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Hoop and Wire press:
“Boy Eats Drum Machine is danceable, humable, singable, driveable, relatable and at times relentlessly catchy. There are tunes on “Hoop+Wire” that will lodge in your brain and won’t be annoying. These are melodies that take work.”
The Oregonian 2/27/2010
“Impeccably produced, fun stuff.”
KZSU 4/2010
“Ragel has a knack for a fine pop hook”
allmusic 2/15/2010
“I have not had this much fun listening to an album in a long time.”
ZapTown 2/10/2010
“Hoop + Wire encompasses the avant-garde, hip-pop staggering that sets BEDM apart from his Portland electro-pop counterparts, but this release is a bit more accessible than the rest…“Hoop + Wire,” is a hard song not to dance to…it very well may be Ragel’s best to date.”
The Deli NYC 3/20/10
“On a long drive with no one to talk to, Jon Ragel tried singing. It worked.”
Willamette Week 2/24/2010
“a considerably feel-good batch of songs”
Portland Mercury 1/04/2010
“This is really entertaining stuff, and my first contender of the year for a spot in my top ten list.”
Jersey Beat 3/2010
“Hoop + Wire is the forthcoming (early March) release from Boy Eats Drum Machine, the brainchild of Jonny Ragel, the prolific composer from a basement in the landlocked nation of Portland. Here he takes straight progressions, preserves them, and yet disjoints them with stop-and-go syncopated rhythms and echoes. Stumbling hasn’t been this charming since They Might Be Giants. Plus, there’s something about the solo ethic that makes the music feel personal and real, like a home cooked meal by a grandma versus a chef’s specialty prepared by a disciplined team. The critics-be-damned, this is how I like to make my dish mentality. Who doesn’t relate to that?”
Pop Drivel 1/05/2010
Booomboxxx press:
“It’s awesome.”
Music For Robots 10/30/08
“grievously underrated”
The Washington Post 12/02/08
“3 1/2 (out of 4) stars. Clocking in at 32 minutes, this 10-track album is the third full-length from Portland’s Boy Eats Drum Machine, a hybrid of DJ, musician, producer, songwriter and all around noise maestro…Every piece of music here serves a purpose, with never an unintentional lull or pause.”
Sound Magazine
“His sound, a fusion of vinyl manipulation, cut-n-paste pastiche, baroque embellishment, arty experimentalism and laptop glitch, is aesthetically unique”
okayplayer.com 1/08/09
“fresh and unexpected”
NPR 11/04/08
“Booomboxxx is so stuffed with sound and form that it’s hard not to find something to like”
Willamette Week 10/15/08
“performance saturates booomboxxx, especially on the grandiose opening title track and through Ragel’s finest moment of offbeat percussion and contemplative lyrics, the gorgeous and sincere “la la la la LA!”
Portland Mercury 10/16/08
“Jon Ragel, as Boy Eats Drum Machine, has made a masterfully bizarre crate digging, sampledelic masterpiece.”
First Coast News 10/30/08
“In a mere half hour, Ragel solidifies himself as a prominently talented producer, creating 10 sharp and catchy soundscapes of experimental blue-eyed soul”
Performer Mag 11/2008
“A delicious mix of sounds for the whole family to feast on this holiday season!”
3hive 11/28/08
picked one of “Five Pacific Northwest Albums That Made A Difference In 2008.”
Phoenix New Times 12/29/08
“Boy Eats Drum Machine is this one guy from Portland named Jon Ragel who samples drum loops and creates songs around them with a battery of different instruments and his own damn voice. He even did the album artwork hisself, this Renaissance man.”
Out There Monthly 9/2008
“beyond catchy; it will make you remember why you love finding new music.”
Speed Of Dark 11/12/08
“one of my favorite DIY albums this year”
The Yellow Stereo 11/15/08
“Boy Eats Drum Machine has stolen my ramshackle heart.”
Localcut 11/25/08
“a one-man circus, freakishly talented at playing every instrument you thought you could play, at the same time.”
Localcut ‘year end roundup’ - 1/05/09
“Boy Eats Drum Machine’s one man performance was a sight to behold.”
Livepdx (show review-scroll down) 9/5/08
“I am happy to report this album is full of sonic treats, especially for those who love their headphone candy.”
Turntabling.net 7/31/08
“”if you took an old Sergio Leone western and set it in the year 2083, this would probably be the soundtrack.”
Comfort Comes 11/17/08
“glitchy dance-pop explosions.”
PSU Vanguard 5/28/08
“one of the most utterly fascinating discs you’re likely to hear all year.”
Pop Matters 10/22/08
“His music makes you think.”
Statesmen Journal 12/18/08
“something alltogether new”
Burnside Writers Collective top 5 PDX albums 08′
misc.:
“wonderfully sampled collages of heavy percussion, big bass lines and brass.”
Localcut (show review) 9/11/08
“one of 2007’s best local albums”
the oregonian 12/28/07
“Boy Eats Drum Machine has become one of Portland’s favorite local acts, and for very good reason. Frontman Jon Ragel brings impressive turntable skills to a live band setting in a way that never sounds forced, gimmicky, or like those nu-metal DJs. His soulful, steady vocals weave in and out of the evolving, fluid arrangements”
portland mercury - 12/27/07
“Imagine Beck feeling nostalgic for his Queen albums, and you’re on the right track in a quest to pin down the idiosyncratic appeal of ‘Two Ghosts’. BEDM singer-songwriter Jon Ragel adorns his indie-boy anxieties with turntable twists and majestic flourishes-backing vocal choruses, stately strings-resulting in 15 songs that consistently engage and challenge the eardrums. Aside from a knack for hooks and splashes of vivid electronic color, Ragel has a dramatic voice that covers alot of ground, from sweet soul man to beleaguered bohemian to near operatic peaks of impassioned pop. Highly recommended.”
portland monthly - best of the city ‘07 - 8/07
“Quarky indie rock in the vein of Barsuk Records (think John Vanderslice) gets a 10-count pin-down on the electropop dancefloor. a juicy melange”
village voice - 7/06
archive:
features:
the oregonian 12/28/07
portland mercury 7/19/07
willamette week 7/11/07
puremusic june 07
pulseTC.com 6/15/06 (scroll to ’sunday’)
northwest noise 4/11/06
willamette week 12/3/05
two ghosts(2007) cd reviews:
buko mag 5/08
portland mercury 7/19/07
portland tribune 7/20/07
the oregonian 7/20/07
northwest bands.com 9/28/07
puremusic 8/07
pleasure(2006) cd reviews:
northwest bands.com 8/28/06
75 or less 8/14/06
illinois entertainer 6/14/06
willamette week 11/2/05
gotriad.com 7/20/06
powpowpow 8/25/06
the PhiLL(er)
interviews:
psu vanguard 5/28/08
northwest noise 8/03/07, 9/11/06
pampelmoose 2/12/07
gearwire 3/7/07
musicGeek.org 1/14/06
blog appearances:
portland mercury blogtown 1/3/07 show preview, 7/10/07 vid, 6/26/07 oregon shore
localcut 3/06/08 free demo, 7/11/07 vid, 7/11/07 feature, 1/08/07 mexican food, 11/07/06 eunuch vid
pampelmoose nemo party, 3000F vid, two ghosts interview
Lisa Wood’s KEXP blog
Indie Soup 10/10/07
Jenny Tatone’s MOG page 7/18/07
PDX pole 7/30/07
nadamucho.com 1/31/08
worthmywhile 7/07
jason gears minniapolis summer 06′
joezilla 3/17/06
garzbarg 3/19/06
termie 7/06
zimbio / jchamber1 7/23/07
zay’z- [den o' slack] 2/25/08
more misc. quotes:
aquarian (nyc) 6/21/06
Poison control officials discover faint traces of Portishead, the Strokes, Peter Gabriel. Amazingly, nobody hurt.
