Bob Moog’s Legacy in Photos: Reflect. Share. Listen. (Repeat)
August 21, 2010: Fifth Anniversary Tribute
New Photos From Bob’s Archives Speak to the Moog Legacy Itself
Reflect
There are many iconic photos of Bob out there. Many feature the stoic inventor with intense gaze surrounded by drool-worthy gear. Today, we look past the familiar and delve three rarely seen photos of Bob, taken at a lecture or training session of some kind back in the early 1970s. We think they exemplify some qualities that make the Moog legacy what it is. Here you’ll see Bob in three natural poses beside one of his modular instruments. We have given the photos one word captions: Reflect, Share, Listen. This series of human and intellectual engagements, which Bob repeated countless times during his long 50 year career, helped shape Bob’s innovative work and subsequently the world of music technology as we know it _________________________________________________________________________________________
Share
Bob thought deeply about his work, spending endless hours in his workshop day in and day out. Even when he took time away, his mind was often on the circuits. He had many breakthroughs, some groundbreaking, some much less so. As a testament to his humility and open creative spirit, he tested his ideas and asked for feedback from colleagues and musicians. Then he listened. It is perhaps Bob’s ability to listen and incorporate what he learned from listening that made his instruments so beautifully effective. He was constantly asking for feedback and improving on his ideas and designs.
This is an ethic that we carry forward with the Bob Moog Foundation in our work. Whether it’s science and music education, historical preservation or planning for a future museum, we seriously consider each step, seek feedback from experienced advisers and we listen.
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Listen
Tomorrow, August 21, 2010, will be the fifth anniversary of Bob’s passing and the fourth anniversary of the launch of the Bob Moog Foundation. In that time, we have made great progress considering our small size. That progress is due in part to assistance and feedback from scores of people who have lent their expertise to help move our efforts forward. To all of you — volunteers, advisors, supporters — thank you for being part of the unique process of carrying Bob Moog’s legacy forward.
To Bob, from all of us at the Bob Moog Foundation, and countless others around the world —
Your physical presence is greatly missed, but your spirit remains with us as a source of great inspiration.
Moog Filtered Ale to Add Buzz to BMF Fundraising
Bob Moog Foundation Unites with Asheville Brewing Company to Launch “Moog Filtered Ale”
Proceeds of Limited Edition Brew to Benefit Foundation
Asheville Brewing Company and the Bob Moog Foundation are proud to announce the launch of the limited edition Moog Filtered Ale, a pale beer named in honor of synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog. The beer will be available beginning May 27, 2010 at the Foundation’s fundraising event, Moogus Operandi featuring synthesizer wizard Erik Norlander. All profits from the sale of the beer will be donated to the Bob Moog Foundation to benefit their projects. The beer is being released in conjunction with Bob’s May 23 birthday.
Moog Filtered Ale Label by Phil Cheney
Moog Filtered Ale will be be distributed nationally and internationally in 22-ounce bottles through Asheville’s Bruisin’ Ales and will be available on tap in various locations throughout Western North Carolina. The beer will be sold from May 27 through July 31, after which it will no longer be available.
“Moog Filtered Ale is an American-style pale ale with distinctive notes of caramel and pine. It’s a very accessible beer that reflects the Moog legacy. I’ve been a fan of Bob Moog since college, and I am excited to present a beer in honor of an American pioneer,” says Doug Riley, brewer and part owner of the Asheville Brewing Company.
Asheville Brewing has been making outstanding craft beers since 1998 and has won several awards for its beers. As an active supporter of local non-profit groups they are thrilled to be working with the Bob Moog Foundation, whose work is innovative and historical. Through Moog Filtered Ale, Asheville Brewing aims to support the interactive educational programs that the Foundation is developing to teach science through music as well as the eventual creation of a Moogseum.
