2007 Atlanta Laptop Battle

Battler Bios & Contact Info

2007-12-27T11:48:00.001-05:00

Josh Clayton
Hearing his first electronic music compilation at age 14, Josh Clayton fell in love with the unlimited possibilities offered by sampling and synthesis. He immediately began building a sample collection. Experimenting with creating crude edited songs in wave editors, Josh steadily improved his knowledge of, and skill with, his passion. By becoming increasingly motivated to create new textures and sequences in Impulse Tracker, he progressed to more advanced digital audio workstations to quench his thirst. Today Josh holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech, a DJ residency with WREK 91.1FM's The Mobius, and a steadily increasing knowledge of synthesis, psychoacoustics, and flat out destroying a crowd.

Dr. Maximillian Rheinhardt
Dr. Maximilian Rheinhardt is the unpredictable and unstoppable alter-ego or Larvae founder Matthew Jeanes. Freed from the boundaries of style, expectation, and good taste, the evil Doctor consistently attempts to push the boundaries of live electronic performance. Whether he is producing hip hop tracks with 8-bit synth emulators or splicing epic power metal with break beats, his only goal is to entertain. Dr. Rheinhardt first surfaced at the 2007 Atlanta Laptop Battle preliminary and since then he has been honing his craft by experimenting with a variety of controllers, effects, and performance tricks. There are no plans for a recording and Dr. Rheinhardt does not have a Myspace page--he lives only in the realm of live music venues.
www.zeroplate.com

El Hadron
EL HADRON / SOCIAL SECURITY:
http://asstaco.com/ss/

Poodleface
Poodleface /pud leɪ fɑ ʃeɪ / desalinates familiar icons of the past through the osmosis of bizarre pop music. His latest CD is called The Great Directors, featuring songs about famous film directors played only on a Casio VL-TONE. His losing Ric Flair rap video from Atlanta's first laptop battle ("Custom Made"*) has been viewed over 150,000 times. Lovers of EBN, Negativland and synth-pop will feel right at home.
http://www.poodleface.com.
Videos: http://youtube.com/results?search_query=poodleface

pH
http://myspace.com/0x7048

Graham Coleman
Graham likes to play music, cook soup, and hold talent shows on his birthday. Graham improvises live in ChucK, alone and with his co-conspirator Mark Luffel. He is the creator of Mused, and a member of the Athens-based nerd-rock duo the Men of Science. He just started working on his PhD in Music Technology, but he's putting the relationship first.

Chris Choyce
http://resonatormag.com

Citizen Green
http://www.myspace.com/citizengreen
Citizengreen has been learning the ropes of electronic music composition for five years and has never looked back. Fusing many different types of music, citizengreen hopes to embark on a sonic fingerprint all his own.

Andrew Provine
www.myspace.com/prosizzle
www.connectatl.com
www.myspace.com/1randomrabbit

Charlie P
www.myspace.com/charliepazinets
www.connectatl.com
www.myspace.com/1randomrabbit

Judge Bios & Contact Info

2007-12-27T11:43:00.000-05:00

Host:

Threv
Matt Simpson is a native of Atlanta, with occasional stops in South Florida and the farms of South Georgia. Graduated 2004 from Georgia Tech with a B.S. in Computer Engineering, Co-Chair of Nophi Recordings, local organizer of the 2007 Laptop Battles, 2006 Atlanta Laptop Battle champion, former member of The Secret Life, current member of Harmaline and PASSWARDSZ, and 5-year DJ of WREK 91.1 FM "The Mobius". Raised on a healthy diet of 8-bit sounds and FM synthesis, Matt has been a rabid consumer of all things audio since his earliest sound experiments at an early age (from jumping on the hardwood floor of his home to rhythmically skip Michael Jackson's "Thriller", to tossing a plush parrot with a record/playback device embedded, timing the 'oof's and 'ahh's with every hit of the stairs). Trained on the keyboard and viola, Matt has made computer music since 1996. Matt initially learned on DOS-based trackers, and has steadily built a project studio that today encompasses nearly 30 synthesizers, drum machines, circuit bent devices, toys, and self-built miscellanea.
The Secret Life has just released their debut album, The Great Book of Mysterys (and how to solv them) on Nophi Recordings.

