Spreadeagled in dental chairs, all throbbing teeth and spindly hearts, a world of you await their fate. Were 4 buxom dentists to rollerskate into the room, gorilla costumes bulging beneath their white suits, their name badges would probably read : “Al, Chris, Henry & Rich”, and no doubt, they’d be carrying buckets of homebrewed anaesthetic. Indeed in an oft sterile world of Lectronic music, tis a pleasure to come across such musical moonshiners as those at weviestonder.com. Putting the ape back in apocalypse, ladies & gentlemen: ‘Wevie Stonder’.
title=”I was surprised to find out Wevie Stonder was a band..” alt=”wevie stonder” />

if you were to play on a desert island (eg Australia ) what could we expect?
A> Sight akin to a village idiots festival of music & mime.
C> Marsupial interference.
H> The unexpected.
R> Something like when stunts go bad rocking all over the world live in Pompeii.

Do you have any quarantine issues when touring?
C> We only interfere with indigenous lifeforms in their own environment, so no.
H> The monkey and the rat seem to get us through customs every time with no problems, sometimes we have a 2m cock which tours with us and that has caused slight delays.

What’s the Wevie Stonder approach to ‘music technology’?
C> If it ain’t broke chimp it.
H > Sort of backwards on a gently curving trajectory with butt cheeks spread.
R> Best foot foward, start as you mean to go on, shoot from the hip, and leave the arguing to someone else.
A> I do it.

And how does the animal kingdom integrate into your creative processes?
C> Like a shoehorn. Without its curved assistance we’d all be in our socks staring at footwear.
H > Ask not what the animal kingdom can do for you but what you can do for it.
R> Chickens were quite keen ducks and geese a bit slow to respond.
A> It is a constant source of inspiration.

What do you know about Australian wild-life?
( sample true story: Just this year, 22 year old Luke Tresoglavic was snorkeling off a beach near Newcastle when a ‘small’ wobbegong shark bit into his left leg. Unable to remove the feisty ‘little’ bugger, Luke swam 300metres to the beach with the shark attached to his leg. Unfortunately the two sunbathers on the beach were unable to pry the shark’s mouth open, and so Luke got into his car, wedged the shark against his gearstick and drove to the local surfclub – where the shark was drowned in freshwater and removed from Luke’s leg. True story~!! )
C> I’ve seen the photos. Boy took it in his stride like a trooper.
A> Strewth.
H> You fuckers we were wondering where our manager had got to.

How’d you get David Attenborough to rap about baboons for you? ( I mean it sounds so much like im
C> It sounds like him but it is actually his younger brother Ronald. Got him cheap as chips.
H> We bummed him.
A> Henry
R> No comment

Obviously a movie or at least telemovie is in the works, given your emphasis on storytelling -who stars in it, and what’d be the major themes in a Wevie Stonder film?
H> A gay version of mad max starring your good self.
C> A musical serial killer Buddy Cop movie in which the killer ‘shines’ his (French Philosophy professor) victims to death with Brasso whilst singing tunes from “Fiddler On The Roof”. Hopefully we’ll get Burt Lancaster to play the lead (if he isn’t dead.? Think he might be dead… Even better, the killer is already dead before the start of the film! OK scrap the whole idea. Back to the drawing board).
R> The darts musical.
A> Starring Eric Bristow.

Dispel the myths – Wevie Stonder are actually members of Monty Python &/or the Goodies?
C> No, we are in fact Bernard Manning.
H> Them’s fightin words boy!
R> No, you got that wrong.
A> Henry was in the goons tho’.

The most common emotions felt in the Wevie Stonder backstage spa?
C> Before a gig, gladness. After a gig, baldness.
H> Nausea, colonic cramps& continuous ejaculation
R> Bother
A> Pity

Which 3 websites bring you nearest to tears?
H> www.getalifeferfucksake.pissuparopefuckstick.com
R> world beard championships, dogsincars.co.uk, and the other one
A> weviestonder.com, but not for that reason.

Your major skateboarding influences?
H> Your momma.
R> Something to do with a dream Russ had, better not go into it.
A> boredom

What sort of things do Wevie argue about?
C> We can argue about absolutely anything.
H> Who can drink the most, whos taken most drugs and which of the Wevie quadruplet twins really won the speed skating junior championships back in 88’
R> Diamonds and pearls.
A> Bass players & singing.

Next up – a cabaret-dub album with WEEN, or something I didn’t imagine?
C> A re-invention of the historic Swiss Cheese Industry.
H> Ask Ween.
A> Austalian tour (Go on), new album for Skam, dvd, T-shirt & shorts set, mugs & a darts musical.

What have you learned about pop music lately?
C> That it’ll probably outlive me. More’s the pity.
H> It taught us everything we know but not everything Herb Alpert knew.
R> Love it.
A> Am still learning.

Female cane-toads can lay up to 10,000 eggs a year, and as an introduced pest, are rampantly out-hopping many of Australia’s East coast native animals. While real-time video software isn’t breeding at quite that rate, almost daily developments in the field bring with them new strategies for survival in today’s multi-platform, multi-protocol, soft&hard-ware vidi-yo environments. A particularly adaptible addition to the real-time video application list is Isadora ( mac & soon PC ), made by Mark Coniglio of the Troikatronix dance choreography group ( NY).

Adaptations
Honed from a decade of experience working with live video and dance isadoraweb.jpgperformer’s, Isadora is a ‘graphic programming environment’ for interactively controlling digital video in real-time. While those familiar with ‘patch-based’ software such as Max/MXP & Jitter, Nato & Pure Data will easily understand the Isadora framework, it takes a bit of work for the rest of us to understand the way it’s components can be connected and utilised to create customised video applications. With a little mental grease expended though, Isadora can then offer a vast array of possibilities for controlling live video – with the keyboard, external controllers or triggering devices, or even by dancers or video analysed movements.

How It Works
On the Isadora ranch, things be modular. That is, it contains over one hundred basic building blocks such as video FX, number generators for oscillating values, outputting to screen or recording to disk, midi controllers, sequencing environments, sound frequency analysis etc. It calls these blocks/ modules ‘actors’, and keeps them in a ‘toolbox’ in a panel on the left. Each ‘actor’ can dragged from the ‘toolbox’ into a ‘scene editor’ ( a large window in the middle ) and sequenced and connected with other ‘actors’. A ‘scene list’ at the bottom of the screen allows the user to move from ‘scene’ to ‘scene’ or switch between their arrangements of ‘actors’. Linking the video output of a ‘scene’ to the video projector ‘actor’ will show the end result on a small window called the ‘stage’, as well as outputting that to a projector. With these basic principles however, very complex and sophisticated processes and interfaces can be built, allowing very refined mouse keyboard or midi control of digital media files with customisable effects.

For those who would be challenged by it, Isadora comes with a very comprehensive 200 page pdf manual, which helps you set up your preferences correctly for your system, integrate midi interfaces, investigate the power of various modules and how they might be connected, and read about related principles for controlling digital media in real-time. A decent amount of help information is also embedded throughout the program, and the very responsive community of Isadora users is always on hand to diagnose or offer suggestions for each other’s software creations.

Chameleonics
Some of the different ways Isadora can be used then, include :
-Dance performances ( dancers can interactively manipulate sound and video in real time) – Interactive Installations ( extensive MIDI input and output control, video tracking of an object’s position within a frame, audio analysis ) – Post-Production FX – VeeJayism ( create your own interface, quick selection of clips by thumbnail, switching various complex processes on and off to minimise computer overload )

Advanced Features
-Can send/receive data over a computer network, allowing ‘remote control’ & interaction / feedback.
-Live camera input
-Sound Input – Use sound volume and/or frequency to modulate any parameter.
-Record Output Feature – Record Isadora’s output to QuickTime movie.
Non RealTime Video Processing – Record Isadora’s output slower than real-time, allowing for full resolution and high frame rates.
3Dmax objects – import 3d shapes, map video onto them in realtime and move and zoom, tilt the object while video plays on it…
-DV Camera Transport Control – Tell a camera attached to the FireWire bus to play, stop, start, and locate.
-SDK – Create your own Isadora modules in C or C++.
Free Frame Support – supports FreeFrame, an evolving, opensource standard for video-processing plugins.