Asheville Pizza Company President Mike Rangel says, “We are thrilled to be working with the Bob Moog Foundation to help keep Bob’s vision and legacy alive. By donating the profits from Moog Filtered Ale, we will be supporting innovative science education through the Foundation’s MoogLab outreach project. We are proud to be joining some of the larger beer companies in supporting important educational work in our community. Moog Filtered Ale is absolutely the most exciting project our company has been involved in.”
Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation, comments, “Creating Moog Filtered Ale with the Asheville Brewing Company has been a rewarding project. We are very grateful to Mike Rangel and Doug Riley for their support of our innovative projects, which will benefit Western North Carolina and beyond. The unique partnership between the Asheville Brewing Company and the Bob Moog Foundation marks a true match of venture philanthropy and creative fundraising in a economically precarious environment. The proceeds from this project will assist us in continuing our important work.”
The colorful label for the Ale was designed by Asheville artist Phil Cheney. The label, an original graphic in vibrant shades of purple, green, and orange, shows Bob Moog leaning over a keyboard with musical notes, synthesizer knobs, and patch cables floating from his head. In the upper right hand corner of the label, “76″ commemorates Bob’s May 23 birthday.
A launch party for Moog Filtered Ale will be held on May 27, 2010, at the Orange Peel in Asheville. The event, Moogus Operandi, will feature virtuoso synthesist Erik Norlander and his massive custom modular synthesizer, affectionately called “the Wall of Doom.” An auction of Moog-inspired art will be held on eBay a week prior to the event and will conclude the night of the event.
Tickets to the event are $10 in advance and $12 at the door and can be purchased through the Orange Peel.
The Ale will be sold exclusively by Greenlife Grocery, the Orange Peel, and Asheville Pizza and Brewing Company from May 27 through May 30. Beginning May 31, Moog Filtered Ale will be available for international retail distribution in bottles exclusively through Bruisin’ Ales. It will be available on tap throughout western North Carolina.
In Memorandum: Walter Sear Joins Bob Moog in Analog Heaven
Walter Sear (1930-2010)
Bob Moog and Walter Sear at Sear Sound During Taping of "Moog" Documentary
With sadness, we reflect on the legacy of Walter Sear, who passed away April 30, 2010 from complications from a fall back in March.
Sear may be best known for his commitment to quality recording equipment, techniques and for his pioneering work with synthesizer promotion and composition. He began is career as a tuba player, performing in the pit at Radio City Music Hall during the 1950s and sold tubas of his own design. In the late 1950s, Sear purchased some theremin parts from R.A. Moog, Co, the first iteration of Bob Moog’s company, and subsequently became the first sales agent for the R.A. Moog, Co., selling theremins and theremin parts. He took on the role of Bob’s business partner, as you can read about in our Archive Advisor Brian Kehew‘s reflections below, and played a key role in Bob’s ever-important meeting with Herb Deutsch.
Sear pioneered the use and promotion of the instrument the Moog synthesizer. He devoted time and energy to educating New York City studio owners on the applications of the revolutionary instrument. He composed and performed on a custom Moog modular which he helped design and used it in numerous soundtracks from Oscar-winning best picture Midnight Cowboy to Jim Henson’s The Cube to National Lampoon’s Disco Beaver from Outer Space.
In 1970 Sear created New York’s Sear Sound recording studio, a facility renowned for its collection of vintage analog recording gear, including over 275 microphones as well as a Studer 1-inch, 2-track mastering deck that Sear converted from a 1-inch 4-track recorder used to create The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band at Abbey Studio. Sear Sound became the recording home for numerous stellar musicians including Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Wynton Marsalis, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Suzanne Vega, Sonic Youth, Steely Dan and Nora Jones, Phish, Moe and more.
Sear was committed to the integrity of sound, always with an ear to the highest quality. For him, this meant using the best vintage analog gear that could be found. He talks about his commitment to sonic integrity in the video below.
