The Bob Moog Foundation proudly announces the launch of a pilot program of its hallmark educational project,Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, at Asheville City Schools’ (ACS) 2^nd grade classrooms.

Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool (formerly known as MoogLab) ignites the creative and innovative spirit by teaching children the science of sound through the magic of music. The experiential curriculum, which meets state and national standards, integrates intuitive, engaging electronic musical instruments to teach the physics of sound to young students. For the pilot phase of the program, the 2^nd graders are using theremins, which were donated to the BMF by Moog Music, Inc. In addition to an introduction to the physics of sound, students are taught about scientific method using examples from Bob Moog’s science notebooks, as well as examples from other seminal inventors.

Images from prior SoundSchool outreach (Photo credit: www.sicimages.com)

The SoundSchool curriculum was developed over the summer of 2011 by a team of music and science educators  along with music technologists. Jonna Kwiatkowski, PhD, Assistant Professor at Mars Hill College and experimental psychologist specializing in creativity, coordinated the curriculum team.

Following the development of the curriculum, the BMF collaborated with eight participating 2nd grade teachers from ACS, teaching them the necessary background knowledge regarding the concepts of sound in preparation for successful teaching of the SoundSchool curriculum. This professional development was conducted in the Fall of 2011.

Teacher training in fall 2011: Learning the priciples of sound (Photo credit: Tracie Acreman)

The pilot program will run for 10 weeks during the winter and early spring of 2012, after which an assessment measuring science proficiency and creativity will be issued to participating students as well as to a control group who will use a state provided kit-based curriculum.

The curriculum development and teacher training have been guided by Donalyn Small, Instructional Coach for Science at ACS. “This unique opportunity has been an honor for our district. It gives our students a chance to learn the concepts of sound using lessons that have been designed using a constructivist approach. They are innovative, authentic and promote creativity as well as 21st century learning skills. This partnership was timely as the state has recently adopted New Essential Standards for Science. The SoundSchool curriculum reflects these new standards,” Small explains.

Following the assessment of Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, the BMF plans to seek grant funding to grow the program nationwide. Currently, the Foundation is conducting a fundraising campaign on IndieGoGo.com in an effort to raise $50,000 for the program.

The last in a series of kickoff events will take place on Tuesday, January 31 at Vance Elementary School. BMF volunteers August Worley and Ben Hovey will explore ideas, invention, sound, and music with 2^nd grade students as an introduction to the course work that will ensue over the next 10 weeks.

We are proud to announce the release of our 2012 calendar, “Moog Pioneers in the Studio”, which features photos and history from Bob Moog’s archives, as well as photos from collections of pioneering synthesists. The photos and text, compiled by BMF volunteer Historian Brian Kehew, focus not on the rock star pioneers, but rather on more obscure luminaries and their fantastic Moog modular synthesizers.

Through documenting the many  musicians, composers and scholars who collaborated with Bob Moog, the Foundation aims to share the breadth of material encompassed in the inventor’s archives and to share the rich history of electronic music.  In addition to three photos that feature Moog himself, the calendar also features:

• Jon Appleton
• Max Brand
• Joel Chadabe
• Herb Deutsch
• Mort Garson
• Emmanuel Ghent
• Jean Jaques-Perrey
• JD Robb
• Eric Siday
• Chris Swansen
• Gil Trythall
• Jon Weiss

The calendar includes forwords from Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa and from Brian Kehew.

The calendar is available for purchase on the Bob Moog Foundation’s brand new online store.

As an ode to Moog’s pioneering work in modular synthesis, the background of calendar grid features art images of vintage Moog modules from symphonic synthesist Erik Norlander’s 1967 modular system.  The images were taken by Shaun Hollingsworth of (SIC) Images. The calendar was designed by Rose Hecht and edited by Geary Yelton.

Saints be praised, the Bob Moog Foundation has released another fantastic, picture-laden calendar, this one for 2012! Featured in gorgeous vintage photos and posing with Moog Modular Synthesizers — and on occasion with the great Bob Moog himself — are 12 important pioneers of synthesized and electro-acoustic music. Some of these pioneers I’m familiar with, others not so much, and I welcome the challenge of learning more about them beyond what’s revealed by their accompanying captions. Cheers to the Bob Moog Foundation for recognizing these pioneers! I urge everyone to support the crucial Bob Moog Foundation cause by first purchasing this new calendar and by contributing in any way humanly possible.

—Mark Vail, Music Historian, Author, Teacher and Journalist.