-chris richards / washington post
If Ben Gibbard’s Postal Service were to go through some kind of space time wormhole whatsit and separate into an “evil” and “good” version (a la old Star Trek episodes) BEDM would totally be the evil one. In such a good way
-portland mercury
(oregonian A&E)
nightcrawler
Friday, April 07, 2006
By NATHAN SKIDMORE
Tip-top tempo The headline says it all: Boy Eats Drum Machine. Except it’s not a comical medical scenario, it’s a band. A Portland band to be precise, consisting of “Bridgetown Breaks” creator Jonny Ragel, Peter Swenson and Ben Rickard. While the latter two were assembled to help bring Ragel’s solo work “Pleasure” to life, the addition hasn’t gone unnoticed. Fans of Ragel’s sample-laden electro-pop have been turning up in increasing numbers, dancing and grinning as “Pleasure” is translated from disc to stage. 10 p.m. Friday, Towne Lounge, 714 S.W. 20th Place; $5; 503-241-869
(PDX Magazine)
Boy Eats Drum Machine
Acme Bar
March 16, 9pm
BEDM’s first release, “Pleasure”, is just that. Recorded and mastered in Jonny Ragel’s basement space and hand packaged on his kitchen table, the album spans a wide range of genres including indie-rock, IDM, and hip-hop. Upon carrying out all the “studio” work, Ragel enlisted two friends to fill out his live operation. On “Pleasure”, Ragel serves as turntablist, guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter. Ironically enough, the group is void of an actual drum machine. The variance between live show and album is evident, but not overwhelming. Both productions bestow the audience with crisp beats, searing riffs and bouncy, infectious melodies.—AD
March 2006/PDXmagazine.com 41
(portland mercury)
BOY EATS DRUM MACHINE, SIMPL, PAINT AND COPTER
(Berbati’s Pan, 10 SW 3rd) With its groove-heavy, funked-up beats and yowling howl, Boy Eats Drum Machine is the Prince—as in “Purple Rain”—of Portland IDM. And maybe someday it’ll be its prince—as in crown prince of ‘em all—but right now the potential royal is still an up and comer. Which is why the group fits perfectly in a Mercury Up and Coming! (See how this works?) Their CD Pleasure is a big, complex electro-pop rocker with drums that skate between hiphop and post-rock while shifty bass slinks down booze alley, and singer Jonny Ragel’s soulful, dead-serious voice switches between a gravely croon and a great, tremulous falsetto. AG
(willamette week)
[ELECTRONIC ROCK] Boy Eats Drum Machine sounds like a heroic, feel-good cybernetic story (think Small Wonder), but no actual drum machines are harmed in the making of this one-man band turned trio’s music. Its triumphant songs deftly blend DJ turntable mixing—courtesy of Portlander Jonny Ragel, who recorded BEDM’s self-released Pleasure all by himself before enlisting two additional members to help with the live show—with the energy of a live show, resulting in an exciting and refreshing sound. Vocalist-turntablist-guitarist and songwriter, Ragel applies his bevy of talents to achieve catchy pop anthems that never sound like simple electronica or standard rock alone. DAVE CLIFFORD. Berbati’s Pan. 9:30 pm. Cover. 21+.
(portland tribune)
By BARBARA MITCHELL Issue date: Fri, Dec 23, 2005
The Tribune
ELECTRONIC POP
Boy Eats Drum Machine
Just one listen to “Let’s Get Lost Sometime” off Boy Eats Drum Machine’s latest album, “Pleasure”, and not only will you have it permanently stuck in your head, you’ll be happy about it. Bouncy, bubbly electro-pop, it actually does make you wonder if this is what it would sound like if DJ Shadow produced Neil Diamond. Other tracks call to mind Portishead and the Postal Service, sometimes at the same time.
Although the album is the work of just one man (and a turntable, a Casio and a microphone, to quote another BEDM song), the live show is fleshed out by two additional members and extra instrumentation for maximum impact.
9:30 p.m. FRIDAY, Dec. 23, Tonic Lounge, 3100 N.E. Sandy Blvd., 503-238-0543, $5
(willamette week)
[ELECTRO-POP] Dance-aholics, take note: Boy Eats Drum Machine just might be your bum’s favorite new thing to shake to. Full of deep bass, rocky guitar riffs, plenty of electro-fun and Jonny Ragel’s turntablist skills, BEDM has a little something for everyone. Trust me, all it’s gonna take is one listen to “Why Don’t We Get Lost Sometime” and you’ll be sold, sold, sold. The only bummer about the live show is that you’ll almost wish you were at a sweaty basement house party, keeping this band all to yourself.
AMY MCCULLOUGH. Tonic Lounge. 9 pm. $5. 21+.