Judges:

Tricil
Music with a defined soul - A certain baroque beauty combining pop sensibility with a bombastic live show and ever present electronics and guitars.
In 1998, John Jacobus aka tricil released his debut, the Face EP. The sound was dark, electronic and heavy.
It's Been Worth It followed in 2000, bringing forth a more moody, sound design-oriented approach while concurrently becoming more melodic. For the four years that followed, John attended college and continued writing music, as well as playing guitar for State of Unrest.
2004 saw the release of the Severed EP, which brought Jacobus back to the guitar and would later be expanded into an album called The Secret Life, and eventually beget a wildly acclaimed project of the same name.
Tricil was the Runner-Up of the 2006 Atlanta Laptop Battle Finals.
In 2007, after a successful month-long national tour with the Nerd Parade, tricil released his first EP in three years, Esoteric Drift. A culmination of the past, present, and future stylistic leanings, Esoteric Drift travels forward from shoegazing guitar to crunchy IDM to danceable electronica and even a bizarre funked-up synthpop/metal hybrid. Esoteric Drift is available for free from the pelican dump.

www.myspace.com/tricil

www.lastfm.com/music/tricil/

Jason Freeman
Jason Freeman (http://www.jasonfreeman.net) uses new technology and unconventional notation to break down barriers between composers, performers, and listeners, creating music that “stands as an example of the Web’s mind-expanding possibilities” (Billboard) and helps to “bring composition into the Xbox age” (Wired). His music has been performed by the American Composers Orchestra, Speculum Musicae, the So Percussion Group, and the Nieuw Ensemble, and his sound art has been exhibited at the Lincoln Center Festival, the Boston CyberArts Festival, and the Transmediale Festival. Freeman received his B.A. in music from Yale University and his M.A. and D.M.A. in composition from Columbia University. He is currently an assistant professor of music at Georgia Tech.

Omar Torres
Omar Torres has been writing music and designing sound for well over a decade.
Starting in 1989, he curbed his study of “grammar and boring mathematics” and
instead committed himself entirely to the study of music, sound and synthesis. One of
his earliest musical projects, GOG, gained notoriety in Tampa as an opening act for
industrial music legends Nitzer Ebb, Front Line Assembly and Alien Sex Fiend.
However, when partner Bunny left to join the infamous Rabbit in the Moon, Omar
launched into an intense exploration of all things mixing and arranging. That was only
the beginning. Over the next four years Omar amassed a wealth of knowledge and
experience, drifting into more melodic work while at the same time regaining
inspiration for more eclectic and experimental electronic music. This phase spawned
several releases that are still seeing turntable action today. After years of modestly developing as a musician, Omar is now recognized as an accomplished producer unique unto himself. His influences have ranged from a widely diverse range of artists including experimentalists like early Stockhausen, Locust, and Eno to legendary producers like Flood and Quincy Jones and more recently improv jazz kings Bill Evans,
James Spalding, and John Coltrane as well as 80’s funk of the New York / Detroit variety. Because of such a unique mix and appreciation for music, Omar’s work defies all possible description. In addition to programming and writing for Skinny Puppy's LP, “The Greater Wrong of the Right”, Omar has works-in-progress for experimental labels Warp and Schematic. Lastly, there’s his melodic Hologram project on Joe Clausell’s Natural Resource imprint, and his futuristic Latin house as Soulrider has found a home on the Hallucination Limited imprint. Omar also manages to find time for design ventures in film scoring and and commercial music, as well as producing and engineering for other artists.
Hi latest projects include sound-design collaboration work with NIN’s Danny Lohner for Sony Picture’s Underworld, music for a special DVD documentary titled “Revolutions”, a special on the making of “The Matrix” and music score for EMB Filmworks “The Land of the Free” by director Edmund Banuel Jr.
Regardless of the medium, Omar’s extensive mixing experience and love for an array.

Omar recently completed mastering work for The Secret Life's debut CD on Nophi Recordings,
The Great Book of Mysterys (and how to solv them), as well as providing a remix (flood - aquia nandala mix
by hologram and harmaline)