All proceeds from  the sale of the calendar go to support the foundation’s ongoing projects, including the preservation of Bob’s historical and extensive archives, the expansion of our Student Outreach Project and future creation a Moogseum in Asheville, NC.

Early on the morning of the launch, when our first website went live, the phone rang and a deep, gentle voice left a message that began “Greetings on this very special day, my name is Doug Babb……….”. Little did we know on that day of the Foundation’s birth what many gifts Doug would have in store for us over the next five years.

Doug Babb is a musician and educator who was taught by Bob Moog’s friend, colleague, and avant- garde opera composer John Eaton at Indiana University. Through John, Doug met Bob Moog and later helped advise Bob on the parameters for a portable synth that Bob was working on with his team of engineers. This portable synth was later to become known as the Minimoog.  Doug maintained a deep interest in everything Moog and in more recent years worked in a consultant’s capacity for Moog Music, Inc.

Doug reached out to us on that August day in 2006 to see how he could help. It wasn’t long after that we discovered that Doug’s vast knowledge of the Moog legacy could be of great service in helping us understand the huge archive that Bob had left behind. In 2006, the collection was still in Bob’s former workshop in the hills of western NC where it was succumbing to the effects of mold, time and small rodents.

Doug generously volunteered to travel down to Asheville, NC from Indiana to help sort through the archives and assist us determining the breadth of the collection, and to prioritize it. This was a long process, involving five separate visits extending over almost a year’s time, and scores of hours in moldy conditions sorting, prioritizing, re-boxing and transporting Bob’s archives to safety. A couple of times Doug worked with Michelle and a team of volunteers. The rest of the time, it was the quiet, dedicated work of the two of them that resulted in the initial salvation of the historic collection.

Here are some photos that Doug took of those early days sifting through the archives (photos copyright Douglas Babb 2011):

The archives have been safely stored for almost five years, but Doug’s contributions to our efforts continue. This summer, Doug drove down to Asheville once again to donate over 800 electronic music-related magazines, including Keyboard Magazine, Electronic Musician, Tape-Op, Sound on Sound and more to the Bob Moog Foundation Archives.  This library of media will serve as a wonderful resource for students and researchers of electronic music history and will eventually be housed in the Moogseum. The Keyboard Magazines in particular include many articles written by Bob throughout the years.

Here is a sampling of the materials that Doug donated to the archives (Photos copyright the Bob Moog Foundation 2011):

Thank you Doug for your support and guidance in our work to protect and preserve Bob’s archives!

You can read more about Doug at www.TheMoogGuy.com and at this article in NUVO http://bit.ly/ru33hF.

That spooky time of year is quickly drawing near…it’s almost Halloween and time for Moogfest 2011

Moogfest is a weekend celebration of the creative vision of sonic pioneer Bob Moog, inventor of the Moog synthesizer. The Flaming Lips, Moby, Passion Pit, STS9, Tangerine Dream, TV on the Radio, Special Disco Version: James Murphy and Pat Mahoney, Umphrey’s Mcgee, Amon Tobin: ISAM, Chromeo, Crystal Castles, Flying Lotus, Suicide, Ghostland Observatory, Childish Gambino, M83, Neon Indian, and St. Vincent are just some of the mind-blowing artists gathering for this epic weekend, October 28th-30th in Asheville, NC.

Plus, in what can only be described as a Moogfest coup, musician / producer / artist / visionary / thinker and all-round renaissance man Brian Eno will be coming to Moogfest this year.  His amazing video installation, 77 Million Paintings, will be exhibited for the first time in the USA outside of the West Coast and Eno will also present a mind expanding “Illustrated Talk.” (Separately ticketed events, specially priced for Moogfest attendees. Learn more here.)

Also, Moogfest 2011 is expanding in a big way.  In addition to concerts at the Asheville Civic Center Arena, the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, and the Orange Peel, new venues for the weekend will include the newly renovated Asheville Music Hall (formerly Stella Blue), the beautiful and intimate Diana Wortham Theatre and…we’re going outdoors this year! That’s right…stay tuned for more information to come via moogfest.com.

Weekend passes are still available while supplies last.

Can’t come for the whole weekend? Check out the daily schedule and pick up your single day tickets here.  These are currently being offered at a special price.

