Doug Babb’s Gifts to the Bob Moog Foundation Archives
On August 21, 2006, one year to the day since Bob had passed away, the Bob Moog Foundation was formally launched. The organization went from a fund with a modest collection of donations to a 501 (c) (3) non-profit with a website and a campaign to help build infrastructure and projects. A phone line was installed in Michelle’s basement, who was at the time the Volunteer Director.
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.
Marc Doty Returns for Six Month Residency
BMF taps Marc Doty’s synth education and electronic music history chops to push projects forward
Marc Doty
When people in the synth community want to brush up on their knowledge of a range of iconic and esoteric vintage synthesizers, many of them turn to Marc Doty’s Automatic Gainsay YouTube Channel. Over a period of five years, Marc has posted 100-plus educational videos in which he teaches the audience about the characteristics of a variety of vintage synthesizers. His enthusiasm, passion, and dedication to the functionality and sonic integrity of these instruments is a compelling part of every video, as is the clarity with which he presents the subject matter at hand. Marc’s videos are not only educational assets to synth geeks everywhere, but they touch and inspire millions of viewers around the world. From his most-watched Demonstration of the Moog Minimoog with over 800,000 views to his exploration of the more esoteric Wersi Bass Synthesizer with over 300,000 views, Marc’s teaching prowess has been enjoyed by a total of nearly 4 million viewers.
When the Bob Moog Foundation needed a graphics designer with a deep knowledge of synthesis to assist our Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool curriculum team this summer, Marc was an obvious choice. He joined our staff for a six week (mid July through end of August) period as our Artist-In-Residence. This position blended his graphics, educational and history expertise. It didn’t take long before Marc became an indispensable member of our team, filling the roll of graphics artist, education and history consultant, videographer, video editor and more.
You can read the announcement of that residency here:
http://www.moogfoundation.org/2011/synth-guru-marc-doty-summer-residency-at-the-bob-moog-foundation/
and a few of Marc’s blogs from his time with the BMF here:
http://www.moogfoundation.org/?s=marc+doty
BMF Historian Brian Kehew and Marc Doty considering a special piece from the archives
Shortly after Marc returned home to Washington State we reached out and invited him to return, this time for a six month period, as our Archive and Education Specialist. We are delighted to announce that he accepted the position, which he refers to as his “dream job” and will begin work in this capacity on October 5th. This time around Marc will be working on a special project that will bring the education and history parts of our mission together in an exciting, interactive platform that we will be able to share with all of you. Stay tuned for more about that near the end of the year.
We welcome Marc Doty to our team here in Asheville, NC and we are grateful to have someone with such diverse and mission-relevant talents helping us push our projects into the future.
Keep an eye out for Marc’s future blogs. He’ll have a lot to share!
Bob’s Archives: Jumping Into a World of Imoogination
The Bob Moog Foundation Preserves Electronic Music History Through Bob’s Archives
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.
Arturia Announces “Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack”
Arturia Creates Pack to Honor Moog Legacy and Benefit Bob Moog Foundation
ARTURIA and the BOB MOOG FOUNDATION are proud to introduce Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack. This unique box set includes Arturia’s award-winning Minimoog-V and Moog Modular V, a DVD of the Moog documentary, an archival book featuring unreleased material curated by Michelle Moog-Koussa entitled From Bob Moog’s Private Archives, and an official Bob Moog Foundation button.
You can see a history of the Moog Modular V here.
Quantities are limited to 1000 copies worldwide. Profits will be donated to the Bob Moog Foundation to benefit their projects which carry Bob Moog’s pioneering legacy forward.
The bundle pack will retail for $299.00US. Click here to purchase Dr. Bob’s Collector’s Pack.
To celebrate this event, Arturia is also organizing a contest to win a 1975 Minimoog Model D synthesizer on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/arturia2.
“We are delighted to partner with the BMF and bring to musicians Dr. Bob, a pack that will be of high value to everyone interested in Bob Moog’s legacy. Years ago, Arturia was extremely lucky to work with Bob Moog on the re-creation of some of his most famous synthesizers. Today we are extremely happy to support the BMF and give a little back, while bringing to the market a great collector box.”
