Our first night was SUCH a huge success and we were blown away! We are super pumped to keep it going and we have more fun talks lined up for you to enjoy. Join us for more friendly nerding out and having a drink or two.
Where: Tank Space (1110 East Eighth Street, Traverse City, MI)
When: Thursday, May 30th from 7 pm to 9:00 pm (doors open at 6:45 pm)
How: Purchase your $10 ticket via THIS LINK (Due to limited space, we will due digital sales ONLY)
Synthesizers and Their Sounds
by Josh Denby
Synthesizers have been important to music across a variety of genres for decades. Over the years, a bewildering variety of synthesis techniques and instruments have had their moment in the spotlight! We’ll check out two major forms of synthesis (subtractive and frequency modulation), talk about their differences, and then listen to some representative sounds with the help of three synths: the Roland SE-02, the Yamaha Reface DX, and the Korg Minilogue. Get ready to rock…synth style.
Josh Denby is a jack of five or fewer trades and is somehow still a master of none of them, but he loves working with books, music, and movies at the local library in the Sight and Sound department. When he’s not playing with synthesizers at the library, he’s probably swinging a sword, doing taijiquan, or playing synthesizers at home.
Swordfight Picture Book
by Anthony Buonomo
Have you ever seen medieval art? It isn’t exactly accurate. So how do we take these sometimes absolutely not representative of what the human body can (or can NOT do) and translate them into dynamic, functional movement? We will take a peek at some of the more hilarious images, explore how and when they got better, and explain how you can go from book to fight!
Anthony Buonomo is the founder Historical Weapons Guild, located in both Austin, Texas, and Traverse City. When anyone asks him why he started swordfighting, his answer is simply, “Because I’m a giant nerd.” So you can see why he’s perfect for this event. He started formally training in HEMA back in 2014 and has since then traveled the US as well as internationally to teach and compete even winning a medal or two. When not doing all things swords, you can find him climbing at Elev8 or obsessing over which 40k army is best. (it’s Tyranids)
The Language of Ballet: Sleeping Beauty or That Time a Drag Queen Ruined My Birthday
by Anna Beard
Once upon a time, going to the ballet or the opera was IT for the social outlets of society. While opera affords some understanding if you happen to speak the language, how do you consistently progress the plot in a movement based art form? How can you let people know that if a prince happens upon a sleeping princess that will solve everything? We will take a little jaunt through the language of ballet both funny and serious to decode the language unique to this art form.
Anna is a Leelanau County native who is back and looking for fellow nerds. After a stint at the University of Michigan where she earned a BFA in Dance, she continued studying her craft while instructing many young people to wave their limbs in artistic ways. Since then she has lived in Austin where she became a historical swordfighter which only increased her already nerdy obsession with dance history. She resides in TC where she loves to safely hit her friends, dance at the drop of a hat, and eat all things cherries.