Dj Marc Reck Djing Events Tutorials and life in Birmingham

Today was another excellent day on the Educator Course. We are looking at rationales, and writing a scheme of work for our course, and tomorrow we get to host our first 10 minute lesson to the class on whatever we want. (I’m thinking of doing a 16 piece human sequencer!).

Either way, its inspired me to write about one of the composite parts of the Mr Elephant idea, that i have been thinking about for the last 6 months or so.

Basically we thought it would be interesting to try and facilitate the sharing of information, and interaction of local community through our website, (alongside the workshops at events, and a proposed workshop programme in 2008.)

People who are interested in something can offer knowledge and therefore inspiration to like minded people, simply by sharing a few tips that have helped them progress. Furthermore, i think that clustering these tips with similar “areas,” could hopefully benefit and network the community and the individual, thereby producing more opportunities for individuals, and collaborations in communities.

This could therefore lead towards happier and more integrated communities, which sounds idealistic, but also echoes back to the societies that we used to live in before the industrial revolution, and the tribes that exist around the world today… Now we have the internet, and I feel if people respond to the idea, this could have really positive social benefits.

So after a lot of thought, i figured a way of doing this would be to break it down into areas of knowledge. - Creative, Practical/Survival, Health, Wealth, and Environmental, and invite people to post their top 5 tips on whatever they like doing. This would hopefully have the knock on effect of promoting people locally, whilst sharing knowledge and inspiration. It also offers another way for people to interact with the site and our events.I reckon the areas are pretty fundamental to humans beings, so they seemed like good places to start, though i imagine if people respond well, they could probably be categorised even more. I wanted to try and keep it broad in order to encourage cross pollination of the information and contributors, whilst also making it easy for anyone to post.

I feel i need to have a meeting with Dubber again, and maybe some other creative talents in order to do this most effectively, but i’m hopeful about the idea. I plan to start adding to the categories next week, by using the various characters and avatars on my webcam, and hooking up with a few friends. A few people have already said they would like to offer regular tutorials, and i plan to go out and meet people who can’t record, whilst also recording people at our events.

Either way i’d love to see this work, and i guess its one of the 3 or 4 Mr Elephant ideas we have in light of the big city plan, in terms of helping to engage communities at least. If anyone has any ideas I’d love to hear from you.

To facilitate the video comments, i bought a decent webcam this week, and can highly recommend it. Its the Logitech Pro 9000, and you can get it for about £45 from P.C world online, (unless you have a nice built in one already of course ;). I bought it so as i can record directly to Viddler, using their fantastic video hosting site. I’ve been “testing” their wordpress video comment plug in, from a heads up on Stef’s blog last month, and figured this would be an easy way for people to leave their tips and videos in the various areas, without having to log in or register.

At the moment the page is just a basic write up, but i aim by March 15th, to have uploaded some of our own tips and tutorials, and then get busy meeting and recording people to help facilitate the “germination process”…..Then i guess we just wait and see who gets involved

If you would like to share your top 5 tips, please visit www.mrelephant.com, though please bear in mind while the site is being built live, it’s not finished until March 21 st (the 1st day of spring) …..(so you may be the first

Had our long awaited meeting with Adam Regan from the Hare and Hounds/Bulls Head today to discuss doing the Mr Elephant 1st Birthday at the Hare and Hounds. Lovely chap, very tall, looks like we good to go

Aside from being Mr Elephant’s birthday, its also my and Steve Lopan’s 30th, so we thought it’d be good to have a big joint celebration. Steve should be playing but was happy for me to sort out the details, and consult Mr Elephant about the lineup. I’ve actually booked the 2nd Mr Elephant event already, which is going to be on bank holiday Saturday (May 24th) at the Prince, and will be a family alldayer, (plus an allnighter to boot). Although i was planning on basing the first Mr Elephant event on the 1st Mixtape for Friends, and the 2nd on the Journey Around the World, we can’t make so much noise in the Prince Garden, so i’m going to switch them around.

So details details..Well the birthday/Journey Around the World one will be on Friday 25th April 2008. In room two we have confirmed the mighty Jam Jah reggae collective, after they rammed and rocked their room all night long at the 1st Mr Elephant event last year. Christie from Subvert will also be dropping some tunes, as it’s apparently his birthday too!In the main room we will be welcoming one of my favourite bands from Birmingham, the mighty Balkan Gypsy pioneers Mama Matrix! We’ve been trying to book them for the first event, so I’m really looking forward to seeing them play. We also will be having our midnight mask Parade led by the 4 percussionists and a host of friends, and i’m hoping to invite a few more friends down to play within the theme. Anyone who wants to join in on the drumming side btw, can get in touch with Mr Elephant to discuss arrangements, and everyone is encouraged to make a mask on or before the night, with our resident workshop provider Dramask being on hand with all the necessary materials and skills.

I’d really like to get Subsource down too, but it depends on the cost, as i’d really like to be able to cover all the costs of the event this time, especially as its a birthday. Me and Steve will be dropping some big tunes to finish of with, and i might play in between the bands with some Mr Elephant type music. I’m keen to give everyone a free cd at each event, and there’ll be loads more surprises to add, when they are confirmed.