— Frederic Brun (President of Arturia)
“”The Bob Moog Foundation is proud to share many items from our archives for the one-of-a-kind From Bob Moog’s Private Archives booklet included in Dr. Bob’s Collector Pack. The items gracing these pages, many of them rarely seen, illuminate pivotal junctures in the rich history of the Moog legacy. From Bob Moog’s Private Archives is the first published collection of images from the vast trove of materials that Bob accumulated over the length of his 50-year career; it serves as the ultimate complement to the materials in the Pack. Our thanks to Arturia for highlighting the sonic, historical and human legacy that Bob Moog left for us all to enjoy.”
— Michelle Moog-Koussa (Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation)
Dr. Bob's Collector Pack: Tribute to a Pioneer, Benefit to the Legacy, Value to the Musician
MoogHistory: Brian Kehew Explores Rare Hockman Photos
Mark Hockman Donates Rare Photos Featuring Emerson, Lake and Palmer & Bob Moog
Post by Brian Kehew, Bob Moog Foundation Archive Historian
All photos by Mark Hockman
Last year, at the opening weekend of our Waves of Inspiration: The Legacy of Moog exhibit at the Museum of Making Music, someone approached Michelle Moog-Koussa carrying a medium-sized box. He introduced himself as Greg Hockman, former Moog employee; he had brought some photos and paperwork to donate to the Bob Moog Foundation! Inside was a treasure-trove of things Moog-related. At first glance, some of it looked familiar, but certainly much was new to us, and worth further investigation. There were carousel trays of color slides, all difficult to see without proper projection or lighting, but full of gear and people we knew – and some we didn’t. Greg’s brother Mark was a serious and upcoming professional photographer in the early and mid ’70s, so many of the items were Mark’s photos, although Greg did provide a lot of his own as well. Luckily, Greg and Mark preserved and maintained their collection of Moog memories, and they are now sharing this historical material with us, through the Foundation.
Over the last year, we’ve made a concerted effort to organize this donation and incorporate it into the Archive. For this December newsletter, we’ve selected some highlights from it, to show you small examples of the Hockmans’ collection. Many of the photos showed great things – unknown to anyone outside of that inner Moog circle of 1971-74. So, to help gather our own information for future use and fill out the story of the Hockman collection, we spent some time establishing a connection with Greg and his brother Mark. As their story unfolds here, you’ll see examples of the nice bits of Moog history they’ve captured:
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Greg Hockman had been a student at Lycoming College , and a fan of music and electronics, building their own tape-music lab (no synthesizers yet). Greg saw Bob Moog lecture at Penn State, and later met Bob walking the aisles at the NAMM Show in Chicago (the bi-annual convention where musical manufacturers hope to sell their instruments to music stores from across the nation). He asked Bob if there would be any opening for him to work at Moog, and was invited up to visit and interview. After a few such visits, Greg was hired, just as the small R.A.Moog company of the 1960s was sold to Bill Waytena of Musonics, October 1971. The new company “Moog/Musonics” was combining operations in Musonic’s large factory building in Williamsville, NY. Greg worked with the drivers who were moving all the product and equipment from Bob’s old location in Trumansburg.
He was trained on the synthesizers – the Minimoog had slowly begun to sell, and Musonics had their Sonic Five, soon to be redesigned as Moog’s Sonic Six. Greg’s assigned role was “Sales”, but he also picked up engineering and design practices at the factory, watching and later “stuffing” circuit board fulls of parts, and assembly of the final product. Still, it was a small company (only about 20 employees) so Greg often answered phones or made promotional lectures to colleges and schools. His territory was most of the NorthEast and upper MidWest, and he drove over 120,000 miles across 17 States in a little over one year. David VanKoevering was already selling the Minimoog to stores throughout the States, and Greg still had trouble “opening” new dealerships, as they felt a Minimoog synthesizer was too expensive and complicated.
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Photographer Mark Hockman (Greg’s brother) came to visit at the Williamsville plant a few times, and took many great photos. The quality and character make them strong promotional and historic photos, even to this day. (One of Mark’s photos of Bob at his bench that has been often used for BMFA events; now we finally know the source of it!)
Bob working at his tech bench calibrating a Bode Frequency Shifter module. Often Bob himself would setup and test the more complex modules, like the Bode or a ring modulator
Bob working with a Minimoog and the one of the new "Accessory" line - the Sample and Hold controller, which connected to the Minimoog to generate random and stepped voltages.