Richard Devine
Richard Devine is an Atlanta-based electronic musician. He is recognised for producing a layered and heavily processed sound, combining influences from old and modern electronic music. Devine largely records for the Miami-based Schematic Records. As a result of praise of his music from Autechre as well as a remix of Aphex Twin's Come To Daddy, Devine recorded an album for Warp Records which was jointly released by Schematic and Warp. Devine first started using computers for composition around 1993. Don Hasslier, a professor at the Atlanta College of Art, got him interested in computer synthesis, introducing Devine to CSound and other powerful computer-based applications. Devine also coded a couple FFT applications in SuperCollider, an environment and programming language for real-time audio synthesis. “It’s interesting, because you’re doing things to sound that just aren’t physically possible.” Devine also uses Native Instruments (NI) software. His favorite NI applications are Reaktor and Absynth. Reaktor is a very powerful modular system, similar in many respects to classic modular synthesizer systems but also capable of performing low-level DSP sound processing. Devine has also designed sound patches for NI’s Absynth. He has also scored commercials for Nike and Touchstone Pictures, and engineered and performed his own music worldwide.
www.richarddevine.com
www.myspace.com/richarddevine

Travis Thatcher
Early Modern Witch Trials
Judi Chicago
Recompas

Randy Garcia
http://www.randygarcia.com/
www.thenerdparade.com/
Nophi Recordings
randy garcia averages about five hours of sleep each night. These short hours are turbulent and often plagued by abstract impressionist dreams of video games, animals and space travel. In the waking hours, Randy tries desperately to recreate his slumber-land visions through the interrogation of instruments, microphones, computers, and his own bedraggled voice. At random points during the year, Garcia releases documentation of his musical thrashings in the form of singles, EP’s, and full length recordings.

Finals mp3s - repost

2007-12-27T11:31:00.001-05:00

Charlie P - Round 1
Charlie P - Round 2
Charlie P - Round 3
Charlie P - Round 4

Citizen Green - Round 1
Citizen Green - Round 2

Josh Clayton - Round 1
Josh Clayton - Round 2
Josh Clayton - Round 3
Josh Clayton - Round 4
Josh Clayton - Round 5
Josh Clayton - Final

El Hadron - Round 1
El Hadron - Round 2

pH - Round 1
pH - Round 2
pH - Round 3

Poodleface - Round 1
Poodleface - Round 2
Poodleface - Round 3

Andrew Provine - Round 1
Andrew Provine - Round 2
Andrew Provine - Round 3
Andrew Provine - Round 4

Dr. Rheinhardt - Round 1
Dr. Rheinhardt - Round 2
Dr. Rheinhardt - Round 3
Dr. Rheinhardt - Final

Unknown - 1
Unknown - 2

Round Two mp3s - repost

2007-12-27T11:30:00.001-05:00

Chris Choyce:
Round 1
Round 2

Citizen Green:
Round 1
Round 3
Round 4

Josh Clayton:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5

Christopher Morris:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3

Ryan Dempsey:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3

Dharmatronix:
Round 1
Round 2

El Hadron:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3

June Eleven:
Round 1
Round 2

Lazy Q:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4

Andrew Provine:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6

Travis Harkleroad:
Round 1
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5

Unknown:
Unknown Battler 1
Unknown Battler 2

Round One mp3s - repost

2007-12-27T11:28:00.000-05:00

ROUND ONE

Charlie P:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 6
Final Round

Dharmatronix:

Round 1

Graham MF Coleman:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 4
Round 5
Final Round

Hot-Tub:

Round 1
Round 3

Dr. Maximillian Reinhardt:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 4
Round 5

Push Button Action Man:

Round 1
Round 2

pH:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4

Poodleface:

Round 2
Round 3

SL CD Release Party Flyer

2007-12-14T14:03:00.000-05:00

one last thing

2007-12-13T02:24:00.001-05:00

we couldn't have done this without the help of some amazing people.
thanks to all the judges who spent the battles working to ensure
fairness and supporting this fledgling idea.

thanks to the competitors who truly made this event what it is,
and introducing new people to new sounds. the community grows
stronger because of all of you. many are repeat battlers, and
the fact that you do not grow jaded speaks volumes - rather, you cultivate
your abilities with the battles and breathe new life and consistent
support.

thanks to the fans who supported your friends and supported the
concept of the laptop battles. there is great potential here,
and all of you are to thank for it.

thanks to kris moon and the rest of the promoters across
the country for joining forces to creatively advance electronic music.
your work pays off immensely, and the networking is second to none.

last, but possibly most of all, thank you to matt jeanes for believing
in the laptop battles in atlanta. without your guidance, support,
and invaluable assistance, none of this would have been possible.
you have been a constant source of inspiration and guidance and
an irreplaceable mentor. thank you for the images, the text, the
lessons in running a proper bracket, and the love of music and atlanta.

i am humbled by the atlanta laptop battles.

