Will
 Clark
 
Culminating
 Experience
 
1/7/2014
 

Slamtronix:
 the
 Octopus
 Show
 

 

 

I
 have
 been
 working
 on
 a
 project
 called
 Slamtronix
 for
 a
 number
 of
 years
 

now,
  and
  my
  goal
  here
  at
  Berklee
  College
  of
  music
  in
  Valencia,
  Spain
  was
  to
  help
 
this
 project
 flourish.
 
 I
 wanted
 to
 explore
 the
 best
 sound-­‐design,
 visual
 arts
 and
 
performance
  techniques
  to
  get
  this
  project
  ready
  for
  the
  big
  stage.
 
  Slamtronix
  is
 
an
 interactive
 collaboration
 between
 electronic
 music
 and
 live
 musicians.
 
 It
 fits
 
into
  a
  genre
  of
  music
  dubbed
  ‘jamtronica’.
 
  I
  believe
  my
  unique
  and
  very
  diverse
 
musical
  background
  is
  perfect
  for
  coming
  up
  with
  new,
  innovative
  ways
  to
 
capitalize
 on
 this
 niche,
 musical
 genre.
 
 

 

In
 creating
 and
 presenting
 my
 musical
 ideas
 about
 electronic
 music,
 and
 

performance
 in
 general,
 I
 recognize
 that
 a
 huge
 part
 of
 this
 lays
 in
 having
 great
 
project
  management
  skills.
 
 
  From
  organizing
  the
  musicians,
  to
  stage
  design,
  to
 
getting
 people
 to
 support
 this
 music,
 there
 is
 a
 lot
 to
 organize
 in
 order
 to
 present
 
my
 concepts
 in
 a
 unique
 and
 digestible
 manner.
 
 To
 create
 successful
 music
 you
 
must
 develop
 your
 skills
 and
 knowledge
 about
 music
 to
 the
 farthest
 complexities
 
and
  intellectual
  idealism,
  to
  be
  able
  to
  make
  it
  understandable
  to
  people
  who
 
have
 not
 opened
 the
 first
 page
 of
 this
 book.
 

 

 
The
 Octopus
 Party
 

 

 

Using
 all
 of
 the
 work
 I
 have
 done
 and
 things
 I
 have
 learned
 over
 this
 year
 I
 

organized
 a
 party
 at
 a
 local
 venue
 in
 Valencia,
 Spain
 called
 Radio
 City
 to
 present
 
my
  music,
  stage
  design
  and
  project
  management
  skills.
 
  I
  chose
  this
  venue
 
because
 it
 is
 a
 very
 well
 known
 venue
 in
 Valencia,
 Spain
 and
 has
 a
 unique
 setup
 
that
 lends
 itself
 very
 well
 to
 my
 music.
 
 There
 is
 a
 live
 stage
 for
 the
 live
 acts
 in
 
addition
 to
 a
 DJ
 booth
 for
 the
 DJs.
 
 I
 secured
 the
 venue
 by
 playing
 at
 the
 open
 mic.
 
 
They
 really
 liked
 my
 singing
 and
 so
 I
 asked
 to
 meet
 the
 owner
 of
 the
 venue
 to
 try
 
and
 book
 a
 show.
 
 They
 agreed
 and
 so
 the
 planning
 began.
 
 


 

The
  night
  included
  a
  lot
  of
  things
  that
  I
  thought
  to
  be
  innovative
  in
 

throwing
 a
 party
 at
 a
 small
 club
 like
 Radio
 City.
 
 I
 organized
 a
 few
 groups
 to
 play
 
throughout
 the
 night
 and
 had
 a
 lot
 of
 people
 helped
 run
 the
 event.
 
 I
 organized
 
acts
 to
 go
 on
 before
 and
 after
 my
 group
 Slamtronix,
 and
 had
 DJs
 ready
 to
 fill
 the
 
silence
 as
 well
 as
 play
 to
 make
 the
 crowd
 dance
 after
 the
 live
 acts.
 