One of thousands: The Minimoog in mid-assembly on classic '70s shag rug workbench. This one has the smooth pitch and Mod wheels, and many of the knobs are not installed yet.
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As sales rep for Moog, Greg met a lot of resistance from music store owners; they didn’t feel that customers would want synthesizers, and thought they might be too hard to understand. After dogged determination, he got the Moog line into key stores, like Manny’s Music and Sam Ash in NYC. These stores eventually sold to many of Moog’s major clients; Herbie Hancock, George Duke, The Who, Chick Corea, and countless others. At the end of their first year with Moog, Manny’s Music was selling 24 Minimoogs each month – the most successful dealer in the world. Records with the Moog modulars and the new Minimoog had begun to influence more and more people; they wanted the Moog sound, and the famous name and sound helped Moog survive against strong competitors like ARP, EML, Oberheim, and EMS.
One of Mark’s photo sessions shows Keith Emerson and his wife visiting the Moog factory, with Keith’s modular system in the workshop for a check-up. Greg and Rich Walborn (Keith’s Moog tech for the 1973/4 tour) meet with Bob and the employees.
Rich Walborn, Keith Emerson and Bob Moog circa 1973 in the Moog factory.
Keith Emerson and Greg Hockman pose together, with Keith's Moog and programmer box just behind.
As the company grew, Greg moved his family to Kalamazoo, MI. and concentrated sales effort in the midwest. After the sale to Norlin, Greg left Moog Music and started his own company (Systems and Technology in Music) which both taught synthesis and sold synthesizers. Mainly, they began designing and outfitting electronic music labs for several colleges and professional musicians with custom-built professional touring gear; hot-rodded Leslies, custom amplification, effects pedals, etc. Shortening the name, Greg started his own product line, Systech, creating stomp-box pedals that were ultra-high quality and are quite collectible today.
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1974: The Systems and Technology in Music shop was the site of one of the photo shoots: for 2 days Bob Moog and Moog clinician/musician Roger Powell came to town. Roger gave a lecture/demo at the shop, and he and Bob posed with some of the very hip graphics on the walls there.
Roger Powell clinic at Systems and Technology in Music, Kalamazoo, MI.
Roger Powell clinic at Systems and Technology in Music, Kalamazoo, MI. Note Greg Hockman standing at the door and Bob Moog seated against the wall in the audience
Greg Hockman also donated posters from the Kalamazoo store and University seminars, 1974.
While in Kalamazoo, Greg arranged for a lecture and special television taping at the local college – Western Michigan University. They outfitted the stage with a colorful and decorative “Moog” background. Bob was interviewed and Roger gave a demo of the Moog modular/sequencer, the Minimoog (with Ribbon Controller), Sonic Six, and a small piano electrified with a pickup.
Roger Powell with performance rig for the taping.
As Roger played, the WMU video team treated the video with their most-modern graphic effects.
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1972-74: Both Moog and Greg’s Systech team provided tech support for Keith Emerson’s Moog systems on tour, usually sending Richie Walborn out, with Greg assisting now and then. They even designed and built special amplification and custom mods for Greg Lake’s guitars and basses.
Greg and Mark came to Rich Stadium in Buffalo, NY with Bob Moog. Mark photographed soundcheck and the show. One of these photos, showing Bob and Keith in front of the Monster Moog, has been seen countless times since the early 1970s as a Moog publicity photo. Often accredited to other photographers, it’s certainly one of Mark Hockman’s photos. Mark and Greg took photos of many ELP shows, often getting detailed photos of the equipment – detailed in a way that has never before been seen. We’re hoping to do something very special with the ELP photos in the future, but for now, here’s a sneak preview of some of the pictures.
This well-loved shot of Bob and Keith, taken by Mark Hockman at the Buffalo stadium during afternoon soundcheck
With Bob Moog in the background, and Carl Palmer looking on, Keith tests the Minimoog at soundcheck. Note the Hiwatt 100-watt amps powering four Leslie cabinets (2 top and 2 bottom). Keith's massive Moog sits on top of his customized Hammond C3 organ.
Greg Lake playing his Les Paul, with custom electronics by Systech. Pairs of Fender Showman and Concert amps keep the guitar as loud as the rest of ELP...
