Dr. Mayhem!
and His No-Good, Nefarious Plot to Destroy L.A.
Dr. Mayhem!
Jeremy Bell
Chaos! Destruction! Mayhem! What more could an evil genius ask for? Dr. Mayhem! And his No-good Nefarious Plot to Destory L.A., is a rambunctious, fun, and bombastic work for young band. Including sections that feature the low brass and woodwinds, Dr. Mayhem! is a quarky and entertaining work that will challenge your young musicians with changing time signatures and changes between the treble and bass instruments. The piece is written with varying sections that have different styles that require the students to switch between playing with heavy accents and a more legato feel.
Dr. Mayhem! is published by C. L. Barnhouse for their 2018 catalog.
For an additional performance element, I thought it would be fun for directors to offer students the opportunity to write a short story to narrate while the piece is being performed that fits with the music and tells the fascinating tale about Dr. Destructo. I had the idea that the narrative could be delivered like a "War of the Worlds"-style radio broadcast, and to give it an "old-timey" feel could be read with a Transatlantic accent, much like the actors from the 1930s and 40s. It would offer an additional element to students and, I hope, introduce them to a concept such as creative writing or, at the very least, help ignite their imagination. To give your students an idea of how the Transatlantic accent sound, check out the youtube videos below.