David McHugh - Percoustix
A little over a year ago I found myself in New Orleans with my students for our annual Mission Trip. One night we took a moment to explore the music scene of New Orleans and witness some live acts. The most amazing of them all came as a surprise. It was a man on a street corner with a worn-out acoustic guitar, single amp and a booming voice. He sounded incredible and it was one of those moments where you find yourself held captive by the grace of the artist.
I share this memory with you because this week’s creation is a work of art that was created for the performers out there with unbelievable talent and heart. As I discovered this week’s creation, David of Percoustix, I kept thinking of all the great street performer/solo acts I have witnessed and thus asking “what would happen if/when those talents get their hands on Percoustix?”
Percoustix is one of the most unique creations I have seen and as a musician myself I am deeply fascinated by how this project came to life.
First off, I think it’s vital that you check out the promo for this creation and hear it in action before reading on...
Okay now that you are properly introduced, let’s dive into the work of Percoustix.
Not only is this a creative endeavor but it’s also an invention- a patented invention. The idea comes to us by way of David McHugh, a creative who has had a long road of self-discovery and artistic development.
I have always wanted to be a rock star since the age of ten but in all my years of creating music I've never cared for the business side of things. In my naiveté I thought business took away from the purity of music. The pandemic actually forced me to re-think this perspective. We had lost a major part of our income and it felt like my invention was on lock down, not going anywhere like everything else. I found myself in a really dark place.
David
While in that dark place, a place that I am sure many of us can relate to, David asked God for a sign. A sign to keep moving forward with his dream of creating. With that intention out there, David received advisement from an old friend and an opportunity to get his hands on a 3D printer to test out some of his concepts for what would become Percoustix. With a dream and some help from others David was moving into a creative mindset that would change everything.
As the project continued to develop, David received engineering help from his father who happened to have a background in the field. Pretty fitting that David’s call to God the Father would eventually bring David’s paternal father into the mix.
Beyond the technical aspect of this creation, I am so fascinated by how someone feels a call to make something so specific and unique. What sparks such an idea?
Creating beats on the body of the guitar is nothing new. But for me, as a drummer and a guitar player, I was always frustrated with the limited percussive sounds that the body of the guitar can produce. I heard the sounds it made but I could also hear the sounds that were missing.
David
As creatives, this is truly what the call to create is all about. We see something that is good and wonderful but we ask “how can we bring our gifts forward and make it better?”
Isn’t that true to our faith too?
And the ways in which we, as artists, want to be better for God in our creating endeavors?
David’s discovery serves as a reminder of the fact that we can all be better and grow. We don’t have to be limited, despite how we may feel in the current moment. So often, we put ourselves in creative bubbles that in the big picture limit our abilities to glorify God and grow as artists.
Perhaps we are scared to lose our original dream or idea?
Perhaps we don’t feel that we would belong in that “other” creative space?
Push that all aside for a moment and let David’s example serve as a reminder that some ideas deserve to grow and take daring turns.
Percoustix was a slow evolution of prototypes that kept building upon what came before. However, the final product that came forth was the fulfillment of the original vision that was there all along. Really it was a series of “Ah ha moments” over a ten-year labor of love.
David
Thank you, David for seeing this vision through to the finish line and inviting us into the labor of love.
I pray that fellow creatives reading this and witnessing David’s work this week feel the same inspiration I have felt from you and your “Yes” to new challenges from God the Father.
You can learn more about David and Percoustix by visiting percoustix.com as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
