The mission of BIG EARS is to offer an exciting and dynamic platform of musical and artistic discovery, presenting a variety of adventurous, exploratory concerts and performances, installations, discussions, and interactive experiences by artists possessed of singular and unique visions that stand apart from the mainstream.
MOOGLAB
all weekend • 5th Floor of the Woodruff Building
The Bob Moog Foundation will be providing Big Ears participants with a unique experiential opportunity to connect to the analog legacy of synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog through it's Interactive Sonic Experience, also known as MoogLab. MoogLab will offer four theremin stations at which attendees can play this early electronic instrument through various Moogerfoogers (signal processing pedals). We will also provide two different Moog synthesizers for attendees to explore.
As a new addition to our setup, debuting at Big Ears, MoogLab will feature a Moogerfooger Remix Station. Participants are encouraged to bring their iPod or other playback device, which they can hook up to the Moogerfoogers and remix the tracks of their choice through these sonically rich devices. The results will be recorded, and available for a small donation to the Bob Moog Foundation.
All stations in MoogLab will be demonstrated by Bob Moog Foundation's creative and technical volunteers, who will guide Big Ears participants to a better understanding of the instruments available for exploration. The stations will also be available for Big Ears performers for jamming or clinic opportunities.
Come get connected to the sound of Moog!
DEEP LISTENING WITH PAULINE OLIVEROS
1pm Saturday • 5th Floor of the Woodruff Building
Pauline Oliveros will talk about her Deep Listening pieces. These pieces introduce the concept of incorporating all environmental sounds into musical performance. To make a pleasurable experience of this requires focused concentration, skilled musicianship and strong improvisational skills, which are the hallmarks of Oliveros' form. In performance Oliveros uses an accordion which has been re-tuned in two different systems of her just intonation in addition to electronics to alter the sound of the accordion and to explore the individual characteristics of each room.
AMPientT CAFE
11am-2pm & 8-10pm Saturday • 3-6pm Sunday
Throughout the festival, stop by the AMPient Cafe located at Old CIty Java at 109 South Central ave.
The AMPient Cafe will provide non-interruptive live ambient selections from The Suns Of Phere Morechestra while festival goers relax, chat, and surf. The Suns Of Phere Morechestra will record sections of their performances which will be free and available to those with a jump drive or laptop. Select willing festival goers will be interviewed throughout the Big Ears Festival and have sections of their interviews incorporated as loops to be included in ambient pieces. After the festival, the best of the ambient pieces will be available for download on the Big Ears Website.
HARDWARE HACKING WORKSHOP w/Nicolas Collins
2:30pm Saturday • 5th Floor of the Woodruff Building
Nicolas Collins, author of the underground classic Handmade Electronic Music – The Art of Hardware Hacking, offers a workshop in converting common household electronics into musical instruments. Participants will combine old loudspeakers, batteries and rusty metal into “Victorian Oscillators”, and will transform portable radios into expressive, touch-sensitive synthesizers. No previous electronic experience is required. The workshop will culminate in the premiere performance by the Knoxville Hacking Orchestra.
Each participant in the workshop should bring the following items:
1) A portable, battery-powered radio, with appropriate batteries. Make sure the radio works before you come! It should be cheap enough that you won’t be too angry if it never works again. The AM band is more important than FM, but it doesn’t matter if the radio picks up both. It should have analog tuning (i.e., a dial) rather than digital presets or scan buttons. Larger radios are easier to work with than tiny ones, and older ones always sound better than new ones. It should have a built-in speaker, not just a headphone jack. And most importantly: IT MUST BE BATTERY POWERED! Beware: an alarm clock radio with a built-in “backup battery” is not suitable, since it requires AC power to function as a radio.
2) One or more raw loudspeakers of any size (just the speaker, not enclosed in a cabinet or box). These can come from a car stereo, an unused boombox, an old HiFi, a TV, etc. Bigger is better.
3) 2 nine-volt batteries.
4) Some small pieces of corroded or rough-surfaced scrap metal.
To sign up for the Hacking Workshop email here. There is limited space so sign up now.
DRUM WORKSHOP
NOON Sunday • 5th Floor of the Woodruff Building
This is an interactive drum workshop for BIG EARS FOLK that demonstrates the "Old Timey Avant-Garde" as an ethically motivated communicative act. Participants will create a sonic vocabulary with hand drums and simple percussion instruments. This workshop offers a physical and cognitive workout, as well as experience in teamwork and creative collaboration. It's a hands on experience! (drums are provided)
The Shaking Ray Levis will also present a demo of their workshops in public schools & centers for folks with developmental and physical disabilities. PLUS, Heather Palmer (Phd) will discuss "OLD TIMEY AVANT GARDE in the New South" w/a Brief Power Point presentation of the Shaking Ray Levi Society's History (a non-profit 501C3 organization)..