Official S.E.L.E.M. Thread!

[DZ]

RE: Providing sound for the event... You've got a mobile sound system? (Do some DJ work on the side, do you?)

No, no dj work here. Though my initials are DJ, thats about the extent of it. My step father owns a music shop here in Jax. Most of his amps are tube, he swears by them! I also have a buddy south of Tampa that specializes in theater sound. It would take a good sized truck to borrow his speaker cabinets though!

David

[allthatwhichis]

I have acsess to an f350 but deseil's a bitch right now... o I told crutch I wouldn't complain anymore... ops:

[buffo]

Well, how much sound do we really need? I figure a decent home stereo amp and a pair of good floor-standing speakers are enough to fill a garrage-sized room with sound. Might need a little more omph if we're trying to fill a ball room with sound, but I don't know that we want to start hauling around huge cabinets that are used for rock concerts! (Then too, the amps you need to drive those large cabinets are large, expensive, and suck lots of juice.)

As an example, Dreambeamz has a mobile DJ setup in his back bedroom of his house. It's pretty small as far as the electronics are concerned (he does have 2 fairly large speaker cabinets), but the system is *deafeningly* loud. Much more than a system like that and I fear we'll run the risk of being thrown out by whomever manages the venue...

If Dave's pal in JAX can supply an amp or two, we could probably connect a couple pairs of home stereo speakers to them and do just fine. (I'm talking your average home floor cabinet models - something with a 8-12 inch woofer, maybe a 4 inch midrange, and a small tweeter...) 4 of those will be plenty loud, and still easy enough to move. (The theater-sound cabinets would be awesome, but those things are heavy, bulky, and need some *serious* power to drive them...)

Adam

[allthatwhichis]

If all else fails I have a 550w sony home system with an extra 200 watt 12in sub... Rocks my home pretty well. I think audio wise we'll have any problems. I got 12 or 13 gigs of music incase we can't get any mixing equipment. Almost every floyd album... 8)

[buffo]

I agree that such a system would be more than adequate. I've got a good bit of music as well (in MP3 format), so I think we'll have plenty to choose from. Ok - sounds like the musical end is pretty much covered.

So, where is the best place to do this? Jax? Orlando? Somewhere in-between?

I'm thinking that smaller towns will be cheaper, but maybe someone has a connection in one of the larger cities and can snag us a deal... I don't have many contacts in Florida, so I'll abide by whatever the locals decide. If someone has a specific place in mind, SPEAK UP! About the only absolute requirements are:

1) lots of 110 V power (Absolute bare minimum of four 20-amp circuits - one for sound, one for fog, and two for lasers... more power is better!)
2) permission to operate fog machines (without setting off the fire alarm/sprinkler system!)
3) permission to operate lasers
4) permission to play loud music

While not strictly required, it would be best if the room had no windows. High ceilings are better than low ones. It might be nice to allow food and drink in the room. (alcohol?) It would also be nice if there were lodging accomodations nearby. Oh, and the cheaper, the better.

So... Does anyone know of a venue in Florida that meets the above requirements?

Adam

[Bradfo69]

Ah... such humble beginnings.

Don't ask me why I laid in bed with a cup of coffee reading an ancient "meet and greet" thread this morning. I guess that's what addicts do.


(Actually... this thread is really the beginning, I think. http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...siasts-Meeting)

[hakzaw1]

WHEW!!
I stared reading this thread w/o looking at the dates- I was?? WHAT-- Atlanta??

When did this happen???-/have we been 'banned' from Newton??

so once i regained my composure I enjoyed reading all of the posts and it was cool to see how todays SELEM began---

To those on the fence about SELEM VII 2013-,,, IF there is ANY way possible that you can attend JUST DO IT!! Go ahead and send Adam your fee and shirt size- doing that will help you to follow thru and trust me- you will be happy you attended.
if the wifey or GF objects just bring her along.. more ladies attend every year and they seem to have almost as much enjoyment as the guys do.. The HIE is nice... it has a pool and free eats in the morning and if you split a suite with another couple the lodging can be as cheap as~$25(+tax) per person per night.. full kitchen two rooms- two TVs

To get the 'full SELEM' experience I suggest that you try very hard to arrive as early on Thursday(to help set up) as possible and try to stay long enough to help with the tear down-- I practically attended almost for free by winning door prizes my first two years that were nearly equal in value to what attending cost me.

There have been AFAIK a few that had to cancel coming at the last moment.
I think buffo would mail your shirt to you and if this ever happens to me i would just let Adam keep the remaining $40 to help keep SELEM happening.

hope to meet many first-timers this year- if I can help you to do the event on the least amt of $$ please PM me--

hak

[buffo]

It is sort of interesting to look back. I remember the fiasco that was the summer of 2006. We never got SELEM off the ground that year.

The first LEM that I was involved with was early in 2007, when we held the first FLEM. Clandestiny managed to get us a free venue in Orlando for the day.

Then, in the summer of 2007, there was a *TON* of work involved in finding a venue for SELEM. Remember that early on we had considered using the NASA relay station and observatory in the Pisgah National Forrest in North Carolina. And when that fell apart, I had to really scramble to find another location.

But then I found the Newton-Conover Auditorium. (Back then it was still called the Newton-Conover Performance Place.) And of course, that first year it only cost us $500 for the weekend. (Costs have more than tripled since then.) But we had far fewer people back then too.

Memories...

Adam

[hakzaw1]

^^^^ @adam
you did good!
glad the early days of SELEM did not force you to give up--

My offer about tips to make SELEM happen for any first-timers is still good.+
There are no problems that cannot be solved- as long as you have a positive attitude and make the commitment you will be there and never want to miss another SELEM. If you are like me--- you will be itching to host your own LEM- it only takes two forum members and one laser to have one.

STEXLEM II will be in West Columbia- april 20TH- its a quicky pop-up event.
preceeded by a bro's Bday party w/ 500lbs of mudbugs( crawfish) and DJ- lasers begin at dark. PM for a map- all are welcome.
Len