Karen Stackpole is an audio engineer, educator, writer, and drummer/percussionist who specializes in gongs. Since 1991, she has incorporated gongs into her life and music and has cultivated some distinctive techniques for drawing harmonics out of tam tams with various implements. She specializes in dynamic soundscapes and textures and is active in the experimental music scene, and also contributes gong sounds to more conventional musical genres including source material for film soundtracks. Over the years she has delved deeply into the vibrational healing powers of gongs, which are tremendous vehicles of transcendence and alignment. Her latest endeavor, Machine Shop: Live Amplified Gong Experience, is a duo with audio engineer Drew Webster that brings the intensity of gongs to a new level. This performance piece uses amplification and subtle processing to enhance the natural and complex harmonics of these amazing instruments while effectively translating the full vibrations into larger spaces.