Bobbi Williams is a regular at Pittsburgh’s maker space, Assemble, and a ”performance artist supernova from the planet of Venus.” Williams, who lives in Forest Hills, is a Reiki Master and playwright. Here’s her beautiful a capella Morning Star Ringtone, which she described as a “transmission from the intergalactic planet of love.” The general vibe at Assemble is its positive energy. And that energy is clearly apparent in Part II of their tone series.

Nina Marie Barbuto is a self-described instigator, maker and learner. She also runs Assemble, a friendly art and technology space in the Penn Avenue Arts District (in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood). While taking this photograph of Nina outside the space, several neighborhood folks passed by. “Hey,” she said, “how are you? Wanna come in and make something? It’s ringtones today!”

Lulan (left) and Sara (right) work on a sign inviting people into Assemble to make ringtones

During Locally Toned’s community ringtone recording session on a Saturday afternoon, the space became enlivened by children and adults who dropped in to write, draw, build things or make ringtones. And thanks to Assemble’s hospitality, eight new Pittsburghers have contributed tones to the project.

First up is Nina Marie Barbuto’s Assem-Bell Tone. You hear this sound as soon as you walk in the door at 5125 Penn Avenue. Left behind by a former tenant, Nina chose this welcoming sound as her ringtone.

Our next ringtone-maker was Sara, a 3rd grader who loves to draw, “and I’m good at it,” she offered. Her concept was simple–the sound of Shhh! “If you are in a movie when someone calls you but you can’t answer the phone, people around you won’t know your phone is ringing. They will just think someone is shushing someone.” Here’s her sneaky Shush! Tone.

Jaden is a very literate 1st grader who likes to play on computers (and with blocks, as the evidence below will show). Here’s his, Hey, Excuse Me! Ringtone. He thought it would be funny to make a ringtone that reminds you (over and over again) to answer your phone.

The community ringtone recording session and the tone series created at Assemble were made possible by a generous grant from The Fine Foundation.

Scroll down to see more pictures from our collaboration on 11/19/2011.

Jaden and Ben Saks work with blocks at Assemble

Sign by Lulan (with Sara's help): "Seeking Local Sounds for Public Art"

Awesome drawing of a cell phone by Lulan

Wanna make a ringtone? You've gotta fill out a form!

Sara and Jaden fill out their ringtone forms

And now for the grand fanale to the Uniontown Poultry Association‘s Ringtone Series–Turkey Gobble and Turkey Call Tones–just in time for Thanksgiving!

Meet Hannah Cunnard–a friendly and knowledgable 11 year-old, a member of the Sunshine 4-H in Greensburg, PA, and a first-timer at the Fall Poultry Fair. Hannah introduced us to her poultry-contender, a Turken (Naked Neck) Chicken (above). When we invited her to make a ringtone, she escorted us to the turkey area in the poultry hall and showed us how to make a turkey gobble by clapping. Here’s Hannah’s Clap and Turkey Gobble Tone. The sound quality was so good that I couldn’t resist making this awesome Turkey Gobble Alert–a surprising sound to set on your phone for a text or picture message alert.

After visiting with Hannah, we met Ed Stanish, Jr., current President of the Uniontown Poultry Association, and a self-described “student of turkey calls.” We learned from Stanish that there are about 25 to 30 distinct turkey calls (or sounds), and that he can make just about all of  them. Raised on a farm, and having spent “every moment possible outdoors,” he learned the calls while observing and listening to turkeys over the years. Here’s his Turkey Call Alert.

Stanish explained that there are different “seasonal” turkey calls. The main gobble is produced by the female, or boss hen as she asserts her dominance. Male turkeys call during mating season to attract females. A”kee kee” call is something a momma hen uses when her flock gets scattered. “Kee kee” means “Come home, it’s safe.” One hunting technique, Stanish said, is to startle and scatter a flock, and then use the “kee kee” call to bring them back. If you’re interested in hearing more turkey calls, there’s a rich archive of wild turkey audio at the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Web site. For instance, you can hear the “Cutting of [an] Excited Hen,” which the NWTF describes as a “series of fast, loud, erratic single notes is referred to as cutting. It’s a modified cluck and is a distinct, abrupt call with a somewhat questioning nature. It can be heard at a great distance and is often used by a single turkey looking for companionship.

