10/29/2006 or thereabouts

(I kind of love the compression errors on this first frame)

10/31/2006

Foscil

Specs One

STOP BITING: DON’T LOOK AT THE MONSTERS
With DJs Hideki, Kamui, Sage Nomad, and guests. Lo_Fi Performance Gallery, 429 Eastlake Ave E, lofiseattle.org, 9 pm.

MAIN ROOM: HIDDEN HABITATS
(BUMBLE BEE, HIDEKI, KAMUI ,SAGE NOMAD,)
w/ INTROCUT ABSOLUTE MADMAN, & REI

Nov 9 from 7–10 pm

The A/V room is an audiovisual event featuring both prepared short films and live audio and video performance by emerging artists. The film line-up include entries from Vancouver, Seattle, Istanbul and Capetown. The evening’s live performance includes Japanese bamboo flute, spoken word, and experimental electronic music, all presented with visual accompaniment in the fabulous theater at Youngstown.

$5 sliding scale at the door to recoup costs and fund more of these events in the future. We are planning on creating DVDs of the events to be produced and sold. This is an all-ages event.

Email avroom@v8media.com or check the web site for more details: http://v8media.com/the-av-room/
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106

Youngstown is located conveniently close to downtown. Once on the West Seattle Bridge take the first exit after the peak to Delridge Way SW and stay in the left lane. After two lights, you will find Youngstown (the old Cooper School) on your left.

I acquired a Sansui VX-99 (NTSC) video mixer a while back. It didn’t seem to be fully working when I got it. Which is fine, it was in an “as-is” pile. I was just hoping to be able to use it to add some extra static and noise to live footage for visuals if nothing else. After opening it up to fix a broken fader with some hot glue, I still couldn’t get both channels of video to display at the same time. I eventually figured out that in order to mix the two video sources, you have to press the “gen-lock mix” button. After doing this, the mixer mostly works. I still have yet to figure out how to get the thing to display any changes when you press on the RGB color buttons. I’m assuming that these allow you to fade to a color instead of black, which I wouldn’t usually want, but could be interesting if you were doing some sort of video feedback.

Old video equipment is very frustrating. It causes all sorts of video glitches (can be good), which breaks the sync (bad) and causes your nice image to be indecipherable or, worse yet, blue screen. I wish the default was black.

I’m having fun playing with this thing. It has tons of adjustments inside using little trimmer dials. The VX-99 is a very capable video device when you include the possibilities of all of these dials, although since it is very hard to get back to a normal, well colored picture after playing with all of the dials, I can definitely understand why they left these out of reach. I am going to find some dials that I can mount on the outside of the case to replace the ones inside. I don’t like to destroy old things, but this one is much more valuable if I can use all of these settings without having the case lying open. I’ll make sure I put on markers for a “normal” setting once I figure them out again.

Oh, one weird thing about opening this case is that you need to undo the silver screw which ends up being the ground connection between the bottom and top of the case. Also the power switch held the case on, so you have to lift the case by the power button until it lifts off.

Since a large number of the tiny dials inside of this video mixer do interesting things that don’t exist in the original controls, I am adding more controls to the outside of the case. The hardest thing about this is finding dials with similar values to the ones originally in the mixer as well as hopefully looking somewhat natural on a very 80s looking device.

The varieties of dials and their markings are:
(most likely only helpful for myself)

black
103
222
223
224
471
472
473
blue (smaller)
721C 471
721C 472
612d 333
5398 683
722C 104
609d 223

650A 332
710C 222
706C 103
silver tall box with dial inside
1x - 4835 0000 760
2x - 4835 0100 760
short black box with yellow top
1x - no markings that I can see

It’s turning out to be harder to find a bunch of these than I thought. I’ll be playing with this more to figure out what I would actually use. I’ve found it to be fairly hard to get back to anything resembling stock settings, so I would definitely have to mark an approximate “normal” setting on the case. More later.

This year I will be one of the visual army of the Decibel Festival (dbFestival).

Come watch and listen at Chop Suey. Yuba Foxfire and myself will be providing visual embellishment for the bands at this venue who come without visuals of their own. The dbFestival schedule is being finalized as this is written.

