'Solar Powered Sounds' Teaser

Video Teaser for Solar Powered Sounds Program

Flux Bikes' mobile power station at Homan Square Park 9/19/13

The music table at McGuane Park 10/1/13

DCASE GRANT SOLAR POWERED SOUNDS

Flux Bikes is proud to present a 'solar powered sound' workshop for youth in the Chicago Park District this fall, 2013.  Rob will ride the rig to a dozen city parks in order to make sustainable beats with the community. We will experiment with contact microphones and talk about renewable energy and healthy living.  This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency and co-presented by Inferno Mobile Recording Studio, a park district program.

SERENADE CHIME EXHIBITION

'Serenade' is an exhibition that taps into the history of chimes as tools for healing, meditation and communication. In this sound-based exhibition artists and musicians have been invited to re-think and re-structure these ancient instruments to extend their tonal and symbolic range, pushing beyond traditional scales, forms and materials. Serenade is intended both to seduce and to console anyone within earshot of Terrain Exhibitions. 

Tempestt Hazel is a curator, writer and co-founder of Sixty Inches From Center, an organization that archives, promotes and collaborates with artists and arts projects across Chicago. In addition to the upcoming exhibition at Terrain Exhibitions, her upcoming projects can be seen at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park, The Salon Series Projects and the South Side Community Art Center.

Featuring: Jeff Austin, Rob Frye, Ramah Jihan Malebranche, Michael and Yhelena Hall and Stephen Lieto

SUMMER '13

7.29.13

w/ Circuit des Yeux and Open Sex at The Burlington

6.17.13

w/ King Mary and Emme Moon at Cafe Mustache

4.13.13

w/ CAVE and Pyschic Steel at El Mamey

SKATEBOARDS

BELLWEATHER

Tons of music happening both days! Here is the schedule.

GULF COAST FLUX RIDE

Houston, TX to New Orleans, LA

We woke up the morning after our show in Houston, and said goodbye to Anne Sofie Kluge Hedegaard. We still had over 400 miles of pedaling to reach New Orleans, much of it along the coast.

Crossing into Galveston, TX via I-45 bridge on bikes is allowed.

There is a free ferry ride from Galveston to Bolivar Peninsula, operating 24/7.

There are plenty of great camping spots along the Gulf Coast. A close nighttime observer at the coast can see waves glowing electric blue on clear nights at the beach.

We headed East along the coast, opting to ride about 20 miles on the beach through McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, where an old highway has been abandoned. 

As we continued East, we enjoyed the expanses of, Rockefeller, Mandalay, and Bayou Teche Widlife Refuges,

with beautiful cypress swamps

and moss hanging from humongous oak trees.

We arrived in New Orleans via the levee along River Road. 

Another free ferry ride, this one from Gretna, LA into downtown New Orleans.

We held an interactive concert at RUBARB in New Orleans.

To finish off the tour, we played Saturn Bar in New Orleans, along with Travis Bird and Rotten Milk.

AUSTIN TO HOUSTON FLUX RIDE

We took our bikes on the Texas Eagle from St. Louis to Austin where we rendezvoused with two crucial members of the tour, Sarah Kent from San Francisco, and Adam Wille from Kings Beach, CA.

There are plenty of things to do in Austin, like riding bikes to Barton Springs, enjoying wisteria blossoms on the Colorado River, or climbing one of the many moon towers.

Flux Bikes joined the cacophony of South By Southwest, using our solar powered set-up around town, at the Green House, and at Wardenclyffe Gallery. 

We were lucky to catch the Decentralized 

Dance Party and pump their pirate radio dance jams through the Flux setup.

Leaving Austin, our crew of five followed the bike map through Moore's Crossing, and went across a haunted train bridge.

Texas is a great place for bike tour. We were just in time to see the blooming lupine and many wildflowers.  And there are signs everywhere that say "Drive Friendly - The Texas Way." 

Flux Bikes performed the last night of SXSW Overflow Festival at Supper Happy Fun Land after relaxing at Buffalo Bayou, Houston, TX.

ABSTRACT FLUX WZRD

JayVe Montgomery and Rob Frye live on WZRD 88.3 FM

MISSOURI FLUX BIKES 2013

We built a solar powered sound system and took it on Flux Bikes tour in Missouri and along the Gulf Coast.

The first part of the trip began in late February, following the Missouri River on the Katy Trail, from St. Louis to Columbia, MO.

Jake McDaniel joined for the first leg of the journey. Click here for information on abandoned railways.

True/False  is an extended festival weekend with over 50 feature films and shorts, more than a dozen concerts, and art installations all over town in Columbia, MO. 

We had various performances and enjoyed meeting other flâneurs.

Photo courtesy Erica Foster

Rob jumped in on flute with La Operacion Jarocha and others at the closing event.

After returning to St. Louis, we played at Chromozone with Dave Stone, What We Won't See, and Black James.Then we took our bikes on the train and fast forwarded to 'Springtime' in Austin, TX.

SOLAR POWERED MUSIC

-photo by Ellen frye-

-plants by Steve Frye-

These are our custom built, lightweight speaker cabs that we brought along with us on Flux Bikes tour.  Weighing about 23 lbs each, and complete with real bbq grills, they are powered by a small amp housed in a cigar box, and sealed and a 12v deep-cycle battery that we charge with a 30w solar panel.  (Also pictured is a Crate Taxi amp that we used for hi-end at the show in St. Louis, but that didnt come on the MO GULF tour).

MISSOURI / GULF COAST

Flux Bikes is hitting the road at the end February! We are riding the Katy trail in Missouri and then taking the amtrak to Austin Texas.  From there we'll pedal to Houston and the Gulf Coast, ending in New Orleans, LA.  We will be connecting with bike folks along this 700 mile journey and unveiling some new custom gear.