The \u201ctraveling\u201d synth you saw in Miami is actually a Doepfer A-100P case populated with Plan B, Livewire, and Doepfer modules. The case works well as a carry-on bag on airplanes. If Grant was making modules in Eurorack form, I\u2019d have the A-100P filled with his stuff...
My Frac rack system is in a 12-space + 6-space SKB combo that is not suitable for baggage handling by airport staff. That\u2019s my Wiard/Blacet/Metalbox system, which I use for gigs that I can access by car. There\u2019s a photo of the 12-space setup on my MySpace.com/ginorobair page (see photo section, the shot with trumpeter Birgit Ulher at the Maybeck Hall).
My first encounter with the term \u201cobtainium\u201d was speaking with the Survival Research Labs guys. They used the term for items they \u201cobtained\u201d off the streets of SF, if you catch my meaning... :-)
On 9/13/06 7:18 PM, "John Mahoney" scribbled:
Having seen Gino perform in Miami (at Subtropics 18), I can assure
you that he occasionally gets a chance to use this stuff, and he
knows what he's doing with it. :-) That said, one duet performance
also involved rolling beer bottles on the concrete floor! I guess
he's a percussionist, first and foremost. ;-)
He had an interesting little Frac Rack system with Wiard, Blacet, and
Plan B modules. Maybe some others, too. Feel free to tell us about
it, Gino, if you don't mind.
Regarding Electronic Musician mag, I've still got the first issue
(from when it was renamed from Polyphony to EM) but I had stopped
reading it some time ago. But I'm about to resubscribe because I've
found myself picking up issue after issue at the bookstore. Sure, it
covers a things that I don't care about (like Doc, I'm strangely not
drawn to the modern digital workstations) but EM also reviews
recording gear, has articles that suit my level of knowledge on
recording, and so forth. And, it is one of the few mags that actually
*does* cover analog synthesizers. Keep spreading the word, Gino!
> (FYI, the term Unobtainium was coined from a friend who works for
Skunkworks - it refers to exotic composite materials that we haven't
seen commercially yet...).
Sadly, sunglasses maker Oakley was allowed to trademark the word
"Unobtainium" many years ago. But I'll save the US PTO rant for
another time and list.
--
john
P.S. The beer bottles sounded cool.