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We're marching November 20st, 2005! It's the 29th annual
DooDah Parade....
request info here
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At the house, ready to go...
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En route, on the Metro
(crappy pic)
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Kids are fascinated
with circuit bending...
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At the parade start, ready to
march...
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Rehearsing with the bent gear...
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Bob (L.) with the
"Squawking
Screecher",
Gus (R.) with the
"Rotten Apple"
(both toys destroyed
by fire)
Bob (L.) with the
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Andrea with my bent
SK-5. (Destroyed by
fire)
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Our banner!
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Jeff and Sarah with a
bent guitar and 505
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Pockets with my
"Screaming Blue
Zonker" (Destroyed by
fire)
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Photos taken after the fire:
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Pile of debris in
living room. You can
see a bent toy guitar
and other stuff. The
next day there were
voices coming out
of the pile! Weird!
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The upstairs - my
video editing and
recording studio are
on the right, my
bending workbench
on the left, and a
bedroom and library
in the back rooms.
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Pile of debris in
living room as seen
from the kitchen.
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Looking through the living
room ceiling to the upstairs
bedroom, which mostly ended
up in the living room.
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My video editing and recording
studio.
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The kitchen.
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Furby's seen
better days...
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My video editing
and recording
studio -
equipment rack.
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The banner got slightly trashed,
but we cleaned it and it's good as
new. We used it to march in the
Cypress Park Cinco de Mayo
Parade in L.A. last May!
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The house as it looks before
reconstruction.
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En route, on the Metro
(crappy pic)
At the house, ready to go...
The Highland Park Thursday Evening Gentlemen's Society Circuit Bending
Marching Band And Ladies Auxiliary is a collection of eccentric lunatics I call my
friends, and my wife Mona. I include myself in this description as well. We have
battery powered amps (Roland Micro Cubes this year) into which we plug circuit
bent instruments for the purpose of marching in any parade that will let us. Most
of us are not benders, but those of us who are provide enough bent devices to
go around.
Our first march was in The Pasadena DooDah Parade, November 21,2004. It was
one of the most fun things I've participated in. Before the parade, we all met at
our house, which is in a neighborhood in Los Angeles called Highland Park. After
the parade, we went back to the house, and watched video footage shot by
myself and Dr.Rek (www.absurdity.biz). A 10:00 clip, edited by Dr.Rek, can be
seen here. We then decided to walk down to the local movie theater, and after
the movie we stopped at a bar across the street. Dr. Rek ordered a pizza to be
delivered to our house. A little later, the pizza delivery person called Dr. Rek
back and told him there were 6 fire engines on our street and that our house
was on fire. We started walking up the hill toward our house, hoping he was
wrong (of course we wouldn't wish it on anyone else, either). Mona and I were
holding hands and just saying "Oh my God" to each other, hoping it wasn't true,
but knowing inside it was. When we got to a certain point, we could see the top
of our house, and we could see that there were spotlights on it. At that point, we
knew it was bad. So, one of the best days of my life became one of the worst. All
of my circuit bent instruments but one were destroyed, along with my recording
studio and most of our belongings. A fire turns your entire life upside down in an
instant.
But, there are great positives that came out of this. Firstly, it did not happen at 3
AM when we were asleep. The smoke was so thick we wouldn't have stood a
chance. Secondly, we are part of a community of friends that has been develop-
ing for many years, and in the aftermath of the fire, we got to really find out what
this community means, and that it is in fact a family. I have felt so lucky to have
this in my life. The experience has really strengthened the bond between me
and Mona as well. Experiences like this can drive two people apart or bring
them together. We have been in "survival mode" together, and have had to
depend on each other on many levels. We had considered postponing our
wedding date of July 17, 2005, but gladly, Mona said that would have made her
even sadder. We did get married, and it was the most joyous day of my life, and
we shared with many, many of our "family" of which I just spoke. Thirdly, Mona
and I had been planning to remodel, and since the house had to be gutted (the
structure was largely intact), we've been able to do all the remodeling as we
rebuild. It's been very exciting to create a whole new space from scratch. We are
planning a place intended to inspire art.