-threv

2007 Atlanta Laptop Battle Finals - the conclusion

2007-12-12T19:47:00.000-05:00

holy shit I'm late as hell posting this.

dr. rheinhardt

The 2007 Atlanta Laptop Battles were overall a raging success. Big ups to all the folks who came out & supported their local electronic scene, and huge thanks & kudos to those brave souls who took the stage, showcased their talents, and showed atlanta
what laptop music is all about. it's no easy task to condense what you do to 3 minutes and 1 controller, and perform competitively, but everyone brought their A-game every time. I can't thank everyone enough, and I might add - holy hell, there is some _serious talent_ in our local bedrooms & basements. Folks - get out on stage more often and strut your stuff!!

andrew provine

pH

The final 8 back in October (wow it has been a while) were absolutely incredible. The judges were Jason Freeman, music technology professor at Georgia Tech; Randy Garcia, head of Nophi Records; and Alex Hofelich, music fan extraordinaire. The matches were incredibly close, and everyone impressed the crowd to no end. The fabled Random Rabbit battle between Charlie P & Andrew Provine proved intense; battle stalwarts pH & Poodleface brought more juice than they ever had before (poodleface debuted new wrestling videos and even mixed drum & bass into it); newcomers Citizen Green & Josh Clayton brought entirely new life into the battles and showed their future dominance; last minute addition El Hadron (aka phat joe) brought his best compiling skills, even compiling his software not just 5 seconds before his battle. The night, however, belonged to Dr Max Rheinhardt (aka Matt Jeanes of Larvae) It was his combination of stage performance (DDR Pad oopma loompa remixes and playing wizard metal blindfolded) and amazing musicality put him over the top, eeking out Mobius DJ Josh Clayton in the final battle.

citizen green

poodleface

dr. rheinhardt

Congrats also to Dr. Rheinhardt for placing 2nd in the National Championships.
www.laptopbattle.com

charlie p

Congrats to *everyone*
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR

josh clayton

el hadron

oh! one last thing:
the national finals for 2008 will be held in the city of..

ATLANTA.

battlers and attendees - keep your eyes peeled on this space to check out the schedule for next year. we'll start signups & promotion spring of 2008, and we encourage everyone to sign up again & keep the battles growing ever stronger.

plus, we gave shirts to all the competitors & battlers. check the logo on the top of this page - put that on a black shirt (courtesy black star print), and you have a fine gift for a true warrior.

PICTURES:

all pictures taken by missy limina (also a former battler!)
http://gtf.org/pixivixen/main.php?g2_itemId=2669

MP3S:

Congratulations to Dr. Rheinhardt!

2007-12-02T21:14:00.000-05:00

Our very own Dr. Maximillian Rheinhardt placed 2nd in the National Laptop Battle Championships.
Local hero Dave Pezzner eked out an insanely close victory, grabbing it from the jaws of death
in literally the last minute. For my money, Dr. Rheinhardt *dominated* the competition, but sometimes
the cards don't fall as expected.

Thanks everyone for the support over the year, and we'll see you next year!

-Threv (in Seattle)

THE 2007 ATLANTA LAPTOP BATTLE CHAMPION IS...

2007-10-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

Dr. Maximillian Rheinhardt

BIG CONGRATULATIONS to All the battlers, including The Mobius' own DJ JOSH CLAYTON who provided some of the sickest bass this side of Mick Harris.

who faced off against matt in the final battle in what was, to me, the closest battle of the night. Josh, pH, Citizen Green, Andrew Provine, Charlie P, Poodleface, and El Hadron all brought their A-game

LOOK FOR THESE FOLKS IN YOUR LOCAL VENUE! SUPPORT YOUR FUCKING LOCALS.

way to go everyone

mp3s & videos & links to battlers individual projects will be up next week at:
www.nophi.net/laptopbattle

The 2007 Atlanta Laptop Battles are sponsored by:

Nophi Recordings
and
WREK 91.1 FM's The Mobius

Laptop Battle Finals: THURSDAY OCTOBER 18

2007-10-10T17:08:00.000-05:00

WHAT: 2007 Atlanta Laptop Battle Finals
WHEN: Thursday, October 18 8:00 pm
WHO: Maximillian Rheinhardt, Josh Clayton, Andrew Provine, Charlie P, Citizen Green, El Hadron, Poodleface, pH
WHERE: Lenny's Bar
HOW: 3 min double elimination bracket
WHY: Crown the 2007 Atlanta Laptop Battle Champion

