Potsdam, NY, Sep 08, 2010 — Consider this: What if writing music was left to chance? A process where notes or chords are determined by the roll of dice or flipping a coin? Music that, essentially, writes itself. Decades ago, John Cage pushed the boundaries of writing music by using coin flips to decide where or how to place a certain note on a score.

A Potsdam musician is experimenting with this radical approach to creating music. Doyle Dean, former punk band drummer and filmmaker, invited Todd Moe to stop by his home studio to talk about his philosophy of music and listen to some of his latest work.

In an email tag, Dean quotes himself, "I set out to re-define popular music but discovered a new way to create extremely unpopular music instead." Todd spoke with him more about his utilitarian approach to pop/rock music.