Day 1
Posted on October 1st, 2006
Tomorrow, Monday, RAEM head out at 9am to the first sector in the cbd – bordered by Latrobe, William, Bourke and Spencer. We have scoped a number of buildings accessible but wont reveal which ones and when until 9am Monday. This website will be updated from inside the chosen elevator via mobile phone (as all posts in this blog are uploaded) with a nice photo to go with it. See you on the inside.
Elevator 1
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
The first building awaits, 565 Lonsdale st. Will we get past the guards. Time: 9.15am
Evicted
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
Well after ten minutes the bldg manager came and asked us to leave. Highly sensitive area apparently, something about dept of public prosecutions. Next bldg please.
Elevator 2
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
The CGU tower, The lonsdale st side. Time: 9.37
Joy in elevator 2
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
Success! We played for 35 mins and the punters of lift no.8 were very happy to have such a melodious start to the day.
Elevator 3
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
271 william st lift 2. Here we go!
Success in limited numbers
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
Not very busy in no.3 but we did get a very excited group that had vaguely heard of us before. A shot of coffee then its off to bourke st where a very tall building awaits
Elevator 4
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
Elevator 4 at 570 bourke st. Into the unknown, well i hope the elevators arent too speedy cos no.3 was a bit nauseating.
Please leave
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
Well after 20 mins of playing to approving punters, the nice security guard said we should get permission first and could we please leave. He didnt really know what we were doing or why he should evict us and so with a bemused smile on everyones faces we parted ways.
End of day 1
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
And now its off back to the RAEM studios for a spot of powerpack recharging and debrief of the mornings activities. A more thorough report for today will be posted this evening as well as info on where we are performing tomorrow.
Day 2
Posted on October 2nd, 2006
Tuesday 3rd, we play in sector 2 which is bordered by Bourke, William, Flinders and Spencer. This session will start around 9am and go for at least 3 hours with lunch time possibly covered. The first session (day 1) was a test flight of sorts with multiple starts and shutdown of the gear as we moved from elevator to elevator – everything worked perfectly, so now there is scope to increase the playing time. Some improvisations to the musical compositions was afforded as we adapted to our unusual performance environment and in some cases responded to the audience. As this project progresses we will be adjusting various aspects and adding a few new techniques as we gain experiences, such as the “dignified” eviction from THE VERY FIRST ELEVATOR. See you on the inside.
Elevator 5
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
Elevator 5 at 601 bourke st, lets see what happens. Time: 930am
Happy little elevator
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
Another happy elevator. We did get scoped by the tennants supervisor though, seems every building will have its jobsworth that just HAS to call management. This super was happy enough for us to play, just not for too long. Good reactions from the punters but now its off to elevator 6
Denied
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
Ah, good security at front desk, no entry for us. Heading up collins st now
Long way to the top
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
The rialto! We are ready for fast elevators
We are in
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
Great elevator! Not many punters though but my ears keep popping as we drop from floor 37 to the ground.
Elevator 7 awaits
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
A quick caffeine hit and then we infiltrate the stock exchange. Ah i can smell the grubby little fingers full of dosh from here. Maybe our tranquil melodies will cause a lull in trading…
Happiness is achieved
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
Amber from SBS journeyed with us in the ASX elevator and did a vox pop on some of our punters. Good times! This is the last performance for today, more tomorrow.
Elevator of the day
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
And now back at RAEM studios for recharging and debrief. Elevator 5 was small but ear poppingly quick and a good flow of punters reacted favourably to our presence. The visit from the bldg super was good natured, apparently he fielded a few calls from people in the bldg regarding us and he wanted to find out how long we would be in the elevator. Not long, for we have many elevators to visit. After this we went to 555 bourke st but a quick scan of the foyer revealed a “all visitors report to reception” sign and even though ordinarily we would casually saunter past, this time the desk was placed in the prime intercept location. So off we went to the rialto for a spot of altitude. A very large elevator that travelled smoothly and fast however, being that we were in an elevator called Lift no. 30 its hardly surprising that not many punters crossed our path. So we moved to the stock exchange building where an SBS journo managed to track us down. This elevator gets Elevator of the Day for its good size, nice stylish interior, a tv with the news, wonderful accoustics and smooth, fast motion. Good reactions from the punters including one woman who thought we were having her on. Later on she called our elevator to her floor and proceeded to dance in front of her collegues. Happy worker music.