 During
 setup
 I
 
had
 help
 hanging
 the
 projectors
 and
 even
 blowing
 up
 funny
 balloon
 hats
 for
 the
 
crowd.
 
 Interactive
 things
 like
 the
 balloons
 I
 feel
 add
 a
 lot
 to
 the
 experience
 of
 the
 
people
 going
 to
 the
 show.
 
 
 

 

In
 order
 to
 present
 my
 music
 I
 organized
 a
 band
 with
 a
 drummer,
 singer
 

and
 guitarist
 and
 rehearsed
 them
 relentlessly.
 
 I
 have
 been
 using
 Ableton
 Live
 for
 
a
  number
  of
  years
  and
  have
  accumulated
  a
  lot
  of
  musical
  ideas
  and
  full
 
productions.
 
  I
  then
  took
  these
  songs
  and
  put
  them
  into
  one
  big
  DJ
  set
  to
  be
  able
 
to
  rehearse
  and
  come
  up
  with
  the
  other
  parts
  in
  collaboration
  with
  the
 
musicians.
 
 My
 goal
 was
 to
 make
 a
 live
 band
 feel
 for
 the
 electronic
 music
 I
 have
 
created
 over
 the
 years.
 
 

 

The
 concept
 for
 the
 show
 came
 out
 of
 a
 night
 out
 with
 my
 friends
 during
 

Fallahs
  here
  in
  Valencia.
 
  We
  like
  coming
  up
  with
  very
  inane
  ideas
  and
  have
 
estimated
  our
  ratio
  of
  stupid
  ideas
  to
  great
  ideas
  20:1.
 
  We
  liked
  the
  idea
  of
 
having
  a
  theme
  for
  the
  show
  and
  therefore
  dubbed
  the
  show
  ‘The
  Octopus
 
Garden
 Party’.
 
 We
 used
 the
 octopus
 for
 many
 things
 including
 promotions
 and
 
even
  built
  a
  giant
  octopus
  for
  the
  show
  that
  I
  projection
  mapped
  onto.
 
  I
  thought
 
the
 octopus
 might
 inspire
 interest
 and
 a
 certain
 level
 of
 mystery
 to
 the
 show.
 
 
 I
 
thought
 people
 might
 have
 more
 interest
 in
 coming
 to
 the
 show
 if
 I
 could
 evoke
 
their
 curiosity
 about
 where
 the
 octopus
 might
 come
 into
 play
 with
 the
 concert.
 
 

 

I
  created
  out
  of
  foam
  a
  large
  octopus.
 
  I
  gave
  him
  a
  bowtie
  and
  hat
  and
 

then
 projection
 mapped
 onto
 the
 different
 parts
 of
 the
 octopus.
 
 I
 gave
 him
 two
 
large
  eyes,
  which
  worked
  very
  well
  with
  the
  projections.
 
  I
  recreated
  the
 
spherical
 eyes
 in
 the
 3D
 animation
 program
 Cinema
 4D.
 
 I
 gave
 the
 eyes
 detail,
 
color
  and
  movement
  and
  bounced
  them
  to
  video
  which
  I
  played
  through
 
Resolume’s
 Arena.
 

 

 

 

 

Innovation
 

 

 

There
  are
  many
  things
  I
  put
  into
  the
  show
  that
  I
  think
  not
  widely
 

practiced
  yet
  in
  the
  music
  world.
 
  The
  music
  itself
  is
  a
  combination
  of
  many
 
sound-­‐design
  and
  electronic
  music
  techniques
  with
  live
  musicians.
 
  My
 
experience
 comes
 from
 many
 years
 of
 creating
 music
 in
 Ableton
 Live,
 as
 well
 as
 
the
  countless
  rock
  bands,
  jazz
  groups
  and
  other
  live
  music
  groups
  I
  have
  been
  in
 
throughout
  my
  musical
  career.
 
  I
  have
  had
  a
  lot
  of
  musical
  opportunities
  in
 
contemporary
  music
  because
  of
  my
  standup
  bass
  studies.
 
