-
My name is Tom,
-
and I've come here today to come clean
-
about what I do for money.
-
Basically, I use my mouth in strange ways
-
in exchange for cash.
-
(Laughter)
-
I usually do this kind of thing in seedy downtown bars
-
and on street corners,
-
so this mightn't be the most appropriate setting,
-
but I'd like to give you guys a bit of a demonstration
-
about what I do.
-
(Beatboxing)
-
And now, for my next number,
-
I'd like to return to the classics.
-
(Applause)
-
We're going to take it back,
-
way back,
-
back into time.
-
(Beatboxing: Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean")
-
Billie Jean is not my lover
-
She's just a girl who claims that I am the one
-
But the kid is not my son
-
All right.
-
(Applause)
-
So...
-
Thank you very much, TEDx.
-
If you guys haven't figured it out already,
-
my name's Tom Thum, and I'm a beatboxer,
-
which means all the sounds that you just heard
-
were made entirely using just my voice,
-
and the only thing was my voice.
-
And I can assure you
-
there are absolutely no effects
-
on this microphone whatsoever.
-
And I'm very, very stoked —
-
(Applause)
-
You guys are just applauding for everything. It's great.
-
Look at this, mom! I made it!
-
I'm very, very stoked to be here today,
-
you know, like, representing my kinfolk
-
and all those that haven't managed to make a career
-
out of an innate ability for inhuman noisemaking.
-
Because, you know, it is a bit of a niche market,
-
and there's not much work going on,
-
especially where I'm from.
-
You know, I'm from Brisbane,
-
which is a great city to live in.
-
Yeah! All right! Most of Brisbane's here. That's good.
-
(Laughter)
-
You know, I'm from Brizzy,
-
which is a great city to live in,
-
but, you know, let's be honest,
-
it's not exactly the cultural hub of the southern hemisphere.
-
So I do a lot of my work outside Brisbane
-
and outside Australia,
-
and so the pursuit of this crazy passion of mine
-
has enabled me to see
-
so many amazing places in the world.
-
So I'd like to share with you, if I may, my experiences.
-
So ladies and gentlemen,
-
I would like to take you on a journey
-
throughout the continents
-
and throughout sound itself.
-
We start our journey in the central deserts.
-
(Didgeridoo)
-
(Airplane)
-
India.
-
(Beatboxing)
-
(Sitar)
-
China.
-
(Guzheng)
-
(Beatboxing)
-
Germany.
-
(Beatboxing)
-
(Laughter) (Applause)
-
Party party yeah.
-
(Laughter)
-
And before we reach our final destination,
-
ladies and gentlemen,
-
I would like to share with you some technology
-
that I brought all the way from the thriving metropolis of Brisbane.
-
These things in front of me here are called Kaoss Pads,
-
and they allow me to do a whole lot of different things
-
with my voice.
-
For example, the one on the left here
-
allows me to add
-
a little bit of reverb to my sound,
-
which gives me that
-
flavor.
-
(Laughter)
-
And the other ones here, you know,
-
I can use them in unison
-
to mimic the effect of a drum machine
-
or something like that.
-
I can sample in my own sounds and I can play it back
-
just by hitting the pads here.
-
(Music)
-
(Applause)
-
I got way too much time on my hands.
-
And last but not least,
-
the one on my right here allows me to
-
loop loop loop loop loop loop loop loop
-
my voice.
-
(Laughter)
-
So with all that in mind, ladies and gentlemen,
-
I would like to take you on a journey
-
to a completely separate part of Earth
-
as I transform the Sydney Opera House
-
into a smokey downtown jazz bar.
-
All right boys, take it away.
-
(Music)
-
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you
-
to a very special friend of mine,
-
one of the greatest double bassists I know.
-
Mr. Smoky Jefferson, let's take it for a walk. Come on, baby.
-
(Music)
-
All right, ladies and gentlemen,
-
I'd like to introduce you the star of the show,
-
one of the greatest jazz legends of our time.
-
Music lovers and jazz lovers alike,
-
please give a warm hand of applause
-
for the one and only Mr. Peeping Tom. Take it away.
-
(Music)
-
(Applause)
-
Thank you. Thank you very much.
-
(Applause)