Boy Eats Drum Machine

Multi-talented musician Jon Ragel has been performing as Boy Eats Drum Machine since early in 2001, when he began experimenting with music sampling using a four-track recorder and his own unique sounds. The Portland, OR-based DJ was joined briefly by two other musicians in 2006, Benjy Rickard on synth and guitar and Peter Swenson on drums, before going solo once again for his third album in 2008. The first work released under the name Boy Eats Drum Machine was a self-titled, hand-distributed project consisting of ten tracks, of which there were 100 handmade copies featuring Ragel's own artwork on the cover. Pleasure, the first full-length album, was then released in 2006, followed by Two Ghosts in 2007. In 2008, Ragel released his third album, Booomboxxx, on the indie label Tender Loving Empire. The Boy Eats Drum Machine name can be attributed to the many titles Ragel wears: percussionist, DJ, singer, songwriter, producer, saxophonist, and guitarist. A talented instrumentalist and vocalist, Ragel enlisted the help of several other Portland-based drummers for his 2008 project.