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SALT LAKE CITY — Male-pattern baldness is rarely if ever seen as an advantage, but one Utah percussion group has at least found a purpose for it.
"It's got a good feel," lead percussionist Clint Pulver said. "You can go fast. You can go slow. And you can get different sounds, depending on where you hit ’em in the head."
"Bald Man Bongos" will make its national television debut on NBC's "America's Got Talent" this season. The group gained recognition through YouTube and its own website, Squak.com. Its video has even garnered a bit of international attention.
"There's an Indian music channel in India that we are on a rotation for," Swak.com creator Mike Chidsey said. "We're played twice an hour right now."
I got in trouble all the time, for drumming. I was always tapping.
–Clint Pulver, "Bald Man Bongos" lead percussionist
Pulver's percussion roots run deep. It's a talent some might say he was born with.
"I got in trouble all the time, for drumming. I was always tapping," Pulver said. He credits an elementary school teacher for helping him focus his energy. "He went out and bought me my first pair of drumsticks. That teacher has made a huge difference in my life."
In many ways, drumming is Pulver's life. He coaches Utah State University's drumline, "The Green Man Group." He says his group may have some surprises in store for "Bald Man Bongos" in season nine of "America's Got Talent."
"I think it's totally transferable into a full, huge show you would go to Vegas or New York to see," Pulver said. "We'd bring in drums, percussion. I mean, there's so much more you can do."
Pulver, and the group of four can't reveal much about how they did on NBC's talent reality show. However he did say bald judge Howie Mandel had a special connection to their act.
"We had a very special kinship with Howie," Chidsey said. "We'll just say that."
Pulver added, "A painful connection, but it was there."