Day 3
Posted on October 3rd, 2006
Wednesday 4th, sector 3, bordered by La Trobe, Elizabeth, Bourke and William. Might be upgrading some of the kit tonight to add to the whole in-elevator experience. There are upgrades that are planned for the kit but their incorporation depends on how the existing set up handles the rigours of boarding multiple elevators. Start time tomorrow is 9am, see you on the inside.
Elevator 8
Posted on October 4th, 2006
190 queen st has an elevator in need of repair. 930am
All quiet in 8
Posted on October 4th, 2006
Not much punter action here, everyone seems to be working in this building. So lets find the next elevator please.
Elevator 9
Posted on October 4th, 2006
472 bourke st. Equity chambers.
Busy people
Posted on October 4th, 2006
Beautiful elevator, only passing traffic seemed to be messengers. Well they enjoyed their journey. Off to lonsdale st.
Elevator ten
Posted on October 4th, 2006
A shot of coffee from the conveniently placed cafe and then its into elevator ten at 456 lonsdale st.
Joy in ten
Posted on October 4th, 2006
A good steady flow of smiling punters marks the close of another successful morning spreading musical joy in elevators. Decor wasnt too flash in number ten but the happy punters made up for that.
Elevator of the Day
Posted on October 4th, 2006
Number 9 at the Equity Chambers gets todays Elevator of the Day award for its olde world charm, wooden interior, iron vents allowing views of the lift shaft, plush carpet, great lighting for performances and an aura of gentlemanliness. Only 4 floors served but served with grace. The few people that didnt take the stairs in this building were pleasantly surprised by our appearance and commented approvingly. After 3 days of performing it appears that the median size for a punter-a-plenty building is about 12 stories high, smaller and theres too little traffic and taller tends to mean more elevators with express zones as well.
Day 4
Posted on October 4th, 2006
Thursday 5th, sector 4, bordered by Bourke, Elizabeth, Flinders and William. And this time we are going to try and play till the powerpack is depleted as we have about 8 buildings scoped out for tomorrows excursion, see you on the inside.
Elevator 11
Posted on October 5th, 2006
A new day, a new elevator. We off to 385 bourke st.
Evicted
Posted on October 5th, 2006
A few tech hiccups then a punter slash jobsworth informed the bldg super and thus starts the process of what, why and who. No dramas though and not enough punters too.
Elevator 12
Posted on October 5th, 2006
And our next opportunity awaits- 303 Collins St
Happy number 12
Posted on October 5th, 2006
A nice odd shaped elevator, gaps of no punters followed by full with happy audience. A full set played, now for coffee then 367 collins
What number
Posted on October 5th, 2006
Cant keep count. This will be elevator 13. Yes, the lucky number if ya dig that sort of thing.
Evicted from 13
Posted on October 5th, 2006
After 30 mins playing the bldg guard came dashing into our elevator, no playing music thank you. We did get a many happy punter though. And apparently Gary from security rang and left a message on the RAEM phone, well that will get mp3ed into the archives. Off to another bldg in collins st. The phone message mp3 is now in the Audio section of the website.
Evicted from 14
Posted on October 5th, 2006
333 collins st, dark elevators, happy punters, played for 30 mins then had a nice guard tell us to leave and get permission from the concierge. And then an officious guard dashed in to make sure we were leaving. It seems 99% enjoy the idea and management dont. Oh well, back to RAEM studios.
Elevator of the Day
Posted on October 5th, 2006
Well an interesting day of more evictions than Big Brother but good reactions from most punters in the citys financial district . All the buildings today were 30+ floors and had express sections but we managed to get a good number of reactions. Now by no means the best encountered, the elevator at 303 Collins, the IOOF Centre, was an unusual wedge shape, had reasonable lighting and average accoustics. The “lift lobby” was circular hence the elevators on the perimeter were the shape of a segmented circle. So another day of elevator action ends with a bit of excitement and some modifications to be done to the gear ready for tomorrow.