The winner will be flown to Seattle for the National Finals on
Saturday, December 1st

SEE YOU THERE

SEE BELOW FOR FLYERS
TELL A FRIEND
TELL AN ENEMY

Laptop Battle Finals Flyers

2007-10-10T16:02:00.000-05:00

PDF flyer for printing & posting around Atlanta:
http://www.nophi.net/laptopbattle/lb-final-11x17-2up.pdf

Web flyer (For posting on myspace, LJ, message boards)

Battle 2 Synopsis

2007-10-10T16:00:00.001-05:00

i'm so damn late on this. i send my deepest apologies.
HUGE THANKS to everyone who competed; this is solid fucking proof that this town is full of amazing talent.
I'm listening to the battle 2 mp3s and I"m absolutely floored

Big ups to judges Omar Torres, Richard Devine, and John Jacobus.
Thanks to everyone who was there.

I also apologize for the bracket debacles in Preliminary 2. Thanks to everyone for being so patient & understanding.

Everyone was _absolutely amazing_. I look forward to seeing all of the battlers in future musical endeavors, and
I would love to book more shows with anyone interested as well as "exhibition" battles over the next year.

battle 2 mp3s:
http://www.nophi.net/laptopbattle/2007/10/round-2-mp3s.html

battle 2 videos:
42 Videos on Youtube (in a big playlist, not sorted, sequence numbered):
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=162590F1FB37DFCA

Photos from Graham Coleman's camera:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73155597@N00/sets/72157601524658085/

PRELIMINARY 2 SYNOPSIS:
- The winners of prelim 2 were:
Travis H
Andrew P
Citizen Green
Josh Clayton

Thanks to everyone who competed.

Travis H has had to back out of the final battle, and El Hadron is in his place.

THE FINAL BATTLE:
WEB FLYER (for message boards & myspace) - www.nophi.net/laptopbattle/lb-final-webflyer.jpg
PRINT FLYER (11" x 17", please print & post wherever you call home) - http://www.nophi.net/laptopbattle/lb-final-11x17-2up.pdf

Thursday October 18
Lenny's Bar
9:00 PM

Contestants:
Poodleface
Maximillian Reinhardt
pH
Charlie P
Andrew Provine
El Hadron
Josh Clayton
Citizen Green

One winner will be sent to Seattle on December 1 to compete in the National Laptop Battle Finals.
Come root for your favorite battler, or heckle your least favorite. The judging has been slightly altered this time around
to make it more in line w/the final battle.

Round 2 mp3s

2007-10-10T15:29:00.000-05:00

Sorry this is so late, everyone. Here are the mp3s from Laptop Battle Preliminary two:

Chris Choyce:
Round 1
Round 2

Citizen Green:
Round 1
Round 3
Round 4

Josh Clayton:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5

Christopher Morris:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3

Ryan Dempsey:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3

Dharmatronix:
Round 1
Round 2

El Hadron:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3

June Eleven:
Round 1
Round 2

Lazy Q:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4

Andrew Provine:
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6

Travis Harkleroad:
Round 1
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5

Unknown:
Unknown Battler 1
Unknown Battler 2

thanks

Laptop Battle Press Release

2007-09-25T00:34:00.000-05:00

2007 Atlanta Laptop Battle Championship is on!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

contact:
Matt Simpson
www.nophi.net/laptopbattle

Atlanta, GA - Eight of the finest laptop wizards Atlanta has to offer converge at Lenny's Bar to crown the 2007 Atlanta Laptop Battles champion, presented by Nophi Recordings and WREK 91.1 fm's "The Mobius". 2007 is the second year of Laptop Battles in Atlanta, following the wildly successful 2006 battle circuit. The goal of this event is to turn the typically droll world of electronic music performance on its academic and finely controlled head, and to have a little fun with the process.

The 2006 Laptop Battles saw a consistently enthusiastic and packed house at Lenny’s cheering and hollering for musicians armed only with laptop computers and a few scant minutes to make them work. While the format is nothing new for Hip Hop crowds and the reaction is common at rock shows, the sight of a roomful of people pumping their fists in the air and shaking to electronic music is a relative rarity in Atlanta. The Laptop Battle series is trying to change that. In coordination with Laptopbattle.com, the champion will represent our fair city in the National Laptop Battle Championship in Seattle this December.

