Podcast 299: Rob Ray (Deadtech)

Art + Music + Technology

I got a random email from a listener saying "Hey, I started digging through some old video and digitizing it - you might be interested!" So I checked it out, and I was (interested). It probably helped that the first video I checked out featured a young-as-a-pup Seth Cluett, but the range of performers and artists in these videos is astounding.

All of this was recordings of work done at a performance space called Deadtech, a Chicago spot that ran from 1999-2008, and had performance artists, DJ's and musicians cracking off work at a blistering rate. To have access to this work in video form is amazing!

If you want to check it out, go to: http://deadtech.net.

The person behind this space is Rob Ray, and he's a great example of how personal passion makes an extraordinary difference in the world of art. Through his own desire to make a community, and with the help of friends and colleagues, he stitched together this space and provided a place for a lot of people to do amazing things.

We talk about the space, the art, the difficulties of running a performance spot and the wind down. We also talk about Rob's current work (as Shimmering Trashpile), and how running the space affected his own work.

In addition to the Deadtech link above, you can check him out on Instagram as "shimmeringtrashpile" and on Twitter as "shimtrashpile". And Patreon subscribers will have some additional info as well (Thanks, Rob!).

Cheers!