Printed in the Sherman Herald Democrat, Dec. 26 issue
Milo Deering and friends
By Mary Jane Farmer
Herald Democrat
Have you ever heard of anything called an aetherphone/etherophone, a thereminophone, or termenvox/thereminvox? Probably not, but just about everyone has heard the sounds coming from it.
Commonly called a theremin, it gave those spooky sci-fi movies from the 1950s and ’60s such as “It Came From Outer Space” and “The Day The Earth Stood Still” their “mood music.”
Those who attended the first Downtown Sherman Preservation & Revitalization concert, held Dec. 16 in an empty yet incredibly renovated building across from the Grayson County Courthouse, heard the theremin during the Milo Deering Acoustic Kitchen Jam.
Deering was joined in the Kitchen Jam by his wife, Rachel, Kevin Bailey on bass, Jerry Matheny on guitar, and, for some songs, Robert Froehner on theremin and saw. DSP&R volunteers had decked the temporary “concert hall” in Christmas regalia and personally greeted everyone who attended the show.
It ranked high as one of the most casual of concerts, with no set list, and with Milo and Rachel asking one another what they wanted to play next, then asking Jerry or Kevin that same question. Once a song was decided upon — and they were consistently Christmas songs — the discussion would go around again as to what key it should be played in. And that’s what gave it that kitchen jam feeling, as if being in the Deerings’ house with their friends around, just jammin’.
Rachel’s voice is clear and unaffected. Milo would accompany her, at times, on his fiddle and at other times on his guitar. Once, she turned and asked him if he was going to use the dobro. Well, he smiled, probably not, and she teased him asking why did he even bring it, and so the family-friendly feel kept going.
Milo played a solo versions, first on guitar and then on fiddle, of what he called “high-brow” songs from the classic Christmas ballet, “The Nutcracker Suite.”
Ears perked up when the band brought out Froehner, who came to Sherman from his home in Grand Prairie. He bought out his first musical instrument, a saw. An ordinary, wood-cutting, hand saw, and he explained some of its origin as a musical instrument. Then Froehner sat down, placed the handle end between his two legs with its teeth facing outward, bent the saw in a slight “S” shape, and began pulling a bow across the solid side. The sounds of “Silent Night” never sounded sweeter than they did coming from that corner makeshift stage. Froehner played a second song, then asked the crowd if anyone had ever heard a theremin. Most admitted they not only had never heard one, they had never heard of one.
Robert Froehner on saw
Froehner gave a brief history of the instrument before showing the box that had been standing way back in that corner. It was originally created in Russia in 1919, he said, by Profession Léon Theremin. It is played without touching anything, simply with movement of the hands around the two metal protruding antennas. One controlled pitch and the other volume, he explained. The electric signals from the theremin are amplified and sent to a loudspeaker.
Moving his hands around the antennas, Froehner played “O Holy Night,” followed by a couple of more songs. Milo tried his hand, literally, at it, but his sound came out more like a police car siren than a song, and the crowd loved it. Milo said it was his second time to attempt playing the theremin.
The event was a fundraiser sponsored by the DSP&R to raise money to purchase a tree. It was underwritten and so all ticket sales went into the project. The group is a driving force behind Downtown Sherman Now, and its efforts to invigorate the downtown area with streetscapes, including benches, period lighting, and landscaping to invite people to spend more time downtown.
Organizers said they will be hosting more concerts, the next one probably to be held in March, and then more often after that.