Events

TECH.TONIC

with special guests...

Qbot
[Heartbeats, Pandemic, WLUW]

Andrew Solomon

+ residents

Merrick Brown
[Tektite]

Duke Shin
[Bad Advice, Inc.]

Guest Bartender: Ninjalina

Katacombs
1909 N. Lincoln
10pm-4am
21+
No cover before 11pm, $5 after

Monthly house/techno showcase Tech.Tonic moves to 3rd Fridays at Katacombs with special guests QBOT and ANDREW SOLOMON!

QBOT

Built in a lab on Jupiter, Robot DJ Qbot v.26.2 was sent here to help spread robotic music to all of Earth. She broadcasts beats along with her favorite DJs from the WLUW studios to the whole planet every Monday night, monthly at Moment Sound's Heartbeats multimedia events, and as part of the Pandemic crew. Qbot writes most of the content on the SmartBar SmartBlog, and can be found dancing in front of a speaker when not in the booth.

ANDREW SOLOMON

The town of Anston didn’t see Andrew Solomon’s approach. They didn’t see the bag of records he carried on his back or the needles at his hip or the steady rhythm to his gait. They didn’t take him as serious when he walked into their church on a dry Sunday morning and announced that, in five days’ time, a change was coming that they couldn’t ignore. They whispered rumors of an unholy madness when he walked up and down the promenade with fliers; so many damn fliers everywhere. By Wednesday, the sheets of paper that simply read ‘Dance. Friday.’ covered the timber walls of the livery and Mr. Wilcox had long-since abandoned any hopes that they’d stay untouched in the pile by the door of his general store. But, sure as a horse swats away flies with its tail, the townspeople’s curiosity got the better of them. The children asked the parents and the parents asked the pastor and the pastor said surely this cannot be good. But the seed was planted and could not be uprooted.

As the sun set its tired eyes on Friday, the good people of Anston heard a rumble in the hills. At first, they dismissed it as a distant storm. But then the cats took off toward the rumble, and then the dogs and then even the horses burst from their stables, drawn to this new sound. The townspeople followed their livestock and, as they drew closer to the hills, the rumble developed a steady, metronomic quality. And they found Andrew Solomon - this man they’d discounted as a fool - conjuring unnatural sound from great machines. And the townspeople found their livestock swaying with the rhythm alongside wild animals from the forest. Wolves and wildcats and hogs and dogs and horses and critters of all type side by side as though it came as natural as the day follows the night. And the townspeople said surely a sound that brings so many together in harmony must be good.

MERRICK BROWN

Merrick Brown has been called many things in his life but boring is not one of them. By day he is a self-taught graphic designer and by night, a bit of a music aficionado. Almost 15 years ago, Merrick stumbled into a rave and was instantly hooked on the loud frenetic beats. His first forays into DJ'ing began in 1994 with techno, jungle and all things rave. Soon after moving to Austin in 1996, he began recording and later releasing records on his own Tektite Recordings and Chalant Music. Both labels have featured an impressive roster of international artists and helped put Texas on the map with a string of timeless underground classics. Merrick was also behind a series of legendary Austin club events, featuring such acts as Jazzanova, John Tejada, Bugz in the Attic, Titonton Duvante, Charles Webster, Recloose, King Britt, and many more, exposing Texas to some fresh sounds. Merrick further refined his DJ skills playing alongside the likes of Derrick May, DJ Surgeon, Matthew Dear, Metro Area, The Hacker.. the list goes on.

Merrick played an integral role in the Texas electronic music scene, staying on the cutting edge while remaining rooted in all types of obscure, left-field and influential music of the past. He is known for DJ sets that are energetic and spontaneous, with a freeform style guided by constant crowd interaction. He shuns the purist mindset, choosing instead to weave through genres, playing from his wide-range of musical influences to create something entirely new. His excitement for music comes across when he plays along with a sense of humor that frequently wins over even the most challenging audiences.

Merrick continued making his mark on Austin with Get Broke!, the weekly club night at Plush, where he (along with residents Tyler and Wilb) created musical masterpieces out of chaos for almost 5 years. Summer 2007 saw the end of Get Broke! and the start of a new chapter for Merrick and wife Toyacoyah, as they moved to Chicago.

At age 30, with over 12 years in the industry, Merrick has no intention of slowing down. With an album in the works and plans to re-launch Tektite, he is poised to capture new audiences and satisfy dancefloors worldwide with a sound that is truly unique.

DUKE SHIN

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but what is the value of a beat? A rhythm? A melody? Chicago-based DJ Duke Shin doesn't have any of those answers for you, but what he does have is a musical arsenal of the loud and strange, gentle and nuanced, mid tempo slow burns and torrid electronic freak outs-all wrapped up in deep house love, driven with a cybernetic techno heart. And his search to answer the question in finding the value of music has lead him to DJing many clubs, bars, lounges and loft parties including favorites like Smart Bar, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the monthly Freakeasy parties in Chicago. Somewhere along the way, Duke has had the good fortune in opening for electronic dance music luminaries like M.A.N.D.Y., Seth Troxler, Holy Ghost!, Pär Grindvik and Moby, and has enjoyed playing afterparties for bands like the Dandy Warhols, TV On The Radio, Jamie Lidell and Nouvelle Vague. When he's not busy DJing, Duke also works as a music journalist, and has had countless features, reviews and interviews published in Resident Advisor, BPM Magazine, New City Chicago (where he previously served as Clubs Editor for over 2 years) and CityPages MN. With an ever-evolving sound, Duke never slows down, continuing his search for musical enlightenment while delighting (and occasionally befuddling) ardent dance floor denizens and lovers of the eclectic mix.

xx