Below are some photos from that day, including some from the house after the
fire. I will be posting photos of the reconstruction progress soon.
(Click on thumbnails for larger picture)
The Highland Park Thursday Evening Gentlemen's Society Circuit Bending
Marching Band And Ladies Auxiliary is a collection of eccentric lunatics I call my
friends, and my wife Mona. I include myself in this description as well. We have
battery powered amps (Roland Micro Cubes this year) into which we plug circuit
bent instruments for the purpose of marching in any parade that will let us. Most
of us are not benders, but those of us who are provide enough bent devices to
go around.
Our first march was in The Pasadena DooDah Parade, November 21,2004. It was
one of the most fun things I've participated in. Before the parade, we all met at
our house, which is in a neighborhood in Los Angeles called Highland Park. After
the parade, we went back to the house, and watched video footage shot by
myself and Dr.Rek (www.absurdity.biz). A 10:00 clip, edited by Dr.Rek, can be
seen here. We then decided to walk down to the local movie theater, and after
the movie we stopped at a bar across the street. Dr. Rek ordered a pizza to be
delivered to our house. A little later, the pizza delivery person called Dr. Rek
back and told him there were 6 fire engines on our street and that our house
was on fire. We started walking up the hill toward our house, hoping he was
wrong (of course we wouldn't wish it on anyone else, either). Mona and I were
holding hands and just saying "Oh my God" to each other, hoping it wasn't true,
but knowing inside it was. When we got to a certain point, we could see the top
of our house, and we could see that there were spotlights on it. At that point, we
knew it was bad. So, one of the best days of my life became one of the worst. All
of my circuit bent instruments but one were destroyed, along with my recording
studio and most of our belongings. A fire turns your entire life upside down in an
instant.
But, there are great positives that came out of this. Firstly, it did not happen at 3
AM when we were asleep. The smoke was so thick we wouldn't have stood a
chance. Secondly, we are part of a community of friends that has been develop-
ing for many years, and in the aftermath of the fire, we got to really find out what
this community means, and that it is in fact a family. I have felt so lucky to have
this in my life. The experience has really strengthened the bond between me
and Mona as well. Experiences like this can drive two people apart or bring
them together. We have been in "survival mode" together, and have had to
depend on each other on many levels. We had considered postponing our
wedding date of July 17, 2005, but gladly, Mona said that would have made her
even sadder. We did get married, and it was the most joyous day of my life, and
we shared with many, many of our "family" of which I just spoke. Thirdly, Mona
and I had been planning to remodel, and since the house had to be gutted (the
structure was largely intact), we've been able to do all the remodeling as we
rebuild. It's been very exciting to create a whole new space from scratch. We are
planning a place intended to inspire art.
Below are some photos from that day, including some from the house after the
fire. I will be posting photos of the reconstruction progress soon.
(Click on thumbnails for larger picture)
At the parade start, ready to
march...
Rehearsing with the bent gear...
Andrea with my bent
SK-5. (Destroyed by
fire)
Our banner!
Kids are fascinated
with circuit bending...
Jeff and Sarah with a
bent guitar and 505
Photos taken after the fire:
Pile of debris in
living room. You can
see a bent toy guitar
and other stuff. The
next day there were
voices coming out
of the pile! Weird!
Pile of debris in
living room as seen
from the kitchen.
The upstairs - my
video editing and
recording studio are
on the right, my
bending workbench
on the left, and a
bedroom and library
in the back rooms.
Looking through the living
room ceiling to the upstairs
bedroom, which mostly ended
up in the living room.
My video editing and recording
studio.
The kitchen.
My video editing
and recording
studio -
equipment rack.
Furby's seen
better days...
The banner got slightly trashed,
but we cleaned it and it's good as
new. We used it to march in the
Cypress Park Cinco de Mayo
Parade in L.A. last May!
The house as it looks before
reconstruction.
