The Watchmaker's Apprentice (short animated film)

The Watchmaker's Apprentice short animated film with song by the Clockwork Quartet.  They are unquestionably one of the finest Steampunk Musical groups to ever record, but have very few actual songs that I can find.  Hopefully they will bring out a few more like this!

The Watchmaker's Apprentice

See also The Doctor's Wife

The Official Website is at :  Clockwork Quartet

Description of the group members from their site reads as follows:

Hannah Ballou
The Raconteuse
Performs as cabaret artiste Lambchop Magoo, founding member of Paniclab physical theatre company, stand up comedian and educator.

Patrick Gleeson
The Conductor
Writes and records as The Darker House, has performed as actor and musician in 8 countries on 3 continents, and formerly a member of the award-winning Fitz Barbershop.

Maral Mohammadi
The Cellist
Composer, performs in Book of Play and Sound of Trevor John, and is a published poet.

Noura Sanatian
The Violinist
Member of free improvisation band Book of Play, has performed with Ayanna Witter-Johnson and the European tour of Stars Of The Lid

Nadia Walsh
The Guitarist
Singer-songwriter, studied Classical guitar with Anthony Field, former member of V.C.A. guitar quintet (winner: Athenaeum Prize 2006).

Stuart Lawson
The Bass Banjolier
Instigator of minimaximalist jazz trio Figwasp, and trained as a luthier at London Metropolitan University.

Will Segerman
The Lover + 5 String Banjo
Fine artist, prop-maker and CAD engineer.

Hugo Sheppard
The Fugitive + Accordion
Performs in Arch Stanton, House of Strange, Figwasp, and former member of To-mera.

Dr Matthew Williamson
The Doctor + Oboe
Doctor of Zoology and professional actor (trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts).

Ed Saperia
The Magician + Percussion
Creative producer of Original Content London , plays keyboard and percussion in House of Strange , and produces various other projects.

Jason Griffiths
The Scientist + Percussion
Drummer in House of Strange and The Normal Hard Building Blocks.

Emma Butterworth
The General's Wife + Viola
Writes and records as Emma Eastwood, a multi-instrumentalist singer, composer and card designer.

Ash Gardner
The Engineer
Founder of House of Strange, professional producer and sound engineer, and trained as a luthier at London Metropolitan University

“The Trials and Tribulations of Miss Tilney”

April 4th 2012

A new comic series by Dusk creator, David Doub debuting April 30!

Plucky cub reporter Henrietta Tilney sits face to face with accused mass murderer Lord Beowulf Harwood. An interview she hoped would launch her writing career soon explodes into a whirlwind of deadly adventure, taking Tilney and the mysterious Harwood across Victorian London.

David Doub is the author of acclaimed comics such as “Dusk” and “Mystery Masque” and has been a guest author at conventions across the country including Phoenix Comic Con, Animefest, and Saboten-Con. His translation of the classic penny dreadful into a suspenseful comic series is the latest offering from the author who has built a reputation for crafting fast paced and nuanced stories featuring strong and complex female lead characters.

The artist on The Trials and Tribulations is Sarah Elkins, who just recently was in Womanthology. With Joamette Gil and Danielle Alexis rounding out the amazing art team working on the comic.
More information can be found at www.duskcomics.com. If you would like to schedule an interview with Mr. Doub or receive a review copy, please contact Anthony at anthony@skiptheopeningact.com.

Recent Dusk Comic releases –

Witchhunter by Vincent Ferrante
Fullmoon Stories by Johan Hoff

Steampunked Power Chair at the Nightmare Machine!

I recently met some very interesting Steampunk Inventors while on the "Ghost Tour" (a tour of haunted buildings-real ones) in Jefferson Texas at the Nightmare Machine Steampunk and Paranormal Convention sponsored by the Steampunk Illumination Society.  I was fascinated by the powered steampunk wheelchair they had constructed and were using on the tour.  I asked if they could give me a bit of background on that project and some description of how they put it together.  Here is their description of how this Functional Steampunk Art Project came together:

Well, the chair project started last Fall, as our B&B was to be featured yet again on the Christmas Home Tours. I hadn't been on tour since before the stroke, and wanted some way to blend in with our home better. My husband Michael utilized a 100 year old Golden Oak platform rocker and managed to mount it securely to the power chassis. Now, I had admired Steampunk art for years, and in January began collecting more antique cool stuff to add to the chair. 


