Keeping a six-piece all electronic live band going calls for a small mountain of materiel. And you can't just toss your synthesizers, controllers, amplified speakers, mixers, cables and power supplies in a dusty corner. You've got to stow it away, shipshape and Bristol fashion.
blackball
Monday, April 22, 2024
Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Eight Waves A Week.
Eight days from today, Blackball returns to Mitchell Woods Public to begin another wild year of bumping beats, earth-shaking bass and wailing synths.
Do you need to know what that looks like?
Quick, click this Youtube link to check out the latest raucous Blackball performance.
But we couldn't do what we do if it wasn't for the hard work and generosity of our supporters, donors and friends, who turned out in force at the Second Annual Blackball Benefit.
We exceeded our fundraising goal—and shortly thereafter bagged some very pretty new gear donations.
So you can understand why we think it's going to be Blackball's best year ever.
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Blackball Benefit II.
We are truly thrilled to announce the Second Annual Blackball Benefit.
Blackball Benefit Part Two takes place at 7:30 PM at Silence, 46 Essex Street.
Blunderspublik, Terrible Edie and Transstar have generously agreed to perform.
As faithful readers of this blog will know, Blackball delivers electronic music tools and teaching to children and youth living in under-resourced communities.And because Blackball's programming is free to participants and currently receives no funding, we organize benefit concerts to cover the cost of transportation and maintenance of the numerous, very finicky instruments we need to keep the program going.
To attend the Second Annual Blackball Benefit, tickets are purchaseable at this Eventbrite link.
We want our amazing electronic music to be heard by as many as people as possible. But space at Silence is limited. To those generous souls who wish to support Blackball but are not able to attend in person, please contact us at blvckbvll@gmail.com to arrange a targetted donation, instead of reserving a seat. (And if you want to come but can't afford the ticket...contact us about that, too. We'll figure something out!)
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Five Guys Named Synth.
These five young talents make up the Mitchell Woods Blackball Band.
Blackball is now in its eighth amazing year, and we are better, bigger and louder than ever.
Saturday, March 25, 2023
It's 2023 and Blackball Is Alive.
It's 2023 and Blackball is alive, performance-ready and All Synth.
Meet the Mitchell Woods Public School Blackball Band.
Saturday, September 24, 2022
It's All Happening.
Monday, September 12, 2022
Blackball. It's Yours.
Blackball's board president has been asking me to organize a benefit show for too long.
It's also been too long since we were able to safely deliver our innovative electronic music education programming.
But it's all yours, and it's all coming back.
This October at an Upper Grand District School Board public school near you we'll be reintroducing in-person Blackball workshops.
In order to make these workshops possible, we're holding the very first Blackball Benefit.
The Blackball Benefit will take place Friday 30 September and feature a live performance by Guelph's own Transstar, who will perform her new track, Yours.
Delivering free electronic music education costs. Gas is like gold. We're turning to the community for help.
Join us at The Cornerstone. It's 10 dollars at the door, and the curtain rises at 8:00 sharp.
Friday, July 30, 2021
Radio Blackball.
Blackball is taking to the airwaves.
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Blackball. What 2020 Gave Us.
Feel free to view Blackball's video testimonial now on Instagram.
The bad news? Like Art Not Shame and so many other community-engaged arts organizations, our work has been turned upside down and inside-out by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Because Blackball electronic music workshops are not deliverable on-line, our operations have been suspended indefinitely.
But the lockdown has turned out to be a gift for us. We've had time to reflect on the work of our project, the needs of our participants and, most importantly, how to serve them better. So we're restructuring our organization, forging new partnerships and researching new ways to teach and inspire through electronic music. We think we can build a better, stronger Blackball to meet the needs of the post-pandemic universe.
We have so much more to give!
Sunday, August 2, 2020
Blackball at Five.
That means Blackball has now been in operation for a jaw-dropping five years.
So this video got real put together to show the universe that Blackball is still hard at work, dreaming up new ways to bring about our own irreverent vision of music education.
There's one reminder after another of just how much our young participants have benefitted from Blackball over the years. There are so many unadulterated happyness moments in these three little minutes, I defy you to watch it all the way to the end without smiling ear-to-ear—oh, and by the way, that's them, playing every non-automated, non-factory, non-sampled note you hear.
And we're going to get back to work just as soon as we can.
P.S. A confession: Blackball's "wood" anniversary caught me totally by surprise. I’m not much for "Those-Were-The-Good-Old-Days" to begin with. And trying to figure out how to deliver live-performance music teaching, for kids, with synthesizers, during a pandemic...well, it's been distracting, to put it mildly. But the days were good, and they're going to get good again, darn it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
On Lock-Down? Write a Breakdown!
Oh, yes, you did. Right under that big sign reading "No Kickball."
The situation seems endless and, like everything else on The Earth, Blackball programming is indefinitely cancelled.
However, as you can see from the photo, we are using the time productively. For one thing, we have embarked on a tooth-and-nail fight for more funding.
Funding. Yay.
Another up-side of the Covid-19 pandemic is that it lets all of us delve deeply into our own resources of creativity, and they really are endless.
What's this? Your Minimoog is MIA? That is so not a problem in the digital age. This free online synth Midi City lets you select and play a range of sweet synth and drum sounds from your computer keyboard. You may access it here.
And when you need a break from the breakbeats, read this kick-derriere article about encouraging girls and women to explore electronic music for themselves.
As Fatboy Slim * has so often and wisely said, "we've come a long, long way together..."
* Well, Camille Yarbrough, really.
Monday, February 10, 2020
Nineteen Forever.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Blackball: Make That Five.
Idea Exchange | Old Post Office in Cambridge, Ontario, with workshops set to commence in February of 2020.
And Blackball's fearless board of directors met on 3 November in Toronto to get all the news—and get ready for Year Five.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Blackball, The First.
We open for business at Brant Avenue Public School.
We're looking forward to another year of bringing electronic music to Guelph's communities.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Our Friends Electric.
closes the show at the upcoming Jam School
live event, 4:00 PM, Saturday 25 May at
Royal Electric, 52 MacDonnell Street, Guelph.
We're so excited to be taking part
in Jam School's next live showcase.
http://blvckbvll.blogspot.com/
http://www.jamschool.com/
https://royalelectricguelph.com/
Friday, April 12, 2019
Blackball. Hear Us.
Monday, January 28, 2019
Blackball doesn't just 'like' our donors. We LOVE them.
Friday, October 19, 2018
Blackball Speaks.
Hear what they have to say.
Thanks go to Ella, Lucas, Rachel, Nevaeh, Stella, Allison and Madelyn for taking the words right out of our mouths.
Friday, October 12, 2018
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Musical Chairs. Not.
Meet the blackballophon, a MIDI controller we built out of spare robot parts, disused electric guitars and a blue chair.
We've used Arduino and Makey-Makey technology to create a musical control surface that provides beat-making and a good sit-down. Simultaneously.
Blackball.
You know.
Electronica.
For kids.
Blackball performs at 6:00 PM Wednesday 20 June at the Toronto Kiwanis Boys & Girls Clubs' annual general meeting at 20 Portugal Square.