Fresh on the heels of Justin Bieber’s bizarre attempt at a steampuk music video, and in the vein of such rockers as Primus and Rush, comes the news that T-Pain’s new tour and album will be, of course, steampunk.  And to be honest, I could not be more pleased.

In the wake of Bieber’s attempt at the genre there has been a lot of talk about the mainstream destroying, commandeering or taking over steampunk, but those who fear a mainstream take over, I think, are missing the point of steampunk.  It’s an inherently artisanal movement, you can’t package it and sell it as a stamped out commodity because that is so antithetical to the core of a movement that celebrates the DIY and maker ethos.

So what does this have to do with T-Pain?  Well for one, the rapper hired steampunk artist, Thin Gypsy Studios, to make him quite the microphone.  Check it out below.

Hell, I want one!  That said, the music itself is not particularly steampunk, but let’s be honest, how much “steampunk” music is?  It’s not so much a genre as a collective of musicians and artists who relate to each other under the same DIY, every-man ethos with an aesthetic that ranges somewhere between 1870 and 1930.  Looking at the pictures from the show I see a bit of this too.   More-so, I commend T-Pain for not getting (from what I can tell) over the top about it.  I think he’s used just enough.  Subtlety (or at least in terms of how live music goes) is something sorely lacking in pop acts.

Of course, I’m a bit biased.  As I pointed out in our post on Bieber’s video, I’m a promoter as well.  The bigger steampunk gets the more people are interested in it and that benefits us at Steampunk Chicago.  But doesn’t that really benefit us all?  Those few who buck at the widening interest in steampunk are welcome to hole themselves up from the rest of the world and complain that they were their first, but for the rest of us, I say we welcome performers, like T-Pain, with open arms.

When in an inventive mood of tinkering and, well, inventing, the good Rev. Cpt. and I have found that one of the great conundrums of creating a proper invention is the details, and sometimes said details can seem to be beyond one’s means.

A great example of this is the problem of wiring. When creating a device, such as say, an EMF Reader that has a separate battery pack, or an EVP Recorder that has internal wiring, what does one do (and how does one subtly promote their own inventions in a blog post?)

There are two solutions to this problem. The first, oft used by reenactors, steampunk inventors and people who just want their wiring to not look cheap, is to buy a thick shoe-lace or laundry cord and simply run the real wire through it (sometimes, as in the laundry cord, you have to take an inner cotton stuffing out.)

An example of this is the RL&GEMS EMF Reader and EVP recorders. We used this technique in each. For the EMF Reader, we had to figure out how to get the wires that connected (via alligator clips) the battery to the machine to look appropriate.  We solved this by running an actual, already plastic insulated, wire through some cloth cord.

We did the same thing with plug for the EVP Reader that is used to connect to the recording device itself to the speaker/microphone as you can see in this picture.

The problem with this technique is two fold though.  It is bulky, one, and thus only works for large wires, usually the kind you would have externally.  It is not good for small scale internal wiring.  The second is that it is a long, cumbersome, and arduous process, as will be expanded upon later.

So while wrapping wiring is a great DIY way to do things, it isn’t your only option. Sundial Wire is a great place to go for fairly inexpensive cotton and rayon coated wire. On top of that they offer a variety of gauges, colors and types. I used some of them for the wiring that connects the battery pack to the internal terminals to power the “Frequency Flux” device in the EVP Recorder.

And while it is not AS DIY to have someone else cover your wire in cloth for you, it looks better and is easier to use I find. As I mentioned earlier, wrapping your own can take up to an hour for less than a foot and is an arduous process, at least from my experiences it is.

There are other companies that offer wrapped cords. Cordinated Cables offers great looking guitar and audio cables already wrapped in stylish cloth.

And for those on the other side of the proverbial “pond” there AES offers braided cables, though it seems they are more geared toward vintage car restoration.

If anyone else happens to have a suggestion, by all means add it to the comments. Otherwise happy fabricating!

Best,
-The Lord Baron

Part of the Steampunk lifestyle and aesthetic is a do-it-yourself attitude. Constructing devices, props, mods, sewing and electrocuting — we do it all by hand.

This Saturday, see the DIY Trunk Show 2009 in the west side, showcasing art, projects and wares.

Steamy attire not required, but hopefully you might find some here!

http://www.diytrunkshow.com/

Saturday November 21, 10:00 – 17:00
Pulaski Park Auditorium
1419 W Blackhawk, Chicago

If you haven’t already, please find us at our new address: http://www.steampunkchicago.com.

- Rev Cpt Flint

Steam-Con in Seattle was where I was bound.

Steam-Con, what is there NOT to say?  Well dressed, well spoken, urbane people.  A very beautiful and inviting hotel that I left a whole three times during the entirety of my stay.  Crazy people who think they’re vampires running around the hotel at 3am.  This guy…

The first hint this would be something out of the ordinary was the dance party – I would say that it was that the Sea-Tac Marriott did not allow the mooring of airships on the roof, but I landed at Sea-Tac itself, not its Marriott.

It was most likely the first time in six years I had been to a dance party where I actually liked EVERY song they played.  It also helped that I had neither slept nor eaten properly in well over 24 hours, and that they had the best gluten-free beer I had ever had… for three dollars.

Though the details were, all in all, a little hazy, the first night also established, as any good story does, the main characters of my weekend.

Located by the dancefloor, sitting on a chair, was a gentleman with a very large and strange looking arm.

Can’t type too long here and, unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to really read up on it but what follows is a “Jules Vernian Analog Synthesizer”. Henceforth known as “wow, that’s a really kickass thing you built there buddy.”

For the full article check out the seminal blog The Steampunk Workshop.

The direct link to the article is HERE.

Enjoy!