Sincere thanks to Hanna, her mother, and Ed Stanish, Jr. for contributing these holiday-timely and very special sounds to the project. And thanks to Scott Davidoff for assisting me on the journey to the Fayette County Fairgrounds to collect ringtones at the Uniontown Poultry Association’s Fall Show.

Saturday Nov 19, 2011 12-4pm 

Location:  Assemble, 5125 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15224-1636

Artist T. Foley brings her public art/original ringtone creation project Locally Toned to Assemble on Saturday November 19, 2011 for a Community Ringtone Recording Session.

Open to the public–come join us!

What does Pittsburgh sound like? You! Bring your robots, moo-cow toys, drums, rattles, harmonica or voice, and your super-bad self, and MAKE YOUR OWN TONE! Assemble will provide the space and minimal collaborative support for the session; the artist will provide the technical know-how and all recording equipment. Audio content must be copyright free (i.e., original compositions or sounds which exists in the natural world). Tone duration will be 30 seconds or less. Participants at this session will be photographed for possible inclusion in project exhibitions and archives. Tones will be made available to the public (as MP3s) by the end of November 2011 at www.locallytoned.org. Collaborative experiences are documented on the project Blog, and tones are pinpointed on a Google Map embedded on the tone distribution website. Funding for this Community Ringtone Recording Session has been provided by The Fine Foundation.

Assemble, a new venue in the Penn Ave Arts District, is a place where one can engage their intrigue through hands on activities about art and technology. Physical and nonphysical social and creative connections are fostered through film screenings, happenings, workshops, lectures, and community activities. assemble will activate the community with the contributions and presence of the audience and makers. With specific times for young and old makers alike, learning or making does not have to end when the work or school bell rings, it can become integrated into every aspect of life and time in the day. Founded on the concepts of sustainability, community, science, architecture, new media, and lowtech/hightech art, assemble will be a place for CREATION!

Joseph Lewendowski, pictured here holding holding one of his prize-winning birds, was one of the younger participants at this year’s Uniontown Poultry Association‘s Fall Show. When asked if he’d like to contribute a sound to the ringtone project, his answer was an energetic yes. ”Medieval bird calls,” he said, “the kind archers would use to help them ambush people when they were out fighting in the woods!”

Here’s Joseph’s striking Medieval Bird Call Tone, in which he performs two separate calls repeated throughout the 23-second track. Thanks to Joseph for his fine contribution, and his family who allowed him to participate in the project. This is the fourth in a series of six ringtones recorded live at the Uniontown Poultry Association’s Fall 2011 Show.

Meet Uniontown Poultry Association member Liesa Stiller and her champion “Mamma” goose. Mamma is an American Buff Goose, described on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy‘s (ALBC) Website as a “calm and docile” breed of goose. Well, not if a stranger puts a mic in front of them! These geese honked and hissed away for this American Buff Goose Tone, the third ringtone in the Uniontown Poultry Association Series. You can read more about Locally Toned’s visit to the Association’s Fall 2011 Poultry Show here.

I asked Liesa to tell me about her geese. “My family had Embden geese when I was a child, so when I first received my Buffs I was a little wary of them. Embdens are not at all docile–at least that was my childhood experience. But these American Buffs are true to their form and are very docile, almost playful and sweet. I’ve had them for about 2 years now. You might not think of geese as being at all curious, but they are incredibly curious. I have a bucket with little pieces of scrap wood in it, and whenever I let them near it, they will empty out the bucket and there will be little pieces of wood all over my lawn. I’ve also had to replace the bagger on my lawn mower because they nibbled the bag off the metal frame. Silly geese–but I love them.”

Thanks to Liesa Stiller and her geese for their honking good contribution to Locally Toned. Scroll down for a few more pics.

