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Thursday at SAE Nashville: Q&A with Synth Pioneer Dave Smith

 Concerts, Making, Where to find Nashville avant-garde  No Responses »
Mar 082016
 

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The Nashville Electronic Music & Synthesizer Group is a new meetup organized by Bill Vincent, Mike Hiegemann, and others. Basically, once a month we bring our favorite gear to SAE Nashville, talk about it, and play with it. The group has something very special planned for the next meeting on March 10th: a Skype Q&A with analog synthesizer pioneer Dave Smith.

Smith is the founder of Sequential Circuits and the inventor of the Prophet-5, which was, as his Wikipedia entry states, “the world’s first microprocessor-based musical instrument and also the first programmable polyphonic synth.” He’s a co-inventor of MIDI. While working at Korg, he led the team that produced the Wavestation synthesizer.

His company Dave Smith Instruments has released several successful products including the Prophet-6, the Tempest drum machine, and the OB-6.

So yeah. This is kind of a big deal.

If you’d like to attend, join the Nashville Electronic Music & Synthesizer Facebook group and RSVP here. Big thanks to Mike Hiegemann for organizing this event.

The general show & tell begins at 6 p.m. and the Dave Smith Q&A starts at 7.

While you’re whiling away the hours, listen to the Theatre Intangible episode Prong & Spittle featuring Bobobobobob on the Prophet-5.

Dave Smith Q&A presented by the Nashville Electronic Music & Synthesizer Group
Thursday, March 10th, 6 p.m., free show, all ages
@ SAE Nashville, 7 Music Cir N, Nashville, TN 37203

E106 Dig Deep 2013-12-12

 84001, Alan Fey, All Podcasts, Chris Watts, Craig Schenker, Dave Shamban (Dig Deep), Dig Deep Light Show, Film Scores, Matt Hamilton, Mike Hiegemann, Post-WRVU Era, Scott Sanders (Dig Deep), Tim Carey  1 Response »
Dec 122013
 

 

DigDeep5Crop

I had some time this week to finish up five new podcasts that I’ll be cranking out in the coming weeks. I also recently treated my room with homemade sound absorption panels, and the new podcast intros are my first tests of the panels. I normally record the spoken intros with an SM58 dynamic microphone.  I wanted to really test the limits of my absorption panels, so for the these intros, I decided to use the ultra-sensitive Rode NT1000 condenser mic. The result is pretty nice with higher fidelity and WAY less room reflections than the previous intros.

My new homemade sound absorption panels.

My new homemade sound absorption panels.

Today’s podcast is episode 106: Dig Deep.

On July 22nd, 2013 the Dig Deep Light Show performed an improvised light show in the basement of Noa Noa house. Members Scott Sanders, Dave Shamban and Brian Miles use overhead projectors, clear glass serving plates, transparencies, and multi-colored liquids to create beautiful abstract images at concerts and multimedia shows. Normally, they’re taking cues from whatever band they accompany, but for this show, we wanted the visual artists to take the lead for a change. So Scott and Dave performed an improvised light show (Brian attended but did not participate that night) while a group of musicians sat in the back of the room and created a score to the visuals. That musical improv is what you’re about to hear.

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This was part of a lineup that also included the bands Insect Factory and Public Speaking. I also recorded their performances, and I’m offering those recordings as free downloads. Download the Insect Factory set here and the Public Speaking set here. Note that these are mixing board recordings. There may be some un-mic-ed acoustic portions that are not very present on the recordings. You can also check out video clips below.

The Dig Deep Light show improv featured Tim Carey (84001) on synths and guitar, Alan Fey on Marimba, Matt Hamilton on guitar and effects, Mike Hiegemann on Analog Synths and Bass guitar, Craig Schenker on Alto Sax and Flute, and Chris Watts (Most Amazing Century of Science) on Alto Sax and Glockenspiel.

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Tyler Blankenship put together a wonderful video that links the music recording with video of the light show. Check it out below.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:42 — 91.0MB)

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

Monday at Noa Noa: Insect Factory, Public Speaking, Dig Deep Light Show w/ Live Improv Score 07-22-2013

 Concerts, Noa Noa, Theatre Intangible LIVE  No Responses »
Jul 202013
 
Insect Factory

Insect Factory

The fifth installment in the Noa Noa Experimental Series is happening Monday, July 22nd, and this one is a doozy: Insect Factory, Public Speaking and Dig Deep Light Show w/ Live Improv Score.