Visit www.moogfest.com for complete lineup, tickets, & more!   And don’t forget your costume…

Bob Moog Foundation Announces impOSCar2 Software Controller Raffle

A raffle to benefit the Bob Moog Foundation begins today. Two lucky winners will each receive the new impOSCar2 Controller from Touch Digital Controllers and an entire suite of five virtual instruments from GForce software—a prize package valued at nearly $2,500. The raffle will continue until all 500 tickets have been sold. Because the BMF will be awarding two complete packages, each entry has a 1 in 250 chance of winning. Tickets are $20 each, or you can improve your odds by buying six for $100.

Raffle tickets are available from the Bob Moog Foundation’s web store at www.moogfoundation.org/shop/.

Raffle ends at midnight on Monday, October 24, 2011. The winners will be announced on Wednesday, October 26th!

Be sure to enter before all 500 tickets have sold out. Two winners chosen by a random-number generator will be announced once all 500 tickets are sold.  The winner will be announced within 24 hours after that time. Raffle participants should check the Foundation’s website and social media outlets to learn when all 500 tickets have been sold and who the two winners are. The winners will be contacted by email.

The new impOSCar2 Controller provides a physical user interface for both the standalone and plug-in versions of GForce Software’s acclaimed impOSCar2 soft synth. The combination of software and hardware offers the sound and functionality of one of the most sought-after analog/digital hybrid synthesizers ever made—Oxford Synthesizer Company’s OSCar—brought up to date with automation, effects, 16-note polyphony, and tons of patch storage.

Michelle Moog-Koussa with the two ImpOSCar2 Controllers

As a tribute to the memory of Bob Moog, Touch Digital Controllers donated not one, but two impOSCar2 Controllers to the BMF. One is produced in a hand-finished natural mahogany and the other in ebony black on oak. These beautifully made controllers deliver plenty of visual and tactile feedback to make programming impOSCar2 a pleasure, just like programming the original OSCar but with total recall. With 101 high-resolution knobs and buttons, every parameter is available from the controller’s front panel to remotely operate the software. In addition to its dedicated impOSCar functionality, the controller can be configured to control any software instrument that supports MIDI Learn.

“The impOSCar2 Controller is our first product, and we are proud of what we have been able to achieve with this handcrafted music instrument,” said Richard Lawson and Kent Spong of Touch Digital Controllers. “As synthesists, and as a manufacturer, we have been deeply inspired by the one man who pioneered the whole thing: Bob Moog.”

Released in July, GForce’s impOSCar2 breathes new life into the popular previous version, first launched in 2004. New features include more comprehensive modulation routing, an improved arpeggiator, ring modulation, panning mono and poly unison modes, and more than 1,000 signature patches. Add nine filter types, six portamento modes, and a programmable additive synthesis grid, and you have one powerful soft synth.

Want more? The BMF’s raffle winner will also receive licenses for M-Tron Pro, Minimonsta, Oddity, and Virtual String Machine, which realistically emulate the Mellotron, Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, and numerous polyphonic string synthesizers, while adding dozens of innovative touches. In addition, GForce Software has included the ChamberTron and OptiTron Expansion Packs for M-Tron Pro.

BMF Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa said, “Through the ImpOSCar2 Controller, Richard and Kent bring their love of vintage synthesizers into the design and ethos of this very special piece of handcrafted hardware. Bob’s goal was always to give musicians the highest level of expressivity, and his interface design was a big part of that. The construction of the ImpOSCar2 Controller echoes that commitment to musicians. Our many thanks to Richard, Kent, and the team at GForce Software for sharing their life’s work with us. Their support is a tribute to Bob Moog’s legacy and to the work of the Bob Moog Foundation.”

Thanks to everybody at Touch Digital Controllers and GForce for this tremendous show of support!!

Get to know the impOSCar2:

We are honored to announce that synthesizer and vocal sensation Tara Busch has donated a three song EP to support our mission of igniting the innovator inside us all. The ethereal electronica EP, Rocket Wife, created specifically for and donated to the Bob Moog Foundation, is available for download at Bandcamp.com at the following link:

http://bobmoogfoundation.bandcamp.com/album/the-rocket-wife-ep-by-tara-busch

In conjunction with the release of the EP, Busch and the Foundation have issued a remix contest using the 17 stem tracks from the title track of the EP, Rocket Wife. The stem tracks are available for download at:

http://bobmoogfoundation.bandcamp.com/album/rocket-wife-remix-contest

The remix contest begins today and ends at midnight on October 15, 2011. All submissions should be uploaded to the “Rocket Wife” group on SoundCloud via this link:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/rocket-wife-remix-contest-tara-busch-and-the-bob-moog-foundation

The Bob Moog Foundation will announce three winners on November 10, 2011. The winners will have their remix posted on the BMF Bandcamp site where it will be available for sale, with proceeds benefiting the Foundation. The grand prize winner will receive a framed limited-edition archival image of Bob Moog, a selection of BMF merchandise, and the opportunity to collaborate virtually with Busch on a track where she will supply vocals and synth soundscapes.

