The Xylo-Van (in LA)
A very cool project recently came to my attention– the Xylovan, an old Ford Club Wagon that has been retrofitted, retrograded, remachined and re imagined into a musical van, that allows interactive participants to bang on it and make all kinds of weird wondrous music.
The concept came about approximately 4-5 years ago, and based on their website and their recent Indie-Go-Go fundraising drive (still going on, if you’d like to contribute a couple of dollars) to give it a new engine, it is a Maker Faire / Burning Man staple.
Like lots of cool projects, this is mostly a labor of love and ingenuity.  Another interesting part is that it’s a family that has  They also bring it around to schools and other events year round in the Los Angeles area.  According to the website, thousands of people a year pick up the special mallets, and bang on the van.
If this sounds like a great project to you (and it should) feel free to donate a couple of bucks to their aforementioned Indie-Go-Go drive. Â It seems like it will be well worth it. Â (I can’t really swing it, but their musical machined aluminum amulets sound very cool as premiums for giving!)
Here’s the video of their fundraiser.