing and song structure. Many songs he writes use odd time signatures, range from ten to twenty minutes in length, divert from typical riff-based structure, and employ elements of many musical genres outside of traditional rock and heavy metal, often shifting between these styles within the same song. Songs often incorporate musical qualities suited to styles as diverse as death metal, minimalism, chamber music, post-rock and jazz, while seldom completely conforming to any one specific genre.

Driver’s vocals are accordingly diverse in range and style. Driver uses a normal singing voice, screams, shouts, occasionally uses death vocals (not to be confused with band member Jason Byron who contributes vocals in early motW also), as well as occasionally singing falsetto and using spoken word (see Kayo Dot’s Choirs of the Eye for an example of all the styles listed above).

A multi-instrumentalist, Toby Driver is credited on various albums as playing the following instruments:

* guitar (acoustic and electric)
* 12-string guitar
* baritone guitar
* bass
* double bass
* various keyboards including piano, organ and synthesizer
* laptop mellotron
* clarinet
* cello
* tuba
* bells
* percussion
* gamelan

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Bands

Driver was a founding member of maudlin of the Well in 1996. They disbanded in 2003, and Driver went on to form Kayo Dot that same year, using the songs for what would have been motW’s fourth album for Kayo Dot’s first album, Choirs of the Eye. Kayo Dot has since experienced various line-up changes, with Driver remaining a core member along with violinist/multi-instrumentalist Mia Matsumiya and motW alumnus Terran Olson. In 2009, due to fan requests and contributions, Driver reformed maudlin of the Well to record the digital album Part the Second, reuniting with guitarists Greg Massi, Josh Seipp-Williams, and drummer Sam Gutterman. The album contained five newly released songs, some of which were composed—partially at least—in the early days of the band (as far back as 1997), with lyrics co-written by Jason Byron and Toby Driver.

Driver has also released an official solo album on John Zorn’s Tzadik Records label, and has appeared as a guest musician and/or vocalist on several other projects. He also formed the side project Tartar Lamb with Mia Matsumiya in 2007. He currently records and tours actively with Kayo Dot, and very occasionally plays shows with Tartar Lamb. In rare occurrences he also plays live shows as a solo act, with different band line-ups.

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Work with other bands and artists

During 2005 and 2006, new music ensemble Newspeak commissioned Toby Driver to write a piece of music for them to perform, which he titled, "Subject Can't Wake Up on Film."

In late 2007, he began writing a "suite of gloomy songs" to be performed during the Hunt Studios' Winter Series. He played bass guitar, Jeremiah Cymerman played alto clarinet, Tim Byrnes played a Fender Rhodes, and vocals were provided by Yoshiko Ohara of Bloody Panda. The project was originally slated to be released in 2008 under the name D.U.M.E., or Death Unto My Enemies, named after the variety of vigil candle. Golgonooza Records was expected to release the material as part of a split 7" with Byrnes' band Hazel-Rah, but the release was cancelled by the label. Driver and Byrnes are still looking for labels interested in releasing the split.

In 2008, he recorded with post-rock band Gregor Samsa, playing various instruments for them on their album Rest and touring as part of the band in support of said album. He also debuted a new piece of music called "Dolphin's Paralimbic Lobe," performed by the Josh Roseman Ensemble with Toby sitting in on bass. In September 2008, he performed as "The Morbid Stripes", playing bass guitar with Jeremiah Cymerman, Daniel Means and Terran Olson on woodwinds. Also in 2008, he appeared on the second disc of the self-titled album by Pyramids, doing a remix of the song “The Echo of Something Lovely” along with Colin Marston (Behold... The Arctopus, et al.) and Ted Parsons (Swans, Jesu, et al.).

In 2009, Kayo Dot toured with and opened for Trey Spruance’s avant garde band Secret Chiefs 3, during which time Toby doubled as the SC3 bassist.

In February of 2010, Toby curated The Stone, John Zorn's donation-supported performance venue in downtown New York City. During this time, several unique performances were given, including an evening of improv, wherein Toby shared the floor with notable avant-garde, Tzadik Records artists such as Ikue Mori, Sylvie Courvoisier, and John Zorn himself.

In April 2010, he began session work on the new Asva record, "Presences of Absences".