Tara Busch is an American producer/musician/remixer and score composer. She is influenced by the rich, complex harmonies of Brian Wilson, BBC Radiophonic Workshop diva Dellia Derbyshire, and the innovations and futurist attitudes of electronic music pioneer Bob Moog. She is known for her richly textured, vocally orchestral electronica, and her psychedelic, ethereal remixes. Tara maintains a wildly successful blog, Analogsuicide.

Tara reflects, “This is a homage not only to Bob Moog and his legacy, but to the effect the synthesizer had on my music, creativity, and life. What Bob did, most famously with the Minimoog, was to make the groundbreaking world of synthesis available to everybody, not just for the privileged few.

Though grateful for my voice and writing ability, I think having a more embracing attitude towards merging the creative and scientific worlds when I was a child would have been beneficial; not just for my music, but also for my development in general. I think Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool will help kids to develop open, bright, embracing and creative minds.

I’m excited and inspired by their quest to educate children and adults alike about ‘the intersection of science & music’ and hopefully this EP will help introduce more people to the Bob Moog Foundation. One hundred percent of the profits from the EP and the remix stems will be donated to the Bob Moog Foundation.”

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Bob Moog Foundation, we are sharing the first installation of the Moogstress blog.  Michelle Moog-Koussa will continue to write about the more personal side of her work with the Foundation throughout the year. Here, she shares insights into the creation of the Foundation itself.

My father was a quiet, introspective, cool, quirky, funny guy. He worked, and traveled for work, a lot so I got to see less of him than the average kid. While I silently longed to spend more time with him, even as a child I acknowledged that he functioned on an uncommon intellectual plane and that this attribute drove him to pursuits that were well outside the fathering realm. Dad was a great teacher, had a rambunctious laugh and sense of humor, loved chocolate and good food of all sorts, had a passion and attachment to nature and had the deepest, wisest, rarest presence that I have yet to experience. I loved him and respected him deeply, as you would expect, but he was still just my dad.

I have three siblings. We all grew up knowing that our father had done something remarkable, but it was rarely talked about in the house. Dad didn’t talk about work much and when asked, he often gave uncomfortable, short answers. There are probably many reasons for this for which I can only surmise, but one of them is surely that he wanted a place where he could just be Dad, and not be viewed through the big, and sometimes overwhelming, “Bob Moog” filter.

On April 29, 2005, my dad called me at work to tell me that he had a brain tumor. As I sat in stunned silence, my entire worldview shifted. This was my paternal rock – my voice of reason, the person I would go to as an adult to help me sort through life’s complications. He seemed infallible. At 71 years old, I didn’t expect him to die. But that day I knew he wouldn’t be around for much longer. My Dad died three months and three weeks later on August 21, 2005.

The time of my father’s illness and death was the most devastating of my life. But in the midst of my melancholy and despair I was awakened to the man the rest of the world knew as Bob Moog. Through thousands of testimonials that were sent to my family during his illness and passing, I came to learn for the first time, at 37 years old, that my dad was also Bob Moog: the genius inventor and synthesizer pioneer whose work has touched and even transformed people’s lives all over the world.

This awareness at this time was like the sun filtering through the sky of a raging, vicious storm. It was the dawn of my understanding of Bob Moog’s tremendous legacy. My father was dying at the same time that the birth of my understanding for his professional legacy took place. It was a deeply sad, beautiful time in my life.

From this new found understanding of Bob Moog’s powerful legacy, my family created the Bob Moog Foundation with the aim of continuing his legacy of technological brilliance and creative warmth. Just as he gave people a powerful new creative voice  through his innovations, the Bob Moog Foundation ignites the innovator in people through exposure to interactive educational experiences based in electronic music.

