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An Interview with Mikel Patrick Avery

Turning Creative Problem Solving Into Art

Kallie Marie · 07/12/24

A multidisciplinary artist, drummer, and modern pedal and electronic instrument innovator, Mikel Patrick Avery is something of a modern renaissance man. Some of his most known pedals include the Broken Amp Sim, Tulip, the Zipper Ripper, Bolster, and the FLUTTERGUTT.

He took some time out to share with us a bit about what he’s working on, and his reflections on his journey in the world of sound and art.

An Interview with Mikel Patrick Avery

Kallie Marie: Mikel, you do so many incredible creative things. I know that you play drums and are a musician involved in a few bands and projects, are a photographer, have been involved in some film projects, and you also make some electronic music devices—for lack of a better word, "pedals"…and electronic drums? Did I get all of that right? Tell us about what you are working on right now.

Mikel Patrick Avery: That’s super kind. Yea, I consider it all to be one practice. Filmmaking, music, building, designing, it all utilizes the same thing at its root, which is creative problem solving. The tools used to discover ways to express ideas are somewhat universal and can be applied in any direction.

Creativity doesn’t care if you call yourself a musician, it cares about expression. Something way easier for me to wrap my head around when it comes to building and creating. I’m constantly stirring several ideas and projects at once, as well as being a full time musician. On the building side of things, I’m currently building & designing pedals, writing some orchestral music, writing a screenplay, and prototyping an electronic instrument for the hearing impaired.

KM: When did you get into the DIY aspect of creating electronic music instruments/pedals? What took you down this path?

MPA: Worst endeavor ever. On tour, most of the day is traveling. I keep a notebook of ideas and I enjoy drafting product designs/functions as a creative exercise. From this, I designed what I would want a pedal line to look and sound like. By the end of the tour I had already decided that I was going to give it a go even though I had nearly no electrical skills and zero experience with powered circuits.

That was about two years ago. My life has been ruined ever since. It completely fills the Asperger’s part of my personality in the best and worst ways.

KM: What was the first product that you made?

MPA: A year before making this current line, I made a unit that plugs directly into the guitar’s output jack; a passive drive and hi pass filter called the "Hard Pass No Fi." It’s meant to make a perfectly fine sounding guitar, sound like junk. I’m still really into it. [I am] considering doing another run of it, just talking about it now. Such a bad idea. [I am] ordering parts now.

KM: What has been your favorite innovation/project so far?

MPA: I’m maybe most proud of the FLUTTERGUTT, it’s a punchy percussion optical tremolo. The Dick Denney Vox guitar tremolo is one of my favorite effects of all time (peep Spacemen 3). I wanted the tremolo to be able to go much slower while retaining the shortness of the punch, a thing I hadn’t found possible in that circuit. Maybe it is, I just couldn’t figure it out—which isn’t saying much. So I tried it optically.

Mind you, I have no idea what I’m doing and have just recently slightly learned how to read a schematic; just winging it and experimenting. I ended up stumbling on the sound and tweaked it from there. Getting rid of the famous "tick" found in optical tremolo circuits was a serious struggle. To this date it’s the only circuit I actually cried over. I’ll never make that thing again. It rules.

KM: How do you refine your ideas for your designs?

MPA: I breadboard to death. I’m obsessed with it—a simple data sheet to get a part operating and just completely mess with it to no end. [It is] interesting what pops up when you just start messing with parts, not too dissimilar to Legos; skip the kits, just get the bucket. It’ll take longer to make a Millennium Falcon, but at least yours will look fucked up and awesome.

I’m really into '60s/70s stuff from Japan. Stuff that kind of has just one sound in it. One trick ponies are cool. What you do with that one sound might be entirely different than what the next person does with it. Limitations demand us to call upon out creative impulses. That being said, I enjoy simple design; that could mean no knobs, or 27, as long as the message is clear.

KM: What is the hardest part about building these gadgets?

MPA: In general if something’s hard, I’m doing something wrong. Small obtainable goals are the only way I can make it though, so if something is really becoming a challenge, it’s because I’m either skipping a step, or missing a step that I can’t see yet...and solder burns. Solder burns suck.

KM: Are you creating these innovations for yourself in mind first, or for some other reason?

MPA: Yea, everything so far is either for me or for my friends to use. Thankfully I get to play with super brilliant people, and I love to design things with them in mind. Kurt Vile, Joshua Abrams, Ty Segall, Jeff Parker, Macie Stewart, Rob Mazurek, Emmett Kelly—among others are all my dear friends that inspire me to try to make something good enough for them to use. It’s really personal in that way, [it] feels homey.

I generally make short runs (anywhere from 20–200) of each effect. It’s been really cool to see these things in the wild from people I haven’t met, super wild and unexpected. I’m very grateful and can’t believe I get to do this.

KM: What’s next for you, and what are you hoping to do in the future?

MPA: I’m currently in a build for a pedal that I plan on leaving in random places for people to find and take home with them; a park, the spice section of a grocery store, a goodwill, anywhere really. I dig the excitement that happens when you feel like you found something awesome for free or cheap. I like thrifting…a lot. I do it every week, and have since I was a kid, so maybe this is my way of contributing to that experience.

Ideas being the driving force of life is it for me. If I can stay in this space, I’d consider myself a pretty lucky dude.

KM: Finally, where can people hear, see, and purchase various aspects of your work?

MPA: Most everything is online. My favorite things are in the physical world. Catch me out here and I’ll likely have a few records, a few photo zines, and a couple pedals on me for ya. Other than that, my own site for most up to date things, and other for common outlets that people use, is where you can find me; BandCamp, Instagram, YouTube.

I tend to drop things as I feel. I wish I could tell you it was more calculated than that, but it’s really not. [I’m] out here having fun.

I have about 4–5 things coming out this year that I’m super stoked about. Always moving.

Love y’all.