Pogo Sticks features the return of Mr. Stick, the popular robotic bass from Stick Figures on Animusic 1. This time "he" has been reformatted to include wheels and a second string. He has the ability of bouncing and the capabilities of motion. He also brings along "friends" and "cousins" in the form of similar instruments.
The whole stage is just a wooden track surrounded by wooden blocks.
Instruments[]
In order of appearance:
Two hammered guitars (one lead,
Pogo Sticks
Pogo Sticks
one backup)
Hammered bass guitar (an updated version from 'Stick Figures: it now has two wheels, two strings and is motored')
A two-part drum kit, including:
A bass drum, 2 toms and a snare
2 cymbals, 1 hi-hat, 2 splash cymbals, and a cowbell
Marimba
Vibraphone
Ranges[]
Lead Guitar: B1-A4
Bass: D1-G3
Backup Guitar: G2-E4
Marimba: D#3-D5
Vibraphone: F#3-D5
Composition[]
This tune is mainly in the key of A minor at 107 BPM.
Notes[]
Wayne Lytle has said that Mr. Stick from Stick Figures has "cousins," which are the hammered guitars. His "friends" are the drum kit playing sticks and the two stick xylophones, one as a marimba and another as a metallophone. They also have green lights that glow when they go through tunnels. Throughout the performance, they travel around the wooden course at sunset, stopping at stages intermittently.
In the commentary, Wayne Lytle mentions that the Animusic staff are immense fans of fellow animation company Pixar, and notes that both Starship Groove and Pogo Sticks are the result of a trend of the staff slowly transitioning into character animators. Though Wayne also mentions the positive reception to these facts, stating that the return of "fan-favorite" Mr. Stick, along with the fact that the new instruments now have a bit of attitude, play with enthusiasm, and have been given human qualities, have made Pogo Sticks a favorite piece of many watchers.
Humorously, the instruments become lit in green and play bridges of the piece as they roll under actual bridges. It has not been elaborated whether or not this was intentional.
It is also mentioned in the commentary that the sky that lights the wooden city where the instruments "live" was done by renowned background artist Eric Shauvin, who had actually phoned Animusic to ask if they needed help with backgrounds. The sky was created when Eric shot about 8 pictures of the real sky where he lived, used Photoshop to fuse the photos into a panorama, and recolored it so that it would light the wooden environment in the same way.
Bonus Feature: Rehearsal: All 7 performers run through the piece in a plain room with a simple floor and walls. The performers also do not roll as much, yet they do bounce around more. Every performer is also present from the start, so they do not have to come out from the stage walls. The piece also ends a few seconds later than the actual animation, and instead of the instruments rolling off into the distance, they just flail around a little more and simply fade out.
An earlier version of "Pogo Sticks" was used as filler music during Future Retro's "Stage Construction" feature from the first DVD. This piece used church organ instruments instead of the current bass string instruments.
A synth player with keys that resembled those of the marimba and vibraphone players existed as a concept.
Some uploads mislabel this song incorrectly as "Pago Sticks".
Before this piece came out, the two drummers were going to have a cymbal on top of their heads (as seen in the Stills on the DVD)