Day 5
Posted on October 5th, 2006
Friday 6th, sector 5, bordered by LaTrobe, Russell, Bourke and Elizabeth. Now we are heading into the part on the map coloured with “shopping centres” or otherwise known as the central activities district where one can shop, do stuff and, well, shop. It just so happens that my favourite bar is in this sector (no we wont be popping in for a wee dram) and the site of our old studio where the City Frequencies Project was created. Ahh the memories…anyway, some unusual elevators are fit for visiting tomorrow so see you on the inside. (getting sick of the poxy sign off? You stay classy Melbourne)
Elevator 15
Posted on October 6th, 2006
A new day that holds such promise of…well, a bit of cloak and dagger. Yes an inside source gave us the skinny on the evasion techniques necessary to gain elevator access at 360 Elizabeth. And yes, i am exaggerating somewhat.
Evicted from 15
Posted on October 6th, 2006
Well nearly a full set played to full houses, as it were. Nice shiny elevator too. But of course an amped security guard had to ask if we had permission, no, you have to leave. Off to lonsdale st now.
Elevator 16
Posted on October 6th, 2006
The next possible office in need of music, 250 elizabeth
Ooops
Posted on October 6th, 2006
Apartments! Shoulda reconed, oh well, off to bourke and lt bourke now
Number 16 with a twist
Posted on October 6th, 2006
A quick shot of coffee then its off to the Sensis bldg in lonsdale st where we will deviate from the project criteria and speak to security first re an appointment with one of our contacts that works there. So our entry will be authorised (visitor pass?) but we still will just be playing music in their elevator.
Unusual success in elevator 16
Posted on October 6th, 2006
And so a quasi sanctioned performance lasted the full set then some with everyone expressing great joy towards our antics. Even though there was a camera in the lift there was no visit from management so perhaps infiltration leads to immunity?
Show me your papers
Posted on October 6th, 2006
This is what we had to get passed for elevator 16: the dreaded cattle gate! But never fear, we had a pass each. Except mine didnt work so the guard had to let me through.
These are not your papers
Posted on October 6th, 2006
The pass swipe card thing. 668 – the neighbour of the beast. Gained us access to quite a nice elevator. But now its back to the studio for a debrief, repairs and lunch.
Elevator of the Day
Posted on October 6th, 2006
And this would be a photo of the first visitor of the day. Kinda gives you the idea of the blank pauses we get when the doors first open. Priceless. But back to the elevator (number 15), it had a shiny wall of some sort of etched pattern of a circuit board, quite low moody lighting, tv screens that show the same syndicated news we noticed in other elevators and of course swipe card access. Yes i know we only went to one other elevator today but we were in the retail sector so the pickings were slim with a lot of schlepping in between. Going to spend this weekend doing upgrades to the gear and getting the old land legs back as over the last couple of days we have noticed that gentle swaying, seasickness sensation. Might go have a lie down now.
Time for upgrades
Posted on October 7th, 2006
Conducting a quick service of the Black Box that houses the mixer, amp and power buses and then want to add a second line out from the mixer to plug in a minidisc recorder. This will record just the music because as we spend time in elevators we are improvising and experimenting with the sounds so it would be good to have a record of this.
Our iron chef at work
Posted on October 7th, 2006
RAEM takes a break from the glamour of elevator performances to enjoy a bbq and reflect upon our endeavours. Updates to the gear going well and more reports about this first week to be upped tomorrow.
New features
Posted on October 8th, 2006
Part of the upgrade is visible in the form of the orange wires that take the audio from the mixer and send it to a socket where the minidisc plugs in. Will conduct some tests today and then add a coat of paint to the front panel.
Record Out
Posted on October 8th, 2006
Testing of the new recording feature of the mixer goes well. The levels into the minidisc are a tad low but the signal is clean which will mean we can record an entire set, with no evictions of course. Now going to give the gear a bit of a workout until the powerpack depletes – a hoot of a sunday!
Day 6
Posted on October 8th, 2006
Monday 9th, sector 6, bordered by Bourke, Russell, Flinders and Elizabeth. The forecast tomorrow according to the BOM is shower or two in the morning which means we dont like mondays, as im sure a fair few office workers dont either. We will be in the entertainment quarter (of course no one calls it that) where you can also find the finest coffee houses and also another journo will be visiting with the promise of buying us a coffee so i reckon we might be hanging around Degraves a bit. This second week earns a new sign off – onwards and upwards!