Decibel Festival Info:
Web Page
Myspace

Current Lineup for 2006:
Speedy J (Netherlands)
Green Velvet (Chicago)
Alex Smoke (U.K.)
Bola (U.K.)
Thomas Fehlmann: Dub Set (Germany)
Murcof (Mexico)
The Dead Texan (Belgium)
Nortec Collective (Mexico)
Telefon Tel Aviv (Chicago)
Apparat (Germany)
Ryoichi Kurokawa (Japan)
Taylor Deupree (New York)
Richard Chartier (Washington D.C.)
Subtle (San Francisco)
Andreas Tilliander (Sweden)
Fax (Mexico)
Jeremy Ellis (Detroit)
Mokira (Sweden)
Claude Vonstroke (San Francisco)
Panoptica (Mexico)
[a]pendics.shuffle (Los Angeles)
Kate Simko (Chicago)
Deru (Los Angeles(
Jacob London: Debut Live Set(Seattle)
Brett Johnson (U.S.)
Latinsizer (Mexico)
Tim Xavier (New York)
Soultek (Chicago)
Plankton Man (Los Angeles)
Lusine (Seattle)
Davide Squillace (Spain)
Jerry Abstract (Seattle)
Mr. Projectile (San Francisco)
Son Of Rose (Seattle)
Camea and Insideout(New York)
Let’s Go Outside (Portland)
Jon McMillion (Seattle)
Robin Judge (Vancouver)
Mister Leisrure (Seattle)
Yann Novak (Seattle)
Senior Frio (Portland)
Randy Jones (Seattle)
Ben Nilstein (Portland)
Paul Edwards (Seattle)
SciFiSol (Seattle)
Ruoho Ruotsi (San Francisco)
Nordic Soul (Seattle)
Plan B (Seattle)
Sun Tzu Sound (Seattle)
Kinoko (Seattle)
GreenStar (Portland)
Kris Moon (Seattle)
Foscil (Seattle)
Some very nice stuff, definitely check it out!!

Prophet64 for the Commodore 64 playing through my Moog MiniMoog. I just wish I could get some cleaner sound out of the Prophet64. I’ve never heard recordings of Commodores sound as buzzy as mine. Maybe mine’s faulty? Either way, the combination of retro computer with retro synthesizer is quite fun to play with.

(Prophet64, Moog Minimoog)

Feedback 1

Feedback 2

Feedback 3

Static 1

Static 2

Static 3

Static 4

Static 5

at Grand Illusion Cinema

Films:
Gail Noonan More Sensitive
Sean Arden The Red Box, Empty Head
Heidi Nagtegaal Hug Attack
Mark Yurn D-Construct, Ironman

Live Performance:
audio: Deceptikon
video: Stefanie Loveday (Thegreyroom) + V8 Media

More Films:
Amy Lockhart A Single Tear
Rickie Lee Owens Dress u Up In My Love
Vincent Parker French Toast
Florian 17
Stephen Wichuk Der Kannibale
Stuart Losse Beastie
Magnus Bjor A Blush to Snow, Comet
Rickie Lee Owens Jellyfish
Tasha Brotherton The Good Life of the Cacti
Lori D Thursday
Erik Hood The Swing
Rickie Lee Owens Sick Day
Stephen Wichuk w Veda Hille White Flowers, Fine Start
Barry Doupe Handball

Fourthcity, the world-renowned think tank behind innovations like Laptop Battle, Poster Midget, StopBiting, the Keg-Stand-Mandatory Party Series & The Original Fourthcity Weekly, proudly & without reservation announce a party of the upmost priapism:

BRUSHED GOLDEN AFTER DINNER PARTY
aka FOURTHCITY CREW SHOWCASE 2006!! <-----

On June 9th, the day of our party, the world will know the reason why the Fourthcity Interns have been growing bedsores via their custom-designed lay-z-boy internet capsules!
On Friday June 9th, FOSCIL, ABSOLUTE MADMAN, VINCENT PARKER, KAMUI, HIDEKI, BUMBLEBEE, INTROCUT, REI, M’CHATEAU, KINOKO & PLAN B nourish you with new songs.

Visuals by V8 Media

We cannot tell you where our party is because you’re a snitch, but call 206 322 2209 to find out which super-secret warehouse on Capitol Hill you should roll (deep?) to.

Once again it’s on.

**Free commemorative Brushed Golden zines to the first 20 people!
**Short film debut by M. Iwata for Brushed Golden!
**This is a benefit show for New Beginnings Women’s Shelter!

Friday June Ninth
(The Day Before The Laptop Battle)
at “Club De Silencio”
$5, no guest list (it’s a benefit)
call or email privately for location

BYOB

2005.12.31 at Tost (513 N 36th Street)
Beehive
Henry Bee Noone

DJ Greg J of KEXP
Doors open at 9pm