Join Moogfest Artists to Ignite Creativity through Our Indiegogo Campaign!
The Bob Moog Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo.com to raise $50,000. Funding from the campaign will go to help grow our hallmark educational project, Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, nationwide.
At the center of the campaign is a short, beautiful video about the power of Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool. The video, produced by Flying Pig Studio, features Bob Moog’s own voice. Take a look:
Donation levels on the campaign range from $5 to $5000 with incentive perks being offered at each level. Rewards range from special downloads to CDs, with two centerpiece incentive perks including:
- A chance to win the 2011 Moogfest Minimoog Voyager synthesizer signed by over 25 Moogfest artists! This gorgeous Select Series synth was donated by our friends over at Moog Music, Inc. and features whitewashed cabinet and a blue backlighting.
- A chance to win a VIP 2012 Moogfest Weekend including 2 VIP tickets to Moogfest 2012 and a three night “Bed and Breakfast” stay at the beautiful and historic Grove Park Inn Resort and Spa, located just outside downtown Asheville.
Support the Indiegogo Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool campaign by donating at any level!
Make your involvement more powerful by sharing through this direct link on your Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/tRmQdu
The 2011 Moogfest Minimoog Voyager, which has since been dubbed “The most valuable Voyager in the world,” was signed by a legion of superstars and legends including:
- Amon Tobin
- Beak>
- Brian Eno
- Chromeo
- Dick Hyman
- Edgar Froese (Tangerine Dream)
- Ghostland Observatory
- Holy F**k
- Joel Cummins (Umphrey’s McGee)
- Moby
- Passion Pit
- Suicide
- STS9
- Terry Riley
- TV On the Radio
- Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips)
You can enter to win the Voyager by visiting our Indiegogo campaign here.
Check out this cool gallery of the signed synth and many of the artist signings! Many of these photos were taken by Micah Mackenzie (http://micahmackenzie.wordpress.com/).
Moog Siren Tara Busch donates EP; launches re-mix contest
Download beautiful synth and vocal laden-music and let your remixing talents shine! It all benefits the BMF!
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.”
MoogLab Residency at Claxton Elementary
Week long MoogLab residency culminates in performance with theremins, synths and poetry
In late March, the Bob Moog Foundation collaborated with other local organizations to bring a week long MoogLab residency to Claxton Elementary School in Asheville, NC. We spent the week teaching the physics of sound and electronic music history with three fifth-grade classes.
TAPAS teaching artist and Bob Moog Foundation volunteer David Hamilton lead the fifth graders through the interactive MoogLab science and music-based curriculum while including elements of the history of electronic music. Vibrations, sound waves, pitch, amplitude and timbre were all explored using the theremin and and oscilloscope. The students learned the importance of Bob Moog’s work, as well as learning about pioneering efforts of Leon Theremin.
BMF RockStar Volunteer Dave Hamilton Teaching Science through Music
Claxton’s music teacher, Brooks Butler, spearheaded the effort to bring MoogLab to the Claxton Elementary. He joined Dave in guiding the students to create simple compositions and improvisations using the theremins and synthesizers. He also asked the students compose lyrics and poetry to communicate what they learned.
On Thursday of the residency, the Bob Moog Foundation featured its MoogLab Interactive Setup of theremins, synthesizers, oscilloscopes, and more for students to gain hands-on experience and reinforce their learning. With the support of a grant from the Asheville City Schools Foundation and their Parent and Teacher Organization, Claxton acquired an Etherwave theremin and Little Phatty synthesizer from Moog Music, Inc. With these instruments in the school’s collection, Brooks will be able to teach the concepts of sound and electronic music and create electronic music with his students using them for years to come.
BMF Rock Star Volunteer Jenna Bryner showing Claxton student how to play the theremin
The kids took turns in the MoogLab and with Dave and Brooks, working on songs to be presented to the school at the end of the week. On Friday, the students had an opportunity to present their work to Claxton’s student body. The performances were very well received as each class took the stage with Brooks and Dave lending a guiding hand. The kids were joined on stage by local thereminst Chris Tanfield.
