Fire up that Speak & Spell, because today kicks off NYC’s annual circuit-bending extravaganza, the Bent Festival at The Tank. Running from today through Saturday, it’s an art and music fest that celebrates DIY electronics in its many forms—so you might find a serious electro artist making a circuit from scratch, right next to a kid playing a Game Boy. If you’re wondering what circuit bending is, we asked Peter Edwards, an electronic-instrument-making whiz, to come into the TONY office and tell us. (Edwards has worked with Mike Patton and the Melvins, and has made a customized Speak & Spell for Danny Elfman!) He’s teaching a beginner’s workshop on Saturday at noon, which is free and open to everyone. “There isn’t some stringent code of laws you have to understand before you can play,” he says. “It’s like, you don’t need to understand the physics of paint before you can make art.” Right on! Oh, and there’s a free beer happy hour every evening from 7 to 7:30pm. Take it away, Peter!