Elevator 17
Posted on October 9th, 2006
Here we are bleary eyed at 226 collins, manchester unity bldg. Where are the elevators…
Server down
Posted on October 9th, 2006
Well it seems that the three server isn’t taking any of my email uploads, so the whole morning of posts from the elevators (5 posts) haven’t come through yet. So here I am back at the studios sending this via the web interface. It was a pretty quiet day anyway, with only a few punters in each of the three elevators we got into. As the server appears to be down, we have shortened today’s performances but hopefully everything is back to normal ready for tomorrow.
Success in 17
Posted on October 9th, 2006
Ahh the parquet panels of the Man U bldg, no mirrors though. Made up for the lack of punters and general monday morning malaise. A full set played and recorded, hopefully it sounds good enough to make releases from, ya know CC mp3s up on the website – a hit rekkid in the making.
Elevator 18
Posted on October 9th, 2006
227 collins awaits a performance.
Success again
Posted on October 9th, 2006
With a journo onboard we played a full set to not too many punters. Off to another bldg.
Elevator 19
Posted on October 9th, 2006
The nicholas bldg. More classy elevators. I think 3s mail server is on the fritz so none of these posts might be getting uploaded.
Success in 19
Posted on October 9th, 2006
This is the automatic lift in the nicholas bldg, the other two have operators and not much room but a great chat with Joan, one of the drivers. A few punters had even heard of us and had a giggle that we ventured into their building.
Elevator of the Day
Posted on October 9th, 2006
Well its the one next to this one. This here is Joan who drives the elevator behind her thats full of photos and furniture, hence our playing in the driverless one. The other driver in the other elevator is called Dimitri and we had the intention of playing to him but his elevator never came back down to the ground, which might be considered characteristic as we were told we should talk to him about UFOs. Back to the elevator, the inner door opened automagically but the outer door had to be opened manually by the passenger and the only indication of what floor you were on was a painted number visible through the door window. So elevator 19 in the Nicholas Building wins our approval.
Didnt Bob Geldof sing about this?
Posted on October 9th, 2006
Today didnt go terribly well for various reasons, one of which was the loss of email contact with the server which it seems can be traced to a mobile phone comm error that was fixed with the tried and true IT troubleshooting solution of turning it off then on again. Bless. Another thing about today was the low level of punter traffic though those who came aboard that didnt have Mondayitis were jovial and indeed, those in the nicholas knew of RAEM. But all the tech problems are fixed and the gear works well aaand we got a good 41:15 minutes recording of the set (the pic is the wave file) to upload to the site unless of course we play even better tomorrow in which case you can download it from itunes, natch.
Day 7
Posted on October 9th, 2006
Tuesday 10th, sector 7, bordered by LaTrobe, Spring, Bourke and Russell. This would be the land of governmental buildings, tall residences and places of entertainments. This would also be a long schlepp up the hill but at least Pellegrinis is at the top for coffee and lasagna….mmmm coffee. So as any other devil-may-care flying fool would say, its onwards and upwards. Up a hill in this case
Elevator 20
Posted on October 10th, 2006
150 lonsdale looks promising. And so does the security desk.
Evicted in 20
Posted on October 10th, 2006
A great set played to appreciative and largely happier for it punters. Just nearing the end of the set and a jovial guard paid us a visit with a “someone said a guy was playing a piano in the lift and i thought how did they get a piano in the lift.” Now its off to the land of the guv.
Elevator 21 at casselden place
Posted on October 10th, 2006
And nearly a full set played before 2 guards came and said we had better come with them to the Control Room. A mirror window double swipe doors room awaited where Noel gave us the rundown on getting permission and being processed through their system. Thats not for us however, so its onto the next elevator.
Evicted from 22
Posted on October 10th, 2006
Aaaaand evicted. Three in total today, good times! This one had a very keen young guard emphatically tell us we had to leave as this was not public property. Not a very busy elevator but we got a giggle out of the punters and i really liked the mirror doors (where do i look!) but especially i lurved the buttons doing the whole duplo design thing – check the pic and revel in the tactile loveliness.
Elevator 22
Posted on October 10th, 2006
And of course this was where elevator 22 was located, a non descript office bldg where we sauntered past the guard. No wonder he was a bit keen.
