http://www.moonmilk.com Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:34:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This month I'll be the "artist in residence" on the Brooklyn Museum's 1stfans Twitter Art Feed. Through Twitter, I'll be conducting variations on the Surrealist game of Exquisite Corpse, in which participants make a collaborative work of art by alternating to add pieces to it. I'm reviving a ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/07/01/exquisite-sonnet-project-at-brooklyn-museum-of-art/ Almost 15 years ago I wrote a silly song based on a typo, about the 19th century's greatest nonexistent feat of engineering, the transatlantic canal between the United States and Ireland. Many years later, Jacob Haller arranged and sang an a capella version of my lyrics, and now, through ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/05/07/the-ballad-of-the-eire-canal/ It's still not quite ready for full-time operation, but now we can crank it up on special occasions! [video on flickr] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/05/02/video-of-coney-island-installation/ nyc24 covered the NYC Electro-Acoustic Music Festival, and posted an interview and some footage of me and some of my music machines. (Click the Robot Monkeys video!) http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/05/01/interview-video-at-nyc24/ Keira and I are starting a new daily photo project, inspired by Minty Forest. Each day, in San Francisco and in New York, we'll look at Merriam Webster’s word of the day and let it influence the making of a photo. We won’t share our pictures with each ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/05/01/one-word-two-pictures-every-day/ clickblog, an Italian photography blog, had a nice little post about my produce scans project. (Here's an automated translation into English) The project continues, with 263 fresh & all-organic images so far. [caption id="attachment_272" align="alignnone" width="600" caption="screenshot from clickblog.it"][/caption] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/04/20/produce-scans-on-clickblogit/ 11pm Thursday April 2 at Galapagos in Brooklyn -- I'm performing with some freshly-built electromechanical instruments, some of which are shown here. On Sunday they're going to become part of a permanent sound installation at the Coney Island Museum. * evil monkey is on loan from the Coney Island Museum. ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/04/02/evil-monkey-live-at-galapagos-tonight/ Hello! I've got news of some upcoming events in Brooklyn, and then some coverage of the instrument-a-day project! ON THURSDAY night, April 2, the Nutmeg Orchestrette-- my little robot ensemble-- will be performing as part of the NYC Electro-Acoustic Music Festival, along with a bunch of other excellent performers including ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/03/25/mailing-list-archive-noisy-things-considered/ The Glass Bees and I played a bunch of my homemade instruments last night at Barbès in Brooklyn. (The show was made possible by Bethany Ryker, who brings interesting stuff to Barbès every Wednesday and to wfmu every Sunday.) Here's some excerpts from the show-- thanks to bee Chris for ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/03/05/live-at-barbes/ Years ago I was in a gallery show with Mineko Grimmer, who makes sound sculptures of pebbles frozen in ice. As the ice melts, the pebbles drop into a pool or a wooden lattice and make irregular sounds. I made my own version entirely out of things from my junk ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/28/instrument-a-day-28-melt-after-mineko-grimmer/ This one didn't really work out. It was supposed to be a sequel to last year's automatic tension guitar, but it doesn't work or sound nearly as good. I'm experimenting with cheap substitutes for the little clapper solenoids I used last year, which are now really hard to ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/28/instrument-a-day-27-semi-automatic-bass/ Very very tiny. I clamped it in steel pliers so I could use a magnetic pickup to record the sound it made. Slowed down by a factor of eight (down three octaves), it sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad26-tinytuningfork.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/27/instrument-a-day-26-tiny-tuning-fork/ I'm performing at Barbes in Park Slope, Brooklyn this Wednesday (March 4th) at 8pm. Come at 7 and mess around with homemade instruments - bring your own if you like! I'll be joined by The Glass Bees. http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/27/performance-this-wednesday/ I found this arboreal flail in a mud puddle in the park, so I glued it to a motor. It keeps the beat pretty well, until it falls apart. It sounds like this. (Video here.) [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad25-mudflail.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/27/instrument-a-day-24-mudflail/ It's a familiar tune played upside-down and backwards, and then just backwards, and then upside-down and backwards again. Over and over, forever. It sounds like this. (Video here) [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad24-mobius.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/27/instrument-a-day-24-mobius-music/ A drum, some antique wind-up motors (from the Aladdin Toy Motors company of Brooklyn!), and leftover wood from the laser whistles combine to give you a simulation of the sound of a peaceful sunday morning in New York City. It sounds like this. (Video ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/23/instrument-a-day-23-nyc-sunday-morning-simulator/ Tower of pot & pan lids wired to an old floor lamp. Yes, I buy my cookware according to its sound; don't you? It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad22-circulonelan.