With a mechanical arm, typewriter key beard, and fanciful monocle on a real wooden hat, Steampunk Santa greeted guests and provided cheer to hundreds at the year’s end Clockwork Christmas! Fancy dressed patrons, steampunk angels, and fortune tellers from miles around poured through the doors with much jollity and gaiety at Exit this December.

Patrons were treated to fanciful sights and sounds until 4 o’clock in the morning. Ammunition presented a hot and amazing fire breathing, angle grinding show, showering the audience with sparks and pleasure.

Ammunition aflame, courtesy W. Dezoma

If fire, noise and sparks failed to amuse, one could have one’s fortune read by the lovely Snow Queen. Fortune telling via Tarot rekindled our love with the victorian parlour.

The Enchanting Medium, the Snow Queen, courtesy Glitter Guts

Strange holiday music from The White City Rippers echoed in the chamber as the sounds of Theremin and Concertina filled the air.

The White City Rippers, courtesy Glitter Guts

Many thanks to KL Kenzie for her fabulous collection of booked acts and the rest of the RLGEMS for their unbridled steampunkery patriotism!

The RLGEMS, courtesy Glitter Guts

For more photos of the lively steampunk crowd, please visit Glitter Guts!

A happy, steamy new year to all! Stay tuned to SteampunkChicago.com, as we have more events in the works, such as an outing to the Field Museum in January, and a massive gathering of eccentric talent in February!

Cheers!

We know, it’s been awhile, but we are OFFICIALLY back to Exit with another rendition of our original, popular and all together maddening CLOCKWORK VAUDEVILLE!

This month we feature the “Clockwork Christmas” which has been graciously booked by our own KL Kenzie.  The acts to be featured are “Circus Steampunk Burlesque” extraordinaire Ammunition alongside musical act The White City Rippers.  We will also have the Glitter Guts on-site to take pictures of you as you and your compatriots sit on the lap of our Steampunk Santa.

And of course, myself, The Lord Baron, along with DJ Wyser and Mr. Auto-Technical will be DJing on the Fusion-O-Scope machine!

In lieu of a fashion contest, we will be hosting a benefit raffle for Sepiachord.com, who as you may or may not know, is in danger of closing its doors without a bit of extra help this season.  Prizes have been graciously donated by such luminaries Highwind Steamworks, Weird Chicago Tours, The Poetry Brothel and, of course, Steampunk Chicago (hint hint – two tickets to an up-coming event we’re throwing in the spring).

Last but not least we will also be PREMIERING some new tracks by The Men Who Will Not Be Blamed for Nothing!

So come one and come all!  Join us for this very steampunk holiday celebration!

It is that time again!  After an extended hiatus full of conventions, BBQs, movie production, sailing and – of course – actual work – we’re back with our biggest Clockwork Vaudeville YET!  This coming Saturday July 17th we feature live acts by Sophia Balentine of TARTANIC, Hypnotist C. Morley and the triumphant return of Magician Michael Burke!  On top of that we have a guest DJ set by none other than The Chaotic Good (and their giant robot!) and sponsorship by local establishments Quimby’s, UnScene Magazine and the new Wicker Park boutique Sir & Madame!

To commemorate this momentous occasion we’ve sent three questions to the performers and sponsors, here are some of their responses.

The Chaotic Good

They built that robot.

The Chaotic Good are a DJ and production duo that specialize in hard, dark and industrial influenced electronic music.  As they are also engineers, they like to build machines that they bring out to shows as accompaniment.  Their biggest, and best known to date, is their 8 ft tall, fully articulated robot.  For more information visit them on Myspace or Soundcloud.

Steampunk Chicago : Describe your performance and its style

The Chaotic Good : We perform with Ableton Live and an iMac, manipulating everything via midi controllers.  We always perform with our 8ft tall, 600lb robotic statue. This statue is in turn controlled by midi signals attached to solenoid valves that tell a series of 16 pneumatic cylinders when to move.  In effect, it dances around while we play.

SP-Chi : What are three influences on your performance?

TCG : Our 3 biggest influences would have to be, of course, dance music in general, Daft Punk, and, on a larger scale, the idea of being chaotic good.

SP-Chi : Why steampunk?

TCG : We have always been fascinated by the fantastical, and since we did build a giant air-powered robot it made perfect sense to play a steam-punk party!

Hypnotist C. Morley

Curt Morley has been leading ghost hunts and tours throughout western Chicagoland with Elgin Supernatural Tours for the past 7 years.  He’s also a member of the National Guild of Hypnotists and has been a hypnotist for the over 20 years.  Now, after an extended sabbatical, he is returning to the stage.

Sp-Chi : Describe your performance and its style.

C. Morley : My hypnotic stage show is designed so that those who choose to be hypnotized have as much fun as the people watching the show.  No barking like a dog or clucking like a chicken in this show.