Elevator of the Day
Posted on October 10th, 2006
And here it is located at 215 Spring St, the last of our grand day of evictions, elevator 22. Apart from the buttons, which i luv, it had the best accoustics of the day as the previous two needed a fair bit of on the fly mixing to get the audio levels acceptable. Today also saw a good range of guard reaction from the comical, the professional and the harried. Plus we got to play nearly full sets every time and get a nice bout of Elevator Sickness too, poor land lubbers that we are.
Travel past your floor
Posted on October 10th, 2006
This here is the trusty little minidisc recorder that we use to record the music that we perform live in the elevators, all our own compositions especially crafted for the unique listening environment that is the humble elevator. For those without elevators or those who havent yet been pleasantly surprised by our appearance within earshot, then allow us to present an mp3 of a 41 minute set recorded live in elevator 17 at the Manchester Unity building. This recording was made straight from the mixer so there is no editing or dj-like transitions between tracks (songs, if ya old school) so you now have the opportunity to download to ya fave player and ride elevators till ya giddy. And where is the file? In the audio section of course! I coulda typed the link here using the mobile phone keypad but that woulda taken ages, probably about as long as it took to type this sentence. With my thumb.
Day 8
Posted on October 10th, 2006
Wednesday 11th, sector 8, bordered by Bourke, Spring, Flinders and Russell. This is the last of our grid based areas to perform within. The final 2 days of our Fringe Festival excursions will see us roaming seemingly at random about the whole city for morning AND afternoon elevator madness as we take a trip up and down memory lane in some of our favourite elevators, some we missed out on and even some located on the fringe of the cbd. So, we might be up for requests if you leave a comment or email us. Tomorrows session promises to be busy with a number of elevators recon’d by us and some requests as well, up there, in the Paris end of Collins st, so onwards and upwards my fellow elevateur.
Elevator 23
Posted on October 11th, 2006
And a fine windy morning finds the lads from RAEM schleppin towards 120 collins for a bit of hot elevator action.
Snorefest in 23
Posted on October 11th, 2006
Not a terribly fun time as there werent many punters, so we rushed the set and now we off to number 24
Elevator 24
Posted on October 11th, 2006
Heres a nice bldg known for sponsoring artistic endeavours, 101 collins. Lets see how we go.
Success in 24
Posted on October 11th, 2006
A nicely lit and smooth elevator, zen inspired interior and even braille on the buttons. Yes 101 collins is all class and we played a full set to not too many people but one gent knew us immediately to be “ahh Fringe boys” to which we replied, “…yes”. It seems the mobile phone is playing up again, damn you RAZR if that really is your name, so we havin a cup o joe while i try and get it working. Then its off to the Reserve Bank bldg.
From the inside
Posted on October 11th, 2006
This is us in the dark confines of lift no 4, or as we prefer elevator 25
Evicted from 25
Posted on October 11th, 2006
By an armed guard of course. Though after the first few minutes all the guards buzzed us on the ground floor with bewildered chuckles. Then 30 minutes later the guard that evicted us seemed surprised that we would stroll past a security desk full of armed guards. That and he gave verbal instructions to the elevator to “go to manual control” by talking to the door. These guys are hardcore. Apparently the bldg manager rang them up and demanded action. Otherwise, it was a reasonably busy elevator with mainly happy reactions from the punters.
Elevator of the Day
Posted on October 11th, 2006
And if you think that the columns that dont reach the crossbeam they’re meant to support is impressive, you should see the foyer. Lots of monumental corporate art of hidden analogies and questioning the pastiche of modern socialogical juxtapositions encountered – or, how Joe Public doesnt like commuting to work. Or am i just making this up? Anyhoo, as you can tell by the photo taken in elevator 24, it had class, a design, didnt feel like the inside of a mausoleum like the Reserve Bank elevator, it was smooth, didnt reject (evict) us and the punters were lovely. Although the sheer novelty gotten from the reserve bank building with its armed guards, tongue-in-cheek directions to the GOLD VAULT from a punter, initial gaining the guards approval and the creepy elevator-from-the-crypt atmosphere was an experience, it was far too odd to be memorably pleasant. So a big hand for todays unarmed and pleasant winner. Whats the phrase? Mostly harmless?