Mark's beautiful photo of Emerson in trance between the two keyboard rigs, the 1974 Brain Salad Surgery Tour.
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The donated collection of Greg and Mark Hoffman certainly has interest for most Moog/ELP fans, and it’s amazing that new materials are still out there to be found. We’re excited to have their things for future use, as well, for lectures, books, Moogfest, and newsletters like this. The Hockmans made this for their own memories, their own history – and it is – but sharing it with us certainly brings all of us closer to “being there” as they were. MANY THANKS to Greg and Mark Hockman for sharing this collection with us!
From a much earlier era, on the Tarkus tour in late 1971; Keith with his (much smaller) original Moog synth and the rare Moog programmer on top.
CALL TO ACTION:
If you’re a longtime Moog fan and have something of interest to donate, the Bob Moog Foundation Archive can use whatever you have – old newpaper reviews, vintage Keyboard magazines, Moog catalogs, photos from shows or college music studios, photos of your Moog/synthesizer rig, music you’ve written. These things can help us tell the story – keeping people interested will all facets of the Moog music world. With your permission, we can use the materials to teach people about the evolution of Electronic Music, and how the Moog Legacy still affects the world today. Be creative – and add your own history to the Foundation’s growing collection. Contact us at info@moogfoundation.org.
Please help us keep Moog history alive for future generations. These photos and so much more from our archives will form the basis of our traveling exhibits and eventually our permanent exhibit at the future Moogseum. DONATE TODAY to help our preservation efforts.
Brian Kehew: Dec 1, 2010
Moogfest Panels & Discussions Captivate Audiences, Illuminate Moog Legacy
On Halloween weekend, Moogfest 2010 took Asheville, NC by storm. This multi-venue festival, a summit for electronic music lovers from all over the globe, featured over 50 bands throughout the three music-infused days. Artists include such varied bands as Devo, Massive Attack, Pretty Lights, Thievery Corporation, Jonsi, Big Boi, Disco Biscuits, Sleigh Bells, Saturn Never Sleeps, Headronics, Matmos, RJD2, Ce-Lo, DJ Spooky, Girl Talk, Panda Bear and more. You can check out the entire pheonmenal line-up here.
The Bob Moog Foundation proudly partnered with Moogfest, Moog Music, Inc. and Red Bull to present the Moogfest workshops, panels and discussions. Drawing from the Moog brian trust, the workshops featured a fusion of historical, educational and technical material presented by some of the most knowledgeable minds in the music and tech industry. The workshops, which were held in the Moogaplex (in the Haywood Park Hotel Ballroom just across from the Asheville Civic Center), brought together generation-spanning experts ranging from those who worked with Moog during the seminal days of synthesis to modern day sound sculptors.
In addition the the panels, the Bob Moog Foundation ran a continuously packed MoogLab interactive experience, allowing attendees to try their hand (and ears) at a variety of Moog synthesizer, theremins and effect processors. In the background, a slideshow featuring artifacts from Bob’s archives served as a visual reminder of the rich history that was celebrated by the festival itself.
Here’s a complete rundown of the workshops, panels and discussions:
Synth History Panel: The Birth of the Minimoog:
Herb Deutsch – Herb, currently professor emeritus at Hofstra University, is the experimental jazz musician who first approached Bob in 1963 about the need for a new instrument that could generate new sounds. The two worked together in the summer of 1964 to develop the initial circuits for what would become the prototype modular. Herb went on to become the VP of Marketing at the later Moog Music in Buffalo, NY, and was responsible for the development of the Liberation and the OPUS 3.
Bill Hemsath – As an engineer at R.A. Moog, Co. in 1969, Bill put together the first prototype models, models A and B, of the Minimoog. He subsequently worked with the team of Chad Hunt, Jim Scott, and Bob Moog to develop Models C and D.
David Van Koevering – David was the first salesman for Minimoog. He is credited with setting up distributors for the Minimoog across the country at a time when nobody knew what a synthesizer was. Dave is widely credited with marketing the instrument to such great effect that he made it a commercially viable. Dave served as VP of Marketing at Moog Music in the early 1970s
Tom Rhea – Tom is an electronic music historian who first met Bob Moog in Trumansburg, NY when writing his thesis. He went on to become an employee of Moog Music, Inc. (Buffalo) as a clinician, design consultant, and Director of Marketing at Moog Music. He is well known in the synth community for writing the manual for the Minimoog. Tom was part of the design team, along with Bob Moog and Jim Scott, who developed the Crumar Spirit.
