GreyScreen

Calgary’s Kevin Stebner cultivates a love of original formats, whether he’s releasing tapes through his cassette-only label Bart Records, vinyl through its recently launched offshoot, Revolution Winter, or collecting long-forgotten films and TV shows on VHS. As such, it almost seems like a given that he would swear by classic Game Boys for his chiptune musical project, GreyScreen. So, what’s chiptune, you might ask?

“Chiptune isn’t exactly a style of music,” Stebner explains. “It basically just means music made using video game equipment or meant to sound like it’s from a video game. Many chiptune artists make dance music, but that’s not really something I’m interested in. Essentially, what I’m trying to do is make music that sounds like it was culled from a video game you’ve never heard of.”

Since launching GreyScreen in 2007, Stebner has appeared on online compilations, has released a full-length album, Permastruct, and has earned a reputation for his fiery live performances, regularly highlighted by a cover of Black Flag’s “Spray Paint.” Now, as part of this year’s Choose Yer Own festival, he’s set to share the tricks of his thumb-tapping trade with a workshop called Chip Yer Own.

On Sunday, August 8, 15 students will take part in the 90-minute workshop at the Marquee Room. Attendees will not only take home a copy of the chiptune program Little Sound DJ (LSDJ) at a highly discounted rate, but they’ll also have hands-on instruction from some of the best hands in the biz.

The only prerequisite? Bring your own Game Boy.

"Basically, my aim is to teach the class how LSDJ works while offering tips and tricks on how to make it function,” Stebner says. “Then, we’ll use the things I’ve taught to create a song together. The best way to learn is to screw around with the program, so hopefully I can teach people how to push buttons, set parameters and make it happen.”

While acknowledging like-minded artists from Toronto and Montreal, Stebner cites the overall lack of a chiptune community in Western Canada as another motivation for offering the workshop. Inspired by New York’s yearly Blip Fest event, his long-term aim is to welcome world-class talents to Calgary. But first, he’s encouraging anyone and everyone to dust off their Game Boys — and not just for an inspired round of Battletoads.

“As far as I know, I’m pretty much it for the chiptune scene in Western Canada, unless someone wants to get in touch,” Stebner says. “Let’s make it happen! I want to get people making music and trying weird things. In North America, the scene is pretty much centred on New York, but I’d love to see more artists and even the big guys from Japan come out. Maybe one day I’ll make my own Blip Fest.”

That said, Stebner still considers GreyScreen and chiptune to be little more than leisure pursuits; his primary efforts are running a pair of labels and fronting Stalwart Sons, his post-hardcore band. Nonetheless, an avid interest in vintage handheld systems makes it hard for him to put down the Game Boy.

“For whatever reason, GreyScreen has always sort of been a side project,” Stebner concludes. “It’s what I did when I didn’t have a band. Now, I have a band again, but I still do it all the time. The Game Boy is the ultimate tour instrument. When everyone is sitting in the car not talking, you can put your headphones on and create an opus.” - FFWD