Twin solid-state singing coils

This weekend we had a great shop day working on a lot of different projects. One of those was finally putting together our solid-state coils and hooking them up to a Midi source (in this case an old keyboard with a Midi out).

The keyboard itself isn’t making any sound, all the audio is generated by the sparking electricity.

Here’s a little later in the day with a bit more musicality:

Lightning up in the Mission

Omega Recoil got the call to perform for a company party for Little Giant, a lighting and grip company, in the Mission in San Francisco. Not hidden away in a building somewhere in the Mission, but outside almost in the middle of the street, on their parking pad between the building and the sidewalk. Some of the neighbors stopped by to watch the performances; some people said they came from several blocks away once they heard the tell-tall sound of a Tesla coil firing up.

(These were my first attempts to record anything with the Vine app.)

Omega Recoil on the move

A quiet coil waits for dark

We moved from the Naval shipayard to a new shop in West Oakland. That seemed like a good excuse to call up some friends and throw some sparks. Since we weren’t ‘on stage’ this night, we were able to put some special members of our family and friends into the suit.

This is either Tansy or Kiki in the suit.

You can see the visitor’s cage in the background of the video and below. This allows us to bring members of the audience in up close quickly and easily.

The stage is set

Clinging together in the cage

We really like to have the chance to play around like this, it gives us a low-pressure time to try out new things like the cage to see how it would work in a real show.

Or, sometimes it’s just fun to watch your friends play around with their toys and see how they work with a Tesla Coil. Here’s Tansy in the Faraday suit playing with her flame whip with the coil.
Tansy in the suit, playing with her flame whip.

It’s nice to have friends.
Snail car and friends

Crucible Fire & Light: Soirée

For the last few weeks the members of Omega Recoil have been working hard with our friend at The Crucible in preparation for their Fire & Light: Soirée and Art Auction.

The hard work begins this week with installation and testing of our coil in their space. If all goes according to plan, we will be performing along side a Gamelan orchestra with our big coil hung from the ceiling, and our new solid state coil on stage with the orchestra.

Modern Marvels: Weird Machines

Here’s a link to the full episode of Modern Marvels which features Omega Recoil and a lot of our friends: Modern Marvels: Weird Machines. At 28:50 you’ll see Jon Sarriugarte and our electrical performances start at 32:50.

(Sometimes the link is active, sometimes it is down because the episode will be airing soon.)