Brain Kehew, Moderator – Brian is a producer, writer and keyboardist, best known for his work with the Moog Cookbook. He has toured with the Who, co- produced Fiona Apple, and co-authored the much acclaimed Recording the Beatles. He currently serves as the Bob Moog Foundation Archive (BMFA) Historian.
Artist Performance and Discussion: Tara Busch – Remixing with Moogerfoogers
Tara is a sound sculpting goddess who is well known for her blog AnalogSuicide.com. She is a self-described “futurist”, mixing vintage technology with cutting edge technology. Her performance at Moogfest was a combination of crystalline vocals meshed with ethereal and thundering explorations of analog synthesis.
Technical Panel Discussion: An Insiders Glimpse into the Work of Moog Engineers
Cyril Lance, Rick Shaich, Steve Dunnington and Eric Church
Cyril has been working with Moog Music, Inc. since the time of Bob’s passing in 2005. He is responsible for the design implementation of the Little Phatty, for the development of the Taurus III pedals and for guiding the engineering team at Moog Music to create many award winning products. He was joined by longtime Moog engineer Steve Dunnington, who studied and worked under Bob and most recently worked on the Slim Phatty; Eric Church who has been working on the Moog Guitar and the new Moog lap steel; and Rick Shaich, who specializes in product engineering and production.
Theremin Performance and Lesson: Kevin Kissinger — Theremin
Kevin is a classically-trained composer/performer/multi-instrumentalist who discovered the theremin in 2005. He has received recognition for “Best performance of the Year” in 2006 and 2007 as part of the Spellbound artist list, an internet music program devoted entirely to theremin music. He mesmerized the Moogfest audience with original compositions that featured his Etherwave Pro Theremin with loops and backing tracks. During his performance, 15 theremins were set up for the audience to partake in a brief theremin lesson conducted by Kevin.
[Gallery not found]Synth History Panel: Exploration of Bob’s Archives
Brian Kehew - Brian is a producer, writer and keyboardist who is best known for his work with the Moog Cookbook. He has toured with the Who, co- produced Fiona Apple, and co-authored the much acclaimed Recording the Beatles. He currently serves as the Bob Moog Foundation Archive (BMFA) Historian.
Michelle Moog-Koussa – Michelle has been involved in the preservation of Bob’s archives since initially finding the collection in Bob’s country workshop. She has helped steward the collection to a stable storage environment, been in charge of all preservation efforts including coordination of volunteer cataloging teams, and has worked closely with the Grammy Foundation on the restoration of reel-to-reel tapes in the archive.
Seva David Ball – Seva is a recording engineer and a mastering engineer. He owns Soundcurrent Mastering in Knoxville, TN and has three Grammy nominations. Seva is the Bob Moog Foundation’s archive preservationist, currently restoring Bob Moog’s reel-to-reel tapes with a grant from the Grammy Foundation
Brian, Michelle and Seva are three of the few people who have been exploring, organizing and preserving Bob’s archives over the past few years. They will lend their insights about the depth and breath of material in this fascinating collection and illuminate the importance of this collection for the history of electronic music.
[Gallery not found]Technical Discussion –Moog Guitar Sound Sculpting with Saul Zonana
Saul is a killer guitarist who has worked with Adrian Belew, Ace Frehley, Crash Test Dummies. During his discussion, he integrated the Moog Guitar, Moogerfoogers, Multi-Pedal, and Little Phatty into an exploration of the guitar’s amazing capabilities.
Technical Panel: Modern Day Sound Sculpting with Tara Busch and Richard Divine
Richard Devine – Richard is an electronic musician and one of the world’s most acclaimed, young sound designers. He is known for his integration of vintage and contemporary technology. His clients include Nike and Touchstone Pictures, among others.
Tara Busch – Tara is a former rock musician turned synthesizer devotee. She is often referred to as a synth goddess who is also well-known as a prominent analog synth-blogger for AnalogSuicide.com. She is a self-described “futurist”, mixing vintage and cutting edge technology. Her performances are ethereal explorations that mix electronic, acoustic and vocal elements.
