Boy Eats Drum Machine. Sounds like a nasty, if not danceable, accident, doesn’t it?

Well, Bobble Tiki is here to tell you it’s not. Portland’s one-man, beat-based, performance-art inspired Boy Eats Drum Machine — also known as Jon Ragel — will inject the New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma on Saturday with enough electro charm to send most into a robot like, rhythmic convulsion.



And that’s a good thing, by the way — even if it sounds bad — much like Boy Eats Drum Machine’s moniker.



“I never know what to expect. It seems like every show is different. It just really depends on the night,” says Ragel. “I make sure and play the music, first and foremost, but I also like interacting with the audience. I like to incite dancing, if they want, but sometimes when people are seeing me for the first time I understand they just want to sit back and watch. That’s ok too.”



There’s plenty to sit back and watch, and plenty to take in sonically, but it’s also understood that Boy Eats Drum Machine shows are sweaty happenings — especially in the band’s hometown of Portland, perhaps the perfect hub for such a pop meets DJ meets performance art melee. Tweaking computer beats with crafty turntablism and an energy rich vibe, Boy Eats Drum Machine is a spectacle the likes of which is rarely seen or heard.



“I always wanted to do it this way as long as I could pull it off,” says Ragel of his one man act — admitting he was initially afraid of comparisons to those crazy guys that hang out at farmer’s markets with a skateboard, harmonica, guitar and bass drum strapped to their back. “Now I’ve embraced the freak factor of it.”



“I think people are genuinely curious about turntablism. People are really interested in vinyl and how to manipulate it,” continues Ragel. “I think it has to do with the accessibility of the equipment and the way it’s kind of abused by the DJ.”



[The New Frontier Lounge, with You Yell You Kick, Saturday, May 2, 9 p.m., $5, 301 E. 25th St., Tacoma, 253.572.4020]