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Blaffer Student Association to Host Red Block Bash

Minneapolis-based sound duo Beatrix*JAR to headline event

HOUSTON, Texas -- April 22, 2008 -- Blaffer Student Association (BSA), in conjunction with Blaffer Gallery, is pleased to present one of the University of Houston's hottest block parties. The Red Block Bash will take place on Thursday, April 24, in the Fine Arts Courtyard on the University of Houston's central campus, from 4 until 7 p.m. The party will feature refreshments, a scavenger hunt and live entertainment from the Minneapolis-based sound duo Beatrix*JAR. The Bash is free and open to the public.

The two individuals that make up Beatrix*JAR, Bianca Pettis (Beatrix) and Jacob Aaron Roske (JAR), tout themselves as "fuzzy sound collage" and teach circuit bending workshops. In their workshops, the pair guides students in dismantling low-voltage electronic toys to create sound art by short-circuiting the wires. No experience or instruments are necessary -- the duo will provide tools and select devices including radios, keyboards and Speak & Spells, the talking Texas Instruments educational toys first created in the 1970s to help children learn to read.

The workshops will occur at 4 and 5 p.m. With space going fast, students will need to sign up by e-mailing BSA president Laura McGrath at lauraleemcgrath@gmail.com. Following the workshops, Beatrix*JAR will perform their own sound collage at 6 p.m.

"The Bash has been immensely popular among the student body since the inception of the BSA. With Beatrix*JAR headlining the event, we're expecting one of the largest turnouts the Bash has ever seen," explained Katherine Veneman, the curator of education at Blaffer Gallery. "Beatrix*JAR has performed and led workshops at a slew of museums across the country, all to rave reviews, and we're excited to host them," she added.