Music: Living By Ear

Pamelia Kurstin, world class theremin player, considers herself a goofball with a weird sense of humor.

By PT Staff, published on May 01, 2006 - last reviewed on November 03, 2008

Pamelia Kurstin loves roller-skating to disco. She'll cut your hair for a six-pack of beer. And she's one of the world's top virtuosos on the space age-sounding musical instrument called the theremin. She taught herself piano as a toddler and played bass in her high school's orchestra (before she ran away to live on a farm). She's recorded with David Byrne and Matthew Sweet and plays with the group Barbez.

PT: Were you an unusual child?

Kurstin: I was obsessed with music. I would daydream in school about the theme songs of my favorite TV shows and pick them apart in my head. I almost got held back one year because of that.

How did you break into performing?

When I was 18, I moved to L.A. At the coffee shop where I worked, I met a drummer. He told me about a jam session in South Central one night. That's where I met my ex-husband. He's an excellent keyboard player. We got married when I was 23 and divorced when I was 25. He introduced me to new music and people to perform with. It was like being in music school.

Have you ever had a conventional 9-to-5 job?

When I moved to New York City in 2000, I worked in a hair salon in Brooklyn. I was doing all the paperwork, and then the fake paperwork for taxes. I handled payments to the mafia every Friday, too!

I enjoyed all the stress and craziness of it for a while. Then I got an offer to travel with a band. I was on the tour bus and it hit me: "This is what I need to be doing! I don't want to be stuck in one place!" Now, I could never do the same thing every day.

Where is your home base now?

I'm frequently in Vienna, where my boyfriend lives. We met at an accordion festival. He's a social worker at a halfway house. He says I remind him of his clients.

Do you consider yourself eccentric?

I'm goofy. I have a vulgar sense of humor. I'm allowed to get away with doing weird things, such as wearing my comfy onesy pajamas onstage, maybe because I'm a performer.

I've always stuck out in my family, but I never worried about getting in trouble for expressing myself. I felt I had the right to say what I was feeling. My mom and sisters say: "Oh, that's just Pam."

Have you cultivated a stage persona?

No, but when I play, I look very serious. People are shocked at how hyper I am. I probably seem like a dingbat because my voice is so high-pitched.

Is Pamelia your real name?

No, it's Pamela. When I was 18, I was in line at the grocery store, where they had a book on baby names. When I looked up "Pamela," right next to it, with the same meaning ("sweet as honey") was "Pamelia."

Is there someone whom you admire, but are not anything like?

My younger sister, who put herself through college. She's an engineer. She bought a condo when she was only 23. She always plans everything out.

But you must be a hard worker—you've mastered several musical instruments.

It wasn't because I was disciplined. It was because I liked it. The theremin stays in its case when I'm not touring. I like making a mistake on stage and then discovering something new because I have to cover it up. When I watch others perform, I like to see them surprise themselves.

What draws you to the theremin?

Of the electronic instruments, it's the most like a human voice. It is very challenging, but it's also instinctual. People who just follow their ears play it best.

I hear you give students a unique haircut after their theremin lesson.

I treat haircuts instinctually, too. I tell people it's not going to be perfect, but it'll look messy in a good way.

The Magical Theremin

The theremin is an electronic instrument that resembles a box with two protruding antenna. Invented in 1919 by Russian physicist Leon Theremin, it's played without actually being touched. (Theremin, incidentally, was kidnapped by the KGB in 1938 and forced to create espionage devices for the Soviet government.) Only a handful of theremin players worldwide are professional. Some musicians consider it more of a gimmicky gadget than an instrument, probably because they've heard it used to create UFO noises but not complex melodies.

Listen for it on the spooky themes from It Came From Outer Space, Spellbound and The Lost Weekend, or in the background of the Beach Boys hit "Good Vibrations."