Cooking Fisch 

Fisch’s condo is as clean as his shaved pate. His keyboard is tucked under a dust cover; his turntables are pristine in their plastic cases. Slack shows only on the two shelves of fuzzy-spined vinyl LPs that don’t slouch so much as lean flush against each other like dominoes in mid-collapse. Even in their repose, there is order.

And tension. Fisch (short for Daniel Fischer) isn’t outwardly anxious. In fact, he speaks calmly and has an interested gaze (though this can seem disconcertingly penetrating). If he smokes, it’s with a casual appetite'not the greedy drags typical of tense smokers. What gets him jittery is talking about himself.

At a round, black table a few feet from his workspace, Fisch starts to fidget as he confesses his anxiety. Discussing his work as emcee and DJ with hip-hop groups Furthermore and the Rotten Musicians is one thing'there are others to share the focus. Today we’re talking about Fisch-only projects and, with his wife out of the house, Fisch is on the hot seat.

“I don’t know what to say,” he says, laughing nervously. I bring up his former Tooth & Nail Records label-mate David Bazan of Pedro the Lion, how he said it’s difficult to be asked questions knowing that whatever the response, it will be a matter of record, unlike casual conversations where in the absence of notebooks and voice recorders are instant hearsay.

Not that Fisch, like Bazan, is about to be grilled about the state of his faith and its influence on his work (like Bazan, Fisch is a Christian'but he keeps it personal). Nor is he embroiled in a controversy or scandal. He’s just a guy who messes with beats and samples, writes and rhymes.

Given his druthers, he’d be doing that now. Frequently his attention diverts to his platters. There’s a 7-inch record titled The Fun & Care of Goldfish, an LP called This is Dodie'“This is actually good”'and some local butt-rock. Genocide’s Not Long, he points out, has a great track called “Slut Machine.” “It sounds like they recorded slot machines and had some girl moan over it,” he beams. He then'in the space of about seven seconds'brings up, refuses to disclose, then discloses in exchange for sworn secrecy, a secret ingredient for an upcoming undefined work.

Between these breaks, Fisch tells how Furthermore’s co-founder and vocalist Pepe left to pursue a doctorate in philosophy. The Rotten Musicians are opening for MC Lars Feb. 2 at Bountiful’s Project Audio Lounge. And Fisch Loops is going strong.

Where Furthermore was the touring band, and Rotten Musicians the local-only diversion, Fisch Loops is an outlet for Fisch’s insistent creativity. Mining his vinyl collection, he cuts and pastes samples from children’s records (Sesame Street is a favorite source) and assorted other audio oddities. The resulting meticulous, fun-and-funky jams are pure ear candy.

“The first CD I gave to friends,” says Fisch, “and people went crazy for them.” He mostly gave away Fisch Loops Vol. 2 but started selling those on consignment at local record stores. Fisch Loops Vol. 3 is for sale online and'to Fisch’s surprise'he’s receiving orders from across the country. He’s currently crafting a fourth volume in addition to two more projects.

Furthermore has become Daniel Tiger. Still a stream-of-consciousness hip-hop group, but'Fisch fidgets'he’s singing more. It’s a work in progress; X96 put one track on its Live & Local compilation and Fisch is considering sending out demos. His other thing is a duo with local rapper Ebay Jamil Hamilton.

“We’re calling it Julio Child,” Fisch beams, waiting for his joke to get got. “You know, like [TV chef] Julia Child? The first album will be called Cocinando con Julio Child, which is Spanish for ‘Cooking With Julio Child.’”

At that, it’s time to keeping Fisch sizzling in his seat as we break out the camera'it’s time for photos. It’s also time for a renewed focus on Fisch. Check out Fisch Loops at MySpace.com/FischLoops and link to Daniel Tiger’s page from there. You’ll be glad you did.