We are immensely proud of the progress we have made as a small non-profit in the past five years of economic challenge. Through Dr. Bob’s Sound School (formerly MoogLab), we teach kids and adults science through music. You can see a beautiful video about that project HERE and you can read a report from our Sound School Project Coordinator later in the week. Our efforts to preserve Bob’s extensive and historic archives have been recognized by the Grammy Foundation, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, NAMM’s Museum of Making Music, and the Cantos Museum, to name a few.  We will be working this year to bring more of those archives to life in an online setting and beginning work on a traveling exhibit.

As we celebrate our fifth anniversary this week, there is a palpable sense of Moogmentum here at the Bob Moog Foundation. We are inspired to ignite the innovative and creative spirits in us all through interactive experiences rooted in Bob’s pioneering legacy.

The Moogstress blog was created to give you personal insight into the Bob Moog Foundation. Through this unique insight, I hope to share with you a greater understanding of our projects, the dynamics around the Foundation and the future we are forging.

In honor of the 5th anniversary we’ve created a special download for subscribers to our free eNewsletter. The newsletter will  keep you posted about updates to this blog as well as our progress in Dr. Bob’s Sound School and the Archives and their eventual convergence in the Moogseum in Asheville, NC.

Marc Doty is a songwriter, composer, and synthesist from Washington State.  His obsession with Moog and other vintage analog synthesizers led to him the creation of a synthesizer demonstration YouTube channel, Automatic Gainsay, which now has nearly 4 million views.  His video work as well as his passion for the work of Robert Moog, synthesizers, and the history of electronic music has resulted in the Bob Moog Foundation bringing him on as “Artist in Residence”  for one month this summer.  Marc will  be using his visual and videographical skills to aid the Bob Moog Foundation in various projects including developing materials for the MoogLab curriculum. You can see more of  his synth education work at http://www.youtube.com/automaticgainsay.

If you’re like me (and you probably are), there was a time in your life (or is a time in your life) where you have looked at a piece of music technology and said, “I wish I had that.”  If you’re like me, you’ve looked at a Moog synthesizer and said “I wish I had that.”  And lastly (and most importantly), if you’re like me, you’ve looked at the history of electronic music and said “I wish I could experience some of that.”

A week ago, I was asked to help at the Bob Moog Foundation’s archive facility.  There was a new donation coming in, and we needed to assemble some shelves.  We were using some donated shelves, and these shelves were of the variety which depends on the little plastic sleeves which hold the shelf in place.  As most of you know, these sleeves are made from a sort of plastic which is not entirely stable in our universe, and they are quite likely to wink out of existence at any given moment when not holding up a shelf.  As such, most of them were missing for the shelves we were assembling.  Because of the time delay the acquisition of more sleeves would generate, most everyone parted ways temporarily.  This left me standing in the Bob Moog Archives.  Alone.  For at least an hour.

The phrase that kept playing in my head was “kid in a candy store.”  But it was not that.  It was more like a kid in a candy world… in a world… well, of pure imagination.  Yeah, that’s right.  Let Gene Wilder sing that song in your head for a bit, and listen to the lyrics.  They all apply.

My blog about the Bob Moog Foundation document archives described them as living history… but they are only half of the living history.  The other half was in this facility,  where all of the devices are.  This is where the physical work of Bob Moog resides.  I found myself standing surrounded by the technology Bob created, and had nothing to do for the next hour but experience it.

I looked around in slack-jawed amazement.  What did I see?  Let me tell you:

•David Borden’s Moog modular synthesizer.  Keyboard, ribbon controller, everything.  Some of you might be surprised to know this, but this is the first Moog modular I’ve ever seen in person, or ever touched.

•Not one, but TWO RCA theremins.  One is disassembled, but all of the parts are there.  Yeah, that’s right… the rarest and most sought-after theremin in history, and the Foundation possesses two.

•A gizmotron with correspondence about its testing.

•A Synton vocoder.

•A number of Moog modules in various forms.

•The speakers used at the 1969 MOMA “Jazz in the Garden” performance, the first live performance of four Moog modular synthesizers.

•A Moog LAB series amp, serial number one

•Boxes of prototype Moogerfoogers, hand wired by Bob.

•Tons of original audio, including original Wendy Carlos, Isao Tomita, Roger Powell, and Beaver and Krause recordings.

•Tons of theremins of various types.

•Crumar Spirit No. 1.  Yep, that’s right, the very first one.

•The last Minimoog ever made, serial number 13, 269.

•Tons more documents and correspondence which literally portray the history of electronic music.  And that is no exaggeration.  While many of you probably only think of Bob in the context of the Moog synthesizers he produced, you should know that he was involved with a huge amount of collaboration with a number of important composers, musicians, and technologists in regard to electronic music.