Recently I stumbled upon a notice for the Uniontown Poultry Association‘s Fall Show. Thinking it would be a great place to capture some bird sounds, I called and asked if the  the association would allow me to capture some ringtones. My contact was Krista Martin, a Washington County resident and member of the association since 2005. She gave me the low-down on the schedule for the weekend–judging on Saturday; and an auction, a visit from the UPA mascot, Big Chicken, and an awards ceremony on Sunday. I headed out to the Fayette County Fairgrounds on Saturday October 15th, with an assistant in tow, thinking it would be the quieter day of the weekend–better for capturing good audio and visiting with people.

Krista Martin holds "Bitchy" Betty, a Buff-Laced Polish chicken

THE POULTRY HALL TONE & ROOSTER CROW ALERT

The first in this six-tone series is the Uniontown Poultry Association’s Poultry Hall Tone. In it, you’ll hear roosters crowing, hens clucking, chickens scratching, and faintly, folks “speaking chicken” in the background. For good measure, I’ve prepared this Rooster Crow Alert–because who wouldn’t want a rooster to announce their incoming text or picture messages? During our visit we also picked up some great geese and turkey-gobble sounds, with the help of other Association members and/or show competitors. And we captured some lovely bird calls from a couple of fellows who are part of the association. Throughout the week, I’ll post additional tones. To read more about Krista and her chickens, and to see more pictures from our visit to the fall show, scroll down.

SPEAKING CHICKEN

Did you know there are over 60 breeds of chickens (and 175 varieties)?  Or that a hen lays an egg about every 26-28 hours? The birds in the Fall Show (and, surprise! bunnies–maybe because they supposedly taste like chicken?) were plentiful, stylish (check out Svetlana’s plumage), beautiful and soft.

Krista Martin, our guide and member of the Uniontown Poultry Association

Krista, who makes a living doing legal research, had always wanted to have chickens. “It was a family experience, and a way of life for us–my parents raised chickens and so I’ve always wanted to have them.” Her family also had a garden, and canned fruits and vegetables. “Raising your own food is a lost art–it used to be a way of life for people. But once you’ve had eggs from your own chickens, grocery store eggs just don’t compare. And I think raising chickens is better for stress than something like watching fish swim around in a tank.” Krista presently has 12 chickens, 2 roosters and 1 (Fall Poultry Show champion) turkey. “My chickens work as show birds, or as chicken ambassadors,” she said, “they’re extremely friendly.” She described the community outreach she does as magical and told us a story about taking her hen Greedy Guts to visit fourth graders. “The best part was when the hen stood there, stock-still, with her chest raised up and her legs locked – she looked kind of like a penguin – and she was looking unusually focused. The kids wondered what was wrong with Greedy Guts–she was frozen like that for a minute or so before she lowered her hind end slowly and the egg just popped out. I was surprised Ol’ Greedy laid that egg – she turns 7 years old in November. I’ve had other of my Chicken Ambassadors lay eggs at other events and it is always a big hit, even though it is unplanned.”

Krista told us that poultry shows have been around since 1849–that’s when the first one occured in the US (in Boston). “The American Poultry Association was formed in 1879, and the Uniontown Poultry Association has been in existence since the turn of the 20th Century. It formally incorporated as a nonprofit in 1928, and is one of the oldest poultry clubs in this geographic area.

During one of our conversations, Krista said, “By the way, have you ever  held a chicken?” She brought out Svetlana, a beautiful (and soft) Silver Laced Polish chicken, and showed us how to hold her.

Scott Davidoff, Locally Toned supporter and assistant, holds Svetlana, a Silver Laced Polish chicken

Svetlana's stylish headdress

The food at the Poultry Hall was delicious–we could not resist trying the chicken and dumpling soup.

The homemade chicken and dumpling soup

Snowball, Angie Hamman's "talking" Jersey Wooley rabbit (a missed "oppor-TONE-ity"--there were too many crowing roosters in the hall to be able to capture this bunny's delightfully quirky sounds)

Thanks to the members of the Uniontown Poultry Association for the lively contributions to Locally Toned.

Locally Toned wishes to thank The Fine Foundation for their generous grant in support of a brand new series of Pittsburgh Ringtones. Funding is expected by the end of this month. The new sereis of tones is already in the works!