Since the dawn of the new millenium, laptops have emerged as a viable and powerful instrument in their own right as both an audio device and performance tool. Built on the burgeoning electronic music community in Atlanta the champion will be crowned by a panel of three judges who are each experienced in the world of sound design and electronic performance. Focusing on audience response, laptop interaction, sound quality, and originality, the contestants face off in a double-elimination tournament using only their laptop and one external MIDI controller. The rounds are three minutes long, so each performer must showcase their The battles consistently show the audio community that electronic music performance can be compelling with a laptop. The grand prize winner will receive over $1000 in softwareand a ticket to Seattle to face off against champions from across the country.

Lenny's Bar has played host to every battle over the past three years. The 2006 Atlanta Championship saw old friends and new foes bring their finest to a packed house, introducing many to live electronic music and fostering a burgeoning electronic community. This year has seen the turnout and response grow tremendously. Hosted by 2006 Atlanta Laptop Battle champion Matt "Threv" Simpson, this night will showcase the best, most diverse, and most innovative electronic styles the laptop music community has to offer. Will Charlie P defeat his bandmate Andrew Provine? Will pH avenge his 2006 loss? Will Poodleface's wrestling videos wow the crowd? Will Mobius DJ Josh Clayton continue his undefeated streak? Will newcomers Travis Harkleroad and Citizen Green shock the judges? Will the mysterious Maxmillian Reinhardt stomp the competition with wizard metal mashups and 8-bit beats? Come to Lenny's Bar on Thursday, October 18 to determine the battlers fate!

For more information:
http://www.nophi.net/laptop (local Battle info and registration)
http://www.laptopbattle.com (the founding organization of Laptop Battles in Seattle, WA)
http://www.lennysbar.com (Lenny’s website)
http://www.nophi.net (Nophi's website)
http://themobius.livejournal.com (The Mobius weekly playlist & announcements)

ATTENTION: FINAL LAPTOP BATTLE DATE HAS BEEN MOVED

2007-08-28T12:30:00.000-05:00

Due to Friday Night Dance Parties at Lenny's Bar,
we had to move the final laptop battle date:

IT IS NOW
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18

battle 1 review from Turner of ConnectATL

2007-08-12T18:01:00.001-05:00

(thanks a zillion turner)

from lunarmagazine.com forums:

First of all congrats to Threv for being an excellent host last night. He was genuinely excited about the event, being a long time and talented contestant himself. The Spirit of the event was felt from the get go.

He also did an excellent job promoting the individual talents of the contestants most of who he knew personally. Again he did so with enthusiasm.

I should also mention the sound was on point all night. There was a video camera also worked by threv that was on the contestants laptops and controllers so that the judges and the crowd could see that these guys are doing a shit load more than pushing a play button.

Can we all fucking agree on that point?

And to that point I'd like to give huge props to the creativity that these contestants employed to bring something new to the loyal geekdom. The rules allowed for one external controller.

The crowd was 60 strong and packed the stage side of the bar.
It was loud, and recorded.

Poodleface brought in a midi controller and a fucking lazy susan. He incorporated video cuts from an adam sandler movie into the music and then fliped the laptop around to the crowd (note: not to the judges) and then played his cuts with the controller.....he won that one.

was a double elimination tourney so push button action man went to the losers bracket. he was a first time competitor who had recently dabbled in pc production. i liked his sound. very electro.

Then Charlie P came with a very raw, shrill track that had people thinking there was a bad connection or some shit had gone haywire, then he dropped the beat and we all caught up. It was a good opener Charlie.

Charlie's competitor was veteran battler Maximilian Rheinhardt. He had a long as huge black beard. You could tell he was an uber geek. He broke out the sega controller and played his set using it. It had a popier sound and played well to the judges.

The veterans entertained all night.

Max and Charlie were talking about swapping tunes already when Threv delivered the judges decision. Maximilian Rheinhardt moves on.

So I was bummed Charlie's night was over then he had to remind me that it was double elimination. I perked up and got some more beers.

I'm a little fuzzy on the next two battles (beer) but I do know that PH was the winner of one and Graham Coleman was the other. Their competitors were Mike Johnson and Dharmatronix.

PH came with a trigger finger type controller and he came raw with his shit. He got everything there was to give out of those speakers and his set was bangin.

Graham Coleman came with custom built program that dissects any track you put in and puts all the samples into a plot chart that looked like a thousand mini chicklets spread all over his screen. He reminded me a lot of Daedalus. Appeals to the Stephen Hawking types.

are you kidding me?

