Midwest Inventors Earth Day Virtual Concert

Thursday, April 22, 2010, 7:00 PM
In an effort to reduce their collective Carbon footprint, Midwest Experimental Electronic Musicians explore webcasting as a means of production and performance. Artists include Tim Kaiser, Pelzwik, Roth Mobot, Welcome Tomerica, and Michael Una.

Experimental Electronics News

1. RMPC's Electronics Dept. Assigned to Roth Mobot

The Rubber Monkey Puppet Company has officially delegated its Experimental Electronics Department to Roth Mobot. From here on out, all associated responsibilities, workshops, lectures, and performances will be handled by the circuit bent duo. In turn, Roth Mobot has become the first official subsidiary of The RMPC.

2. Upcoming Electronics Workshops

How To Build a Portable Amplifier

• Sunday, April 11, 1:00 - 4:50 PM
  Old Town School of Folk Music
  

This class shows how simple electronics construction can be while emphasizing the basics of soldering, following an electronics diagram, custom circuit design, circuit construction, and finishing techniques. No previous electronics experience is required! More information can be found on our 'Workshops' page.

Introduction to Circuit Bending

• Tuesday, April 13, 7:00 - 10:00 PM
  T R A N S IS T O R

This crash course in Circuit Bending teaches basic soldering skills, how to explore a pre-existing circuit, and how to hack a common toy into a unique instrument.  No previous electronics experience is required! More information can be found on our 'Workshops' page.

3. Awards

• Best Presentation, ORD Camp 2010

Roth Mobot was invited to ORD Camp 2010, a lateral conference of the Midwest's leading technological thinkers (sponsored by google and Inventables, and hosted at UIC's Innovation Center). Patrick McCarthy's presentation "Introduction to Circuit Bending" featuring live toy hacking and a demo of video modding, won the Best Presentation, ORD Camp 2010 Award.

• Prix Ars Electronics 2010, Digital Communities

Roth Mobot has been nominated for this year’s Prix Ars Electronica award in the category "Digital Communities," which focuses on political, social and cultural projects, initiatives, groups and scenes from all over the world that display commitment to smart, successful ways of deploying digital technologies to solve social problems with an emphasis on the degree of community innovation, sustainability and use of technology. Results will be announced in May.

4. OFFF Festival in Paris

OFFF International Festival for the Post-Digital Creation Culture
June 24, 25, 26, 2010 Roth Mobot is being flown to Paris to perform on the frontline of digital arts events at La Grande Halle de La Villette for the OFFF Festival. OFFF has become a synonym for modernity, both aesthetic and technological. OFFF is spreading the work of a generation of creators that are breaking all kinds of limits - focusing on those separating the commercial arena from the worlds of art and design. Wish us luck on getting our suitcases full of hacked electronics onto the plane. Any advice would be appreciated.

5. The Weekly eSymposium

EVERY Saturday, 12:00 noon - 3:00 PM
Lizard's Liquid Lounge, 3058 W Irving Park Rd, (773) 463-7599
To nurture the Midwest experimental electronics community, we host a free weekly "eSymposium," an interactive lecture series where participants are both teachers and students. There's soldering, tinkering, Q&A, show-&-tell, bending circuits, hacking toys, recycling discarded electronics and batteries, and Chicago's only weekly Circuit Bent Open Mic. Stop by, join the eSymposium's Google Group, or check out our work at youtube.com/eSymposiumChicago and soundcloud.com/eSymposiumChicago.

Nominated for Prix Ars Electronica 2010

Roth Mobot has been nominated for this year’s Prix Ars Electronica award in the category "Digital Communities."

The Digital Communities category focuses on political, social and cultural projects, initiatives, groups and scenes from all over the world that display commitment to smart, successful ways of deploying digital technologies to solve social problems.

Particular emphasis is placed on a project’s degree of community innovation, its sustainability and its use of technology in a way that makes good sense and is attuned to the needs of the people meant to benefit from it.

Hopefully, Roth Mobot's commitment to the demystification of technology, the creative enablement of future experimental electronics artists, the creative recycling of e-waste, and  the ongoing nurturing of the Midwest Acquired Technology Arts community will set us apart. This would be an awesome award we could all be proud of, as we all had a hand in it. It is an honor to even be nominated. Thank you.

Circuit Bent Police Car Toy

This toy was bent for our performance at TEDx Windy City. It's a classic clock hack. Notice how the lights on the top of the toy act as a built in VCF based LFO.

"Circuit Bending" Demo at ORD Camp 2010 & Fuzzy Math's Winter Salon

This year Roth Mobot was invited to ORD Camp - (according to their web site, www.ORDcamp.com) the "unconference" "...for people in the Midwest who are doing interesting work in a wide range of technology-related disciplines...." Participants are encouraged to freely sign up to speak on any subject the wish, and to attend any of said talks. Patrick gave three talks on Saturday. A brief lesson in Tuvan Throat Singing Techniques (the art of simultaneously singing with more than one voice), and Eschatology (particle physics, the relative mass equation, & dark energy - a theoretical end to the universe). But it was his Introduction to Circuit Bending demonstration that won the "Most Popular Talk Award." This same demonstration will be conducted at Fuzzy Math's Winter Salon, a small group unconference for people to meet, learn from, and spark the passion of like-minded folks. They'll provide good company and good food, it's up to you to provide great conversation!
Thursday, February 18th, 6:00 PM, 3422 N. Lincoln Ave. 2nd Floor Chicago, FREE.

Public Rehearsal at TRANSISTOR in Chicago

In preparation for our performance at TED^x Windy City in February, Roth Mobot conducted a public rehearsal of their latest experimental electronic instruments. Also that evening there was a special guest performance by Chicago based circuit bender, instrument designer, musician, and good new friend, Welcome Tomerica. A brief interactive Q & A cocktail session followed the evening's performances. Thanks to Chicago Buck for the iPhone recording.

New Workshops

Circuit Bending
We bring the tools and components, you bring the battery powered toys. This crash course in circuit bending and toy hacking covers the basics of electronics, the tools of circuit exploration, and the techniques of finishing a project. No previous electronics experienced required! 

How to Build a Simple Contact Microphone
Contact mics are inexpensive, easy to build, and can be a source for fun and experimental ways of creating new sounds for recording, art installations or various live performances. In just two hours Patrick McCarthy will show you how to make a simple, effective contact microphone from surplus and discarded materials.

How to Build a Simple Battery Powered Amplifier
This workshop guides you step by step through the process of building your own standard, battery-powered, portable amplifier. Patrick will show how simple electronics construction can be while emphasizing the basics of soldering, interpreting an electronics diagram, custom circuit design, circuit construction, and finishing techniques.