Dont go here
Posted on October 11th, 2006
Well i never, i have upped the same photo twice! So heres the Reserve Bank of Australia building. Like i said in the title, don’t go here. Especially with cases full of music gear that are for playing music in their elevators. They got guns and, when not giggling, they be having serious expressions on their faces.
Day 9
Posted on October 12th, 2006
Thursday 12th. North by northwest. Not just a great film but also our general whereabouts in relation to the GPO as we roam about looking for elevators of opportunity. We have the lowdown on some prime locations just outside the CBD and there are a few we scoped on previous excursions. And this time we really will try for an extended duration excursion hunting down elevators, with the usual 3 hour morning session followed by a break then an afternoon session of about 2 hours. Lots of walking in lots of degrees, so if you want to bring us iced coffee we really will love you for ever and ever.
Elevator 26
Posted on October 12th, 2006
Off we go into the heat, up to 350 queen st.
Evicted from 26
Posted on October 12th, 2006
Well that was dramatic. There we were happily playing in relative darkness at floor 26 when the elevator starts beeping and goes to auto. Yes, we have been summoned by the guard on the ground floor. We played only 2 tracks into our set too. Now off to the AWB apparently.
Evicted from 27
Posted on October 12th, 2006
Well not the AWB building but the one next door, 390 lonsdale. Great response from about 99 percent of the large number of punters we got but that one percent did the old ring the bldg manager who then appeared and gave us the speil. And he hadnt even heard of the Fringe Festival! Outrageous! Nearly full set played too. Oh and the pic is of the elevator upgrade announcement, much more interesting than the present interior. Coffee then onwards.
Elevator 28
Posted on October 12th, 2006
Somewhere in here, corner bourke and william
Evicted from 28
Posted on October 12th, 2006
About half the set played before a very serious lady gave us the orders as a proxy to the owner. Small and seemingly unsafe elevator too. Off to land of lawyers.
Success in 29
Posted on October 12th, 2006
Theres a mirror on the ceiling of the elevator in the Owen Dixon Chambers West…and we played a full set to quite the bunch of wags. And wigs, as it were. Yes the legal types are very witty but the elevator had this habit of returning to the ground floor and letting the doors stay open for a long time, suggestively. Lunch break then out looking for number 30.
Lets do lunch
Posted on October 12th, 2006
A high flying executives lunch with an Argentinian beer is enjoyed by RAEM while we ponder our next move. The mobile is playing up again, seems it gets its own version of elevator sickness maybe due to the no signal when we perform, so it chucks a tanty. Reboot.
Elevator 30
Posted on October 12th, 2006
This time we will attempt to walk past the guards desk at 555 collins st
Denied access
Posted on October 12th, 2006
And this is what we are shown. Next bldg, perhaps 595 collins
Elevator 30 again
Posted on October 12th, 2006
And here it is. Lotsa building work being done on the elevators. 505 lt collins.
Success in 30
Posted on October 12th, 2006
A small elevator but one of only two working so we had a good audience. Lotsa happiness except that one percent, but this one was just silent, no dobbing. Then the power pack bus A started dropping voltage, so we had to finish just prior to completing the set. Still, no eviction for us here, just melting in the heat and our cheap suits.
Elevator of the Day
Posted on October 12th, 2006
Yes the Owen Dixon Chambers wins, m’lud, for good accoustics, clean design, novelty mirrored ceiling and the high calibre of wit from the punters. And we got to play a full set, largely with the doors open, and the foyer was noice too, with its portraits of legal types from the glory days. So a full day of roaming around the west end of the city, going into new buildings, getting barred from some old ones and we hit the project target of 30 elevators today meaning tomorrows excursion will be all extras, down at the east end of town.
Day 10
Posted on October 13th, 2006
Friday 13th. East. Its the anti-penultimate day of our Fringe Festival tour of CBD elevators and what an eerie date to end upon. We do have some recon’d and some requested elevators to perform in, all located up that bloody hill again and the BOM reckons on 30 degrees so we might work up a sweat. The plan is to perform for a couple of hours in the morning, break for lunch then catch one or two more elevators before the power pack runs out sometime in the afternoon. So its one last huzzah before tea.