Abominatron 2 Performance: Richard Devine
Richard is one of the world’s most acclaimed, young sound designers; his clients include top names in film and advertising. Richard performed on Moog Music’s exclusive Abominatron 2 synthesizer.
Synth History Panel: Examining the Legacy of the Mini-Synth
Steven Fortner (editor of Keyboard Magazine), Geary Yelton – (longtime contributor and current senior editor of the magazine Electronic Musician) and Mark Vail (author, Vintage Synthesizers), along with moderator Brian Kehew, explored the definition of a “mini-synth”, as well as the genre’s mark on popular music.
Theremin Performance and Workshop: Dorit Chrysler
Dorit is an Austrian born thereminist now living in New York City. She is the founder of the New York Theremin Symposium, and she composes and performs on the theremin throughout the world.
Technical/Eductional Panel: The Power of Modular Synthesis
Erik Norlander – Erik is a virtuoso synthesist, composer and producer. He has also led several synthesizer design teams. In 1995 he began lovingly restoring a modular Moog synthesizer and never looked back. Nearly five years later, the result was a 22 oscillator custom synthesizer that his roadies affectionately referred to as the Wall of Doom.
Amos Gaynes – Amos is the Tech guru at Moog Music. His deep knowledge and understanding of synthesis and his clarity in expressing problems and solutions has given him the reputation as the go-to man when people have questions.
August Worley – August is a former engineer at Moog Music (Buffalo), Big Briar, Inc. and Moog Music (Asheville). He worked with Bob to develop the Voyager in 2002. August also toured with Emerson, Lake and Palmer in 1997 during their reunion tour as keyboard tech for Keith’s massive Monster Moog modular synth.
The Making of “Bob Moog Live” (Part 4 of 5): “Electronic Music Should Always Be Changing”
[Leading up to our Bob Moog Live CD Release Party on October 10, 2010 at the LAB, we are presenting a series of blogs written by Dan Lewis. You can check out the first post "The History", here , the second post,
The Secret Behind the Music" here and the third post "Squalling Minimoog" here. Lewis is the only surviving member of the trio of Bob Moog, Mike Abbott and Dan Lewis who rehearsed and performed together for this recording. Dan will be performing and speaking at the release party.]
Mike Abbott, Bob Moog and Dan Lewis, Asheville Art Museum, 1980
Bob went on to consult for many of the world’s great synth companies,
eventually re-establishing Moog Music, while Mike and I went on with our separate
and occasionally joint music careers, frequently getting together to perform
everything from original work to 50s and 60s rock & roll for dances.
Whenever I would run into Bob in Asheville, he was always happy to see me,
as if we had just played last week, and always asked about Mike.
Michael Abbott passed away some years back, and Bob passed
a few years later, leaving me the one to tell the story; I hope they will approve.
Bob once told Mike and me something I’ve always remembered.
He said:
“Electronic music should always be changing, because it can”.
That seems as profound today as it did 30 years ago, when Bob said it.
ABOUT THE MUSIC & THE MUSICIANS…
Bob Moog in performing on the Minimoog in Concert, November 23, 1980
Robert Moog (1934-2005) was the internationally famous inventor of the Moog
synthesizer, and the many synthesizer variations and analog effects that bear his
name and that of Big Briar, Inc., which is the name of the cove where he built his
home and workshop in western North Carolina. Bob had performed on piano as
a young man, but rarely performed after the success of his inventions. It is
conservative to say that the fabric of modern music was forever changed and
expanded due to the work of Moog and his fellow synthesizer contemporaries.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Mike Abbott at the synths, November 23, 1980
Michael Abbott (1953-2004) was the most accomplished professional musician
of the trio, having played and performed steadily since the late 1960s with bands
too numerous to list. Playing anything from a Fender-Rhodes to a Hammond B-3,
Mike was almost certainly the first in western North Carolina to own and perform
on a MiniMoog, and quickly picked up a MicroMoog and several polyphonic
synths as they became available on the national market. Mike was a huge asset
on any stage; on this recording, he provides the multi-timbral “glue that holds
the music together, and composed the instrumentals “Hannibal” and “Someone”.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Dan Lewis on the Ukelin, with Mike Abbott in the background, November 23, 1980
Dan Lewis (1953- ) is a songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist since 1974,
with 12 albums of original music (6 of them instrumental synthesizer) to date, and
is producer/arranger/audo engineer at Acoustic Audio in Hendersonville, NC.