He also brought a variety of reprogrammed toys including one Wii wireless controller that played based on movement. The music he created was not always pleasing to the ear but it certainly appealed to the mind and the nature of the event. The judges agreed. Graham would only lose one battle all night.

Then came the first round of the losers bracket. Charlie P was my guy so I didn't keep up with every battle and I'm sure the video will do justice for the night. So take that with a grain of salt.

First up was Charlie P vs Push Button Action Man. Charlie played a new track and PBAM hit up some of that electro sound. I had seen so much to this point I had no idea where the judges, whom I don't envy, were going to go.

Drunk text to Mike Z:
"Charlie P lost round one. Won the elimination round and that's where we are."

Nother brew is in order. Snag one for Charlie.

Mike Johnson won the other loser bracket.

So it's Mike Johnson against Charlie P. For the third time Charlie opens. I watched the battle with Rachael who was a huge Mike Johnson fan and also a good friend of Charlie's. She's 80 months pregnant and made the trek out. Go on girl!

Drunk text to Mike Z:
"Charlie won round two!!" (which was actually round three...beers)

Winners round goes:
Graham and Max ended up winning their round.

Next up, Charlie P vs PH - I believe Charlie got second turn on this one.

PH came with it hard again pushing more buttons than any man alive.
Charlie P came back with his Jelly Bean template which features Adam Herbert guitar at about 180 bpm.

Drunk text to Mike Z:
"Charlie P made the Finals!" (top 4 competitors advance)

Winners round goes:
Graham Coleman beats Max - Max utilized samples from every competitor that had played and had an overhead projector with a printout with the order of the samples. He knew it wouldn't win points with the Judges but it was a bold move that ya had to give to the guy.

Round 5:
Charlie P vs Maximilian Rheinhardt - Rematch!!

I had to run outside to meet a friend and totally missed this match. I got back and heard a shit load of cheering and was like Oh fuck what did I miss god damn me.

Drunk text to Mike Z:
"Charlie p won again he is in the Final!"

Fuckin comeback kid had won the crowd over. It was electric in there. I wasn't planning on having this many beers. Holy crap.

Final Round:

Charlie P vs Graham Coleman

If Charlie loses it's over, if he wins a second round is played.

Charlie P drops a remix of 'September 12th' The first Random Rabbit tune I ever heard and still one of my favorites. Not what I would have picked but try figuring Charlie P out. It was fucking slammin but in that Rabbit kinda way.

Coleman comes back with some mind bending shit.

Drunk text to Mike Z:
"Won again!! Final left" as in Final Final. What a show.

Charlie closed it out with his 'Grand Bazzaar' template and Graham came with another crazy game of chicklets for the brain.

In the end the judges gave it to Graham who came with the most advanced setup from the digital age. Not what I would have wanted, but I am bias. Certainly well deserved and the biggest representative of the digital age in that room. Congrats to Graham.

Charlie P defeated 5 of the 7 other contestants in at least one battle. He was the only one in the contest that had to throw down on 7 battles. So congrats to you man.

Congrats to everyone who came out and supported this event on the stage or in the crowd. It was well executed (a bunch of geeks, imagine that)

Top 4 from this event advance to the finals in October.

Next Prelim is in August and Provine is going to be in tha mix.
Threv told me that he already has 14 people signed up for this round. Congrats to him.

Turner

PRELIM 2 IS ON

2007-08-12T17:31:00.000-05:00

There is a full 16 bracket now. Oh man this is gonna be huge.

COME OUT
AUGUST 13 8:00 PM
$3
LENNY'S BAR

ATLANTA LAPTOP BATTLE PRELIMINARY 2

We're not dead!

2007-07-30T23:44:00.000-05:00

ahoy hoy, anyone who made a comment & deleted, if you're still interested, please repost! we got all emails, we've just been collecting names n'whatnot.

Thanks!
- matt

Battle 1: holy shit

2007-07-30T23:28:00.000-05:00

Thanks *yet again* to everyone who competed and brought folks out. Everyone
on the promotion & planning side of things was absolutely
flabbergasted at the turnout
and support. Tons of insanely supportive comments and letters have poured in,
and we're preparing for the next battle.