Brian Kehew, BMF Archive Advisor, Reflects on Walter Sear’s Work with Bob Moog:
In the early 1960′s, Bob Moog was making only theremins. He’d left behind the big tube/valve versions of the 1950s and was having more success selling small transistorized theremins. His only commercial salesman was Walter Sear, already an established studio owner and engineer/producer. It was at their booth at the New York School State Music Educator’s Association conference (selling brass instruments and theremins to schools) that Herb Deutsch first came across Bob Moog. At the booth, Herb connected with Bob and invited him to see some “new” music – experimental styles that introduced Bob to the world of electronic music. Later, Herb requested a custom instrument built, which Bob designed for him – the first Moog synthesizer.
All the while, Walter and Bob are trying to survive in the music business. Making mostly cheap guitar and bass amps for kids who had just discovered the Beatles. I have hundreds of pages of correspondence here between the two, as they wrote daily (no email or faxes yet!) to juggle the needs of their fledgling outfit. Thankfully, Walter kept the paperwork, as it is the only clear record of those early days – when the synthesizer was merely an odd sideline to their daily work.
Notable is Walter’s arrangement to get the custom-made “Melsinar” to the Beach Boys – Moog’s first foray into linear (ribbon) controllers – in 1966.
11/25/65 Letter from Bob to Walter Sear
6/10/65 Letter from Walter Sear to Bob Moog
6/12/66 Letter from Bob to Walter Sear
Through 1967 the little amplifiers sold in the hundreds but were so minimally profitable that the R.A.Moog Company was in clear danger of extinction. Luckily, within a year, that odd instrument, Bob’s synthesizer, would take off, selling to schools and commercial composers, and a few talented pop stars and artists. Walter remained Bob’s salesman and demonstrator for the East Coast, as he was situated in Manhattan and could show the synthesizer in his modern recording studio. In the early 1970s, Walter was officially terminated as an official representative when the company changed ownership. Walter and Bob remained lifelong friends.
There is a wonderful scene in Moog, the documentary film by Hans Fjestallad, where Bob visits Walter to reminisce in his NY studio, Sear Sound – still equipped with his giant Moog modular. This particular modular synthesizer is recognizable on many 1960s/70s “Moog records” as it has a notable Maestro Rhythm King rhythm box on top at the time. The synth is featured on Walter’s own Copper-Plated Integrated Circuit LP, Dick Hyman’s incredible Moog records, Marty Gold’s Moog Plays the Beatles, Richard Hayman’s Genuine Electric Latin Love Machine, Sean Lennon’s first album, and many more!
Moog Guitar Raffle Winner Announced
March 30, 2010
Inventor Paul Vo Announces Winner of Lou Reed’s Moog Guitar
Paul Vo, the inventor of the Moog Guitar, has agreed to announce the winner of the Bob Moog Foundation’s raffle for Lou Reed’s Moog Guitar. Robert Cranfield of Illinois is our very lucky winner!
Vo, who spent years conceptualizing and designing the guitar, brought the idea to Moog Music, Inc. in 2006 and the guitar was released in 2008. Lou Reed was an early proponent of the innovative instrument.
On March 9th, 2010, the Bob Moog Foundation launched the raffle for Reed’s donated guitar, releasing only 200 tickets. The raffle was closed on March 23rd when the last ticket was purchased. The winner was chosen by an automated random selector provided by random.org on March 29, 2010. Participants in the raffle can verify their entry here.
In this video, Paul Vo announces the winner and talks a bit about his work on the guitar and reflects on the importance of innovation and the Moog Legacy.
Many thanks to Moog Music and Lour Reed, and to all who participated in the raffle. The funding raised will assist the Foundation’s projects of educational outreach and historical preservation.
BMF to Raffle Lou Reed’s Moog Guitar
THE RAFFLE IS CLOSED AS OF MARCH 23, 2010
Many thanks to all who participated!
We are compiling the results and will announce the winner on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at noon (EST)
Update March 30th, 2010: We have asked Paul Vo, the inventor of the Moog Guitar, to announce the winner. We need just a bit of time for our volunteer editor to edit his video and we will be posting it at 9pm tonight. Check back here or on our Facebook page. Thanks for your patience — having Paul announce it will make it special indeed!
