Biography

John Baylies is a freelance tuba player and audio technician known for his experiments in electroacoustic improvisation. A native of North Andover, Massachusetts, John leads his band Sousastep, develops a multi-effects rig called SousaFX, and performs in a handful of ensembles such as the Dingonek Street Band.

John graduated with a bachelors in brass performance from Boston University in 2014 and promptly began busking, which led to regular performances with the Hot Tamale Brass Band and other ensembles.

That year, John became inspired by the Dubstep Allstars mixes and began figuring out how to play dubstep on tuba. He used Controllermate to control Ableton Live with a Playstation controller, and developed his first effect by the end of that year. He prototyped his rig regularly with free improvisation ensembles, mostly under the umbrella of Evil Clown Records.

At one parade in Boston, John met experimental jazz trumpeter Eric Dahlman, who introduced him to instrument repairman/inventer Erik Nugent.

In 2016, Erik and John founded Nu Mouthpieces, which exhibited at the International Tuba-Euphonium Conference and the International Trombone Festival, and produced ~70 wooden mouthpieces that facilitate didgeridoo techniques on low brass instruments.

In 2017, John enrolled in Brooklyn College’s Sonic Arts program and developed a live dubstep rig. John is currently working as a freelance tuba player, audio technician, recording engineer, and conference engineer in Massachusetts.