  I
  have
  been
  playing
 
standup
  bass
  for
  almost
  15
  years
  now
  and
  it
  has
  taken
  me
  on
  some
  incredible
 
musical
 endeavors.
 
 
 
The
 most
 valuable
 training
 I
 believe
 I
 have
 received
  has
 been
 my
 classical
 
music
  studies.
 
  Throughout
  high
  school
  and
  undergraduate
  studies
  I
  played
  in
 
countless
  youth
  and
  professional
  orchestras
  and
  had
  an
  extremely
  demanding
 
training
 with
 some
 of
 the
 best
 bass
 players
 in
 the
 world,
 with
 the
 support
 of
 the
 
San
  Francisco
  Conservatory
  of
  Music
  and
  San
  Francisco
  Symphony.
 
  I
  have
  taken
 
many
  of
  the
  techniques
  I
  learned
  in
  this
  world
  to
  my
  contemporary
  and
 
electronic
  music.
 
  Not
  the
  least
 of
 which
 is
  the
  extreme
  discipline
  I
  have.
 
 I
  use
 
the
 concepts
 I
 have
 learned
 from
 conductors
 and
 musical
 directors
 in
 rehearsing
 
my
  musicians
  and
  conducting
  the
  electronic
  music.
 
  I
  use
  cutoffs
  and
  hand
 
gestures
 to
 communicate
 with
 the
 musicians
 on
 stage.
 
 I
 also
 hold
 very
 close
 the
 
concept
  of
  stamina
  when
  rehearsing
  the
  musicians,
  and
  how
  effective
  taking
 
breaks
 can
 be.
 
 
There
  are
  many
  innovative
  and
  technological
  advances
  in
  live
 
performance
  developing
  nowadays
  and
  I
  think
  taking
  advantage
  of
  as
  many
  of
 
these
 technologies
 as
 possible
 will
 greatly
 advantage
 my
 career
 in
 performance.
 
 
In
  the
  performance
  at
  Radio
  City
  I
  combined
  live
  music,
  electronics,
  creative
 
projection
 art,
 stage
 lighting
 and
 audience
 interaction
 to
 create
 an
 experience
 for
 
everyone
  involved.
 
  To
  top
  off
  all
  of
  the
  lighting
  installation,
  I
  handed
  out
 
diffraction-­‐lenses
 glasses
 to
 the
 first
 50
 people
 to
 arrive.
 
 These
 glasses
 contain
 
microscopic
  prisms
  in
  the
  lenses
  that
  greatly
  enhance
  the
  visuals
  in
  the
  show.
 
 
Combining
 all
 of
 these
 aspects
 of
 performance
 and
 lighting
 arts
 is
 what
 I
 believe
 
made
 the
 performance
 truly
 innovative.
 
 
 

 

New
 Skills
 Acquired
 

 
Throughout
 my
 year
 here
 at
 Berklee
 Valencia
 I
 acquired
 many
 new
 skills
 
in
  the
  field
  of
  electronic
  music
  production
  and
  feel
  very
  technologically
 
empowered
  when
  it
  comes
  to
  production
  and
  studio
  technique.
 
  This
  has
  helped
 
me
 a
 lot
 in
 producing
 the
 Octopus
 show
 because
 it
 has
 allowed
 me
 to
 cover
 all
 
the
 bases
 in
 terms
 of
 media,
 promotion
 and
 setup
 before
 the
 show.
 
 
 The
 sound
 at
 
the
 venue
 was
 very
 terrible
 but
 I
 was
 able
 to
 help
 the
 soundman
 a
 lot
 in
 terms
 of
 
gain
  staging
  and
  setup
  for
  all
  of
  our
  equipment.
 
  Having
  gained
  the
  discipline
 
from
  my
  classical
  training,
  the
  ideology
  of
  interactive
  performance
  from
  the
 
circus
  and
  now
  the
  contemporary,
  technical
  training
  from
  Berklee,
  I
  believe
  I
 
have
 a
 very
 powerful
 skill
 set
 to
 help
 innovate
 live
 performance
 in
 the
 future.
 
