This Way to Somewhere

The Final Sound: Rush Hour Traffic

2009-03-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

When I reached the intersection of Duplainville Rd. and Lisbon Rd. I spun my arrow to determine my direction. West again! I took a left and headed down Lisbon Rd. It was rush hour on this street! Cars and trucks were zooming by, their drivers eager to return home at the end of a busy Tuesday. It was about at this point that I decided I was getting awfully cold, and started the journey back to the car.

Listen to the cars!

Here is a map of the site:

There was a really interesting intersection where the railroad crossed Lisbon Rd. Here's a photograph:

Fifth Sound: Airplane Overhead

2009-03-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

I continued to head north down Duplainville Rd., but it seemed like the further I walked the less new interesting sounds there were. Eventually I started to hear a familiar drone. I remember that while I was driving I had passed a small airport which seemed to accommodate to kinds of small airplanes that can only hold two or three people. When I heard this sound I looked up at the sky to find the source, but couldn't spot it. I like to imagine that it was one of the planes from the airport I passed.

Look up in the sky! It's a plane.

Here is a map of the site:

The rocks under my feet made a great sound while I walked. Here's a photo of the train track:

Fourth Sound: The Noisy Truck

2009-03-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

There was a lot of industrial traffic on Duplainville Rd. One semi-truck in particular was carrying a very large load on a huge flatbed covered by a tarp. Something must not have been fastened down all the way because the truck made quite a lot of racket as it barreled down the street.

Click here to hear.

This is a map of the site:

Here is a photograph of the view down Duplainville Rd. from the railroad track:

Bonus Sound!

2009-03-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend joined me on my walk so that he could get some pictures taken. Most of the time he wandered about on his own, but at one point he took a picture of me from about twenty feet away while I was siting on the edge of the track listening through my headphones. Because I was listening to what was being picked up by my microphone, I actually heard and recorded the sound of the shutter. It's neat to be able to hear something that my human ears would normally never pick up.

Listen!

This is the photograph that corresponds to the EXACT moment of that sound clip:

Third Sound: Dump Truck Backing Up

2009-03-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

I continued to walk North along the tracks, and stopped to capture the general sounds of the area. I began to realize that if I sat on the edge of the track, i could put my microphone heads on the ground to either side of me. The shelter of the metal rail surrounding the microphone helped to block the wind. There was construction on the west side of Duplainville Rd. and many bulldozers and dump trucks were moving earth into great piles. The trucks made quite a bit of commotion, especially when they backed up to dump out the gravel and dirt.

Listen to the truck backing up.

Here is a map of the site:

This is a photograph of my view (zoomed in) of the construction site from the railroad track:

Second Sound: The Mystery Chirping!

2009-03-11T12:21:00.000-07:00

After I sat by the intersection for a while I noticed a sound coming from the bushes off to my left. I walked closer to the noise and knelt down in the snow by a fence. There was some kind of creature hiding in there! Although I never caught a glimpse of it, it made a delightful kind of warble sound. Maybe someone reading this will be able to help me identify it! There was a lot of traffic and construction in area which can be heard in the background.

Listen to it here.

Here is a map of the site:

This is a photograph of the fence. Somehow that sign wasn't very intimidating:

The First Sound: Cars Driving Over the Tracks

2009-03-11T11:49:00.000-07:00

I immediately began to notice the interesting sounds around me. I walked west towards Duplainville Rd., and the first sound that caught my attention was the sound made by cars driving over the railroad tracks. I sat down between two of the tracks, held my microphones out to either side of me, and waited....

When a car finally came, this is what I heard.

This is my map of the site:

Here is a photograph from this location. It shows the east-facing view down Werey Rd. You can see my car parked on the south side of the street:

Where and When

2009-03-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

So, as stated, my drift experience began with a drive to nowhere. I chose to use this method so that I would get outside of my usual area of familiarity. I've lived in Milwaukee my entire life, and have had plenty of time to thoroughly explore the surrounding neighborhoods. I enjoy discovering new places, even if they are but 20 minutes away from home.

I chose to head out on Tuesday, February 3rd, which was a rather chilly afternoon. The drift itself began around 3:00 pm and ended around 4:00 pm.

I began by driving south, and then west. eventually I exited the highway on Moorland Rd. and continued trying to remove myself from my area of familiarity. I ended up in Duplainville, which is a small town in Waukesha, WI, about 20-30 minutes west of my home in Milwaukee.

I had been looking for a nice place to stop, but the area is littered with gated communities and other places that seemed restricted. I'm all for suffering for your art, but I don't need anybody calling the cops on me. Finally, while driving down Duplainville Rd., I spotted it. There was an intersection to the east of me and a railroad track. This is where I wanted to stop. Admittedly it's the railroad that attracted me. I've always enjoyed following the tracks, there's such an interesting aura of history about it. I turned east down Weyer Rd., parked in front of a farmhouse, and spun my arrow to begin my search for sound.
West. I was happy to be heading towards the train tracks.

Below is the master map of my drift experience, created in Google Maps.

View Larger Map

But First- Fuzz to Block the Wind

2009-03-09T16:21:00.000-07:00

Before I were to even consider striking out on my first drif experience, I needed to complete one very important task. I needed to create a windscreen for my microphone. So I went to Michael's, the nearby craft store, and searched up and down the aisles for a suitable material from which to fashion it. Ultimately I had the most success with a small bag of round, fuzzy pom-poms. To create a windscreen from them I simply placed two side by side and glued them together. I left a small space unglued and this is where I inserted the microphone. Then I taped this hole shut in order to secure them. I did this for both the right and the left receiver.

They look awfully adorable, don't you think?

My microphone was finally ready to head out into the world and capture some sounds!
Thanks to the small alligator clips which I had attached, the left and right side could be attached independently to any number of objects for easy recording.

Even Nowhere is Somewhere

2009-02-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

For my first drift, I will be utilizing one of my favorite hobbies, which I will call "driving to nowhere." This is the act of driving in a chosen direction until you find something that seems interesting, parking, getting out, and exploring. I am going to use a spinning arrow from a board game, labeled with north, south, east, and west. I will choose a direction and start driving on the freeway. When I get to an unfamiliar area I will exit the freeway, spinning the arrow every time there is a choice in direction, and following that as closely as possible until I find a good place to stop. At this point I will begin my "Drift." My start point will be my car, in an as-of-yet unknown location. I will continue to use the spinning arrow to determine the direction of my path at every possible crossroad, mapping the area that I walk through as I go along. I will simply walk for as long as I can before returning to my car and heading home. "Driving to nowhere" has always forced me to explore places that I've never been before, and has always taught me that even if it seems like the middle of nowhere, there's always something neat to discover.