On Tuesday March 30, 2010 at noon (EST), the Bob Moog Foundation will announce the winner of Lou Reed’s Moog Guitar. The winner will be informed by email, whereby shipping arrangements will be made. Please continue to check this page for any further updates.
Bob Moog Foundation To Raffle Lou Reed’s Moog Guitar Beginning March 9, 2010 12 (EST)
March 8, 2010
Asheville, NC — The Bob Moog Foundation announces a once in a lifetime raffle opportunity to begin Tuesday March 9, 2010 at 12pm (EST). The Foundation will be selling $50 raffle tickets for a chance to win one of Lou Reed’s Moog Guitars. Only 200 tickets will be made available. Participants can purchase raffle tickets online at the Foundation’s online store http://moogfoundation.org/shop . The raffle will close when the 200 tickets have been sold and a winner will be chosen by an automated random selector. All proceeds go to benefit the projects of the Bob Moog Foundation. Employees and volunteers of Moog Music, the Bob Moog Foundation and Lou Reed are not eligible to participate in the auction.
Moog Music Inc., the company which carries on the legacy of synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog through its innovative instruments, is donating the Paul Vo Collector Edition (1 of only 300) Moog Guitar, serial #005, signed and played by Lou Reed, to the Foundation. The strikingly beautiful instrument is a maple top Tiger Eye Flame with an ash body, maple neck and ebony fret board. Reed has signed the front of the guitar; his labels for the guitar’s controls remain on the instrument as well as the brackets for his guitar strap.
Front view of Lou Reed's Moog Guitar
Lou Reed's Autograph
Control Panel
Headstock
Back of headstock
Lou Reed, best known as the former guitarist, vocalist and principle songwriter for the experimental rock band Velvet Underground, has enjoyed a prolific career as a solo guitarist known for the pioneering of many sound effects including distortion, high volume feedback and nonstandard tunings. His love affair with the innovative Moog Guitar began early, as he played the instrument in its prototype phase. Reed experiences the Moog Guitar for the first time in this YouTube video. Upon hearing the guitar for the first time, Reed exclaimed “This is amazing….this opens the door”. Reed performed on the Moog Guitar on the David Lettermen Show in the fall of 2008.
Mike Adams, President of Moog Music, states “Our thanks to Lou Reed, who experienced the Moog Guitar in its earliest evolution and inspired us to continue our development efforts. Gratefully, the proceeds from this raffle will support the Bob Moog Foundation. Both the Bob Moog Foundation and Moog Music serve to honor the genius of Bob Moog.”
Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation acknowledges “The Bob Moog Foundation is deeply grateful for the support of Lou Reed and Moog Music. The funds raised from this raffle will be of great assistance in expanding our Student Outreach Program, the program in which we bring Moog instruments in to the schools and teach children the science behind the sounds of electronic music. This program, even in its infant stages, has opened children’s minds and engaged their spirits to explore the extensive sonic possibilities that Moog instruments offer.”
Moog Music and its customers carry on the legacy of Bob Moog. Moog designs and manufactures electronic musical instruments, including Little Phatty® and Minimoog® Voyager® synthesizers, Moogerfooger® effects modules, Etherwave® theremins and The Moog Guitar. Founded by Bob Moog, Moog Music designs and manufactures its products in Asheville, N.C. www.moogmusic.com
The Bob Moog Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization whose mission is to carry on the legacy of Bob Moog through educating and inspiring children and adults through the power and possibilities of electronic music and through the intersection of science, music and innovation. The foundation has three main projects: preserving and protecting Bob Moog’s archives, creating a Student Outreach Program that brings electronic music into the schools, and its hallmark project, the creation of a Moogseum in Asheville, NC, for which it was recently awarded a $600,000 lead grant by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. For more information see
MoogFoundation.org — behind the curtains
Hello to all of you out there in our online community. I wanted to take a minute to give you an update on 8 months of hard work by a small group of dedicated volunteers in building this website. So, I present: a peek behind the curtains of the MoogFoundation.org. First and foremost, thanks to our Rockstar team: Gene Felice, Jeremy Ferguson and Mike Ostrich. These guys have put in countless hours to make this machine work and in doing so, added tremendous value to the foundation and given us so much more capacity to fulfill our mission.
