# Episode 233: Part of the Machine, Rock & Pinball

**Source:** Pinball Profile  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2019-11-12  
**Duration:** 8m 9s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballprofile.com/episode-233-part-of-the-machine-rock-pinball/

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## Analysis

Jeff Teolis visits the Joseph Brandt Museum in Burlington, Canada to cover the traveling exhibition 'Part of the Machine: Rock & Pinball,' interviewing Catherine Carr, the exhibitions coordinator. The discussion covers the exhibition's appeal to diverse audiences, its origins at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and plans for an IFPA-sanctioned tournament on December 21st at the museum.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The 'Part of the Machine' exhibition was originally at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland before traveling to Burlington — _Jeff mentions seeing it in Cleveland multiple times and references it being a traveling show from the Rock Hall_
- [HIGH] The exhibition was not originally intended to be a traveling show — _Catherine explicitly states 'It wasn't going to be a traveling show. It was not. That's the amazing part'_
- [HIGH] The exhibition runs until January 12th at Joseph Brandt Museum — _Catherine confirms 'January 12th' when asked about the duration_
- [HIGH] Catherine Carr plays pinball daily as part of her work at the museum — _Catherine states 'I play pinball every day because I go and just warm up the machines in the morning'_
- [HIGH] Multiple pinball leagues are active in Ontario, including Toronto Ontario Pinball League (22 years), Tri-City Pinball League (8-9 years), and newly formed Hammer City Pinball League in Hamilton — _Jeff lists multiple Ontario-based leagues during discussion of IFPA organization_

### Notable Quotes

> "She wanted it to be reference pop culture in some way... she wanted something that was very interactive, that was going to appeal to a very diverse audience, women, children, everybody."
> — **Catherine Carr**, ~2:30
> _Explains the curatorial vision behind bringing the exhibition to Burlington, emphasizing pinball's broad appeal_

> "It's such a different experience for them, and I think people are having a lot of fun... they can come in here and they can touch everything and they can play with everything in the pinball exhibition."
> — **Catherine Carr**, ~5:20
> _Contrasts interactive museum experience with traditional museum expectations; highlights pinball's accessibility_

> "I just didn't realize how broad, how large the association was. There are a lot of groups in Ontario, certainly all across the globe."
> — **Catherine Carr**, ~8:00
> _Reflects on discovering the extent of IFPA organization and pinball community_

> "Most people are very, very helpful and suggest, here's a good way to increase your score if you're interested in that. And that's the great thing about pinball."
> — **Jeff Teolis**, ~10:30
> _Highlights the welcoming, mentoring nature of the pinball community_

> "You do know things because we were looking at a game and as pinball machines do, sometimes they need new coils and whatnot. And you knew exactly what the problem was."
> — **Jeff Teolis**, ~4:45
> _Notes Catherine's developing expertise in pinball machine diagnostics and maintenance_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jeff Teolis | person | Host of Pinball Profile podcast, interviewer, pinball enthusiast from Burlington, Canada area |
| Catherine Carr | person | Traveling exhibitions coordinator at Joseph Brandt Museum, involved in planning IFPA tournament |
| Kim Watson | person | Curator at Joseph Brandt Museum who initiated the 'Part of the Machine' exhibition partnership |
| Joseph Brandt Museum | organization | Museum in Burlington, Ontario hosting the 'Part of the Machine: Rock & Pinball' traveling exhibition |
| Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | organization | Original location of 'Part of the Machine' exhibition in Cleveland |
| Part of the Machine: Rock & Pinball | event | Traveling exhibition of rock-themed pinball machines, runs through January 12th in Burlington |
| Toronto Ontario Pinball League | organization | Established pinball league in Ontario, operating for 22 years with large membership |
| Tri-City Pinball League | organization | Pinball league in Ontario, active for approximately 8-9 years |
| Hammer City Pinball League | organization | Newly formed pinball league in Hamilton, Ontario |
| IFPA | organization | International Federation of Pinball Associations, organizing sanctioned tournaments |
| Burlington, Ontario | organization | Location of Joseph Brandt Museum and venue for planned December 21st tournament |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Museum exhibitions and pinball accessibility, IFPA tournament organization and community engagement, Pinball's appeal to diverse audiences (children, families, women)
- **Secondary:** Pinball leagues and community organizations in Ontario, Pinball machine maintenance and technical knowledge
- **Mentioned:** Educational opportunities in pinball (robotics, mechanics)