Most of the music offered on this CD are his original compositions circa 1980;
he began playing music in 1974, is entirely self-taught, and had been playing a
total of six years when this music was made.
Dan Lewis
Flat Rock, NC
October 2010
_______________________________________________________________________________________
The CD Release Party for “Bob Moog Live” happens on October 10, 2010 at the Lexington Avenue Brewery’s Music Venue in Asheville, NC from 3:30- 6:00 p.m.. Doors open at 3 p.m. Tickets are $7, with proceeds benefiting the Bob Moog Foundation. Performers include Dan Lewis, Mary Frances (Emyrael), Jeff Knorr (Funknastics) adn Ben Hovey (Asheville Horns) with other special guests.
Bob Moog Live will be sold exclusively through the Bob Moog Foundation online store (www.moogfoundation.org/shop) beginning October 11.
“The Making of Bob Moog Live” (Part 3 of 5): The Squalling Minimoog
[Leading up to our Bob Moog Live CD Release Party on October 10, 2010 at the LAB, we are presenting a series of blogs written by Dan Lewis. You can check out the first post "The History", here, and the second post,
The Secret Behind the Music" here. Lewis is the only surviving member of the trio of Bob Moog, Mike Abbott and Dan Lewis who rehearsed and performed together for this recording. Dan will be performing and speaking at the release party.]
Bob Moog and Dan Lewis Rehearsing in Bob's workshop in the country
Needless to say, Mike and I were thrilled and terrified at this totally unforeseen opportunity [to rehearse and perform with Bob], and spent weeks scrambling to come up with something that we could incorporate Bob into, and that we hoped might measure up to our amazing new line-up. The results were far different from whatever we had origin ally planned as a duo, and the rehearsals with Bob at his shop at Big Briar, some 25 miles outside Asheville, were always productive and memorable.
Bob played the most popular Moog synth, the MiniMoog. Mike played a Mini, a MicroMoog, a Wurlitzer electronic piano and an Oberheim OB-8, while I performed on acoustic guitar, a 32-string Ukelin (16 plucked, 16 bowed) a small harp and on one tune, a Moog Sonic Six.
Most of the original material was mine, with two songs by Mike Abbott. Mike and I collaborated by improvisation and experimentation until we had found what we liked and what worked the best, while Bob wanted his parts written out, so I had to invent a graph system quickly so I could write out his parts. It was amazing to me that 99% of my efforts were accurate; once in a while, I’d hear a “clam” when we tried out a new part, and I’d pull out my graph and find that I had misplaced a note and had to fix it. To this day, after 30 years in music and a dozen albums, I don’t read or write down music.
Our usual arrangement was this: I’d play the basic tune, Bob would play either a bass line or a melody, while Mike would provide all the middle part, the “glue” that brought the other parts together. Mike was always a great musical asset who anchored any gig we ever did; when we were on stage together, I could count on Mike to not only play brilliantly, but help cue musicians on the back line who may not have known the music as well.
Bob had a wonderful enthusiasm that was always a pleasure to be around, and even the most casual conversations were treasured by we two young musicians; we became friends, and at the same time, felt awed to be with him. He never gave you any impression that he was famous, nor thought he was. He was totally accessible, real and genuine. We spent many afternoons at Bob’s home in South Turkey Creek, rehearsing in his workshop at Big Briar. Afterwards he always invited us to stay for dinner with his family.
We rehearsed with the huge roll-up doors open, looking out across the valley. Once, Bob’s Minimoog started squalling like an electronic pig. Mike and I were shocked to see the inventor calmly turn it up on it’s side, give it three whacks with his fist, sending horrific electronic thunder cascading across the hillsides. Naturally, the Minimoog responded immediately to the master’s touch, and performed flawlessly the remainder of the evening.
Once the music started to come together, Mike brought his Tascam reel-to-reel recorder and taped the rehearsal, and later had a friend come and monitor the recorder during both concerts to capture our performances. Even then, we knew we were participating in something that felt historic, and Mike was wise enough to record it.