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/22/instrument-a-day-22-circulonelan/ Good old-fashioned circuit-bending with a baby-rattling device I found in the trash and slightly modified. Magnetic pickup and contact microphone pick up sound in two different ways. It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad21-babyshaker.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/22/instrument-a-day-21-baby-shaker/ Spring, clamp, bamboo skewer, and piezo contact microphone. Finger pressure on the skewer changes the tone. It goes sproooooinnnnnnng! [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad20-springsproing.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/21/instrument-a-day-20-spring-sproing/ Fruit crate, found twigs, hardware, piezoelectric disc, sewing needle, hot glue, and "Walk This Way" by RUN-D.M.C. I don't have a record player, so it was time to make one out of whatever I had lying around. It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad19-gardengramophone.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/20/instrument-a-day-19-garden-gramophone/ Instrument-a-day month is two-thirds over and I've only fallen behind by one day! So far I've made squawkers, hissers, squeakers, plonkers, and various other noisemakers, all of which you can see at <http://www.moonmilk.com/> And on Wednesday March 4th, 8pm, I'll be performing with some of these and other homemade instruments ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/20/mailing-list-archive-noisy-news/ A strong magnet distorts the sound of a music box by warping the tines. It's recorded through a hand-wound magnetic pickup, and it sounds like this. (There's no processing added to the sound except for noise reduction.) [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad18-bentmusicbox.mp3] Thanks to k for the music box! http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/19/instrument-a-day-18-bent-music-box/ 1/8" steel rod, found wood, hand-wound magnetic pickup, played through a cheap battery-powered amplifier for a bit of that KONONO N°1 sound. Inspired by the chimes made by Nathan Davis for Phyllis Chen (but not made with nearly as much skill or artistry). It's played with drumsticks. The steel ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/18/instrument-a-day-17-steel-chimes/ Another way to use up waste bamboo that was too split up for a wind instrument. Though a real shishi odoshi (deer scarer) would use good bamboo and make a much nicer sound. The sticks are gathered from the park; the pivot is steel ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/16/instrument-a-day-16-shishi-odoshi/ This length of bamboo was going to be a clarinet until it split all down its length, so I took some leftover bits of wire and aluminum tubing and a guitar string from the servo guitar and made this. The shape makes it almost impossible to hold and play ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/15/instrument-a-day-15-leftovers-guitar/ A particularly ugly instrument today - a prototype, made mostly of hotglue, for an automatic slide guitar. It's playing a test pattern which sounds like this. http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/14/instrument-a-day-14-servo-slide-guitar-prototype/ The park near my house is a collection point for old christmas trees to be recycled. Someone dumped a bunch of bamboo in the pile (christmas bamboo?) so I grabbed a stalk and let it dry for a month. This bamboo really wants to split - in fact, ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/13/instrument-a-day-13-bamboo-flute/ Two music boxes, alternating notes. Can you recognize either of the tunes? It sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad12-twinbox.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/13/instrument-a-day-12-twinbox/ Clay pots, wood, brass, and hardware. (The flower pots had a previous life as companions to Trumpet Marine!) It's a very windy day today so I wanted to make a windchime. Sorry about the sound quality, but, well, it's windy. You can ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/12/instrument-a-day-11-windchime/ I wanted to play with some of the leftover wood from the laser whistles, so I stuck a contact microphone to it, strummed it with a guitar pick, and bowed it. The strumming was pretty dumb but the bowing is at least a little bit ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/11/instrument-a-day-10-bowed-scrapwood/ While walking the dog I found a slab of marble in a heap of renovation trash. So of course I took it home and made a gong. Beaten with one wooden drumstick and one plastic-tipped drumstick, it sounds like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad9-marblegong.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/09/instrument-a-day-9-marble-gong/ I assembled six more whistles from the pieces I laser-cut yesterday. Six more to go -- you can probably guess where this is going. (One of these eight is a prototype that's not going to be part of the final set.) They sound like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad8-morewhistles.