Mr. Tamale

Mr. Tamale uses found images and sounds to create an assaultive live environment. Relying mostly on sampled sounds and found music, Mr. Tamale uses three computers to make improvised sonic collages, conjuring a sound that exists somewhere in between CNN, a dance club and a broken radio.

Mr. Tamale was formed in 1999 and has been experimenting with ambient, digital punk ever since. The three core members of the digital collective are, Alberto Miyares, Jesus Juarez and Antonio Mendoza.

Alberto Miyares: Artist and musician Alberto Miyares has been playing music since he was 13. He has played bass guitar for several bands in his native New York and his adoptive California. An expert metalworker, he has shown his sculptures extensively. He is also the spiritual advisor of the Coagula Art Journal.

Jesus Juarez: Artist and musician Jesus Juarez calls himself an enabling alchemist of images and sound. As well as Mr. Tamale, Juarez currently plays in three other bands. In the last 20 years he has played in too many bands to remember. He has also worked on music and sound for several films and theater productions. Along the way, he has mastered numerous instruments and has become an expert in divergent musical styles.

Antonio Mendoza: Though he has no musical background and is tone deaf, artist Antonio Mendoza is the third component of Mr. Tamale. Mendoza's background is that of a painter and digital artist. He has shown his paintings in California and Spain and his digital work throughout the world. His two web sites, www.mayhem.net and www.subculture.com log in more than 40,000 page impressions a day.

Equipment: Mr. Tamale uses three computers (one Macintosh G4 and two Pentiums), a MIDI keyboard, a Theremin, a Bass Guitar, a Micromoog Synthesizer, several answering machines, two video projectors, four video players and as many TVs as available.

Title: Free/Red/Tamale
Show: At Self Help Graphics