Our first performance at Bele Chere 1980 was a success, and the feeling was good for everyone, so we agreed to repeat the performance in more controlled indoor circumstances. I was able to arrange a concert some months later at the Asheville Art Museum, then located at the Asheville Civic Center. The concert on November 23 was well attended and the audience enthusiastic. From that event came the bulk of the recorded music on the Bob Moog Live CD, the rest from earlier rehearsals.
That was to be the second and last concert of Moog, Abbott & Lewis. As Bob often said, he was first and foremost an electronic musical engineer, and performing music was not his first priority. Mike and I realized that we had been incredibly fortunate to know and perform with Moog; thanks to Mike’s forethought, we also have the recordings.
Dan Lewis
Flat Rock, North Carolina
October 2010
The CD Release Party for “Bob Moog Live” happens on October 10, 2010 at the Lexington Avenue Brewery’s Music Venue in Asheville, NC from 3:30- 6:00 p.m.. Doors open at 3 p.m. Tickets are $7, with proceeds benefiting the Bob Moog Foundation. Performers include Dan Lewis, Mary Frances (Emyrael), Jeff Knorr (Funknastics) adn Ben Hovey (Asheville Horns) with other special guests.
Bob Moog Live will be sold exclusively through the Bob Moog Foundation online store (www.moogfoundation.org/shop) beginning October 11.
The Making of “Bob Moog Live” (Part 2 of 5): The Secret Behind the Music
[Leading up to our Bob Moog Live CD Release Party on October 10, 2010 at the LAB, we are presenting a series of blogs written by Dan Lewis. You can check out the first post "The History", here. Lewis is the only surviving member of the trio of Bob Moog, Mike Abbott and Dan Lewis who rehearsed and performed together for this recording. Dan will be performing and speaking at the release party.]
Bob Moog at the Minimoog with makeshift music stand, reading the music Dad so carefully wrote for him (Summer 1980)
The first challenge we faced before our trio rehearsed even once was massive. Mike and I played by ear and memory, so when Bob asked for charts (his parts written out in music) Mike and I were not only scrambling for material that we hoped would be worthy, but then had to somehow write part of it down. Mike had basic skills in reading and writing music, but I had none, and a fair amount of the music was mine.
Heart attack time. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I had to come up with something, so I made a graph of the 5 lines and 4 spaces, and spent countless hours leaning over my guitar playing my parts, humming what I hoped were harmonies, then trying figure out what note it was on the guitar, then painstakingly figuring where on the graph the note went and for what fraction of time.
Thinking back, it was crazy and would have been much easier had I had a keyboard, but I was too inexperienced to know how unlikely the whole process was, so I spent many entire days fiddling with my cobbled-up scoring system, and somehow pulled it off. I remember handing Bob my scribbled music notes that I literally couldn’t read myself, saying “Let’s just play it and see how far we get”. Unbelievably, the Muse of Music must have been smiling down on us, because about 95% of it worked. Every once in a while, on a first run-through, I’d hear a serious “clam” in my melody, stop the guys, run over there with my graph, red-faced, and fix the problem.
Bob seemed to enjoy the whole process; there was never anything but harmony between the three of us. We laughed and joked all the time. In retrospect, I’m amazed the whole thing worked as well as it did; there was only one part of all that music that was ever written down, that being Bob’s parts. Mike and I continued to “earball” our parts, but somehow, it all came together in a way that we all enjoyed, because after our first gig in the summer of 1980, we all agreed that we wanted to do a second one later that fall. This event is the one that is featured on the “Bob Moog Live” CD. To this day, some 30 years later, although I’ve created and recorded many songs and instrumentals, I still do not read or write music, and am still amazed that somehow collectively, we pulled that off.
Dan Lewis
October 2010
Flat Rock, NC
The CD Release Party for “Bob Moog Live” happens on October 10, 2010 at the Lexington Avenue Brewery’s Music Venue in Asheville, NC from 3:30- 6:00 p.m.. Doors open at 3 p.m. Tickets are $7, with proceeds benefiting the Bob Moog Foundation. Performers include Dan Lewis, Mary Frances (Emyrael), Jeff Knorr (Funknastics) adn Ben Hovey (Asheville Horns) with other special guests.
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.