HERE ARE PICTURES FROM THE FIRST BATTLE (Thanks to Mike Alberghini)

HERE ARE VIDEOS FROM THE FIRST BATTLE (Thanks to Datavortex)

HERE ARE THE MP3S

We now have a full 16 bracket for the upcoming battle on:
August 13

The top 4 from the 1st battle are:
Graham Coleman
Charlie P
Maximillian Reinhardt
pH

*HOWEVER*
Graham Coleman has sadly announced that he is unable to make the finals,
as he is moving to Barcelona, Spain for his Ph.D. Congratulations & GOOD LUCK
to Mr. Coleman on his future career plans!
This means, however, that there will be an alternate for the finals.
Hot-Tub announced that he's unable to make it to the finals (please
correct me if I'm wrong)
so that means
POODLEFACE is moving on. Congratulations!

A BIG THANK YOU TO JUDI CHICAGO ( www.myspace.com/judichicago )
for performing at the end of the night, especially when my poor planning
dictated that they play late as hell.
GO BUY THEIR CD! IT'S OUT NOW! HOORAY!

2) Upcoming events

As promised, the winner (Graham Coleman) recently performed at:
SPARK!
Saturday, June 28:

www.nophi.net/spark
featuring:
r_garcia
larvae (the full band of Dr. Reinhardt - www.zeroplate.com )
Graham Coleman

everyone rocked it real hard, and special thanks to Larvae
for staying late and killing it hard.

This is the first of hopefully many monthlies at
Park Grounds coffee shop
Next battle's winner will also be featured.

142 Flat Shoals Ave SE
Atlanta GA 30316
MAP: http://tinyurl.com/2tpgrn

3) Next Battle

As announced, we have a FULL 16 bracket of folks for the August 13 preliminary.
A flyer is being made currently, so get the word out, and come support
your fellow
battlers!
There will *not* be an exhibition match OR a band performance due to the amount
of time necessary to actually get through the battle.

Come out August 13 and support the new crop of battlers - your
response will help determine who the winners face in October.

Round 1 mp3s

2007-07-30T22:34:00.000-05:00

Charlie P:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 6
Final Round

Dharmatronix:

Round 1

Graham MF Coleman:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 4
Round 5
Final Round

Hot-Tub:

Round 1
Round 3

Dr. Maximillian Reinhardt:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 4
Round 5

Push Button Action Man:

Round 1
Round 2

pH:

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4

Poodleface:

Round 2
Round 3

Unknown (sorry! I can not recall to whom these belong):

SPARK! Rad music THIS SATURDAY JUNE 28 brought to you by NOPHI

2007-07-25T10:59:00.000-05:00

Saturday, July 28th - 8:00PM

Nophi Recordings launches its new monthly event, SPARK!. This event will feature live electronic music at ParkGrounds, an innovative & pet-friendly new coffee house in Atlanta’s famous Reynoldstown area.

Music From:

Larvae (Ad Noiseam)
R. Garcia (Nophi/Polyvibe/Headphone Treats)
Graham MF Coleman (Laptop Battle Round One Champ)
DJ TractorPull (Nophi/The Mobius)

$7 Admission includes a free coffee drink.

All Ages Welcome
Dogs Welcome
BYOB Welcome
Sh*tty Attitudes Not Welcome

Venue Information:
ParkGrounds
142 Flat Shoals Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
(678) 528-9901

www.parkgrounds.com | www.nophi.net

PRELIM 1 SIGNUPS CLOSED; BATTLE MONDAY!

2007-07-04T20:32:00.000-05:00

It's that time, y'all.

SEE YOU MONDAY
JULY 9
AT LENNY'S BAR

WITH

Graham Coleman
Poodleface
pH
connectATL
hot-tub
push button action man
dharmatronix
cregaknow
dr. reinhardt

SPREAD THE WORD

LAST DAY TO SIGN UP FOR BATTLE 1: MONDAY, JULY 2

2007-06-29T23:44:00.000-05:00

We are capping sign-ups for the first preliminary, set for
MONDAY JULY 9

this Monday, July 2

Sign up soon! We have 8 battlers signed up for the 1st battle
and so far 8 signed up for the 2nd!

If everyone who does not move on from the 1st battle signs up
for the 2nd, that leaves only *4* open slots.

sign up soon!
thanks

PRELIMINARY ONE PERFORMER: JUDI CHICAGO

2007-06-21T23:05:00.001-05:00

http://www.myspace.com/judichicago

Former battler Travis Thatcher & Friends are going to
TEAR IT UP
after the first preliminary battle.

hell yes, tell a friend.