Optical Atlas

Thanks to mgocze for posting on the Townhall a link to the Robbert Bobbert & the Bubble Machine video for “We R Super Heroes”:

Robert Schneider is one of the scheduled panel speakers at Australia’s music industry summit and showcase, Big Sound.  The keynote interview, facilitated by Steve Bell of Australia’s Time Off Magazine, will be held on September 11th at 4:30pm in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.  More details are here.

UPDATE: According to The Apples in Stereo MySpace blog, Robert Schneider also has a pair of performances lined up while he’s in Australia:

Saturday September 12
Sydney – Hopetoun Hotel
8pm doors / $10

416 Bourke St
Surry Hills NSW 2010, Australia
(02) 9361 5257‎

Sunday September 13
Melbourne – The Workers Club
4pm doors / $10

The Workers Club
51 Brunswick St
Fitzroy 3065 VIC
03 9415 8889

Andy Scott of Blindworm Guitars created a special “Elephant 6 Guitar” specially designed for Elephant 6 co-founder Robert Schneider. You have to check out this video. It will blow your mind.

Robert Schneider writes Optical Atlas, “It is the coolest guitar I have ever played!! The inlaid Elephant 6 logo is made of meteorite dust, and on the headstock, the elephant’s eyes are made of dinosaur bones. It feels like I am holding a living creature, and plays great– I used it at the most recent American Revolution show, and played extra psychedelic.”

Here are the complete specs (more photos of the guitar can be found here):

- Solid wood, five piece neck through construction of Walnut with Poplar stripes
- Solid Poplar body
- Osage Orange fingerboard, nut, truss rod cover, pickguard, (same family as ebony, but domestic)
- Meteorite (collected in NW Africa) inlay for side fret markers, Elephant Six logo, and Blindworm Guitars logo
- Lower elephant (upside down) is Indian, with pronounced trunk carved in the poplar body
- Upper elephant is African, and carved into Walnut, with Osage Orange tusks
- Dinosoaur bone excavated in Colorado fills in the upper elephants’ eyes and the Blindworm snake’s eyes
- Custom made Walnut and Poplar knobs and switch
- 25″ scale, 24 jumbo frets
- Cream colored Duncan P-Rails, 2 Vol. 2 Tone. 3-way selector
- Sperzel locking tuners

If that isn’t cool enough news, Robert has announced more dates as his children’s side project, Robbert Bobbert & the Bubble Machine. Bring your psychedelic kids!

Robbert Bobbert & the Bubble Machine Live:
Saturday, June 13: Children’s Day / South Street Seaport / New York, NY
Sunday, June 14: World Cafe Live / Peanut Butter And Jams
Monday, August 31: Children’s Day / Jay Pritzker Pavilion / Millennium Park / Chicago, IL

Am I overcompensating for not posting anything on Tuesday?  Perhaps. 

But I had neglected my Google Reader lately, and therefore also neglected You Ain’t No Picasso, which has put up a number of posts about of Montreal, and another post covering Robert Schneider’s appearance at Lexington’s CD Central for Record Store Day (with photos).

Regarding the of Montreal stuff, well, I just posted some videos this morning, but here’s another radio station appearance (for The Alternate Side), one which YANP turned me onto.  And it’s Kevin Barnes covering a Beatles White Album song, so it’s great.

If you’ve picked up Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine, your eye may have been snagged upon the charming artwork of Todd Webb, who has become the visualizer of the Robbert Bobbert universe (at least, until that in-development TV series rolls around): he wrote and illustrated the comic book which accompanies the album, as well as the coloring book and everything else decorating the album.  Todd has a recording project of his own, called Seamonster. On a lark a couple years back he wrote a song called “Robert Schneider’s Abacus,” then sent it along to Optical Atlas.  Floored by what I heard, I forwarded it to Robert–as it happens, on his birthday, though I didn’t know it at the time.  Robert loved the coincidence of the event; and when he sees such synchronicities, he likes to chase after them as though they were the tail of Fate.  So, upon glimpsing Todd’s wondrous comic art, he pursued him for the Robbert Bobbert project, and the results speak for themselves.  But Robert’s also a fan of the music of Seamonster; and when you hear it, it’s obvious to see why: apart from the fact that the songs are magical, they also sound like Elephant 6.  They’re psychedelic and have a lovingly handmade feel, but they also conjur a universe between the headphones–his music, like the best of E6, is a realm you can inhabit.  It should be no surprise that Robert’s welcomed Seamonster into the recently reborn E6 family.

To date Seamonster has released a full-length, The Ascension of Archibald Balloonhead (now available on iTunes), as well as the Melville-inspired White Whale EP; a seven-inch is due out soon from Gold Robot Records. In his spare time he even has another project going, under the name Fox Hands. Royal Rhino Flying Records will be releasing a Fox Hands EP, and the label included “Robert Schneider’s Abacus” in their excellent comp Build Your Army With Potatoes.

Seamonster will be playing at Elon University in Elon, NC, on April 24th, and after an Athens house show on the 26th, they’ll be playing the University of South Carolina on the 27th.

I’ve added a Seamonster track to today’s Optical Atlas Jukebox Update – the first update in over two months! Also in the mix: NEW music by The Apples in Stereo (covering Neutral Milk Hotel), A Hawk and a Hacksaw, The Music Tapes, Nesey Gallons, Casper and the Cookies, Marshmallow Coast, Madeline, and Little Fyodor, plus a sort of new (new to cassette, anyway) High Water Marks track. A feast.

Still catching up on last week’s news…

The Apples in Stereo were recently profiled for ABC News’ Amplified, and are pictured recording their new album in Lexington, KY; there’s also some discussion of Robbert Bobbert & the Bubble Machine.

Speaking of Robbert Bobbert, Robert Schneider’s new children’s album was reviewed by ABC World News here.

Oh, and in case you were wondering why Robbert Bobbert didn’t appear on Good Morning America last weekend, it’s been moved again – this time to March 8th.  Thanks to Dan Efram for the info.

It doesn’t seem that long ago when The Apples in Stereo, having scored one of the most popular tracks off the Powerpuff Girls-inspired record Heroes & Villains, appeared as animated characters themselves on the Cartoon Network show (the episode, if you want to look it up, is “Superfriends“).  Now Robert Schneider is getting re-animated as the hero of his own cartoon show, inspired by his new children’s album Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine.   The show is still in development by  Yo Gabba Gabba’s animators at Puny Entertainment, so expect more details soon, but with just a glimpse at the coloring book and comic book that both come included with the new CD, it’s easy to imagine what kind of a format it would take. Think Bill Nye the Science Guy meets Dexter’s Lab.  (And how cute is it that he uses the Elephant 6 logo on the back of the album?  It’s like “My First Elephant 6 Album.”)

As for the non-animated Robert Schneider (well, OK, he’s pretty animated anyway), you can catch him on this Monday’s webcast Amplified at ABC News’ website, which will feature exclusive footage from new Apples in Stereo recording sessions; and, as previously reported (scroll down), he’ll also be performing on ABC’s Good Morning America on Sunday, March 1st. Thanks to Dan Efram for the news.

Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine were originally scheduled to appear on Good Morning America this Sunday, but the date has been moved – now you must tune in March 1st for the mighty, mighty elephant to make his network television debut.  However, on Feb. 23 the ABC World News webcast and its music podcast Amplified will feature Robbert Bobbert coverage.  Thanks to Dan Efram for the info.