New Workshops

Introduction to Circuit Bending
Sunday, Nov. 28, 1:00 - 4:50
The Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N Lincoln Ave
Register at 773-728-6000

Take apart your old toys and make a brand new musical instrument! Circuit bending is the art of modifying existing battery-powered electronics (like children's toys, guitar effects units, inexpensive battery-powered instruments, etc.) to create unique musical instruments by adding wires, knobs, and switches to control new connections within the device's pre-existing circuitry. Enjoy bizarre sounds, electronic loops, sampling, distortion, and other easy to create effects. At the end of this workshop you'll be able to identify and explore the basic components of a typical circuit board, install an output jack, switches, body contacts (and more!), and control a world of new sounds. No previous electronics experience is required! Tools and components will be provided. Students are required to bring one or two battery powered devices to the class.

How to Build A Simple Contact Microphone
Sunday Dec. 5, 1:00 - 2:50
The Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N Lincoln Ave
Register at 773-728-6000

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 we will show you how to make a simple, effective contact microphone from surplus and discarded materials. Students are encouraged to bring random objects to amplify - sheet metal, cardboard boxes, acoustic instruments, slinkies, coat hangers, textured plastic objects, etc.
No previous electronics experience is required!

Experimental Sound Studio Fundraiser

Sunday, November 21, 2010
3:00 - 6:00 PM

Roth Mobot has been asked to play a fundraiser for the ESS. It's an "invitation only" event. So, maybe you can call them and get an invitation.

We'll tweat the afterparty.

Patrick McCarthy to Address the Rotary Club

Patrick has been invited to speak at the Rotary Club's weekly luncheon. Patrick has been striving for years towards a teaching career that focuses on eliminating technophobia in his students via Circuit Bending workshops and performances. He will be giving a brief impromptu performance, a short lecture on the Acquired Technology Arts, and its use in preparing students for high tech careers.

MEECAS 2010

". . . for electronics junkies it's like being in a candy store."

- The Onion

Saturday, November 13 :
Lizard's Liquid Lounge, 3058 W Irving Park Rd. (map)
The 3rd annual Midwestern Experimental Electronics Conference and Showcase (MEECAS) is a free, day-long symposium highlighting the past year's accomplishments in the areas of Musical Instrument Design, Performance, Circuit Bending, Data Hacking, and Video Art.

CONFERENCE : Noon - 3:00 PM
The MEECAS begins with a three-hour circuit bent open mic, and an open “horizontal lecture series” structured around a free hardware hacking workshop wherein all participants are both teacher and student. The conversation will focus on networking, hacking techniques, project demonstrations, and setting goals for the next year.

DINNER - 3:00 PM
Order some carry out, and continue the conversation and networking into the evening.

SHOWCASE : 8:00 PM - Midnight
The MEECAS continues into the evening with live performances featuring:

• Tim Kaiser, Duluth, MN
• Roth Mobot, Chicago, IL
• Welcome Tomerica, Chicago, IL
• Alex Inglizian, Chicago, IL
• Will Soderberg, Chicago, IL
• CMKT4, DeKalb, IL

VIDEO : 8:00 PM - Midnight
In addition to the live video mix work of The Machinist, the evening portion of the MEECAS will include pieces from some of the Midwest's (and Europe's) premier Glitch artists, featuring:

• (steven) Buck, Chicago, IL
• Spright Light Theater, Minneapolis, MN
• Hugo Paquete, Portugal

INTERACTIVE INSTALLATIONS : 7:00 PM - 1:00 AM
The MEECAS audience is encouraged to explore interactive electronic installations created by:

• Michel Una, Chicago, IL - LIFE Synth
• Sam Piro, Evanston, IL - Circle Machine, Jr.
• Kim Alpert, Chicago, IL - Stolen
• Patrick McCarthy, Chicago, IL - Graphite Synth
• Telekinetica, Chicago, IL - Plasma Ball Boom Box

MEECAS STORE : 7:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Exhibiting and performing artists will be selling recorded works, experimental musical instruments, electronics kits, and apparel to offset the cost of the show.

CALL FOR DEAD BATTERIES
	Please bring your dead batteries to the MEECAS and we will send them to a proper eWaste recycling center.

MEECAS 2010 LIVE WEBCAST : 8:00 PM - Midnight CST

SPECIAL THANKS :

• Créme Dementia, MEECAS 2010 Video Documentation
• Tom Young, MEECAS 2010 Photo Documentation
• (steven) Buck, MEECAS 2010 Audio Documentation
• Patrick McCarthy & (steven) Buck, MEECAS 2010 Staging and Lighting
• Carl Broman, MEECAS 2010 Webcast Documentation
• Ruth & Johnny, MEECAS 2010 Bartenders
• Lizard's Liquid Lounge, the Room
• Cody's on Albany, for their Convenient Location
• You, the MEECAS 2010 Audience

New Devices - August 2010

Hybrid Hacked Vocaid Incantor

Both Tommy and Patrick contributed custom circuitry to this device. There are two loop switches and three glitch switches, as well as pitch control. Tommy finished the exterior.

Untitled Dark Keyboard

Presented with a found keyboard, we installed a classic clock bend with three pitch electrodes.

Roth Mobot Back from OFFF Paris 2010

Roth Mobot was invited to conduct a presentation about, and performance of, their DIY approach to soundscape production using their homemade electronic devices and circuit bent toys at the 10th annual OFFF Design Conference. The festival was huge, taking up multiple floors of Paris' La Grande Halle de La Villette. We have tons of photos and videos, not only from the festival itself, but from our brief stay in the City of Lights. 
OFFF Paris 2010 Opening Titles
Created by the Academy Award winning design team, The Mill

Roth Mobot's Presentation & Performance at OFFF

Roth Mobot at OFFF Festival in Paris!

Roth Mobot is performing opening night at the OFFF Festival in Paris, France.

The three-day OFFF Festival is more than a design conference, it's a digital multimedia festival. OFFF is spreading the work of a generation of makers, inventors, and artists that are setting new limits by growing with recent technology and receiving inspiration from a whole new tool set.

This is such an unusual and excellent gig for us that it requires a little extra attention. Although the festival is paying for our flight and our hotel accommodations, we still have to pay for our food, and to ship our equipment across the Atlantic (twice).

We have set up a Donate button on our web site. It's a secure connection to PayPal where any small donation would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you send us your postal address we will send you a post card from Paris! We leave this Tuesday and our goal is $500. Thank you.