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Enthusiastic tone throughout; celebration of exhibition success, community engagement, and pinball's broad appeal. No criticism or negative sentiments expressed.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Joseph Brandt Museum planning IFPA-sanctioned tournament on December 21st during holiday period, demonstrating institutional commitment to pinball community integration (confidence: high) — Catherine and Jeff discuss tournament planning with specific date and mention of registering with IFPA calendar
- **[community_signal]** Ontario pinball community demonstrates robust organizational structure with multiple active leagues spanning 20+ years (Toronto), suggesting established infrastructure (confidence: high) — Jeff documents Toronto Ontario Pinball League (22 years), Tri-City (8-9 years), plus newer leagues in Guelph, Durham, Hamilton
- **[market_signal]** Pinball's accessibility and appeal to non-traditional audiences (children, families, museum visitors) gaining recognition through institutional partnerships (confidence: high) — Catherine notes museum director's vision for 'very interactive' exhibition appealing to 'women, children, everybody' and observes natural engagement of young visitors

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## Transcript

 it's time now for another pinball profile i'm your host jeff teals you can find our group on facebook we're also on twitter at pinball profile email us pinball profile at gmail.com please subscribe on your favorite pod catcher and check us out on instagram at pinball profile i am here not far away from home in fact really really close i'm in canada so it's kilometers not miles, but at the Joseph Brandt Museum, they have a great traveling exhibition that I've seen before at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but it's here in my hometown. It is part of the machine, rock and pinball. You might've seen this in Cleveland. We're talking every great rock pinball machine right here in Burlington and joining us right now, Catherine Carr, the traveling exhibitions coordinator. Hey, Catherine, how are you? Hey, Jeff, how you doing? Great. And I'm excited to see this again in my backyard here, all these great pinball machines What brought this to Burlington? Well, this was the work of our curator, Kim Watson. When we were building the new Joseph Brandt Museum, she thought she really wanted something that was very interactive, that was going to appeal to a very diverse audience, women, children, everybody. And she wanted it to be reference pop culture in some way. So she started doing some research online and found this exhibition at the Rock Hall and thought it would be so perfect, contacted them. They said, yeah, they're excited to bring it to Canada. And the rest is history, I guess. It wasn't going to be a traveling show. It was not. That's the amazing part, is that the observation that this is appealing to women, to children, to families, which pinball is. So that's great that a non-pinball person realized that this really has such a wide appeal. Exactly, right? We wanted people to come in here and have fun. And I think that's what pinball really is all about, right? I just saw a father and his young son go in there and the kid just kind of ran to the machine started playing right away Exactly It nice to see Exactly And kids are so natural You know you would think that it might be something they don understand but kids are so natural with it. They understand the machine right away. So it's great to see. Now, have you played pinball in your youth or even currently? How much pinball has been in your life before this? I used to play. My uncle had a pinball machine. I don't remember which one, but that was like the big excitement to go to his house and play pinball. I don't remember if I was very good, but now I play pinball every day because I go and just warm up the machines in the morning. And I think I'm getting pretty good. We're going to have to put that to a test, I think. You do know things because we were looking at a game and as pinball machines do, sometimes they need new coils and whatnot. And you knew exactly what the problem was. I've been in pinball a long time. I can't diagnose like you diagnose. So I was pretty impressed. Thanks. Yeah, it's exciting to learn, like, you know, how something that you never knew, how something worked and learn how suddenly you know how it works. And that's so exciting. Like who doesn't want to learn something new? My oldest went to school here in town at MMR and they have a great robotics program. So I've always wondered, you have a lot of schools come in and out. I wonder if any of these kinds of classes are kind of taking a look at some of the mechanics of some of the pinball machines. Cause it is fascinating. I know some schools are building pinball machines as projects. It might be something interesting. I think so. Yeah. We haven't had any come in yet, but I think it's a really good idea. Field trip. Hello. Yeah. Get out of school. But you know what? Speaking of getting out of school, we've got the Christmas