Octocopter is an Organ-Powered, Rollicking Blend of Funk, Rock, Jazz Fusion, and Psychedelics
Review by: Daemon Maxwell, Writer @dmaxwell_73
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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Octocopter is the self-titled release from the long-time Twin Cities Hammond organ specialist and keyboard player Toby Lee Marshall. A completely instrumental album and Marshall’s first solo effort, Octocopter might be described as an organ-powered, rollicking blend of funk, rock, jazz fusion, and psychedelics, but then you’d have no idea what it sounds like. Simply put, Octocopter is a display, a demonstration both of Toby Lee Marshall’s mastery of his instrument and of the range and sheer ability of a Harmon organ.
With Octocopter, Marshall says “I finally got out of my own way, and allowed the music to do what it wanted to do.” Watching him perform live, one can see him listening for and then following what the music wants to do. No two performances are the same as he feels his way up and down one or more keyboards, almost helping the music explore itself. Listening to this album, one can picture him gleefully hammering away at his keys, smile on his face, butt not touching the seat. If Octocopter makes you want to move, that’s because Marshall’s music makes him want to move, too. “Raw feeling,” he says. “Hopefully making the listener feel something.”
With Marshall (mostly behind his Hammond B-3) accompanied by Twin-Cities-based percussionist Andy Boterman, the album stands on the sheer, impressive fullness of the sound produced by the pair. Octocopter, from the first measure of the first track, insists that a Hammond organ and some drums is all you need. At least, if you’re Toby Lee Marshall. One man delivers multi-layered harmonies complete with a variety of audio effects, across the octaves and at a high enough skill level to effectively supplant every other instrument typically required to achieve a full funk sound, except for drums obviously.
While a guest occasionally sneaks onto the album, if you’re not listening carefully, you may not know which tracks those are. Squint your ears and, at any given time, you might think you’re hearing a four-piece band, led by organ and backed by drums as well as guitar and/or bass. Try to remember that most of the album is just two guys laying down those soaring solos, head-exploding harmonies, and bottom-bouncing bass lines. And drums. Boterman provides the perfect percussive complement to Marshall’s explosion of rhythm and/or blues.
While Marshall has been honing his craft in and around the Twin Cities for nearly 30 years, both as a session artist and in live performance, he has also toured extensively both domestically and internationally. Most recently and currently as a member of the partially eponymous Koch-Marshall Trio (which you should also check out, and not only because “Koch” rhymes with “rock”).
In 2017, Marshall was inducted as an official Hammond artist, and as such he has been frequently called upon to demonstrate the flexibility and comprehensive music-making ability of Hammond organs, known to those who know as “the King of Instruments.” If the Hammond B-3 is the king, Marshall is its master, and Octocopter demonstrates just how much a man can do with the right set of keys.
The toe-tapping first track, “Risk It for the Brisket,”[1] sets the pace for the rest of the album, initially announcing the harmonic and percussive power of the Hammond organ through a simple yet funky chord progression full of crisp rests, allowing the listener to directly compare silence with the glorious, singing sound produced by the B-3. Marshall then explores and fleshes out that melody, letting the track build in complexity and layering in additional harmonies at other octaves up and down the keyboard until the track is, simply, full. Wall of sound built. No guitars necessary.
The album alternates between smooth, groovy tracks that allow Marshall to explore the vast musical space left on stage by the absence of guitar players, demonstrating the range and flexibility of the instrument, with faster paced numbers, like “OSHA’s 11,” an energetic jazz-funk tune, or “Dart” with its driving rock rhythm. Even without vocals, Toby’s playful personality shows through not only in the music but in songs like “Large Marge.” When the song kicks off, there is this sound, like a garbage truck dropped off the Empire State Building... Wait, no, that’s a line from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, which inspired the song title. You’ll just have to listen to that track, it seems.
Track seven, “Cherewan,” merits a special mention for fans of Minnesota music. The title stands in recognition of the music and mentorship of Steve Cherewan, a Hammond virtuoso himself, who took a special interest in Marshall’s career, mentoring him from the time Marshall was a teenager and remaining a trusted friend and advisor until Cherewan’s passing in 2017. (For the uninitiated, Steve Cherewan is the original organist of Dr. Mambo’s Combo, the legendary R&B band which has been playing a residency at Bunker’s Bar and Grill in downtown Minneapolis since 1987.)
While the majority of the album is Marshall and Boterman matching virtuosity with versatility in an all-out onslaught on preconceived notions of which instruments one simply must have on stage to play music that rocks, “Maillard Reaction” lets a familiar friend in on the fun, with Greg Koch providing warm-n-fuzzy guitar licks over a base of either melodic organ tones or funky organ triplets. What starts out sounding like a funked up Hawaiian beach tune morphs into a blend ultimately reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s instrumental, “Any Colour You Like,” off of Dark Side of the Moon.
In summary, while Marshall began crafting Octocopter during the lockdown period of the pandemic, it doesn’t feel like a pandemic album. While lockdown was characterized by darkness and loneliness, Octocopter is a dose of what people needed during lockdown: toe-tapping tunes that exude warmth and life, simply forcing one to dance. Composed by a lifelong student and practitioner of Minneapolis sound, Toby Lee Marshall brings the funk, and you’re going to want to move.
Octocopter is available for purchase on Marshall’s website and you can find his work with the Koch-Marshall Trio on all streaming platforms or live on tour. Marshall plans to release his second album in 2024. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and/or Twitter for updates. And, if he asks, be sure to tell him Large Marge sent ya.
[1] Apparently, Marshall and Boterman played with other mixes of “Risk it for the Brisket” and also “Large Marge” using samples from Boterman’s barbecue videos and from cinematic masterpiece “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”. Those versions have not been released… But the ellipses on the previous sentence quoted directly from Marshall himself, so perhaps we’ll receive a BBQ treat or big adventure at some point.
