IPECAC's main instruments were keyboard (usually played by Travis) and sax (usually played by Jon. We sometimes traded off instruments, and in the early days added lots of percussion, which usually involved tupperware.
Keyboards
Travis handled most of the keyboard parts, although occasionally Jon gave it a shot (usually for songs that he wrote). We started off recording the keyboard with a mic, but when we switched to Jon's HT-6000 we started recording directly into his four-track.
Casio CT-310
- also called: Casio, CT-310
- used by: Travis, Jon
- note: see UNME - Casio CT-310 for more info
This was the first keyboard I owned. I bought it in 1996, and used it for a couple years before joining IPECAC. Almost all of the early Trex songs feature it.
It worked pretty well for IPECAC, especially in the beginning. We used it in all our 1988 recordings. We augmented its canned rhythms with percussion. As soon as Jon got his keyboard in 1989, we stopped using mine for recording, although we did use it for playing live in the Anchovies.
Casio HT-6000
- also called: HT-6000
- used by: Travis, Jon
- note: see UNME - Casio HT-6000 for more info
This was Jon's keyboard. He got it for Christmas in 1988. It was much more advanced than my Casio CT-310, so we used it in all our subsequent recordings (1989-1990).
piano
- used by: Travis
Both of our houses had pianos, but we avoided the except for Leaping Leper Limousine, which was recorded at Jon's house. I think I composed most of the songs on piano, but we prefered the keyboards for recording.
Saxes
Jon played most of the sax parts, although on occasion he'd let me mess around on one. It's amazing how quickly he developed his playing ability. In the early recordings (e.g., "Trek"), he sounds almost as amateurish as me, but by the time we got to Live at Carnegie Hall he sounded awesome, leaving me in the dust!
alto saxophone
- also called: alto sax, alto
- used by: Jon, Travis
This was Jon's main instrument. He played it in the school band as well. He had at least two of them; one was a Selmer, but I don't know about the other one. Occasionally he let me honk away on one of the saxes. You can hear us playing together on "Cacaphony and Euphony".
I liked the sound of the sax, especially when Jon played it (I sucked). I started writing songs specifically to feature it. Long after IPECAC and the Master Anchovies ended, I continued to write sax parts for many of my songs; see any early 1990s Tripecac album for examples.
soprano saxophone
- also called: soprano sax, soprano
- used by: Jon
After a year or so of being happy with the alto, Jon got himself a soprano sax. I'm pretty sure he used it on Live at Carnegie Hall, which I really liked.
Horns
Travis played horn for school and early Trex. Since IPECAC's philosophy was to play any instrument at hand, we inevitably used horn parts as well.
cornet
- also called: trumpet
- used by: Travis
My Dad let me borrow his old cornet. It was pretty beat up, which made it fit in nicely with the rest of the IPECAC equipment. I was pretty pathetic at playing it, and didn't write many parts for it.
mellophone
- used by: Travis
The mellophone was a cross between a french horn and a flugel horn. I played it in the marching band. It sounded a lot like a low trumpet. I didn't use it very often for IPECAC.
Percussion
Our percussion was never very serious. We didn't have access to a real drum kit until the very end. Most of the time we just beat on whatever was laying around.
pots and pans
- also called: tupperware
- used by: Travis, Jon
I had been banging on pots and pans since I was very young, and had been recording myself doing it for a couple years prior to IPECAC (see the mid-1980s Trex recordings). When Jon joined me in my basement "studio", he joined me in the banging. We used pots, pans, tupperware, canteens, a tennis ball carrier... just about anything we could find.
Ever wonder where the "hey, don't ding the pots" line in "Apostrophe Song" comes from? Well, now you know!
drums
- used by: Travis
When the Master Anchovies were underway, occasionally either Anand or Allen would leave his drum kit at my house. Of course, I couldn't resist playing them. IPECAC used them in our demo for "Fish Time" and during the raps on the video we made for my cousin Kim (e.g., "Homeboy Rap").
Guitars
acoustic guitar
- used by: Travis
My Dad let me borrow his acoustic guitar. I think my favorite mic technique was to put the mic inside the guitar. I don't know if I did that with IPECAC, though.
I never took lessons, practiced seriously, or bothered to learn more than 3 chords. I didn't even know what a power chord was. So yeah, I was pretty bad. Thankfully, I didn't play it very often with IPECAC.
fake electric guitar
- also called: signal generator
- used by: Jon
Jon had access to a signal generator of some sort. He said it reminded him of an electric guitar. We used it on one song: "Kiss the Devil". Very weird.