holidays coming up very, very soon. And that's a great time to come check out Joseph Brandt Museum and this great traveling exhibition because it's only here until mid-January, correct? January 12th. Yeah. I think it's great because I took my son to Cleveland in April. I've actually been to Cleveland, I think three times this year, and I've seen the display a few times because it was really quite exciting to see all these great rock machines and I see them come out but I didn't realize how many there were and they're so popular with the pinball culture and then just even the generic public Yeah What are some of the reactions you seeing from the people that have been checking out this wonderful display It seems like just joy People are having fun You know they coming in here It a different museum experience because I think people come into a museum and they're often expecting that kind of red velvet, you know, roped off, like can't touch, don't touch anything. And then they can come in here and they can touch everything and they can play with everything in the pinball exhibition. I should clarify. But yeah, it just seems like It's such a different experience for them, and I think people are having a lot of fun. It is great, too. By the way, all the games are on free play, so when you come to the Joseph Brandt Museum, just come on, play all the games that you'd like, a piece of cake, and that's what people are doing. And I think this is amazing. Catherine said to me, this is over email, I'm thinking about running a tournament, and you found out about the IFPA. What have you learned about this crazy world that is pinball? I mean, you guys are very active. There's a lot of different events happening. I'm trying to squeeze something in between all of these events. And yeah, I just didn't realize how broad, how large the association was. There are a lot of groups in Ontario, certainly all across the globe. But in Ontario alone, you've got the Toronto Ontario Pinball League. They've been around for 22 years and have had tons of members. Other leagues have popped up like the Tri-City Pinball League going now, I think, eight, nine years. London, Ontario. You've got City Pinball in Guelph and Toronto, Durham League, Bluffs Pinball, and a new one that just opened up right here in our backyard is the Hammer City Pinball League, which is in Hamilton. So I think this is probably a good idea to launch maybe a little tournament kind of right when the Christmas holidays begin. So maybe on December 21st, something we should put in the IFPA calendar. Do you think that's a good idea? That's exactly what I want to do. Yes. You want to bring a bunch of people in here and maybe have a few drinks and cocktails and And a real nice experience. I think we can do that. Yeah, we'll have some prizes. I mean, why not? It's good. Now, are you going to play in this tournament, too? Because there are going to be a bunch of ringers here Are you going to play in this Catherine Get your feet wet in the IFPA Okay yeah I play With zero fear But you like it too I really do I really like it yeah That's the key. You know, a lot of people don't play in competitions, but they certainly love pinball. I don't know if it's intimidation or what the case may be, but you certainly enjoy getting to know other people in the community. And most people are very, very helpful and suggest, here's a good way to increase your score if you're interested in that. And that's the great thing about pinball, because when I watch certain kids play, and I was watching a young boy play Beatles, and as you know from playing Stern Beatles, there's, on the third ball, you can have an instant multiball, which is pretty exciting when you have two balls coming at you. Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on? So those are kind of some of the fun things of pinball. You're going to learn them. Yeah, that's the one area that I would like to learn is how the scoring works for each machine because, you know, I'll play and I'll get a certain score and I don't really know, like, is that good? Is that not good? How am I doing? When you find out, can you let me know? Yes, I will. I think I know a few of these games, and maybe we'll show you a few fun things. Okay, so watch for December 21st, a little IFPA tournament here in Burlington, Ontario. We'll be a big part of it. And again, Joseph Brandt Museum, when are you open? We are open Tuesday to Sunday. Most days it's 10 to 4. Thursday we're open 10 to 7. Okay, so check out this incredible exhibit. it. It's so nice that it's here in Burlington. It is part of the machine, rock and pinball. You saw it at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and now it's here in Burlington. All these great games, definitely worth checking out. I think so. Thank you very much, Catherine. We'll talk to you soon. Okay, thanks so much, Jeff. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. Please subscribe on your favorite podcatcher and check us out on Instagram at Pinball Profile. I'm Jeff Teolis. We'll be right back.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: f47d1fb7-751e-49dc-b2fc-e0d8e0547649*