Banging on the buckets

Tom Forquer

Propane tanks, fire extinguishers, plastic buckets, five-gallon water

bottles, pots, a motorcycle helmet worn by a group member -- the list

of things they bang on goes on and on.

Playing for their first time at the Orange County Fair at 2 p.m.

Friday, the group Recycled Percussion rocked the Little Theater as

they rapidly struck their amalgamation of scavenged instruments.

Initially static, spectators were soon physically moved by the

deep bass and crescendos of the music, with one little boy writhing

in his seat.

Garden Grove resident Rachel Malone, who has been coming the fair

since she was a young girl, said that “It’s the best thing I’ve ever

seen at the Orange County Fair.”

Complementing the show’s pulsing beat were visual elements such as

the three white tubs that flashed to the beat as they were struck.

At one point, grinders were used on 55-gallon drums, creating

screeching noises and trails of sparks that arced over the stage.

“The foundation of our group is five-gallon buckets, folding

chairs and duct tape,” 27 year-old Ethan Holmes said.

The tradition of using unusual objects to make music goes back to

the group’s roots, Holmes said.

His brother Zach Holmes’ first drum kit was made out of coffee

cans that he dubbed “The Maxwell 2000.”

The New England group first began as an entry for a high school

talent show. Though it earned second place, the group was asked to do

some assemblies for local elementary schools and later worked its way

up through the middle and high schools.

In the group’s nine years, it has toured with such musical acts as

311 and James Brown, and has performed at National Football League

and National Basketball Assn. halftime shows.

Greg Kassapis, 23, prefers the group’s rigorous tour schedule to a

normal job.

“It’s great because this is what we love to do,” he said.

“I thought the racing pigs were the best, but [Recycled

Percussion] beat them,” said Carol Lawrence of Garden Grove.