The one in May will be a much more relaxed family type affair (at least in the day), and we are limited to numbers for the all nighter cus of license issues. More news on that soon, but please subscribe to the rss feeds or Mr Elephant Newsletter on the site for any updates as they come. This site will obviously feature some of them too.

Dramask were holding a mask workshop as part of the University of First Age held at the Symphony Hall, and Pyn had kindly offered me half a day assisting her. Our friend Jen did the first half, and they both had done such a sterling job, that by the time i had got there, the stall was swarming with kids and their parents!

There were two tables surrounded by the publicity of Pyn’s own masks, and various community and educational workshops she’s done over the last 12 years. One table was were you could learn, assist or have a mask made on your head, made with gum strip and tissue paper. You can then take it home, or decorate it on the other table, which consisted of lots of mask decorating materials similar to that at our first mr elephant events. There were also lots of card masks for those that wanted to decorate them, including mr elephant masks, when we ran out of the first batch. I mainly manned the second table, helping out with the first where required.

What i noticed about the second table, which is something that i noticed at Mr Elephant events, are that people sitting round a table doing simple craft stuff allows an easy way to talk to each other, regardless of age, background, or level of confidence. I met and spoke to people from all over the world and from all ages and background in my few hours in the symphony hall, and it cemented by belief that bringing this into our mr elephant events has and is, a great way of encouraging interaction within communities. Though it something that sounds too simple to be true, the nature of decorating a mask seems to a huge demograph, from young kids, old ladies, arty people, chavs, and everyone in between, and now that i’ve seen that first hand in a club, a pub, and now the symphony hall, i have great expectations for some of our other plans

What Dramask do is really important stuff, not just for educational and creative development, but also for the social and cultural benefits. Pyn late to show a couple of ladies from india how to make their own mask, so that they could go home and make them for/on the rest of the family. We were still working when everyone else had packed up and gone home, and while it was only half an hour extra or so, the reaction from the final small child that had be waiting to do one, was really heart warming.

After that it was a short break at home, before heading off to a dj booking for Subvert, playing after The Heels. If you not heard them, The Heels are a great band live, and this was their last free one, before going on tour with The Beat. Aside from my set (which consisted of Mr Elephant type stuff and ended with a some big breaks), we also got to enjoy the hilarious Dik Guru, and outside Christie was playing some choice reggae.

After that i went home to bed and slept for about 18 hours!

A mammoth weekend started with a 3 and a half hour set at Project X Presents, followed by my first community workshop, and then a gig with the Heels, and ended with a very nice 18 hour sleep!

Photograph from Rob Nicholas (More can be found here)

I was pretty nervous on Thursday night, as it was to be my first outing with Traktor scratch, 2 months ahead of my proposed schedule! Alongside wondering if my laptop could handle 4 hours and 4 decks, Steve had been unavailable to rehearse til Thursday, and i wasn’t sure if this new interface would be too much to get used to, if i should really play out all this new music, and if to revert back to just my trusty cdj’s? The next morning however i got more music prepared, had a few more run-throughs of the Completion duet, and started to look forward to the evenings proceedings once again.

Preperation was somewhat stifled by some upsetting news from a friend in the afternoon, but by the time we’d got to the venue, soundchecked, eaten and returned, the evening led the way. Concrete looked suitably transformed, with the work from the object x-ers demonstrating just how clever they really are! An overhead projector that had been bastardised, a sofa that had been turned into a phone booth, a staircase that lit up as you walked down it, and an interactive game of light snap, were just some of the interactive attractions that the crew had been hard at work on.

The bar was busy at the bottom of the staircase, and i proceeded along the corridor into the main room, where I walked into the sounds (and chaos) of Leon doing his youtube set. It was quite the spectacle, possibly drawing inspiration from Leon’s trademark methods of organisation. I unfortunatly missed chunks of the show, due to the amount of people to meet and greet, the short length of the sets, and how far apart the rooms were. I heard that Steve Loopz played some beautiful tunes, the first band were gorgeous, the Opera was interesting, and Shana Tova rocked! Not the best review i know, but suffice to say i did take my usual spot in support of Koala Grip, who gave a great performance in an old/new lineup, and culminated in Ant almost having a hernia when signalling their last song!

The cast and crew who were over 40 strong achieved some inspiring feats, from the organisation to the performance, and i was lucky to be part of it all. Apparently we were just 20 people under a full venue, featuring a mixed up crowd of alternative, underground, beautiful and electic people, who all created a real friendly atmosphere. I was most impressed by just how many people stayed for the long haul (after the event had been extended by an 2 hours), but i was kinda dissapointed by a friend of ours telling everyone there was an “afterparty” from 2 at his nearby pub, where they could get much cheaper drinks and smoke inside.

Djing wise was amazing, and i had nothing to worry about regarding the new music and Traktor stability. Rich Batsford playing live in Australia was great, and i was fortunate to be able to drop some samples of Howard Marx in our first intercontinental duet. Highlight was when the link broke and then came back to a huge roar! (This footage was recorded in Australia but i have some of Birmingham which i’ll post soon.)