•Several reel to reel recorders, including some designed or altered by Bob.

•An Oberheim Xpander and a Rhodes Chroma Expander.

•A Micromoog

A Solovox

•A slew of vintage antique oscillators.

•An Edison cylinder player.

And more, and more, and more.

I ran from wonder to wonder just like those awful children did at the Wonka factory, but unlike them, I was in silent adoration and awe.  Not only are all of these things incredibly interesting, they’re all incredibly important.  They portray the great work of a talented man, and the history that sprung up around him pursuing his interests.

So, okay… if I were you reading this, I’d be thinking “I wish I could see and experience all of that stuff.”

Well, guess what?  You can experience it.  You have the opportunity to experience all of this incredible history, all of these interesting devices, and all of the musical instruments.  The plan is for everyone to benefit from this incredible legacy- in the form of the Moogseum.  The only thing between you and this experience you covet (or should covet) is funding.

The Bob Moog Foundation needs support to make the Moogseum a reality.  It’s no easy task to fund a museum, but once that happens, you will have the ability to do what I did in the archives.  Yeah, that’s right… while you were hating on me for being able to see all of that stuff, you didn’t know that you can see it too.  Awesome, isn’t it?

If you want to have that experience, the best way for you to do it is to help us raise the money through volunteering or donating.  Then everyone benefits… and the world gets to see the actual history of the man, his legacy, his collaborators and the broader legacy of electronic music, we love.

If you’re like me, you can’t wait one more minute for that.  Consider supporting the Foundation’s important effort to preserve the history which is so important to our understanding and culture.

You can get  your own cool piece of Moog history! Sign up for the Bob Moog Foundation’s eNewsletter and get a free download of a rare document and rarely seen photos from the archives.

Mooged Out Asheville, Volume 2 features 14 Asheville-based recording artists, each contributing a track to benefit the Bob Moog Foundation. Spanning musical styles ranging from rock and hip-hop to dubstep and avant electronica, the album is a dynamic showcase for the wealth of sounds inspired by Bob Moog’s contributions to modern music. The album is not strictly electronic music, but an expression of the wider pool of creativity that Bob touched.

Compiled and produced by BMF volunteer Dave Hamilton, who also produced the first volume, the CD is dedicated to Meg Lauzon, who was a friend to the Foundation and to the Asheville music community. The opening track features BMF Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa reading a description of Bob’s one-of-a-kind invention, the Multiple-Touch-Sensitive Keyboard, accompanied by music from the duo Blinding Standstill. Additional tracks were contributed by the West African-influenced Toubab Krewe (one of Bob’s favorite bands), as well as acts such as Stephaniesid, Telepath, and 15-year-old phenom Summit Jaffe, also known as Numatik.

Mastering for the album was contributed by Seva at Soundcurrent Mastering, Knoxville, TN.

Download the album on iTunes

Download the album on Amazon

Purchase the album in our online store

You can hear samples from individual tracks by clicking the links to iTunes below.

Tired – Eymarel

“Eymarel feels extremely grateful and privileged to be part of the mission to spread Bog Moog’s legacy. Together we can continue to explore and spread the power of electronic sound and music. We take pride in creating music and expressing emotion with some of the best gear on the market designed by one of the greatest synthesizer pioneers — Bob MOOG!”

- Mary Frances and Lee Allen, Eymarel

 

 

Song Unsung – Blinding Standstill [Feat. Michelle Moog-Koussa]

Inspired by the innovations of Bob Moog and the memory of Meg Lauzon, this track features Bob Moog Foundation Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa’s musical debut. Michelle is reading from Bob’s description of the Multiple Touch Sensitive Keyboard, a project that was of great importance to Bob but is not as widely known as his other inventions. The numbers she is reading are the patents for the keyboard. This track was also featured in our video highlighting the MoogLab interactive program.

Outta My Head – Jeff Knorr and the AVL Soul Orchestra

Jeff Knorr – Moog Voyager (Bass and Lead)
Lee Allen – Drums
Mary Frances – Electric Piano
Derrick Johnston– Trombone
Ben Hovey – Trumpet, Moog Voyager
Jason Daniello – Moog Guitar

Track notes from Dave Hamilton, producer:

Jeff Knorr is a multi-talented keyboard player, the owner of CollapseAble Studios, and the composer of “Outta My Head.” He is also a dynamic collaborator who was happy to assemble an all star funk band of Asheville musicians to record a track live at the Orange Peel as part of the entertainment for Bob Moog’s 75th Birthday celebration on May 21, 2009. A unique aspect of this live recording was that the band members were not all playing together on stage at the same time. They each took turns recording their parts in layers to help demonstrate the effects of Moog gear on song structure.