The theme is “Mood Light:  three acts altering mood with color and sound,” and it garnered a Critic’s Pick from Joe Nolan at the Nashville Scene:

Insect Factory’s music would be the perfect thing to listen to if I were writing this pick in a space station, generations removed from my earthbound ancestors, chronicling the aching edge of the species’ evolution into some wholly new thing as it hurtles toward an ever-more-unknowable end. Jeff Barsky is the man behind the project, and the densely layered, repetitive, droning tracks he creates are as surprisingly dynamic as they are pleasantly hypnotic. In addition to the Factory’s cosmic mood-making, this event at Noa Noa will include the soulful noise of Public Speaking. The band’s debut full-length Blanton Ravine is being talked up as a masterful meld of sound collage and sexy pop sensibilities. Tonight’s show should make clear whether Brooklyn artist Jason Anthony Harris and his bandmates are messing with a mismatched mash-up or connecting disparate elements to create something genuinely unique and lasting. Tonight’s festivities will culminate in a colorful light show by Dig Deep, featuring the projector magic of Scott Sanders and Dave Shambam. Their swirling spectrums will be accompanied by the live musical improvisations of Tim Carey, Alan Fey, Matt Hamilton, Mike Hiegemann, Craig Schenker and Chris Watts.

Joe did a wonderful job with the profiles of the performers. I just want to add one bit about Dig Deep Light Show. Members Scott Sanders and David Shambam will wash an entire side of the Noa Noa basement with vivid, hypnotic oil abstractions magnified on overhead projectors. Normally visual artists get relegated to making pretty backgrounds for live music. For this show, we wanted to flip the balance. In the most ambitious Noa Noa set up so far, a six piece orchestra featuring marimba, horns, synths and guitars will make improvised music to the visuals. The musicians will stand behind the audience. Yes, the visual artists get the spotlight for a change. We’ll be recording the improv for a future Theatre Intangible podcast. This show will be be one of the coolest things ever to happen in our basement. Because of the ambitious set-up, Dig Deep will probably go first, so make sure you arrive on time if you don’t want to miss the indoor fireworks show.

More info on the Facebook Event Page.

Insect Factory, Public Speaking, Dig Deep Light Show w/ Live Improv Score
Monday, July 22nd, 8:30pm, $5 suggested donation to touring bands

@ Noa Noa (house)
620 Hamilton Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203
BYOB. Park in front yard and surrounding business lots.

Absurdist Pop Mashup POPCOLLAGE Debuts Thursday at Chestnut Studios

 Concerts  No Responses »
May 022012
 

Shane Harrison – Absinthe

If you were at the Gallery F closing party, you may have witnessed the preview of the new project by JJ JONES THE HUMAN SNOWGLOBE, MIKE HIEGEMANN, and STIJN SMEETS : POPCOLLAGE. They only performed one song, a mashup of Burning Ring of Fire and Burning Down the House called The Fire Trilogy. (Theatre Intangible recorded it. Check it out here.) People went crazy over it!

I got to listen to PopCollage practice in my basement. The music is absurdist, brilliant, and completely sincere. Now, you have a chance to witness their first full concert, Thursday, May 3rd at Chestnut Studios.

Here’s the letter JJ sent me:

Greetings!

A new project PopCollage will play in Nashville Thursday May 3, 2012 at 7:30.

At my wife Sabine Schlunk’s studio on Chestnut Avenue near Sounds Stadium. (directions below).

PopCollage is completely improvised with electronic beats and electric bass (Mike Hiegemann, Bochum DE) and classical violin (Stijn Smeets, Brussels BE) and the vocals of JJ Jones (Nashville/Munich).

We weave improvised sounds with famous lyrics from the popular music of history (with recognizable and unrecognizable melodies),as well as parts of fairy tales and famous lines from films.

Please join us. It will be fun.

Location: Chestnut studios are in an old brick factory near the railroad tracks ACROSS FROM 452 Chestnut St. Nashville around the corner from Sounds Stadium. The studio is on the main floor ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE END OF THE HALL.

More info on the Facebook page.

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