First, a quick tour of the software to give credit where it is due. We use the open source, world-rocking, amazing WordPress content management system, as well as Linux, MySQL and PHP. We use about a dozen free and open source WordPress plugins, which I won’t list for security reasons, but sincere thanks to all of the developers who have made these systems available and open source.
There are several third-party services that expand our functionality. We use iContact for our email newsletter, Groundspring for secure online donations, and we based the original design of the site on a template from GraphPaperPress. The current design of the site is a collaboration of our team, with Gene Felice doing the heaviest lifting.
It would surprise some people to realize just how much we have going on. Did you know, for example, that we have an iPhone and mobile friendly version of the site? Yep, we do.
A few other things people might not realize is that we have a regular blog series that will be expanding across the course of 2010. We maintain a micro-site for the Moogseum at www.Moogseum.com. Beyond that, we have our Twitter account, Facebook page and Facebook Causes page, a YouTube Channel, a MySpace page and an email newsletter list that reaches somewhere around 5,000 people a month.
[edit: I also forgot we maintain a Flickr account with lots of great pictures of Bob's Archives.]
Later in the year, I hope that we can be a little more transparent about the traffic to the site, but for now we are not releasing that information.
All of this is in place to help us foster innovation at the intersection of science and music. So special thanks again to our Rockstar team. You guys are amazing!
And thank to you, our friends, donors and allies.
–Sean McDonald, board member
p.s. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention our bloggers–Dave & Seva–and our truly tireless Executive Director, Michelle Moog-Koussa. This foundation depends on Michelle for everything we do, and she is remarkable in her commitment!
MoogFoundation.org down for maintenance
[update Feb 10: We are still undergoing a few changes. You may have problems with the email server today. Sorry!]
Hello. Thanks for visiting (or subscribing to) MoogFoundation.org, the online home for the Bob Moog Foundation.
We want you to know that, from Jan 29 – Feb 2, we’re going to be doing some maintenance on the site. This work might cause the site to go down for a while, or behave in new (and buggy) ways. We don’t anticipate any problems, but just in case, we thought we’d let you know.
This is part of a series of improvements we’ve been making since late August, 2009. Our goal, as always, is to give you a better experience, while advancing our mission.
If you are a regular visitor, or even if this is your first time, we welcome your feedback. You can use our contact form, or you can email me directly.
Thanks for understanding — please come back soon!
Sean McDonald
Board member with the Bob Moog Foundation
Bob Moog Foundation Makes Waves at NAMM
January 2010
Bob Moog Foundation Making Waves at Winter NAMM 2010
Happy 2010 to all of you from the Bob Moog Foundation! The year begins for us with big plans as we head out to Winter NAMM in Anaheim, CA next week. Our friends at Moog Music are once again sharing their booth space with us. You can find us there (Booth #6100) making waves with a new video about the Foundation and sharing some recently restored material from the tapes in Bob’s archives. We hope to see many of you there! For those of you who can’t make it, follow us on Facebook and Twitter for daily updates.
We are also proud to be co-sponsoring three events at NAMM that highlight the Moog Legacy and synthesizer history:
- Main Showcase at NAMM Features Items From Moog Exhibit
From January 14-17, the Bob Moog Foundation, in collaboration with the NAMM Museum of Making Music, will feature dozens of items taken from their exhibit Waves of Inspiration:The Legacy of Moog in the main showcase on the floor of the convention center. Of particular note, an extremely rare Eaton-Moog Multi-Touch Sensitive keyboard will be on public display for the first time. Numerous vintage instruments, photographs, articles and project notes will also be on display. The full exhibit runs at the Museum through April 30, 2010.