The first pieces we found were the old spring loaded brass candle lanterns. Michael found them on Ebay for not a lot, but the glass shades were missing. This was actually ok, as the glass would not have been road worthy with the bumps and vibration one encounters outdoors. We discovered that clear plastic baby bottles were the exact diameter needed, and sawed them off and installed. Voila! 


Next, we went through many ideas on how to mount old large gauges, and what on earth to do about the controller. I greatly admired Daniel Valdez's Dr. X chair, but wow, was that ever out of our league! So I opted to do a Tesla chair instead of steam. 

Michael assembled the black pressure tanks out of PVC, onto long pieces of allthread post, and covered the parts that showed in copper pipe. He embellished the caps with brass upholstery tacks to look like rivets. Atop the tanks, there is an antique brass altimeter mounted between a pair of star shaped lightning rod tips in bronze. The heat shield is an embossed copper plate from one of our homes old gas fireplaces, (even the house had a gift for us!) At the bottom, is an old nickel name plate that says Silver Oak, from a wood burning stove. The umbrella is a necessity in TX weather, and Michael simply made a brass coil to hold it and fastened it to the side. The controller was painted to math the old oak, and then carefully carved out to fit on one of the arms. As the finishing touch, a small plasma flatscreen was added to the top black tube, and remote switched. 


I am very pleased with how it all turned out, and we are grateful for the friendly and enthusiastic reception we got at the festival. I would love to find a way to go to the Difference Engine somehow, but travelling distances can be challenging, as we have no way to carry the chair other than manhandling its 300+ pounds into the back of our aging pickup truck. The cool VW just has ne way to carry it yet. But we might find a way. 

Steampunk Underthings

The Wearing of Underthings (via http://doctorfantastiques.com)

Psyche Corporation Coming to Dallas-Fort Worth?

I am currently negotiating with local area venues and events to bring Psyche Corporation to Texas for the first time this New Year's weekend.  Live show venues, conventions, and other options are being contacted for available dates.  A performance package is being put together with Psyche Corporation and other bands to present to each.

At this point, The Difference Engine has already tentative booked Psyche Corporation for the Headliner for their New Year's Eve one day event and other locations have expressed interest.  I will keep you informed as we get closer to the date.  The other dates on this mini-tour depend partly on Psyche Corporation and partly on the other bands we are booking with them, so more details are not yet available for release.

In the mean time, take a look at the newly released, Official International Fan Site for Psyche Corporation and remember:  The Shadow Queen Wants You!

The Shadow Court  

Steampunk Fashion Through the Eyes of Cheryl Trent

The Fashion Side of Steampunk (via http://doctorfantastiques.com)

Psyche Corporation Music Successfully Used as a Drug!

Today I was advised by my dentist that my root canal was likely to be unusually painful as the antibiotics had not fully addressed the inflammation of the gums prior to the procedure and, as such, the Novocaine was likely to be somewhat less effective.  I told him that if he could put a bite guard between my molars on the other side, so that I did not relax so much I closes the teeth on him while he was working, (or bite him by mistake) I could use deep trance hypnosis to block the pain and not need to delay the procedure.  He knew I could do this as I had used it so effectively in his office in the past that his biggest problem was me getting too relaxed and shutting my mouth while he was working.  He agreed to use a soft bite guard and try it.

Now you may not believe this, but I started listening to my favorite Psyche Corporation album, just before starting the self hypnosis, then got so into the music and the sound of our Shadow Queen's sweet voice and the singing that I forgot about everything, including the root canal.  They occasionally prompted me to get me to pull out the earphones and ask me something, or to get me to re-position something, but otherwise I was pretty much off in another realm throughout the procedure!   This is actually a true story, believe it or not.  Feel free to e-mail me if you want more details.  covenantofthekraken@yahoo.com

Disclaimer:  Psyche Corporation in no way suggests it's music is an FDA approved replacement for more orthodox pain medications, nor does it assume any responsibility for any accidents that should happen if the listener get too zoned out to our music to know what they are doing.  Also, it is already known that different test subjects react differently to different music, albums or songs, so one should not expect similar results in all cases.  Any legal inquiries should be directed to the Psyche Corporation Offices in New Eden in the year 2660 AD.  Thank you.