Michael Barron, guitar; Susan Mumford, vocals; Chris Thompson, drums; Joe Menacker, bass; and Bob Boilen, synth

NPR’s Bob Boilen (All Things Considered) shares an awesome synth-related story:

Besides a few aborted attempts as a teen to play guitar, I’d never played music before; I just loved listening to it. When I was in my 20s, I quit my job running a record warehouse and bought a synthesizer. Three months later, I’m on stage with my Arp Odyssey and a new band called Tiny Desk Unit.

I had no idea how nervous I was until I got on stage. A few minutes into the first song, sweat began to pour off my face and onto my Arp. With all my nervous energy, I hit the keys on my keyboard with dramatic force. A few minutes later, I noticed that, no matter what key on the keyboard I’d strike, it would play the same note. I had broken my synthesizer. My nightmare was my reality.

See the NPR blog for the full story.