Two Claxton 5th Graders jamming on the Theremin and the Voyager. Note: It was "crazy hat day" at Claxton.
The week long residency was a huge success. Here at the Foundation we got rave reviews from students, teachers and parents. We had one parent stop us in the parking lot to tell us that she’d never seen her child so excited about learning. That is the power of MoogLab.
Countryman’s “Moog-Tastic” Pays Tribute
Moog-Tastic: A Tribute to Moog Instruments, Albums and Pioneers
By Dana Countryman
I am absolutely delighted to donate 20 copies of Moog-Tastic!, my new CD tribute to the many Moog synthesizer albums that inspired me when I was young, to the Bob Moog Foundation. It is my thank-you gift for your donation in support of this organization’s great work to ignite creativity at the intersection of music, science, history and innovation. After all, the Moog synthesizer had been a huge influence on my musical life since I’d been in high school (early ‘70s.)
In addition to Moog-Tastic! CD, you will also receive, thanks to my friends at Oglio Records, Destination Space, which I wrote and recorded with Jean-Jacques Perrey. PLUS, while supplies last, you will receive a color photo, personally autographed by Jean-Jacques and myself. Guaranteed to be a collector’s item! The entire Bob Moog Foundation Moog-Tastic package is my thank-you gift for your donation of $75 to support their work to educate and inspire through electronic music.
Moog-Tastic! Collector's Package: "Moog-Tastic", "Destination Space", Signed Photo
Click here to support the Bob Moog Foundation and get your Moog-Tastic Collector’s package today!
Moog-Tastic! features original melodies for synthesizer, composed especially for this project. The styles run from rock to ragtime to filmscore to classical. Guest stars include Morgan Fisher (Mott the Hoople), Fay Lovsky (theremin), Vinnie Bell (guitar), and Jean-Jacques Perrey (crazy tape loops!) Sound samples can be heard at http://www.reverbnation.com/danacountryman.
It had been a 30-year dream of mine to someday own a “Moog”, and in 2002, I was finally able to put together my own modular synthesizer, thanks to several new manufacturers who’d sprung up, making “tribute” synthesizers to the original Moog that Bob Moog pioneered in the ‘60s.
Dana's Rack Mount Minimoog Voyager and Moogerfoogers
It all came full-circle when Moog Music finally released the minimoog Voyager, and I was able to buy a rack-mounted version of it. I also purchased all the Moogerfooger pedals as they came out, and mounted them all together in a rolling studio rack. Once I actually owned all these magical instruments, something even more magical happened to my musical life. I was asked by electronic pop music pioneer legend, Jean-Jacques Perrey to collaborate on an album with him! Unbelievable! I’d been a huge fan of his, since the late ‘60s.
To cut a very long story short, our Happy Electropop Music Machine album came out on Oglio Records in 2006, and that led to Jean-Jacques and I touring all over Europe and America. Two years later, we released our “Destination Space” album, and we played two special concerts in NYC and Montreal to announce its release. Also, just this summer, Comedy Central’s “South Park” used one of the tunes that Jean-Jacques and I recorded, for one of their crazy episodes.
The importance of my great friend, music partner, and French electronic music genius, Jean-Jacques Perrey, really cannot be understated. Before he and Gershon Kingsley recorded their The In Sound from Way Out! in 1966, electronic music was anything but popular. In fact, most of it was downright unlistenable. The academia-minded enthusiasts of early electronic music, chose to record mostly noises and strange sounds – but not much that could be considered recognizable music. Perrey (with arranger Kingsley) harnessed electronic music’s melodic possibilities, and built an extremely lucrative career, recording four classic albums, and scores of commercials with the Moog. Perrey’s Moog-fueled songs were grabbed up by ‘60s TV shows, such as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, Sesame Street and countless children’s programs.
Perrey and Kingsley’s Kaleidoscopic Vibrations – Spotlight on the Moog album was actually released before W. Carlos released the Grammy award-winning Switched-On Bach. Perrey and Kingsley’s original song from that album, Baroque Hoedown, managed to mix classical, Moog sounds and even a little Country! The tune was snapped up by Disneyland, and to this day can still be heard as part of the theme park’s delightful Main Street Electrical Parade.