My
  main
  goal
  in
  doing
  this
  performance
  was
  to
  enhance
  my
  project
 
management
 skills.
 
 For
 about
 two
 years
 before
 coming
 here
 to
 Berklee
 I
 worked
 
in
  a
  circus
  and
  entertainment
  company
  called
  Velocity
  Entertainment
  in
  San
 
Francisco.
 
 At
 this
 company
 I
 was
 a
 part
 of
 many
 big
 events
 and
 parties.
 
 I
 had
 
many
  rolls
  in
  this
  company
  from
  clown,
  to
  musician,
  to
  artist
  management,
  to
 
building
 and
 maintaining
 many
 large
 scale
 installations
 and
 art
 pieces.
 
 Working
 
in
 this
 professional
 environment
 gave
 me
 a
 very
 good
 idea
 of
 the
 many
 aspects
 of
 
project
  management.
 
  The
  main
  thing
  I
  learned
  is
  that
  it
  takes
  a
  lot
  of
 
organization
  and
  help
  from
  other
  people.
 
  You
  really
  cannot
  do
  everything
 
yourself.
 
 
 

 
Challenges
 

 

 

This
 subject
 of
 my
 paper
 should
 absolutely
 be
 the
 longest
 section.
 
 I
 had
 

many
  problems
  both
  expected
  and
  not
  expected.
 
  The
  biggest
  problem
  I
  had
  was
 
in
  getting
  people
  to
  commit
  to
  helping
  with
  something,
  and
  actually
  following
 
through.
 
 I
 had
 a
 lot
 of
 people
 not
 show
 up
 for
 certain
 responsibilities
 or
 flake
 on
 
my
 very
 last
 second.
 
 I
 went
 through
 three
 drummers
 before
 I
 found
 one
 that
 was
 
actually
  able
  to
  commit.
 
  The
  circus
  act
  that
  I
  hired
  to
  perform
  at
  the
  event
 
turned
  their
  phone
  of
  the
  day
  of
  the
  event
  and
  didn’t
  show
  up
  at
  all.
 
  We
  had
 
many
  other
  problems
  from
  securing
  equipment,
  to
  setting
  up
  at
  the
  venue
  as
 
well
 as
 keeping
 the
 venue
 owners
 happy
 throughout
 the
 night.
 
 

We
  had
  a
  first
  trial
  show
  about
  a
  month
  before
  the
  final
  show,
  and
  the
 
drummer
 I
 had
 lined
 up
 called
 me
 the
 day
 before
 to
 say
 he
 couldn’t
 make
 it.
 
 The
 
second
 drummer
 I
 had
 for
 the
 big
 show
 gave
 me
 a
 little
 more
 of
 a
 heads
 up
 but
 
still
 had
 to
 cancel
 on
 me.
 
 I
 luckily
 found
 another
 drummer
 that
 was
 part
 of
 the
 
summer
 program
 at
 Berklee.
 
 The
 sound-­‐check
 we
 had
 before
 the
 event
 was
 an
 
absolute
  disaster.
 
  Barley
  anyone
  actually
  showed
  up
  for
  the
  times
  I
  had
 
requested.
 
  I
  had
  been
  there
  for
  hours
  beforehand
  setting
  up
  the
  projectors,
 
octopus
 and
 rest
 of
 the
 equipment
 but
 when
 it
 came
 time
 to
 do
 the
 sound-­‐check
 
it
  took
  twice
  as
  long
  because
  we
  had
  to
  wait
  for
  people
  to
  arrive
  over
  an
  hour
 
late
 to
 get
 the
 gain
 staging
 correct.
 
 The
 sound-­‐check
 went
 an
 hour
 over
 the
 time
 
we
 scheduled
 and
 I
 was
 in
 a
 major
 rush
 to
 eat
 something
 before
 the
 show.
 
