News/Calendar

Latest

(04.05.08)

Salutations One and All,

Spring has sprung and so has increased motivation, prolificness and other instances of non-hibernatory intrigue. In the case of our beloved collective, this is best exemplified by new members, new releases and more shows in and throughout the U.S. of A and beyond. New for this month - yes, there will be new releases aplenty over the next few months, is a new disc by The Airelectric, otherwise known as Karl Pestka. Featuring lush drones, hypnotic beats and etherial soundscapes, this one's definitely a pleaser - and available for order through the good, independent-minded folks at CD Baby. Currently on deck are new releases by Alee Karim, le Pink Canoes, Satellite and ep by MaryClare Brzytwa, not to mention talks of extending our roster further into the visual than ever before. Fun, right? Stay tuned - we aim to please.

2007

(09.17.07)

Hello, Salutations and apologies for going so long without an update - admittedly, we've all been quite busy. However, in spite of this busyness, much has transpired and there are several updates and upcoming events/releases on the horizon we need to tell you about. First and foremost, a new Thinktank Sampler has just been released and features an entirely new assemblage of artists, musicians and composers from the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as new artwork by Paulina Velazquez-Solis. Additionally, there's also releases on the way from Satellite, Karl Pestka, Travis Johns and the Pink Canoes - stay tuned for future announcements of their imminent releases, as well as new and interesting iFacets that we hope will add a couple more layers of depth to this here website to better address who it is, what we do and why we do it etc.

In other news, we've recently added our first podcast to the site! Entitled vslkast, it'll be an ongoing monthly broadcast from Travis Johns, intended to document longer experiments, compositions and other sounds collected while he's living off the grid in rural Colorado and beyond. To subscribe, please paste feed://think-tankmedia.net/trav/vslkast.xml into your aggregator or directly to iTunes via this link vslkast.

So as always, stay tuned, tune in and feel free to drop us a line sometime - we love the mail.

Love,

The Thinktank Collective

2006

(04.22.06)

A big announcement and a handful of events coming up. Namely, Satellite, a duo consisting of Icelendic guitarist Steini Gunnarsson and Travis Johns will be embarking on a brief tour of the Midwest alongside various Thinktank artists such as Karl Pestka, Ami Dang, Gregory McMahon & Ross Huff. Itinerary as follows:

04.27 - The Work Gallery, Ann Arbor, Mi. - Satellite w/ Karl Pestka & Friends. 8 PM
04.28 - Flat, Black and Circular, East Lansing, Mi. - Satellite w/ Karl Pestka & Friends. Time TBA.
04.29 - Fairchild Chapel, Oberlin, Oh. - Thinktank party w/ Satellite, Karl Pestka, Ami Dang trio & other members of the Oberlin experimental music community. 10 pm.

As usual, if any questions or inquiries come up, please feel free to drop us a line and we'll gladly facilitate. Hope to see you there!

( t )

An update for Spring (03.21.06)

Hi everybody,

Just a few quick updates amidst the springtime busyness.

First and foremost, a hearty congratulations to Thinktank Member and Collaborator Leighanne Saltsman was recently featured on New Music Box, performing in a one-on-one master class with renown vocalist Joan La Barbara. Check it out here!

http://newmusicbox.org/page.nmbx?id=4541

In the meantime, The Pink Canoes (Pink Canoes Myspace page), a new ensemble featuring the talents of Travis Johns, Ava Mendoza, Noah Phillips, Aram Shelton and Zachary Watkins will be embarking on a small West Coast tour from March 17-25, playing a handful of venues in Oakland and Los Angeles. For more info on any of the following, please feel free to contact us and we'll gladly fill you in on the necessities.

Best and Respect,

( t )

Premier release from The Night (12.18.05)

Two years in the making and originally only available at shows, we are pleased to finally offer The Night's first official release by the Thinktank Collective. Each hand-printed disc comes in a beautifully assembled package featuring artwork designed by John Hensel and features performances by Ami Dang, Greg McMahon, Travis Johns and Karl Pestka. For more info, go to the either The Night page or the Catalog.

Summer 2005

(09.27.05)

Hi everyone - Big update today, as well as a further glimpse of things to come! Most importantly, we've made our first and second samplers available online as free downloads! Go here and here for more information. We will also be selling physical copies of both for a small price to cover shipping and materials if you desire beautiful, original, handmade packaging in accompaniment with a hand picked selection of our finest tunes from our first two years of existence. Drop us a line if you're interested. Also, if you look to the right, you'll see some new buttons - We now have an RSS feed to help you keep abreast of news, events, and other developments in the Thinktank community. Finally, stay tuned for a handful of new releases beginning with a repackaged release of the Night's first full-length album, originally available exclusively on their summer tour. As usual, more to come - stay tuned, check back often, and most importantly, enjoy! Best, ~t.

(08.23.05)

First and foremost, a hearty salutations and even heartier thank you to everyone who cam out and supported the collective on our most recent musical excursions. We all had a blast and hope that you did the same - however, in light of the upcoming and long anticipated changing of seasons (what can I say, I'm just not a summer person...) the collective finds ourselves hard at work once again at a variety of new and interesting projects. Most importantly, we'll be implementing a new web order section of our site, supplying those piqued by our discs an outlet for their interests, as well as a variety of free downloads of new and unreleased music for everyone out there who just can't seem to get enough experimental electronic goodness. Expect our sales site to be up and functional by mid-September, but we'll have a slew of free downloads available long before then, so stay tuned, check back often and see what comes up

In the meantime, we've got three or four more releases slated for this fall, as well as some special events in the works and look forward very much to sharing them with you as they happen. So in the words of your favorite Saturday Morning cartoon from years gone by, "Don't touch that dial, kids, the best is yet to come!"

Best, (t)

Just a couple things (06.20.05)

After many months of hard work and dedication, our second compilation is finished and will be available at various locations and events over the summer. Listen to it Here.

In the meantime, there's a variety of new projects in the works, slated for release beginning in mid-July and extending through the rest of the year. Included are a hybrid music/video disc from los tudores del lucy, a solo noise record from tjohns, a handful of tracks from Philip Raath and numerous updates to the gallery. Not to mention the new web design courtesy of Mr. Hensel.

Finally and most importantly, The Night will be embarking on a two-week tour of the east coast in the beginning of August. Featuring veteran members tjohns, John Hensel and Ami K. Dang, the group will also feature new members Karl Pestka (sexual pantalones) playing electric violin and Ross Huff (of the Michigan Creative Arts Orchestra) on trumpet. For more info and a schedule of events, go HERE. (t)

04/02/2005

Manifesto 001

Well, here we are. Nearly two years after we began this adventure, here we are. After countless shows, experiments, arrests, broken bones, surgeries, drama, melodrama, pantomime and international airfare, here we are. A little older, a little wiser, indeed but regardless, and at the threat of redundancy, here we are - the first, of perhaps many new and exciting excursions into the post collegiate realm of...the interweb. But thats neither here nor there. Expect much over the next couple months. Much fun and insanity is in the works. I promise. More to come. (t)