Philly Festival Celebrates Making Music With Old Game Boys
By Molly Daly
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Old Game Boys and obsolete computers aren't all gathering dust. Some of them are being used to create new music, which can be heard at the 8Static Chiptune Festival running through Saturday at the First Unitarian Church at 21st and Chestnut.
"Chiptune" refers to the sound chips inside old video games and microcomputers. Festival cofounder Joey Mariano says the music's made with those tiny synthesizers:
"We see that as a challenge. There's guys that will make sounds on those things that sound like professional synthesizers, and that in itself is extremely hard to do. You gotta know what you're doing when you program those things. It's not easy what we're doing."
Because of its DIY nature, chiptune's often likened to punk. But the results can be complex, and impressive.
Most of all, Mariano says, the music's fun to make and listen to:
"It's a big party with a lot of people that are very cool and are very accepting of lots of different styles of music. I would say it's good for all ages. But if you come, prepare to party."
Performances start at 7 each night.