 In
 the
 
future
 I
 will
 always
 make
 sure
 to
 plan
 ahead
 all
 of
 my
 meals
 the
 day
 of
 an
 event.
 
There
  a
  lot
  of
  problems
  during
  the
  event
  itself.
 
  We
  ended
  up
  being
  an
 
hour
 late
 on
 the
 acts
 by
 the
 end
 of
 the
 night.
 
 This
 was
 detrimental
 in
 keeping
 the
 
venue
 owners
 happy.
 
 DJ
 Encanti
 was
 originally
 scheduled
 to
 go
 on
 at
 1:30
 but
 
ended
 up
 starting
 at
 2:30.
 
 A
 lot
 of
 people
 had
 shown
 up
 to
 dance
 around
 2:00
 
and
  ended
  up
  leaving
  because
  the
  music
  was
  too
  slow
  and
  the
  venue
  owners
 
were
 not
 very
 happy
 about
 this.
 
 
 In
 a
 real
 world
 situation
 acts
 would
 have
 gotten
 
cut
  to
  be
  able
  to
  make
  up
  the
  time
  difference.
 
 
  The
  reasons
  for
  getting
  late
  were
 
because
  of
  the
  technical
  difficulties
  during
  Sean000’s
  performance
  and
  the
 
rappers
  took
  about
  30
  minutes
  longer
  than
  they
  were
  being
  aloud.
 
 
  Anytime
 
there
  was
  silence
  from
  the
  speakers
  the
  venue
  manager
  would
  come
  up
  to
  me
 
and
 would
 chew
 me
 out.
 
 This
 was
 a
 very
 stressful
 environment
 and
 I
 ended
 up
 
passing
 my
 stress
 onto
 the
 other
 performers.
 
 In
 the
 future
 I
 need
 to
 make
 sure
 
this
 doesn’t
 happen.
 
 
 

 
The
 Future
 of
 Slamtronix
 

 

 

This
  music
  is
  something
  that
  I
  plan
  to
  take
  with
  me
  for
  as
  long
  as
  I
  can.
 
 

The
 fusion
 of
 electronic
 music
 and
 our
 conception
 of
 music
 now
 is
 a
 huge
 step
 in
 
the
  history
  of
  music
  on
  this
  planet.
 
  For
  hundreds
  of
  years
  musicians
  and
 
composers
 have
 come
 up
 with
 the
 theory
 and
 practice
 that
 has
 made
 our
 music
 
so
  great,
  only
  to
  have
  everything
  change
  starting
  with
  the
  advent
  of
  recording.
 
 
 
Electronic
  music
  is
  only
  in
  its
  infancy
  and
  I
  can
  see
  many
  innovations
  to
  come
  in
 

the
  near
  and
  far
  future.
 
  I
  want
  to
  make
  sure
  I
  play
  a
  roll
  in
  helping
  everyone
 
understand
 the
 possibilities
 that
 these
 new
 technologies
 are
 allowing
 us.
 

 

After
  graduation
  I
  do
  not
  have
  a
  plan
  set
  in
  stone.
 
  I
  will
  return
  to
 

California
  for
  a
  while
  to
  find
  job
  opportunities
  as
  well
  as
  try
  and
  find
  the
  next
 
phase
 in
 my
 musical
 education.
 
 San
 Francisco
 is
 one
 of
 the
 fastest
 growing
 cities
 
in
  the
  United
  States
  and
  with
  the
  technology
  industry
  in
  the
  San
  Francisco
  Bay
 
Area,
 is
 one
 of
 the
 most
 influential
 cities
 in
 technology
 and
 arts.
 
 In
 the
 past
 San
 
Francisco
  has
  played
  a
  major
  roll
  in
  changing
  the
  way
  we
  understand
  music,
 
technology
 and
 the
 modern
 condition.
 
 However,
 San
 Francisco
 has
 also
 become
 
one
 of
 the
 most
 expensive
 cities
 to
 live
 in.
 
 I
 am
 at
 an
 advantage
 however
 because
 
on
  my
  knowledge
  of
  the
  area.
 
