Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Double the Fun

Most bands would need four or six hands to create the layered rhythms and harmonies Ian Ethan delivers solo — with the help of an 18-string, double-neck guitar, that is. The Boston-based artist began experimenting with the instrument when he was living in Hyde Park, Vt. While many musicians use it to cut the time spent swapping guitars during a show, Ethan piles on the sound by finessing all the strings at once. The resulting acoustic compositions flit between folk and classical genres, amplified when he incorporates other instruments using an electronic looping device. Talk about multitasking. Hear the result live at Morrisville’s River Arts Center this week, where Ethan also plays around with his latest fixation: the African kalimba, or 12-key “thumb piano.”