SP-Chi : What are three influences on your performance?

C. Morley : My influences are as follows: First, Pat Collins, one of the greatest stage hypnotists of all time.  Second, Ormond Mcgill, the dean of American Hypnotists.  And three, Harry Houdini, whose devotion to his craft has always inspired me.

SP-Chi : Why steampunk?

C. Morley : I love the works of H G Wells, Jules Verne and Conan Doyle. I became aware of the Steampunk movement last fall at Windycon. I was impressed by the costuming and the fun loving attitude of the people involved in it.  When [RL&GEMS member] Bill Dunbar asked me if I would interested in performing for you, I jumped at the chance.

Quimby’s Manager Liz Mason

Their website boasts that Quimby’s has been “making other bookstores look retarded since 1991.” While that may be a little harsh, Quimby’s has certainly been adding a distinct flavor to the Chicago literary sales scene since it opened in 1991.  Liz Mason has been a manager with Quimby’s for the past several years, on top of managing eclectic local book sellers, she also loves karaoke, tiki stuff and pugs.

Sp-Chi : Please describe your establishment.

L. Mason : Quimby’s Bookstore specializes in independently published zines, books, comics and other weird ephemera.

Sp-Chi : What are three influences on your establishment.

L. Mason : Some of the major influences on Quimby’s include the art of Chris Ware, punk rock, conspiracy theory, and lowbrow art.

Sp-Chi : Why Steampunk?

L. Mason : Quimby’s sponsors steampunk activities because the genre pairs an attractive vintage aesthetic with a true DIY philosophy.

Thanks guys!  And don’t forget to join us this Saturday, July17th at Exit for Clockwork Vaudeville IV : Summer Spectacular!  Doors are at 10pm, there is NO cover, $3 Rum and $4 Gin specials and more madness than you can shake a brass and gear etched cane at!  For more information visit us at Yelp, Do312 or Facebook!

My, My, look at All the Steampunkery!

Yes!  It does look as though things are taking off in the Midwest!  Why with the soon to be coming SECOND edition of Clockwork Vaudeville, a Steampunk book spread at Quimby’s, and the World Steam Expo – just to name a few – things are  really getting off to a rollicking start!

On top of that, this past weekend we had the Steamposium in St. Louis, Steam Century’s event at Midway Village and a lovely tea and salon at the good abode of the Dezomas!  I was fortunately to make the latter two, but who cares to read my meanderings.  Let us dive right in!

April 17th – Clockwork Vaudeville

Our first was a HUGE success – if you did not see the Timeout photo spread – do click and see it now.  This time around we feature the White City Rippers along with Feral Minette and guest DJ W. Groves!  As with last time it is free to get in, goes until late and features $3 gin and rum so you lesser ones can still get your “groove” on with the help of such.

This time around we are also featuring a $150 gift certificate to Anastasia Chatzka or $20 to Odd Obsession Movies!

To view the full invite simply go HERE for Facebook users or HERE on Yelp for everyone else!

Speaking of Odd Obsession, have you ever wanted to wrap your eyes around a “Steampunk” movie but did not know where to look?  Well for the next week, Odd Obsession, in conjunction with us at SteampunkChicago.com, will have a “Steampunk Movie Shelf” show-casing some of the best movies that have been influenced by or influenced the Steampunk movement!

Pray Tell Good Baron, What WERE You Up To This Weekend?

photos by Gunnar Soderlind

I am glad you hypothetically asked!  First and foremost I attended Steam Century’s “Divided We Fall or The Virtues of Planned Obsolescence in Biomechanical Automata”.  Long names aside, it was a most exciting and well done event.  Upon arrival in Midway Village (expecting, of course, simply a lovely concert and some fine conversation) all the lights went out.  The town was set into a panic and we were ushered into the church.

It was a very intense situation.

There things began to look grim.  As it turned out other small towns had seemed to suffer from similar situations as of late; except in the morning the inhabitants of said towns were found dead… thus it was up to all of us to get the generator back online or… well, I would rather not think of what might have happened.

Many strange puzzles involving artifacts, killer automatons and the dead seemingly risen from the grave later – the mystery had been solved and we were saved!  We were then treated to a rousing performance by one Mr. Eli August which was subsequently interrupted by a Zeppelin’s landing, a security force storming the church where we had gathered and taking the captured zombie away.  To truly understand you simply have to go to the next one.  It’s in July.  For more information visit the Steam Century aether-web site (to your right there) or Midway Village.

Yes, looking for zombies in barns was part of it.

The next day I was honored to attend (though rather late for the tea unfortunately) the lovely abode of the Dr. and Dr. Dezoma in the hamlet of Homewood, IL.  There amongst the esteemed guests, we had wine and port, spoke of many lovely things and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.  I had missed instructional lectures on how to etch and work metal with simple things found in your kitchen, though I was assured the next tea would have a similar speaker.  I will certainly be attending the next one!