  The
  music
  and
  arts
  scene
  in
  Oakland,
  California
  is
 
growing
  very
  rapidly
  and
  is
  in
  the
  perfect
  situation
  to
  breed
  a
  new
  genre
  of
 
electronic
  music.
 
  I
  hope
  to
  use
  my
  connections
  there
  to
  start
  playing
  shows
  and
 
promoting
 my
 style
 of
 live
 electronic
 music.
 
 
 Hopefully
 I
 can
 take
 Slamtronix
 on
 
the
 road
 as
 soon
 as
 possible
 to
 start
 growing
 a
 fan
 base.
 
 My
 experience
 here
 in
 
Spain
 has
 been
 invaluable
 in
 helping
 me
 understand
 the
 global
 music
 scene
 and
 
how
 to
 be
 a
 professional
 in
 any
 musical
 culture.
 
 
 

 

I
  have
  also
  been
  in
  contact
  with
  the
  visual
  artist
  Zebbler,
  in
  hopes
  of
 

getting
 an
 internship
 with
 him.
 
 In
 my
 musical
 education
 this
 would
 be
 huge
 in
 
helping
  me
  experience
  and
  learn
  how
  some
  of
  the
  best
  performers
  in
  the
 
business
 operate.
 
 My
 knowledge
 of
 projection
 arts
 and
 3D
 graphics
 has
 only
 just
 
begun.
 
  I
  can
  see
  myself
  becoming
  very
  passionate
  about
  creating
  visual
  arts
  and
 
learning
 from
 Zebbler
 would
 be
 ideal.
 
 At
 this
 point
 my
 plans
 are
 not
 set
 in
 stone
 
but
 I
 am
 very
 hopeful
 for
 the
 future
 of
 my
 performance
 career.
 
 
 The
 skills
 that
 I
 
have
 gained
 so
 far
 in
 my
 life
 are
 pointing
 me
 in
 the
 exact
 direction
 I
 want
 to
 go
 
with
 my
 career.
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion
 

 

 

What
  the
  future
  holds
  for
  me,
  for
  music
  and
  for
  the
  world
  is
  very
 

uncertain
 in
 this
 time
 of
 rapid
 growth
 and
 technological
 advancement.
 
 I
 am
 very
 
uncertain
 of
 what
 I
 am
 even
 going
 to
 do
 in
 the
 next
 few
 months
 let
 alone
 where
 
my
 career
 might
 take
 me.
 
 However,
 I
 am
 very
 hopeful
 that
 I
 have
 taken
 all
 the
 
right
 steps
 to
 secure
 my
 place
 in
 the
 musical
 world.
 
 At
 this
 point
 I
 have
 a
 lot
 of
 
knowledge
 about
 where
 my
 skills
 can
 take
 me,
 but
 getting
 there
 is
 going
 to
 take
 
thousands
 of
 hours
 of
 hard
 work,
 sleepless
 nights
 and
 hard-­‐core
 dedication.
 
 
 

 

I
  hope
  to
  drastically
  change
  people’s
  perception
  of
  music
  in
  many
 

different
  ways
  throughout
  my
  career.
 
  I
  want
  to
  convince
  people
  that
  music
  is
  all
 
the
  same
  and
  can
  be
  loved
  by
  everyone
 just
 the
 same.
 
 From
 people
 who
 don’t
 
understand
  the
  skills
  needed
  to
  be
  a
  DJ
  or
  producer,
  to
  people
  who
  think
  that
 
classical
 music
 is
 ‘boring’.
 
 I
 believe
 these
 are
 delusional
 perceptions
 of
 people’s
 
close-­‐minded
  experiences.
  I
  want
  to
  change
  this
  common
  ideology
  that
  only
 
certain
 music
 can
 be
 valued
 by
 certain
 people
 by
 demonstrating
 the
 diversity
 of
 
performance,
 music
 and
 composition
 in
 a
 way
 that
 all
 people
 can
 understand.