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/08/instrument-a-day-8-more-whistles/ Laser-cut basswood and wood glue. I took a laser cutter class today at NYC Resistor and decided to make whistles based on the classic design of organ pipes. If you have a laser cutter of your own, you can download the plans ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/07/instrument-a-day-7-laser-whistles/ Buddha Box, wire, brass, and conductive foam. The Buddha Box is a little electronic gadget that plays any of 12 chants over and over again. I wired it up with a brass tablet and drumstick so I can play it like a drum-- each hit switches ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/07/instrument-a-day-6-buddha-bonk/ Not enough time today to build a harpsichord or a kazoo or something, so in honor of the solution today of the Mystery of the Syrup Smell of New York, I took a jar of fenugreek seeds and played along with a famous movie scene. The results sounded like ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/05/instrument-a-day-5-zorba-the-fenugreek/ Made from a piece of dried up seaweed from a California beach, the mouthpiece from a junked clarinet or something, and a reed cut from the lid of a takeout food container. It sounds like this. (My fingers can only reach two sound holes, so I can only ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/04/instrument-a-day-4-kelphorn/ Noisemakers that can be cut and folded from a thin sheet of stiff plastic. This is a variation on the drinking straw double reed. They sound like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad3-foldable-squawkers.mp3] The plastic I used is Avery 11900 Insertable Dividers (this also works great in a Craft-Robo!) To make ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/04/instrument-a-day-3-foldable-squawkers/ Motor, battery, bead garland, and drum. I made a failed whistle, followed by a squawky plastic double reed which didn't seem worth calling an instrument-of-the-day. Then I bumped a bead garland off of the sewing table, and as it slowly drizzled over the edge, I had ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/02/instrument-a-day-2-rain-simulator/ I'm doing an instrument a day again this month! Here's the first one. Monofilament, wooden scraps and dowels, and staples. It sounds something like this. [audio:http://www.moonmilk.com/09/02/iad/iad1-crapharp.mp3] http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/02/01/instrument-a-day-1-the-ten-minute-crapharp/ In early April, Nick and Aaron and I hope to unveil our sound sculpture for the lobby of the Coney Island Museum. If all goes well, the piece will continue to grow after the opening, as we add more and more mechanical instruments to it until it takes over most ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/01/30/coney-island-museum-lobby-installation/ February is thing-a-day month! -- over at <http://www.thing-a-day.com> they're encouraging people to sign up and try to make or do something creative every day during February. Last year I ended up making a musical instrument every day-- it was a fun challenge and I learned a lot! (results here: ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/01/25/mailing-list-archive-instrument-a-day/ Today is Benjamin Franklin's 303rd birthday. To celebrate, I've revived the Ben Franklin chatbot that Rebecca and I were commissioned to make for the Franklin Institute back in 1996. Here's benbot! http://www.moonmilk.com/2009/01/17/happy-birthday-ben-franklin/ http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/12/31/happy-new-year/ Noise Party! On Saturday the 15th I'm doing a family junk-music workshop at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Make silly instruments and silly noises! Stick around for other cool events! More info at avam.org. Download poster http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/11/04/noise-party-at-avam-baltimore/ National Public Radio's All Things Considered did a little feature on odd musical instruments on September 28th, and they were kind enough to feature some of my 29 Noisy Noises along with a bunch of other strange and wonderful instruments. You can hear the segment, and see a slideshow ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/09/28/odd-instruments-on-npr/ Sent: 2008-09-24 20:18:35 (PST) Subject: Ignatz, Junk Guitars and more Hello all! Here's another noisy update. Quick version: come to the DUMBO Art Festival this weekend, and sign up for the next junk guitar workshop October 14! Happy news - Walter Kitundu, a musician, photographer, and builder of unique musical instruments, ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/09/25/mailing-list-archive-ignatz-junk-guitars-and-more/ Sent: 2008-07-17 19:06:58 (PST) Subject: Junk guitars and other noise Hello! Thanks to everyone who came out to the Figment Festival last month. Here's some of my photos from the festival, and lots more at figmentnyc.org. I was happy that my little sound sculpture on the waterfront actually ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/09/25/mailing-list-archive-junk-guitars-and-other-noise/ I'm showing an installation in the East River, at that little brick-littered beach right under the Brooklyn end of the Manhattan Bridge this Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 27 and 28). It's named Ignatz and it's all about bricks. Plenty of art and performances at the DUMBO Art Festival all weekend. ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/09/25/water-installation-this-weekend-at-dumbo-art-festival/ “Most of the people I’ve talked to, I’ve asked who had inspired them,” he said. “Who were you reading when you decided to start blogging? To a certain point that becomes a harder and harder thing the further back you go. For instance, Justin Hall started his site in January ... http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/09/25/is-this-first-blog/ Electric Junk Guitar Workshop from ranjit on Vimeo. http://www.moonmilk.com/2008/08/02/results-of-the-junk-guitar-class/