The Constructioneers

🎶 The Constructioneers: Building Beats and Clubhouses

Let’s fire up our imaginations and enjoy the rise of Jay County’s most unlikely musical sensation…

The Constructioneers, a ragtag crew of amateur radio enthusiasts turned impromptu musicians, have taken the local music scene by storm! By day, they’re hammering away at the new clubhouse for the Jay County Amateur Radio Club. But as the sun sets, the construction site transforms into a makeshift stage—and the real show begins.

• 🎤 Carl “The Nail” McDowell taps out rhythms on a copper pipe xylophone, each note tuned by sheer guesswork and elbow grease.

• 🎸 Steve “Sawdust” McDowell coaxes haunting melodies from a modified alto electric saw—equal parts eerie and electrifying.

• 🪘 Dave “The Hammer” Wood keeps the beat on an array of empty paint cans, with a snare made from a dented drywall bucket.

• ⚡ Tony “Sparky” Cline creates electronic beats by (safely!) manipulating the clubhouse’s unfinished wiring. Think EDM meets OSHA.

• 🎻 Tom “Woody” Kaup rounds out the sound with his signature bass saw—an instrument so niche it has its own splinters.

Their hit single, “QSO to My Heart,” has become an unlikely local anthem, with lyrics about love on the radio waves and the static that sometimes gets in the way. As word spreads about their unique blend of construction noise and catchy tunes, The Constructioneers find themselves not just building a clubhouse—but constructing a whole new genre of music: Hamcore.

Who knew that “hammering out a tune” could be taken so literally?

Fiction, of course. But it’s nice to think about. The Constructioneers remind us that with a little creativity, you can build more than just walls—you can build a community, one quirky song at a time.