Stringfever, humour with great musical skills

Stringfever's show is a musical entertainment combining humour and audience interaction with great musical skills.

The history of music in 5 minutes:



Their very own version of Ravel's Bolero:



I congratulate that individual British string quartet on their interesting ideas!

Natalia Paruz

NATALIA.....
affectionately known as the 'Saw Lady', has spent over a decade bringing the rare art form of playing music on a carpenter's saw to audiences around the world.



She performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta, with the Westchester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Air Moroccan Symphony Orchestra, the Riverside Orchesra and at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall with PDQ Bach composer Peter Schickele and with the Little Orchestra Society. November 2007 marked her Carnegie Hall debut as a musical saw soloist.

Television appearances include FOX (Good Day New York), ABC (Good Morning America), MTV (Andy Milonakis Show), VH1 (Behind the Music), History Channel (Tool Box).
Film appearances include 'Dummy' with Adrian Brody. Natalia's saw can be heard on the soundtracks of films such as El Carnaval Sodoma/Arthuro Ripstein and American Carny.
Radio performances include NPR (A Prairie Home Companion), XM Satelite Radio & WBAI.

Natalia received citations of honor from the New York City Council, the New York State Senate and a medal of honor from Paris, France.

She was chosen by Time Out New York, the Village Voice, the New York Press and the New York Resident for their Best of New York lists, and was featured in articles by the New York Times, the Boston Globe and Metro New York.

Natalia has recorded on Capitol Records, Universal Records and Atlantic Records with such artists as John Hiat.

Natalia's goal is not only to preserve the rare art form of playing music on a saw, but to also try and push it forward through the invention of better playing technique, fine-tuning the instrument, educating composers about the possibilities of composing for saw, and bringing the instrument to public awareness. This last part, bringing the instrument into public awareness, she does not only through performances on the legitimate stage/TV/radio but also by bringing the music of the musical saw directly to people where people are - on the street. By performing in the subway she brings the art form to people who might not otherwise be able to encounter it.

Congratulations Natalia! It's better to play music than cut off the trees! Aren't you a Greenpeace activist?

Musician robots

A trumpet-playing robot has been developed by Japanese car maker Toyota.



It showed off its musical creation at a Tokyo hotel, where the robot played When You Wish Upon a Star on a trumpet.

The machine is the latest in a series of robots developed by Japanese companies to showcase their prowess in humanoid robotics.

Sony and Honda have both used humanoid robots to as a platform to demonstrate their computing power and engineering know-how.

The Toyota robot stands 120 cm (48 inches) tall and does not yet have a cute name yet, unlike some of its rivals.

The company has provided few specific details about the technology used for the machine and did not reveal how much it spent developing the robot.

The robot has yet to be given a cute name. For now, it has no plans to sell or rent it. Instead it hopes to form a robot band to play at the 2005 World Exposition, being held in Aichi in central Japan.

"I'm confident that this will be a symbol of Toyota Group's technology," said Toyota President Fujio Cho.

The robot development race is highly competitive in Japan, with the market for bots estimated to be worth around $4.5bn.

Companies often use the humanoid models to generate publicity and highlight a company's technical abilities.

Rival car maker Honda has a walking robot called Asimo which has visited the UK, Germany, the Czech Republic, France and Ireland as part of a world tour.

For its part, Sony has the all-singing and all-dancing Qrio, which can jog at a top speed of 14 metres per minute.



Toyota Motor Corp.'s new violin robot performs during a press unveiling in Tokyo Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007. Compared to a virtuoso, its rendition was a trifle stilted and, well, robotic. But Toyota's new robot plays a pretty solid "Pomp and Circumstance" on the violin. The 152-centimeter (five-foot)-tall all-white robot used its mechanical fingers to push the strings correctly and bowed with its other arm, coordinating the movements well.



It seems to have musical bent, having recently appeared for a photo opportunity conducting the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Whether it will be leading Toyota's robot musicians in the future is unknown.

Gerry Phillips

At age 47, Gerry Phillips is becoming an overnight sensation . . . and it’s only taken 38 years.



People are simply amazed at his jaw dropping ability to play virtually any song with only his hands. His performances are both astounding and, at times, hilarious.

Why does he play songs with his hands? Because he can!

Gerry has been called everything from a “hand musician”, “gunecologist”, “hand farter”, “hand flatulator”, and a “manualist”.

In 1969, when he was 9 years old, Gerry went to a party, and the photographer (to keep the kids quiet) made a single squeak with his hands. Within minutes Gerry went back to him and showed him that he could also do it.

Gerry continued to practice at home. Soon he could produce musical notes, then simple songs. After more practice, Gerry could “hand fart” songs with his new and unique technique better than with the musical instruments he was learning to play. So he dumped the 4 musical instruments.

In the high school talent show, Gerry played Beethoven’s 5th, the Can Can, and the Blue Waltz to a raucous standing ovation.

The following year he played Black Magic Woman and You Make Me Fee Like Dancing. In his last year it was Sir Duke.

When Gerry was 16 he was taken to a bar in Dearborn, Michigan where Bobby Lewis was playing. Gerry was asked to perform, and he was an immediate hit with the crowd. No one had seen or heard anything like it before.

Soon Gerry was sitting in with top local acts such as the Teen Angels who refer to Gerry as the 8th Wonder of the World!

Once Gerry began posting his videos on You Tube, he became an overnight sensation. Soon the emails started pouring in with requests for more videos and DVD’s. Not just from America, but the entire world. With commercials and television requests coming in, Gerry is now getting the recognition this unique and gifted artist deserves.

People recognize Gerry for the serious musician he is. Sure it’s hysterical, but his talent is even more amazing than it is funny.