All in all it was QUITE a weekend I must say!

And I got to shoot guns.

Lastly!  Are you tired of going to Steampunk Chicago.com EVERY day only to find that it’s STILL Steampunk Chicago.com?  Well then you should check out STEAMED, especially as they have been doing “Steamapalooza” for the last week and there is a plethora of fantastic articles – including one about a certain collective of people by a certain good friend of ours (P.S. it’s HERE – thank you kindly Ms. Darville!)

Do go and check it out.  We would be honored if you did so!

Other Up-Coming Such As and So Forth-ness!

You did read the above correctly!  On Monday April 19th Lifeline Theatre is holding a benefit event where you, intrepid reader, can immerse yourself in the Floating Market of Neil Gaimen’s seminal work “Neverwhere”.  The benefit promises to have performances, vendors and event a body guard contest.  What is more?  The lovely Lisa Marie Ogle will be photographing the event and a number of other Steampunk Chicago members will be PLAYERS!  Yes, it promises to be a delightful time!  Simply visit The Lifeline Theatre’s aether-web page for more information!

On top of that, we are already looking into some extraordinary acts for our May and June Clockwork Vaudeville’s — they will only be getting bigger.  On top of that, a few members of the RL&GEMS are to be panelists at World Steam Expo in May.  And keep an eye on Quimby’s Books in Wicker Park.  It looks like we may be working with them to do a Steampunk literature spread for a month!

That should wrap it up for now!

Best,

The Lord Baron

Clockwork Vaudeville

Chicago’s First Steampunk Dance Party

Saturday March 13th
Exit Nightclub 1315 W. North Ave.
Chicago
9pm – 5am

*STARRING*
THE VARIABLE DR. N presenting the premiere of his new mind controlled, reality bending live show…

“ANACHROCOUSTICA ”

*DJs*
Adam Killing (Kill Memory Crash)
Mr. Automatic (Front 312)
Joe Vor-Tech (Resident DJ)
DJ Wyser (Custom Vibes)

Will play: Steampunk, Neo-Vaudeville, Dark Cabaret, PunkRock Blues, EBM, Industrial, Dark-Synth & More!

*Come in your best!*

$50 for Best Outfit from Bonnie & Clydes!
$50 for Best Invention from American Science & Surplus!

$3 Bombay Saffire & Kilo Kai beverages
No Cover
21+

UPDATE 03/10/10:

Photo © 2010 Lisa Marie Ogle

We are featured in Time Out Chicago this week! The lovely Lisa Marie’s photograph accompanies the text in the printed version.

In case you have not heard, someone has actually granted the Royal Ladies’ & Gentle-mens’ Experimental Madness Society a space to do an event this Saturday, March 13th (Exit Nightclub being that one someone).  For more information on that, though do RSVP on the Facebook .

The show will feature DJs, an outfit contest with a $50 gift certificate to Bonnie & Clydes and an invention contest with a $50 gift certificate to American Science & Surplus! Expect congruent birthday festivities for our friends the lovely Lady KL Kenzie, Mr. Wesley & Mr. Auto-Technical.

The highlight of this show shall be:

The Variable Dr. N and his DIY madness known as “Anachrocoustica”!

I, the Lord Baron, traveled to the obscure outpost of Knoxville, Tennessee to spend a weekend with the good Doctor drinking bourbon, watching motion pictures, engaging in nightlife culture with interesting people, hiking in the Smokey Mountains (do go if you ever get the chance) and of course, documenting his insane musical inventions.

To put it quite succinctly, you must see it in person to believe it.  Regardless, here are some pictures  of his studio/wunderkammer and the inventions that reside therein.

Here you see the studio.  In front is an antique typewriter that has been converted into a MIDI controller.  Behind and center is the Mind Control Clock & Music Box plus an array of other things I can never hope to understand.

Yes, this gentleman works by candle light on occasion.

This is what he uses as his monitor. Madness. Do pardon his kitchen, though you can see the bottles of bourbon we were polishing off.

Here is the good Doctor with his prepared cello.  Through the use of a contact microphone, a single note from this single instrument can become a veritable symphony.

This is another music box.  The two knobs control it, an out-going plug allows this instrument to makes sounds you would not believe!

What was once a typewriter is now a MIDI keyboard…

Here we have the Mind Controlled Music Box. To get a better understanding, please do see this INFORMATIVE video!

Dr. N

So with that DO join us at Exit for Clockwork Vaudeville on March 13th.  Again, if you missed the RSVP link it’s Here on the Facebook!

And for your listening enjoyment – do enjoy this piece by the good Variable Dr. N – 100% created via the “Prepared Cello”.

The Variable Dr. N – Piece for Prepared Cello

Best!

-The Lord Baron