Sean McCaul is a New York City based musician and composer. He started playing the drums when he was 8 years old and the vibraphone when he was 13. He also plays the piano, guitar, bass, harmonica and sings with a really high voice.
The vibraphone is a very heavy and large instrument that resembles a xylophone and sounds like angels. Sean pushes it around on a handtruck and plays music any place that he feels comfortable.
He has played on some great records; "Naqoyqatsi" (Philip Glass/ Yo Yo Ma), "La Aventura", "Back Numbers" (Dean and Britta), "Heliotrope" (Kay Ashley), to name a few.
Sean's own record's include "No Words", "Plastic Aluminum", "McCaul Vaillant", "Make It Shiny For Glockenspiel Galore" and his most recent effort, "Alone".
Currently, Sean McCaul and Phil Kester have started a band called Xylophone People and are working on a forthcoming album of original music.
Here is What the Scribblerist had to say about Sean McCaul
Sean McCaul, Subway Virtuoso
April 16, 2008 · 2 Comments
I’ve seen Sean McCaul play on the Union Square L-train platform three times now, and each time I haven’t had the $10 in cash to buy his (presumably) self-produced CD. I need to put a ten-dollar bill in each of my bags and backpacks and be prepared, Hardy Boys style, to meet risk with success.
I want McCaul’s album because he’s brilliant. I remember coming down the stairs to the platform a couple years ago and being surrounded by soothing noise, rising and descending tones of an ethereal, emotion-made-sonic quality. McCaul plays the vibraphone, a rack of metal bars of specific length that, when struck, emit a note; depending on how you strike the bar and the type of mallet used, it can sound either like a rolling wall of noise, liquid and intermingling, or a staccato, if mellow, sort of polyphonic drum. I’ve only ever heard vibes played on a Miles Davis album before McCaul.
He is a slight, calm presence on the stewing chaos of the platform. I remember a black t-shirt with black jeans and work boots, eyes on his vibes unless someone drops a bill into his case and then he’ll nod his thanks. His eyes bespoke concentration and an interior peace I can only imitate. I assume he plays his own compositions. His music moves quickly but unhurriedly to cover a range of moods, and he uses space to fine dramatic effect. There is also a narrative quality to his music. I get the sense, more immediate and vivid than another instrument, that he’s telling me a story that takes place over a period of years.
Poking around the internets, I found a lone video of McCaul at work. Unfortunately, it cuts off before his stream-of-consciousness mellowification can build to full effect, alas. I hope to see him again soon, and this time have $10 in my wallet.
scribblerist // May 14, 2008 at 2:53 pm | Reply
Success! On the evening of May 13 at approximately 8:30 PM teh Scribblerist obtained McCaul’s cd, “Alone.”
We haven't run into each other in the subway for a while! I'm crazy organizing the 7th annual NYC Musical Saw Festival in Astoria. So far 45 musical saw players registered to perform. 2 are coming from Japan, 3 from Germany, 3 from Canada, 1 from Belgium and the rest from all over the USA. It will be wild!
Hope to run into you in the subway soon, All the best, Natalia
HELIOTROPE cd release party at DROM... a 14-piece band extravaganza with special guests Vlada Tomova's Balkan Tales... $15 cover charge includes a free copy of HELIOTROPE...
You are perhaps the ONLY soothing sound on the NYC transit line! You are one of about 5 of the most talented cats in the metro man. Love dem vibes. Much respect. Thank you for adding Sustenance to your table!
Hi Sean, I enjoyed the recording you gave me. I hope you had a great summer. Hope to see you soon!! Thinking of you!! I am enjoying playing the piano more these days. Peace, Rhonda
