Saturday at Brick Factory: Circuit Benders’ Ball, A Celebration of Hardware Hacking, Art, Music, and the Creative Spirit 09-29-2012

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Sep 282012

2012 Circuit Benders’ Ball Nashville

A celebration of hardware hacking, art, music, and the creative spirit.

Saturday, September 29th at Brick Factory Nashville

What is Circuit Bending?

“Circuit Bending is the creative recycling of common discarded technology, often children’s toys, by opening the device and soldering in new connections to create unique musical and video instruments.” – Roth Mobot

What makes circuit bending so cool is that ANYONE can do it! All you need is curiosity, a screwdriver, and a willingness to experiment. Circuit bending is a gateway into electronics, art, music, and making!

What is the Circuit Benders’ Ball Nashville?

The Circuit Benders’ Ball is a daylong symposium dedicated to the art of the bend, taking place on Saturday, September 29th. It will feature two stages, over a dozen performers, an interactive art gallery, and workshops.

We have invited circuit bent artists from Tennessee and beyond to perform and lead electronic workshops. The afternoon workshops are open to all ages and all levels of experience. In the evening, experimental musicians and sound artists will perform with circuit bent instruments, custom-made electronics, and/or battery-powered electronic devices.

If you’re curious about experimental music, making stuff, electronics, art, hacking, and sonic mayhem, this event is for you!

The Ball will take place on Saturday, September 29th, 2012 at Brick Factory Nashville, a hackerspace, community workshop, educational facility, art gallery, and performance space.

Performers:

Roth Mobot – Chicago
Blight Side of Life – Nashville
Brain Lesion – Murfreesboro, TN
Elegant Bassterds (Ben Marcantel and Derek Schartung) – Nashville
Josh Gumiela, Kelli Shay Hix, Lucas McCallister – Nashville
Hadals – Nashville / Montgomery, AL
Joey Molinaro – New York City
Nashville Robotic Philharmonic – (Zack Adams of CMKT4) Benton, KY
Pimpdaddysupreme – Nashville
Pineapple Explode – Nashville
Posttaste (Tommy Stangroom of Square People) – Nashville
Teletron Orchestra (Dylan Simon and Ken Soper) – Nashville / Murfreesboro

Schedule:

Times are approximate and are subject to change.

IN STAGE: 8:15-8:30 Posttaste
OUT STAGE: 8:35-8:50 Elegant Bassterds
IN STAGE: 8:55-9:10 Kelli Shay Hix / Josh Gumiela / Lucas McCallister
OUT STAGE: 9:15-9:30 Pineapple Explode
IN STAGE: 9:35-9:50 Teletron Orchestra
OUT STAGE: 9:55-10:10 Brain Lesion
IN STAGE: 10:15-10:50 Roth Mobot

Intermission

IN STAGE: 11:05-11:20 Pimpdaddysupreme w/ Matt the PM
OUT STAGE: 11:25-11:40 Hadals
IN STAGE: 11:45-12:05 Joey Molinaro
OUT STAGE: 12:10-12:25 Blight Side of Life
IN STAGE: 12:30-12:50 Nashville Robotic Philharmonic

House DJ of WEIRD: Gabriel Batres

Visual Artists:

Benton Bainbridge
Rhendi Greenwell
Josh Gumiela
Ryan Hogan
Matt the PM
Aric Vance
Tilman Zitzman

Workshops:

Build a Buckawatt Boost Kit Custom Printed Circuit Boards

Tickets for the workshops are limited. While a few tickets may be available at the event, we highly recommend you purchase your tickets in advance via TheSkillery.com.

Chip to be Square: Build Your Own Synthesizer

10:00AM – 1:00PM, Brick Factory Nashville

Build your own square wave sequencing synthesizer! A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument capable of producing a wide range of frequencies (notes) to make melodies. Square waves are one of the most commonly used waveforms in all synthesizers. They sound somewhat rough to our ears and might remind you of old 8-bit video game systems such as the Atari 2600 or Nintendo Entertainment System.

By the end of the 3 hour session, you will have built your own synthesizer! Workshop cost includes all supplies. Just bring yourself. No previous electronic experience necessary.

Price: $55. Buy tickets.

Intro to Circuit Bending w/ Roth Mobot

2:00PM – 5:00PM, Brick Factory Nashville

In this workshop, you will take apart an old toy and make a brand new musical instrument! You’ll be able to identify and explore the basic components of a typical circuit board, the basics of soldering, install output jacks, switches, body contacts (and more!), and control a world of new sounds. Workshop cost includes all supplies EXCEPT the toy. Just bring yourself and 2 toys to bend. No previous electronic experience necessary.

IMPORTANT: This workshop is BYOT (Bring Your Own Toy). Participants are required to bring 1 battery-powered device (with batteries!) to the class. It’s best to bring 2 toys … Some toys just don’t bend. Sometimes a toy fries during the workshop. We don’t want anyone to be left out.

What’s a good toy to bend? Find out on Roth Mobot’s workshop page: http://www.rubbermonkey.org/rothmobot/workshops.htm

Price: $45. Buy tickets.

Build a Buckawatt “Bend-a-Boost” Modular Boost Kit

5:30PM – 7:00PM, Brick Factory Nashville

In this workshop, attendees will learn how to build and design a single stage amplifier using sockets. Attendees will practice beginner soldering skills, populating a circuit board with sockets, before experimenting with a number of different custom biasing configurations with no additional soldering.

The Bend-a-Boost is a transistor-based boost kit. It can be used to add color and character to other devices and can be configured in a number of different ways to create signal clipping and oscillations. It has practical applications for circuit benders and stomp box lovers alike and teaches building blocks of amplification, overdrive, and fuzz. Workshop cost includes all supplies. Just bring yourself. No previous electronic experience necessary.