Kyle
9th February 2006, 09:56 AM
I had the unique opportunity to perform on two seperate occasions in California last week. One event by the FSOUND crew of San Francisco, it was a drum & bass and breaks event. It pulled in about 1000 people from what I was told. The event was at the Blue Cube on 34 Mason street. I liked this venue because it had a built in grill which came in handy after I got the munchies. I had also met Stefan G. at this event.
http://static.flickr.com/39/97495439_709225071d.jpg
He had stopped by to say hello after I told him I would be in town. He was gigging down the street at another high profile event with DJ Dan. You could say I owe him a big thank you for sending me in the right direction. Basically I got the gig because of email forwards from him regarding events in SF. I didn't have a scheduled booking and it all kind of fell in place at the last minute. Stefan had arrived after I had just finished setting up. We spoke and he gave me a little history on himself and I realized how far back VJing went. It was nice to get a lesson on visuals from a true Jedi Master. He also surprised me with a copy of "The VJ Book" by Paul Spinrad. I wanted to get my hands on a copy and never had the opportunity. I looked forward to reading it on the plane ride home. It was even better when he told me that he had written and submitted content for the book and dvd. I respectfully requested that he sign and dedicate his piece to me. After a short while of discussions on the world of visuals it came time to punch in on the time clock for work.
The venue was a two room two story building. D&B on the top floor and Breaks downstairs. Projectors were pretty much seen wall to wall. There must have been about at least 6 screens.
http://static.flickr.com/21/97495445_545fbcec05.jpg
It was a cinch to set up. Plug and play for me. No need to hang screens or projectors...It was quite nice from what I'm used to. My only complaint was that the projectors on both floors were fed the same video signal. I was camped out upstairs doing visuals for the D&B arena so that meant the peeps downstairs would see the visuals. Kinda confusing when you put Pendulum in the Mix on the screens while Reid Speed is downstairs playing breaks. I can imagine seeing people scratching their heads....wondering. Other than that the visuals were on point :P The promoter was pleased and even gave me a tip (thats a first). This was my first west coast gig and it left me with a glowing feeling for days.
The second event was with WordVirus and Acid Monk in Fresno.
http://static.flickr.com/26/97495447_77c08ff487.jpg
This was a more intimate gathering and to be honest I had more fun here. Tag teaming with these guys was a treat. We had three V4's, multiple cameras, and several projectors.
http://static.flickr.com/31/97495463_d1c5ae103e.jpg
You would have to ask James for the gear list. It was huge for such a small event. I think the place usually gets about 150 a night but seeing as the Superbowl was earlier people were too drunk to make it out of the house. None the less it seemed like everyone there (about 100 or so) had a great time. Lots of smiling faces and comments on the visuals. We tagged all night even switching to eachothers gear. It was great, and my first time tagging with 3 people. I was constantly checking things out trying to learn some new techniques and ideas. One thing in particular that I have never seen was video feedback with the V4. Perhaps it was mentioned on the forums but I must have missed it. Running the video out to the video in channel on your V4 is pretty fucking cool. I was sad to see the event over so soon and happy to know that after the event the three of us decided to have a creative Pow Wow of ideas and content swapping at Nata's house. Check out his setup!!!
http://static.flickr.com/34/97495466_3df0b67fa4.jpg
Thanks to Stefan G., James(WordVirus-NoInPut), and Nata(Acid Monk-NoInPut). Without these people my adventure would not have been possible.
http://static.flickr.com/39/97495439_709225071d.jpg
He had stopped by to say hello after I told him I would be in town. He was gigging down the street at another high profile event with DJ Dan. You could say I owe him a big thank you for sending me in the right direction. Basically I got the gig because of email forwards from him regarding events in SF. I didn't have a scheduled booking and it all kind of fell in place at the last minute. Stefan had arrived after I had just finished setting up. We spoke and he gave me a little history on himself and I realized how far back VJing went. It was nice to get a lesson on visuals from a true Jedi Master. He also surprised me with a copy of "The VJ Book" by Paul Spinrad. I wanted to get my hands on a copy and never had the opportunity. I looked forward to reading it on the plane ride home. It was even better when he told me that he had written and submitted content for the book and dvd. I respectfully requested that he sign and dedicate his piece to me. After a short while of discussions on the world of visuals it came time to punch in on the time clock for work.
The venue was a two room two story building. D&B on the top floor and Breaks downstairs. Projectors were pretty much seen wall to wall. There must have been about at least 6 screens.
http://static.flickr.com/21/97495445_545fbcec05.jpg
It was a cinch to set up. Plug and play for me. No need to hang screens or projectors...It was quite nice from what I'm used to. My only complaint was that the projectors on both floors were fed the same video signal. I was camped out upstairs doing visuals for the D&B arena so that meant the peeps downstairs would see the visuals. Kinda confusing when you put Pendulum in the Mix on the screens while Reid Speed is downstairs playing breaks. I can imagine seeing people scratching their heads....wondering. Other than that the visuals were on point :P The promoter was pleased and even gave me a tip (thats a first). This was my first west coast gig and it left me with a glowing feeling for days.
The second event was with WordVirus and Acid Monk in Fresno.
http://static.flickr.com/26/97495447_77c08ff487.jpg
This was a more intimate gathering and to be honest I had more fun here. Tag teaming with these guys was a treat. We had three V4's, multiple cameras, and several projectors.
http://static.flickr.com/31/97495463_d1c5ae103e.jpg
You would have to ask James for the gear list. It was huge for such a small event. I think the place usually gets about 150 a night but seeing as the Superbowl was earlier people were too drunk to make it out of the house. None the less it seemed like everyone there (about 100 or so) had a great time. Lots of smiling faces and comments on the visuals. We tagged all night even switching to eachothers gear. It was great, and my first time tagging with 3 people. I was constantly checking things out trying to learn some new techniques and ideas. One thing in particular that I have never seen was video feedback with the V4. Perhaps it was mentioned on the forums but I must have missed it. Running the video out to the video in channel on your V4 is pretty fucking cool. I was sad to see the event over so soon and happy to know that after the event the three of us decided to have a creative Pow Wow of ideas and content swapping at Nata's house. Check out his setup!!!
http://static.flickr.com/34/97495466_3df0b67fa4.jpg
Thanks to Stefan G., James(WordVirus-NoInPut), and Nata(Acid Monk-NoInPut). Without these people my adventure would not have been possible.