Almost 30 years after it was written, Perrey’s 1970 song “E.V.A.” stormed the charts via a remix by Fatboy Slim. It hit Number One in England. Numerous hip-hop artists grabbed the same tune, and at last count it has been sampled by over 70 artists, including Ice T, Dr. Dre and A Tribe Called Quest. Guess you could say that Mssr. Perrey was truly ahead of his time. And he’s still with us, at almost 82 years of age. My biography of Jean-Jacques Perrey has just been released and is available here. I really feel that his life and legacy need to be preserved for the future generations to come.
In the same way, the Bob Moog Foundation is continuing the legacy of Bob Moog. I’m just one of many, whose lives have been touched by Bob, and I’m honored to be able to give something back.
In case you’re wondering, the Bob Moog Foundation is completely separate from Moog Music, Inc. and relies on donors and grants to carry the Moog legacy forward.
I am excited to offer the Moog-Tastic! Collector’s Gift Package to those of you who click here make a donation of $75 to help carry Bob Moog’s legacy forward to future generations.
My favorite part of the Foundation’s goals is their program to put teach through synthesis, to reach children with electronic music at an early age. A pilot program has already begun in the Asheville, NC area. It’s proven to be a successful way to engage children and excite them about the science behind sound and behind electronic music. Instead of the normal brass band instruments, usually found in traditional schools’ music programs, they get to play around with real Moogs! I can only imagine what an impact it would have had on me, if only the grade school I attended sat me down at a Moog synthesizer when I was ten!
Another compelling part of the Foundation’s mission their work to save and protect Bob’s archives. Many of Bob’s rare schematics and synth prototypes are being preserved, as well as voluminous notes and scores of his detailed notebooks. Long range plans include an interactive “Moogseum”, where people can learn about electronic music, and experiment with synthesis.
I hope you’ll consider making a $75 donation to the Moog Foundation, and receive my “Moog-Tastic!” Collector’s Package.
Your dollars will go to helping bring the Bob Moog Foundation’s mission to life. The future of electronic music is now, and the legacy of Bob Moog’s musical genius is alive.
Please support the Bob Moog Foundation.
Thank you,
- Dana Countryman, synthesist, composer
Oglio recording artist
Erik Norlander’s “The Princely Hours”
Erik Norlander’s Skillful Use of Five Moog Instruments Provides Upbeat, Ethereal Song to Benefit the Bob Moog Foundation.
Erik Norlander is a progressive rock keyboardist whose evocative synthesizer technique is Erik’s evocative synthesizer technique is reminiscent of the legendary Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson and Jon Lord while still very unique and forward-moving in its own right. Erik takes many of the classic riffs and phrases from his various influences and reinvents them with highly emotional pitch bending, vibrato and authoritative phrasing. This technique combines brilliantly with Erik’s mastery of sound and production. Erik has personally led sound design efforts on several major brand synthesizers, and his knowledge of synthesis and audio engineering are second to none. Erik’s perpetual live use of vintage instruments — Moog synthesizers in particular — give his concerts a depth and authenticity of sound seldom seen in modern stage productions.
“The Princely Hours” is an original all-Moog composition donated by Erik, available exclusively through the Bob Moog Foundation. Here’s Erik’s description about the instruments involved in the song:
“I composed ‘The Princely Hours’ as a special piece for The Bob Moog Foundation using only Moog instruments. Even the percussion is Moog! The leads come from my Moog Voyager and my 70s Minimoog Model D. The stereo bass is from my modular Moog system, and some of the sound fx come from the modular as well, of course. For general textures and atmosphere stuff, I used my Moog Rogue, a real favorite of mine for that sort of application. The low bass drones are original Taurus pedals. The tracks were recorded using MOTU Digital Performer with reverbs courtesy of Universal Audio (Plate 140, Dreamverb) and IK Multimedia (CSR). The echoes are provided by the Moogerfooger MF-104 Analog Delay. ”
Listen to the whole track here.
Many thanks to Erik for this stunning musical tribute to the Moog legacy, and for his support of the Bob Moog Foundation.