It all paved the way for a really responsive dancefloor, and for the first hour or so, i got play music from across the board, from nu jazz like Quantic, to reggae greats from Trojan and Dawn Penn, from big Showtunes like All that Jazz, to classic rock like Senser’s Age of Panic, which all went down an absolute treat. Steve only had a box breaks with him, so the second hour we built it slowly through all our biggest breaks, finishing with a drum and bass finale, and an encore of classics from the Banana Boat song to the Prodigy.

All in all a fantabulous affair, and a great test bed for some ideas for the big one on June 14th 2008.

Finally i’ve moved sites, and can start blogging again!! …………….Maybe this would be a good time to introduce myself.

Like it says on the right, i’m a Dj, Promotor, and part time Musician and Producer living in Birmingham, UK. I also do other things, like making websites, editing videos, create publicity, etc, and have a fairly broad understanding of the online environment, thanks to a level 4 course with Dubber. I’m also learning to be a Music Educator, have got qualifications in Events Management, and this year i’m looking to take all that i do to the next stage.

2007 was a great year for all of the above. On the djing side i was fortunate enough to play some inspiring gigs, including the reopening set of the legendary Que Club’s main stage (thanks Boogie), the La Traviata after party for B’ham Opera (thanks John), playing my first big festival (through the Archangel agency), djing with a live string quartet, performers, and vjs at Project X Presents, and getting my first “set of the year” review at Custom Made. (thanks to Rick/Mark & Shona). I also got to perform with 2 groups of dancers and a vj for our Peace Not War set, and four percussionists and 6 belly dancers at our first two Mr Elephant events!

Mr Elephant was a big highlight and milestone for me on the promoting front, not only grossing the biggest bar take ever for the venue (the then Epic Skate Park) but also seeming to appeal to a wide range of people, who filled the venue with a proper festival atmosphere, and who really got into the activites and workshops we had going on. After the skate park lost its license, i’ve been working hard plans for 2008, which includes a new website, (which i’m building live, but will be ready for March 1st),  and various plans, involving community workshop providers, community artists, and local promoters. Mr Elephant is basically on a mission to engage, explore and interact with Birmingham and its culture through our events, radio, website and workshops, sharing what we can along the way.

Project X Presents was another highlight of last year, and we’ve got our next event (tomorrow!!), and another big one pencilled in for June 2008. Tomorrow will see the launch of Object X, which is basically a team of electronic geniuses and rocket scientists (literally) who will be making interactive installations, such as the swivelling sofa phone, and a billy jean lightup staircase! We have some great music, including Shana Tova, and Koala Grip, and Rich Batsford Live from Australia via web link, with performance and visuals. I’ll be djing the last 3 and a half hours with Steve Lopan, and my new 4 dex and efx Traktor Scratch, with entire record collection. I am somewhat nervous, as i wasn’t planning on taking any bookings til April, but its Project X, and i can pretty much scratch now, so it should be just as sock rockin, but a lot more diverse. Its only a fiver in, its on at Concrete (the Old Boiler Rooms venue on Vyse St, and its open from 10 - 4am.)
And in the music section, the highlights in 2007 have to be getting to play my first two tracks out at the Que Club (Drop Beats Not Bombs), the Custard Factory (Stupid Underground), and the Rainbow Warehouse (Project X Presents). I have had an idea for 2008 for a collaberative project, fusing my binaurul recordings, with all the instruments in my studio, including my Traktor Scratch setup, and some musicians from Birmingham. Should be fun, and i’m going to detail the process and the recordings on another site i’m working on called Reckorder.

On the three websites, i’m also going to be uploading tutorials, as have realised that i don’t need to wait until i’m a qualified educator to share what i know. I can do it here, for the above three headings, and really that’s what i should be doing. So expect to also see tutorials and videos on djing, promoting, and producing here and on the other two websites over the course of this year. As always if you might be interested in any of the content you find, subscribe the the rss, or the mr elephant newsletter on that website for the updates, and for the Mr Elephant site especially, we are really hoping that people will get involved and share their tips, which should be fairly easily once the viddler comments plug in is stable (i been helping with the beta testing, and its looking great)

All this aside however, this year i really do have to find ways to generate a regular income, as working for the love of something does not unfortunately pay the bills, so I have decided that i need to pro-actively contact bars, venues, festivals, promoters, sponsors, funders, educational settings, and potential collaborators, with some interesting and mutually beneficial proposals i’ve been thinking about in the above areas. I’m happy to say the first two have been successful, but i’m looking to really start from April. If you are interested in any type of collaboration (paid or otherwise of course), please feel free to get in touch.

Right, I’d best get back to fathoming the magic of Traktor Scratch while i wait for Dj Lopan to come over for a last minute rehearsal! Hope you all have a nice evening, and keep in touch via comments and stuff.

Oh and here’s to Created In Birmingham for winning their well deserved award! Wishing you and the mighty Creative Republic a very happy birthday. Wishing i could be there to dj your party, but this is the only chance we have to rehearse Have a sparkling celebration