After the initial tracking was complete, I took the song to Echo Mountain Recording Studio to treat it with Moogerfooger filter, phaser, and delay before the final mixdown.

Raindancer – Chalwa

Chalwa is an Asheville based reggae band whose track blurs the lines between rock and reggae with a distinctly Mooged-out sound.

Amends – Jar-E

“The freedom and creativity that flows from a session using Moog equipment is unparalleled. I am glad for the opportunity to be a small part of the legacy left by such a gifted and giving man as Bob Moog.”

-John Reid, Jar-E

Holy Grail – Toubab Krewe

Track notes from Dave Hamilton, producer:

Toubab Krewe has a special connection to the Bob Moog legacy. In the early part of their career, their debut CD was given to Bob when he was near the end of his life. He found himself listening to it late one evening while being kept awake by his medical treatments. The impressive musicianship of the West African-influenced dance music energized and inspired him.

When Toubab Krewe entered Echo Mountain Recording Studio to record their second work (TK2), the Bob Moog Foundation loaned the band an assortment of Moog gear to use in the recording. They found themselves pushing sonic boundaries and feeling inspired as a result. “Holy Grail” is one of the songs resulting from this experimentation.

Freedom – Telepath [feat. Williamtell]

Keyboardist/producer Michael Christie brings an arsenal of samples—horn lines, rhythm guitars, Indian and Arabic musicians and vocalists – and lays them over deep groove drumming and dark, reggae-infused basslines. The result is a multi-layered journey of sound that can transport listeners from a remote village in Pakistan, to a dub studio in 1970s Jamaica, to a fat Philly hip-hop groove. His track for Mooged Out Volume 2 combines many of these elements and features a soulful vocal track.

Wonderworld (feat. Sidney Barnes) – The Secret B-Sides

“Bob Moog opened the way for electronic music technologies to reach everyday people.  The Bob Moog Foundation continues his work by expanding greater access to the future tools of human expression.”

-Juan Holladay, the Secret B-Sides

Me and Dog – Stephaniesid

National touring artist Stephanie Morgan added her characteristic charm to MOv2 with her track, “Me and Dog.” The song starts off sweetly and builds to a dynamic climax.

Bring the Walls – The Adapters

Mike Rhodes – Drums
Jay Sanders – Bass
Jon Paul Hess – Electric Piano
Chris Tanfield – Rhythm Guitar and Theremin
Jason Daniello – Moog Guitar
Molly Kummerle – Lead Vocals

Track notes from Dave Hamilton, producer:

The Adapters is the name associated with collaborative efforts between Molly Kummerle and myself for the benefit of the Bob Moog Foundation. The musical group draws from a rotating cast of Foundation volunteers. “Bring the Walls” was composed as a group effort by Dave, Molly, thereminist Chris Tanfield, and songwriter Joe Szabo. It was the first of four songs recorded live at Bob Moog’s 75th birthday celebration on May 21, 2009.

After equipping the Orange Peel’s stage with a portable recording rig, the evening began with Mike and Jay laying down a slow and solid rhythm track. Following their exit from the stage, Jon Paul sat down at the Wurlitzer electric piano while Chris plugged in his electric guitar to lay down the song’s melodic framework. The recording rig captured their performances as the recently finished rhythm track played through the house sound system. This live overdubbing process was then repeated for the theremin and Moog Guitar until the musicians had constructed a full instrumental track. As the celebration continued, Molly stepped onto the stage to record lyrics inspired by The Adapters’ mutual respect for Bob Moog’s work.

After the event, the tracks were taken to Echo Mountain Recording Studio for vocal overdubs, Moogerfooger application, and final mixing.

Sugar Mama – Josh Blake’s Jukebox

Their track, “Turn it Around” was a popular addition to Mooged Out Volume 1, and Josh Blake’s Jukebox is back on Volume 2 with an upbeat and soulful tune that is sure to get you groovin’. They are composed of some of Asheville’s finest musicians.  The drummer Patrick Thomas and guitarist Casey Cramer are from the funky Asheville powerhouse Strut, Casey also plays guitar for the Josh Phillips Folk Festival.  The Jukebox also features  Kyle Colclasure on bass from the local hip hop band GFE.  Affectionately dubbed “The Hot Sauce” female vocalist Marisa Albert spices up the show with beautiful harmonies. Keyboardist Justin Powell from Vertigo Jazz Project has been known to join in on the fun.  Multi-instrumemtalist, Matt Williams of Matt Williams and The Ocean adds to the diverse sound of the Jukebox.