To elevator 31 we march
Posted on October 13th, 2006
On foot we head now to 1 nicholson st. Up past sites of our victories and our heroic failures. We might pause to lay a wreath, sing that song the diggers used to sing – “Je Suis Le Elevateuriste, Et Vous?”
Evicted from 31
Posted on October 13th, 2006
Yes and nearly a full set too. Happiness from the 99 percent again but someone informed the bldg manager. He made the elevator beep incessantly out of time and in the wrong key to what we were playing. We had to leave. Next!
Up to 32
Posted on October 13th, 2006
A quick coffee then its to the heights of bankrupcy – nauru house.
Success in 32
Posted on October 13th, 2006
This the outside cos in all the excitement i forgot to take a photo. Happiness from all and stories about how the elevator we were in keeps breaking down. Funny people. Coffee then 32.
Elevator 33
Posted on October 13th, 2006
ANZ tower. Elevator. Hmmmm.
Success in 33
Posted on October 13th, 2006
And much merriment from within a quick and shakey elevator. Full houses though and rightfully so as only 2 elevators served the 18 to 30 floors. And now its time for lunch and then onwards to elevator land.
Elevator 34
Posted on October 13th, 2006
Our not so executive lunch finished, its off we go to buzz the Fringe Info booth at Fed Sq.
Slight detour
Posted on October 13th, 2006
Just spending a moment to pay the gas bill and then its off to Fed Square. Reckon on the power pack lasting long enough for one last set. So many buildings and their elevators will never know what its like to have live music in them….
34 was eerie
Posted on October 13th, 2006
The stylish yet under used elevator at ACMI where we played a short set to a friend. Looking for another elevator now.
Elevator 35
Posted on October 13th, 2006
Going to see how the old HWT building is after its refit for ernst and young. Just noticed the last posts are all over the shop, must be a friday thing. And an elevator thing too probably.
The real elevator 35
Posted on October 13th, 2006
1 Spring St, diggin the curvy building shape. This is the front door. We know of a side door.
The last eviction, elevator 35
Posted on October 13th, 2006
The gloomy marble interior where we played to a group that stayed in the elevator with us having one of those friday larks – cheers to you! After half the set played a cheery Brian Eno fan dressed as a guard dramatically thrust his arm between the closing doors and thus ended that ride and this Fringe project.
The last act
Posted on October 13th, 2006
So as we walk down easy street heading for the studio then to a bar, the sun sets on a city a little less mean, a little more jovial. All thanks to some Random Acts of Elevator Music. Stay tuned though cos we got audio and video taken from inside various elevators around the cbd to be upped to the site over the next couple of days. A big thanks to all the people that happily experienced RAEM during their elevator journey, a big “for shame” to all the jobsworths that dobbed us in and a hearty handshake to all the building guards – job well done lads, bet you don’t get this sort of thing every day.
I spy with my little webcam
Posted on October 15th, 2006
The pic is of the Black Box specially constructed to sit inside the briefcase lid. It houses the mixer, speakers and amplifier. After the first week of performances it got upgraded with a webcam (the hole for the lens is visible on the mid left) and an audio bus to record either the music from the mixer or the microphone attached underneath the briefcase. The vids will take some days to edit and sync up but they will eventually end up in the new Video section of the site. The first video upped is from elevator 26 where, if you cast your minds back, the elevator got auto’d to the ground floor by the guard after only several minutes of us setting up. Its largely of the dark, cos it was dark, but the lobbies were bright and the mic picked up all the strange sounds made in that eerie elevator. See if you can spot the snitch. Now, though, tis nearing the time for the Fringe closing party.
Video updates
Posted on October 20th, 2006
This here is a pic of the tripod and the wee little microphone velcroed to it that was used to get recordings of the elevator interiors as we journeyed up and down, so the sound has lots of low hums and rumbles generated by the machinery. The music we performed is at a low level due to the placement of the mic below the briefcase housing the speakers and because the point of recording was to capture peoples reactions and comments. Currently upped are 5 moments of eviction videos, an entire journey by us (4 parts) in elevator 33 which was busy and had a “fridee arvo” vibe and finally a video from elevator 22 where you can see us in the mirrored doors. For some reason i didnt record the audio in there so i added the music recorded from elevator 17 and broke it up into 3 parts, the last one being more interesting as it has the eviction. Well thats a whole day spent rendering but theres still more to come including a Highlights of Elevator Wit and some reports of our experiences.
Elevator of the Day – belated
Posted on October 21st, 2006
And i forgot to add the last days winner. A close call but it ended up being elevator 31 in the orica bldg, mainly cos we got to play nearly a full set till the bldg super and the jobsworth (check the evict video) ended it. Good reactions from the punters including a group that were also doing a fringe show in the evenings. There will soon be a decision on the Elevator of the Year! Updates to the video section are trickling in too.
Recording session
Posted on October 29th, 2006
Today we are in the studio recording the tracks we played in the elevators to create an album length release. All the tracks are being recorded live to maintain that in-elevator vibe, though we do have a bit more room here.
Elevator Response
Posted on April 14th, 2009
Here is the table of our overall responses from each elevator measured in Full Set, Half Set and Evicted, where Full Set means playing the full 40+ minutes set, Half Set means we abandoned the elevator through low audience numbers (ie few audience for 20 minutes and the elevator going to “park”) and Evicted which means we got asked by someone (in authority or not) to leave, usually after playing for at least ten minutes.
Day || No. || Response
1 || 1 || Evicted
1 || 2 || Full Set
1 || 3 || Full Set
1 || 4 || Evicted
———————
2 || 5 || Full Set
2 || 6 || Full Set
2 || 7 || Full Set
———————
3 || 8 || Half Set
3 || 9 || Half Set
3 || 10 || Full Set
———————
4 || 11 || Evicted
4 || 12 || Full Set
4 || 13 || Evicted
4 || 14 || Evicted
———————
5 || 15 || Evicted
5 || 16 || Full Set
=============
6 || 17 || Full Set
6 || 18 || Full Set
6 || 19 || Full Set
———————
7 || 20 || Evicted
7 || 21 || Evicted
7 || 22 || Evicted
———————
8 || 23 || Half Set
8 || 24 || Full Set
8 || 25 || Evicted
———————
9 || 26 || Evicted
9 || 27 || Evicted
9 || 28 || Evicted
9 || 29 || Full Set
9 || 30 || Full Set
———————-
10 || 31 || Evicted
10 || 32 || Full Set
10 || 33 || Full Set
10 || 34 || Half Set
10 || 35 || Evicted
==============
==============
Totals :
Full Set : 16
Half Set : 4
Evicted : 15
Audience Response
Posted on April 14th, 2009
So, we’ve been compiling a few statistics on the numbers of people that happened upon the elevators we played in during the Fringe Festival. For one of the better elevators documented (elevator 33) we found that over the 40 minutes playing time we had 96 people crammed into our elevator, not all at once obviously.
Given that we had 16 elevators where we played our full set of 40 minutes and didn’t feel the need to abandon due to low audience numbers, we can use some “interesting” mathematics to reach the conclusion that we played to over
1536 people, not including those that we reached before evictions, etc.
The audience can be be considered a captured one in that the “auditoriums” were only several cubic metres in size and more often than not we had people watching us and not the floor numbers counting up or down as we journeyed. As such we also experienced more interaction with our audience when they inevitably asked us who we are, what are we doing and why are we doing it. Comments about the music styles and the change to the elevator environment our presence made regularly followed that exchange of formal pleasantries.
We also discovered the existence of what we called the “jobsworth”, whom became apparent when an eviction by a security guard or building management representative took place with aforementioned jobsworth, or snitch, grass, snout, dobber, etc, standing next to said guard and pointing to us before skulking away to its lair… I mean office. Others weren’t so keen to point us out and merely rang the building supervisors to inform them of our “intrusion” and that they should do something about it. This we found out by the guard telling us that they had received a phone call and had to do something about it, usually with a “what the…” bemused look on their face. A few guards, however, were a bit more over zealous with their enthusiasm for eviction possibly due to the relative boredom of the average work day and the moral ambiguity that each would struggle with when faced with our performance.
Several of the audience members had heard of us prior to our performances through advertising in print and radio arranged by the Fringe Festival and us. This website also served to allow people to follow our progress across this great city of ours because each step was documented by a photo and a few sentences that were uploaded here “live from the field”, as we say in journalism, using a mobile phone that could send email and a php parser script.
onwards to the
build of 2009