What You Need
$US 350, a little patience & either:
Mac – MacOS 9.2.2 or later with CarbonLib 1.5, or MacOS X 10.1,5 or later
PC - Isadora for Windows is currently in alpha testing and requires at least Windows ME. Demos soon.

Verdict
Wonderful and well executed addition to the real-time video software field, and a great example of bridging the gap between artists and programmers. Versatile as you the time you put into it, and offers both an intuitive interface and progressive depth.

See Also : VJ Software round-up

Blindfolding strangers is always fun, and as any good gimp’ll tell you – tis also a gentle reminder of how much our eyesight can dominate. Witness the blindfolded peeps always in need of warnings about little things such as steps, intersections, low-hanging branches, cliff-edges, train tracks etc etc. On the flipside, cinema can reveal much about our reliance on sound to explain the world. Nice then, given that we’ve come from musicians playing along to silent movies, to be hearing a blossoming of improvised sonics to film in 2004.

Chokkas: Asian Dub Foundation Vs ‘La Haine’
Brimming with 2,3 or even 4 thousand hooded herbalists, the Sidney Myer Dust Bowl recently hosted a stellar performance by the Asian Dubbas – a live soundtrack gorgeously tempo-tuned to the unrelenting tension of the French feature film ‘La Haine‘. After dusk, the 9 or so Dubbas gently shuffled onto stage and with a minimal introduction, began tweaking their instruments along to the giant black & white cinematography unfolding above them. From the get-go, the Dubbas locked into the film’s tense core and accentuated the drama, added a consistently tasty and contemporary feel to the urban surrounds and characters on-screen. Alongside the drop-jaw camera choreographics, and the film’s potent social agendas, the Dub_sonics oozed flair and style.

This film bites – and rarely loosens its grip all the way to it’s brutal punchline. Part of the experience hearing a live soundtrack to it then, is that you become so immersed in the grit and drama, your awareness of the band performing ebbs and flows, in and out. Does this mean the musicians are doing a good job if you don’t notice them? The Dubbas were never in juxtaposition to the vibe of the screen, only rising up and down with intensity, albeit with a widely mixed melting pot of musical flavours well suited to an inner-city French cosmopolis. When the action cranked, they heightened the electricity, added a gnarly momentum to events, and then on-cue with a sudden scene change, switched effortlessly to another mood, other atmospherics. Bam – it’s over, the credits roll, and with the film’s themes echoing in your head, the Dubbas rock it out a few songs more. Sublimely executed. Wah-spect to all involved.

BloodSukkas: Nosferatu gets a workover.
Another film with bite, and a long-time favourite of soundtrakkas, vampflick Nosferatu has been given sound at various festivals by the likes of Frost (melb), one of the Biftek kittens & Lawrence English (Bris). More recently it was given a work-over and re-shooting by Melbourne VJs kos vs gameover @ their ‘Floating Point’ AV event. Sound was given the live tweakery by Melb bleeptronic artist Isnod. Gorgeous black and white shadowplay mixed with inevitable blood-reds, and the moods oscillated between a-z grade horror as the local actors alternated between looking like they were pissing themselves with fun, having a great time biting necks, and looking more suitably morbid and morose. In this case the video clips were all being triggered live, so the live soundtrack has more chance to influence the pacing, or to suggest a change. In the end, a nicely crafted set of spook.

NunChukkas
While someone may improvise a future soundtrack to vomiting catho-lick girls… what I mean to reference here is the kung-fu kru of Sydneyside live improvised soundtrakkas, Sub Bass Snarl – who deserve credit for their fantastic drop to The Running Man @ The Metro, linking the sound FX in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s killer gameshow with a grindy drum n bass. No doubt this was seasoned from the many improvised soundtracks that went down when Frigid was @ the Dendy in Martin Place. Never made it there myself, but the hills have ears, the hills have ears.

‘Sound fonts’ would be familiar to the musically inclined as a way of downloading new sounds to your soundcard. In a reader’s world though, ‘sound fonts’ are a way of embedding strange accents and unusual voices into text and stories. For example – the slightly nasal & hyperactively high pitched voice of this Rumpelstiltskin interview. To get a bit closer still, with this most comically perplexing medieval travelling jester, maybe try reading while standing on your head, inside a washing machine or hanging from a hills hoist.

What’s been happening in Rumpelstiltskin World lately?
I’ve just come back from doing a 3 week solo indoor tent show called…’Higgledy Piggledy’,at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. I got 2 really good reviews from the main music street press magazines which was uplifting by crikey!

When did you realise you were meant to be a jester?
I guess i was a bit of a goose most of my upbringing. Always getting things muddled up,also being a bit of an introverted classroom clown & also travelling around to & fro like a bit of a wildcard helped pave the way for me to follow the path of jesterdom. I guess it just came naturally & thought if there is any clown character I feel akin to, it’s definately the role of the jester. I certainly feel at home with the essence of the fool. My earliest performing memories would of course be just playing around as a child,when the play world was so vivid that I didn’t even need a real audience. My imagination would just let my toys enjoy watching me. My first epic jestering marathon stint was at the Byron Bay Music & Arts Festival in 1994 (I did an 11 hour show). In 1995, i did a 10 hour show & in 1996, a 16 hour show.

How many countries have u performed in now?
I’ve now performed in 31 countries & travelled to 58. So far my faves would be Poland, Slovenia, England, would like to do more of Ireland, Portugal, Spain, sometimes Belgium, Holland, Scotland, Australia, Switzerland & Austria, had a good time in Greece.It’s really hard to say sometimes as I like them in different ways for different reasons.

Which countries respect buskers the most?
That can be a tricky question to answer as well…because some countries pay buskers better, but doesn’t always mean they enjoy them more than poorer countries do. Usually northern European & Germanic countries have more money than Southern/Mediterranean or Eastern European countries but with warmer countries, people tend to really show their appreciation in a more open way… at times.

Your longest ever continuous performance?
24 hours nonstop was my longest by jingles. I was the last act one night of the Renegade show at the European Juggling Convention in the Netherlands in the No Fit State Circus Tent (Welsh Circus Tent)… & they had to delay the Renegade show the following night so I could do the full 24 hour show. Don’t think it will be easy to do that again. The circus tent was full for the last 2 hours & I certainly got a surprise ovation after everyone counted 10 down to 1(whilst the clock ticked round til the last tick to make the full day on stage for the kangaroo fool).

And the secret of your stamina?
I don’t know. Just keep going! I didn’t even have one puff of a skinny racing horse one puff screamer which is a little ironic since i was in Holland. I guess it was just still having an audience for the whole way. I did eat… but not really that much.

A superhero you’d like to have a unicycling juggling duel with?
Either Mr Magoo,Daffy Duck,Gonzo or Catweasel? Oops!None of them are superheros. What about Roger
Ramjet?Does he qualify? Ok! I’ll make it easy! The riddler. Maybe it should be a question match with instead?

What singer would would suit your unique voice in a duet?
Probably almost certainly it would have to be Tiny Tim?

Rumpel_plans for 2004?
I’m just about to embark on a 3 week solo indoor comedy show…’Scrambled Eggs’ at the Melbourne Comedy which will be in the Pony Club 68-70 Lt Collins St Melbourne. March 25th til April the 18th. It’s a semi-autobiograophical, wildcard journey show which is also an extraordinary visual & aural extravaganza. Includes slide show of photo’s & drawings & video projection, toys galore, musical toys, silly music & surprises.

Seen recently in Melbourne: an almost ferocious flock of pigeons completely covering a boy who in turn was completely art prank covered in bread-crumbs and wearing these weird Japtech googles that gave off the tiniest flickerings of light. No idea what he was watching, but here’s a few other options for your eyeballs.

www.microcinema.com – Has probably one of the largest DVD libraries of short and experimental films in the world, where you can browse and then order unusual bits like ‘Tales of Mere Existence’ by Lev ( see www.ingredientx.com ), which has Lev dry-narrating his way through a series of daily blunderings, ponderings and brutally honest reflections on his ability to meet women and assimilate into society. All of this is illustrated literally, by filmed live drawings ( by Lev who is a comic artist ) on tracing paper of the characters and events involved. Lazily lo-fi but on the money anyway.

On another bent, the Films of Brent Simon compile a gorgeously shot collection of abstract yet evocative shorts – gentle xylophonics guiding silhouetted camera edits, a narrated remembrance about the ‘girl who would do anything’ and high school hard-ons, experiments with multiple voices, on-screen ‘windows’ and high-speed photo copy outputs. There’s hundreds of such films to browse through, so the microcinema compilations might be a good place to start.

Zen TV
A DVD retrospective of Ninja Tune videos has seemed inevitable given their emphasis on the visual as well as audio, and now that it’s finally arrived, they’ve amassed quite a body of work to choose from. And so the DVD delivers thirty something tracks such as Coldcut & Hexstatic’s infamous ‘Timber’ chop-up of greenpeace footage, a range of Funky Porcini gems, the Sesame Street & Pointer Sisters Pinball Number Count cut-up by DJ Food, the home-made colours of Neoptropic & plenty of other animations, clips & AV collages. All up tis a tasty mix, with an exclusive 60 minute audio mix and an extended Hexstatic Video mash-up – though the Hex boys recent live av ‘party set’ in oz seemed a bit flat & jukeboxy.

illegal-art.org
“Borrowing from another artwork—as jazz musicians did in the 1930s and Looney Tunes illustrators did in 1940s—will now land you in court. If the current copyright laws had been in effect back in the day, whole genres such as collage, hiphop, and Pop Art might have never have existed. The irony here couldn’t be more stark. Rooted in the U.S. Constitution, copyright was originally intended to facilitate the exchange of ideas but is now being used to stifle it.” – illegal-art.org

Compiled from an exhibition showcasing a range of creative approaches to copyright, this is quite a cool DVD showcasing a madcap collection of ‘art and ideas on the legal fringes of intellectual property’. Pieces range from Brian Boyce ‘State of the Union teletubby remix’, a bizarre ‘Barbie Audition’ where a narrator tries to get his way with an auditioning Barbie, to a Tim Maloney & Negativland look at Disney characters – apparently featuring much footage made after hours by a Disney worker. The highlight for me though, was Todd Hayne’s grainy retelling of Karen Carpenter’s battle with fame and anoxeria, and eventual death – all re-enacted in 70s film colours by stopmotion barbies. Also exhibited, but missing from the DVD and worth catching if you can, are Craig Baldwin’s “Tribulation 99: Alien Anomalies Under America” – a skewed history of United States intervention in Latin America and a satire on conspiracy thinking, and “Iraq Campaign 1991” – a phenomenal collage by video artist Phil Patiris who cleverly & powerfully transforms network news footage, clips from Star Trek, and sports coverage into a ‘critique of the media/industrial complex’. Check the site for more info, as well as many related articles and audio downloads.

Links Of the Week:
www.archive.org
Massive library of freely available online audio and video, as used by artists such as People Like Us and Cold Cut. And you can also upload your own works there ( free web storage anyone? ).

http://alternatives.toddverbeek.com
Showcasing alternatives to All Microsoft Products, by someone with an obvious bee in their bonnet about Microsoft’s prices, privacy compromises and quality.