Dawn – Numatik

15 year old Summit Jaffe started playing with Moogerfoogers while most of his classmates were still hanging out on the playground. He made a splash at TEDx Next Generation Asheville with a dynamic performance that left everyone talking. On Mooged Out Volume 2 he uses creative application of Moog technology to generate a track that will keep you grooving.

Sous le Soleil – Afromotive

“Most musicians have known for years how important Bob Moog’s work is in the music industry.  I’m thankful that the BMF is helping to share that with the rest of the world, and that it’s based here in Asheville, NC!”

-Ryan Reardon, Afromotive

 

 

Chains of Love – Kellin Watson

Consistently named as one of the best performing artists in WNC, Kellin’s track on Mooged Out Volume 2 has a fantastic, funky, groove that will hook you from the first note. Check out this video of Kellin on Studio South shot by Meg Lauzon.

For Mooged Out Volume 2, Chains of  Love was remixed by Aaron Price and Seva David Ball in Studio P, Knoxville, using a Moog Voyager and a pile of MoogerFooger boxes. Unique beat-mapping and triggering were used to sync processing of many tracks, including a perfectly good Steinway, which underwent the MoogerFoogerization process, nonetheless. There are rumors a surround version is in the can.

By Marc Doty

Marc Doty is a songwriter, composer, and synthesist from Washington State.  His obsession with Moog and other vintage analog synthesizers led to him the creation of a synthesizer demonstration YouTube channel, Automatic Gainsay which now has nearly 4 million views.  His video work as well as his passion for the work of Robert Moog, synthesizers, and the history of electronic music has resulted in the Bob Moog Foundation bringing him on as “Artist in Residence”  for one month this summer.  Marc will  be using his visual and videographical skills to aid the Bob Moog Foundation in various projects including developing materials for the MoogLab curriculum. You can see more of  his synth education work at http://www.youtube.com/automaticgainsay.

I come from a long line of great teachers, so I come by my urge to help people learn about stuff honestly.  What you might not know is that I also have a degree in music education.

I majored in music education because it afforded me the most music classes possible, which I preferred over the less-intense music major.  But the drawback with majoring in music education was the fact that, in addition to all the great extra music classes I got to take, I also had to take education classes.

Personally, I don’t believe a someone can be taught to teach.  Teaching is a talent.  You can’t teach a person to have a talent, you can only foster that talent.  I feel similarly about curricula.  So often, they are well-intentioned but uninspired structures which end up interfering with the specific talents of teachers.  I think that curricula are often designed by people who have passion for education, but lack passion for the subject(s) addressed.  It’s easy to get bogged down in various requirements, challenging administrative environments, and a general lack of inspiration in regard to the talent that is teaching.

One of the greatest educational challenges is creating a curriculum which delivers required content as well as being fun and interesting.  As a college student, I saw a lot of curricula which succeeded in either one or the other.  As a classroom student, I saw a lot of curricula which succeeded in neither.

So, when I was taken on to design support materials for the MoogLab curriculum project here at the Bob Moog Foundation, you can imagine what I expected.

But immediately… not only were my fears assuaged and my expectations proven inaccurate, but my faith in education, love for sound, and inspiration to help children learn effectively were ignited.  The group assigned to this task is made up of talented, skilled, and enthusiastic people. We’ve worked together to create the curriculum I thought impossible: one that is as informative and effective as it is fun and interesting.

We have wrapped the science of sound in the love of music and simplified it in a way that is both digestible by the second grader, and completely accurate.  That is quite an accomplishment!

It is incredibly exciting to be involved with a program that will have the impact this will have, and it is truly inspiring (and no surprise at all) that it’s all built around the genius of Bob Moog.  See?  This is another reason why the Bob Moog Foundation is so important.  His legacy is a powerful motivation and inspiration for education, and the passion of people here at the Foundation who recognize that legacy inspires incredible results.

I am continually amazed and inspired by the many ways the BMF is weaving the genius of Bob Moog through people’s lives with a goal of igniting the innovators in all of us.