On Sunday October 28th, San Francisco’s
independent computer music retailer Robotspeak
will be celebrating 5 years in business with an all-day open-house party featuring favorite performers from their in-store concert series, Robotspeak Sessions. The lineup will include Chachi Jones, Circuit73, Jesse Clark, The Life On Earth, 0mnis0und & Lamaat, Pussyfinger, The Tourist, and Yoko Solo.
Former Computers & Music employees Steve Taormina and Alan Stewart first opened Robotspeak’s doors in SF’s Lower Haight in the Fall of 2002 with the mission of providing musicians with an alternative to the typical guitar-centric music store. By keeping Robotspeak stocked with equal parts good advice, technical support and gear [including an esoteric array of boutique analog Synthesizers and effects] Robotspeak quickly grew a loyal customer base.
In addition to the need for an alternative type of music store, the Robotspeak founders also saw the need for a different type of concert. In early 2003 they hosted the first “Robotspeak Sessions”, a showcase of local laptop musicians and sound artists. Instead of the traditional concert setting of placing the performer at the end of a hall and separating them from the audience by a stage [a practice Steve and Alan found at odds with the immersive potential of electronic music] Robotspeak’s founders chose to create a more intimate setting, surrounding the musicians in the middle of the room and at the audience’s level. A typical Robotspeak Sessions also concludes each performance with a brief session of dialogue between the audience and performer[s], a time for technical and esthetic questions to be asked and answered, and for performers to express their creative process and unveil their tools. This balance between art, entertainment and education has made Robotspeak Sessions, now in its 4th year, a huge success.
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RS Staff
Robotspeak
589 1/2 Haight Street
Cross Street: Steiner
San Francisco, CA 94117
Robotspeak.com
P 415-554-1977
F 415-554-1978