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Celebrating The Legacy of Vintage Keyboards Through Documentary Film
On Friday night, January 15th, from 6-8pm in the Avila Room at the Anaheim Hilton, neo-symphonic synthesist Amin Bhatia and documentary filmmaker Dianna Dilworth headline an evening exploring the evolution and impact of vintage keyboards. Amin Bhatia will be joined by Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation for a question and answer session followed by a screening of a short documentary on the making of his innovative realization of Bolero Electronica, for which he used over 70 synthesizers covering 75 years of evolution in synthesis in music. The documentary features rock legends Steve Porcaro and Patrick Moraz and Roland Founder Ikutaro Kakehashi.
Following Bhatia, Dianna Dilworth and Markus Resch of the Mellotron Archive will screen Mellodrama: The Mellotron Documentary which explores the rising and falling fortunes of the Mellotron – the first musical keyboard to “sample” the sounds of other instruments – from its birth in a California garage in the 1950s, through its dominance on concert stages in the 1970s, through its almost religious cult of followers in the 2000s. From the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields” to Black Sabbath to Kanye West, Mellodrama traces a 50-year odyssey of musical invention, revolution, betrayal, and rediscovery.
- Panel Discussion To Explore the Impact of Bob Moog’s Work on the Music Industry Past, Present and Future as Interpreted though Museum Exhibit
On Sunday January 17th from 3-4pm in the Idea Center at NAMM, The Bob Moog Foundation and the NAMM Museum of Making Music will present a panel discussion in celebration of the premiere exhibition Waves of Inspiration: The Legacy of Moog. The
discussion will involve industry and musical luminaries in an exploration of the impact of Bob Moog’s work on the music industry as it relates to the exhibition at the NAMM Museum of Making Music public display through April 30, 2010.
The discussion will be moderated by Museum Curator Tatiana Sizonenko
Panelists include:
- Craig Anderton (Senior Editor: Harmony-Central.com, Senior Editor: EQ Magazine, Contributing Editor: Keyboard Magazine)
Herb Deutsch (collaborator on first Moog synthesizer)
Larry Fast (Synergy, Peter Gabriel)
Brian Kehew (Moog Cookbook, The Who, Exhibit Advisor)
Michelle Moog-Koussa (Executive Director, the Bob Moog Foundation)
When the Show Ends, An Exclusive Moog Tour Begins
The Museum of Making Music, in collaboration with Moog Music and the Bob Moog Foundation, is offering an exclusive tour of their exhibit Waves of Inspiration:The Legacy of Moog to NAMM attendees only. The exhibit is the first-ever public display of a rare collection of vintage instruments, photographs, diaries, schematics, catalogs and project notes from the Bob Moog Foundation Archives, along with the prototype of the first Moog modular synthesizer and much more.
On Monday, January 18, a bus will depart from Anaheim to the NAMM Headquarters (where the Museum is housed) in Carlsbad, California. Hosted by Michelle Moog-Koussa (Executive Director of The Bob Moog Foundation), Mike Adams (President, Moog Music Inc.), exhibition advisor Brian Kehew and museum staff, the tour includes lunch before departing back to Anaheim in the early afternoon. Space is limited and an RSVP is required. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Carolyn Grant at carolyng@namm.org or call 760-801-7180.
Celebrating the Moog Synthesizer with Pioneers Herb Deutsch and John Eaton
The week after NAMM, we will be at the NAMM Museum of Making Music to join electronic music pioneers Herb Deutsch and John Eaton for an evening of music and conversation regarding their collaboration with Bob Moog on two groundbreaking instruments. The event, Celebrating the Moog Synthesizer, takes place at the Museum on Saturday, January 23rd at 7pm. Tickets are available for purchase online through the Museum.
We’re off to a great start in 2010! Thank you all for your ongoing support that makes our work possible.
