A Tribute to Dr. Bob: May 8 benefit concert in Asheville with Erik Norlander’s Galactic Collective, Drew Heller of Toubab Krewe

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Virtuoso synthesist Erik Norlander and his band The Galactic Collective perform a benefit tribute concert for the Bob Moog Foundation with three very special guests: fully restored vintage instruments from the Bob Moog Foundation Archives, including a 1967 Moog Modular, an early Minimoog Model D, and an extremely rare Moog Apollo.

Michelle Moog-Koussa, executive director of the Bob Moog Foundation, notes, “The convergence of the Moog modular, the Minimoog, and the Moog Apollo in one performance is nearly unprecedented. Not since Keith Emerson toured with a prototype Apollo in the early ’70s have they been heard together in live performance, making the Tribute to Dr. Bob concert in Asheville on Thursday a historic occasion.”

The 1967 R. A. Moog Co. Modular  is an iconic synth on permanent loan from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. It was built for the first electronic music studio in the state, and hand delivered by Bob Moog.

The Minimoog was donated to the Foundation by Asheville composer and arranger Tom Coppola, who used it to record the signature three-note “Duracell sound.” The Minimoog was the first mass-produced commercially available synthesizer that the working musician could afford.

The priceless Moog Apollo is one of the few of its kind in the world. This model is a newly and fully restored 1974 instrument that served as a prototype for the Polymoog. The Apollo is one of the earliest polyphonic synths, synthesizers that could play more than one note at a time.

“We take that for granted in 2014, but in the early ’70s, this was real innovation,” said Norlander. ”The Apollo is an uncompromising feat of musical majesty. Every note that it sounds speaks volumes. And the build quality, from the switches down to the actual key bed, is equally uncompromised, a real musical instrument and true to the legacy of Bob Moog.”

Opening for the band will be Drew Heller, the guitarist for Toubab Krewe, joined by his father, Grammy award winning producer/composer Steven Heller. Tickets are $18, with proceeds benefiting Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, the Foundation’s hallmark educational project.

The Galactic Collective is a re-imagining of Norlander’s favorite instrumental songs written for his band Rocket Scientists and his wife and collaborator, Lana Lane.

He is an accomplished keyboardist and composer who has produced over 30 albums. He has toured and recorded as the keyboardist and co-writer for the Asia spinoff, Asia Featuring John Payne, since 2007 and has also toured extensively with Big Noize, a hard rock supergroup featuring Joe Lynn Turner, Vinny Appice and other rock luminaries.

Norlander has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Bob Moog Foundation since 2007, including performing the benefit Moogus Operandi at Asheville’s Orange Peel in 2011.

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Norlander comments, “Bob Moog brought a new voice to the musical landscape, and our musical vernacular would be very different without his enduring contribution. The name ‘Moog’ is synonymous with art, science and innovation, and as a keyboardist and synthesist, I can think of no greater tribute than using Bob’s timeless inventions as the core instruments in my own craft. “

Steven Heller was a longtime friend and colleague of Bob Moog. Heller has won two Grammy Awards, as well as a number of national awards for his music and recordings. He was production music supervisor for the 1995 Miramax film “The Journey of August King,” and wrote and produced the theme music for “Conversations” and “Evening Rounds,” listener call-in programs on the public radio station WCQS.

Steven’s son Drew Heller tours nationally with Afro-fusion band Toubab Krewe as its guitarist. Toubab Krewe’s first album was released in 2005, around the time that Bob Moog was critically ill. The band’s exceptional musicianship left him sonically inspired.

Revisit the one-of-a-kind connection between Toubab Krewe and Bob here:

Moog’s 80th birthday would have been May 23.

On the eve of Bob’s 80th birthday, musical acts converge in an evening of celebration and reverence for Bob’s enduring legacy of inspiration though sonic exploration. We are grateful to all of the musicians involved for making this possible.

The Isis Music Hall, located at 743 Haywood Road in West Asheville, prides itself on a high-quality audio experience. Dinner service begins at 5pm each evening. Diners may come any time before the show begins.

This show will be both standing and seated. Tickets are available here: http://isisasheville.com/events/tribute-to-dr-bob-erik-norlanders-galactic-collective/

A Tribute to Dr. Bob: May 8 benefit concert in Asheville with Erik Norlander’s Galactic Collective, Drew Heller of Toubab Krewe, Steven Heller

Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, Asheville N.C.

8 p.m.

$18, proceeds benefiting Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool