Maker Faire Rocklin 2025
Band in a Briefcase: Making a Mobile Music System
Home: California, United States
Take a backstage tour of battery-powered electronic music rigs we've played everywhere from coffeeshops to airplanes. Learn insider tips for building your own. Get hands-on with unique DIY instruments like SwineWAV, SoundBite, and Slugoscillator Pro.
https://www.batmosphere.com/briefcase
Makers
David Battino
David Battino (batmosphere.com) is the co-author of The Art of Digital Music and writes the popular “Synth Hacks” column for Waveform magazine. With his wife, Hazuki, he also self-publishes Japanese storytelling books, which they have performed at four Maker Faires.
https://www.batmosphere.com
Mark Vail
Synthesist, performer, music journalist, and author Mark Vail earned an MFA in electronic music and recording media from Mills College. He worked on the editorial staff at Keyboard magazine from 1988 to 2001, where he wrote the Vintage Synths column, reviewed scores of electronic music products, and interviewed many musicians and instrument developers. He's also authored three books: Vintage Synthesizers (1993, 2000), The Hammond Organ: Beauty in the B (1997, 2001), and The Synthesizer (2014). Mark has performed in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco International Airport, Don Buchla’s Memorial Concerts, Knobcon, Brutal Sound Effects Festival, and the Sacramento Audio Waffle.
http://markvail.comWhat Inspired You to Make This?
Ever since we worked at Keyboard 25 years ago, synth guru Mark Vail and I have met as often as possible to play and record electronic music. But we’re such gear fiends that setup was taking far too long. Then I suggested meeting in a coffee shop with only battery-powered synths that would fit in our pockets. The focus and immediacy made it one of our best jams ever, so we kept refining the concept. For a 2019 performance at Sacramento Audio Waffle, we built briefcase systems filled with esoteric synths and effects, yet still powered by batteries. While other performers took 20 minutes to set up and tear down, we just opened our lids, plugged into the P.A., and were ready to play. Beyond the practicality, we enjoy the puzzle-like aspect of creating personalized performance systems that constantly evolve.
