FEATURED MUSIC*
"Song for Illusory Impressions Project 2017" - Aileen Adler (Austin, TX, USA)
"Improvisation 2" - Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel (Atlanta, GA, USA)
"Elektromat" - Schramm (Zinnowitz, Germany)
"Fantaisie for Ondes Martenot and Piano" - Charlie Draper (London, England)
"Mortante Elefanto" - Beat Frequency (Croxley Green, England)
ADDITIONAL MUSIC
"Opera Glasses" - Phlogiston Theory and Ron Allen (Denver, CO and Seattle, WA, USA)
"No Static at All" - Phlogiston Theory (Denver, CO, USA)
"Time Shadows" - Phlogiston Theory (Denver, CO, USA)
INTERVIEW
Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director, Bob Moog Foundation and Moogseum (Asheville, NC, USA)
CALENDAR OF THEREMIN EVENTS
Visit the Theremin 30 Calendar of Theremin Events for links and details of events mentioned in this episode.
ON YOUTUBE
Theremin 30 Playlist
Submit your music, suggest a calendar event, or volunteer for an interview by writing to: theremin30podcast@gmail.com. Visit Theremin 30 on Facebook.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/theremin30/message
*The full-length recordings featured in this show were used with the knowledge and permission of the artists and composers. Please support the artists by visiting their websites, purchasing their recordings, and attending their performances.
CREDITS
Producer/Writer/Host: Rick Reid
Opening and closing announcer: David Brower
Copyright 2019 Rick Reid
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TRANSCRIPT
Please note: This is a machine-generated transcript that has not been manually edited. There will be numerous errors. Check back soon for a corrected version.
David Brower 0:04
This is Theremin 3030 minutes of Theremin 30 news events an interview with a new episode about every 30 days now here's your host from Denver, Colorado.
Rick Reid 0:19
USA Well hello and welcome to the only regularly scheduled podcast devoted to Theremin music and Theremin events. In this August 2019 episode of Theremin 30, we'll teach you recordings from the USA, the UK and Germany all played with the permission of the artists. We'll take a look at the calendar of Theremin events. And we'll also hear the conclusion of my interview with Michelle Moga kusa, founder of the bob mug Foundation, and the new museum and Asheville North Carolina. Let's start off with some modern classical music from Austin, Texas. Here's thereminist alien Adler, accompanied by Katherine Davis at the piano
Rick Reid 5:45
We started that set with Amy Adler and pianist Catherine Davis. Catherine wrote the song for a 2017 performance art exhibition called the illusory impressions project. Then we heard improvisation too from Atlanta based experimental artists do wet for Theremin and lap steel. duet is embarking on a concert tour very soon and I've got details in the Theremin 30 calendar of events. So let's do that right now. On the August calendar of Theremin events, Dr. G is touring the public libraries of Nova Scotia with his science focused concerts for kids. The new museum in Asheville, North Carolina celebrates Leon Theremin 's birthday and its own grand opening with three days of events from August 13 through the 15th. I'll have more details later in the show. in Montreal on August 23, and 24th Alex SHERMER teams with Gregoire blonk for an afternoon Theremin workshops and a concert premiere of a new work composed by Alec and among the September calendar highlights duet for Theremin and lap steel take their show on the road September 5 through the 14th with performances in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois. In mid September, Mandarin electronic hosts several Theremin 100 Japan events, including an attempt to set a new Theremin world record to get more details on these events and many more follow the links on the calendar at Theremin thirty.com. Our next recording comes from the German industrial band Shrum featuring Robert Meyer on Theremin I only took one semester of German in college so I don't know exactly what these lyrics are saying. So if you happen to be more fluent in German than I am Be warned that I haven't screened this tract or any explicit or offensive language. I do know that the song was inspired by the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Robert tells me it's about how a love bombing can turn a healthy individual into a zombie. I just dig it for Roberts Theremin riffs. Here's Shrum with a track called electro Mont
Rick Reid 11:52
you can see the official music video of electromech in the new Theremin 30 video playlist. There's a link on our website or just search for Theremin 30 on YouTube. There's more music to come on the Theremin 30 podcasts. And we'll play part two of my interview with Michel Moke kusa. So keep listening.
Rick Reid 12:20
Remember, you can find links to all of the artists featured on this podcast at Theremin three zero.com right now I'm going to break my own rules. This next track does not feature a Theremin. Instead, Charlie Draper plays the owned martineau along with pianist Paul Jackson. This song is called fantasy for owned Martin oh and piano. It was written by French composer Pierre vai loan in 1930, but was never published. And fortunately for my podcast, it is lapsed into the public domain. This is believed to be the second musical composition ever written specifically for the owned Martin No. This live performance was recorded at the Theremin and owned Martin no workshop and recital held at Oxford University this past May
Rick Reid 17:51
In the July episode of Theremin 30 I interviewed Michelle Moga kusa, the founder and executive director of the bob mo foundation. We talked about the mission of the foundation and about the cool Theremin exhibits at the new museum in Asheville, North Carolina. But we ran out of time. So let's play the rest of that interview now. What do you have lined up for the grand opening celebration?
Michelle Moog-Koussa 18:14
We are still working on that. But I will let just your listeners know that we have secured a loan of the Moog prototype from the Henry Ford museum. And we will be featuring that and that herb Deutsch will be joining us for two different talks, listening parties and Q and A's and a dinner. And we are working on a couple other events as we speak. So people should check out our Facebook pages and sign up for E newsletters, and they will be able to get some updates then tell people how to find out about that information.
Rick Reid 18:47
What is your website and Facebook page,
Michelle Moog-Koussa 18:50
they can go to the Bob Moog Foundation website, which is Moog foundation.org. We've also started a magazine page, but we're still working on it, but they can always check it because it will be growing. And that's magium.org. That's m OGSEUM magium. And we also are on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, both as the Bob Moog Foundation and the moseying
Rick Reid 19:14
and kind of a personal question for you. What are the challenges and the rewards of doing this work about your father?
Michelle Moog-Koussa 19:21
That's a great question. Let's start with the challenges. The challenges are that it's in a extraordinarily complex and diverse legacy and requiring a lot of attention to detail as far as fully understanding and communicating it. Another challenge would be that people mistakenly think that Bob Moke was a multimillionaire which he most certainly was not, and that he left us millions of dollars to do this work, which is not the case. So people think We're privately funded through that source, when the truth is that we're quite small in our financial resources, and we are donor driven. Another challenge is that people think that we are part of the company mode music, which is also not true. We're completely independent, promote music, and that tends to create its own set of confusion. So we are constantly messaging to people just letting them know that mode, music manufacturers, the instruments, but we are the ones carrying on Bob's legacy through the educational and archival preservation, I would say those are probably the three biggest challenges, the rewards, those are both too many to list. And unmeasurable, Bob's legacy is so rich in not just technology, history, education, but there's a very special spiritual component to his legacy and the way that he and his work, connect with other people and inspire them to do great things on their own. And to be able to witness that through this work has been one of the most rewarding things that's ever happened to me. So just being able to carry on the legacy and continue to help people understand it is quite an immense honor on my part.
Rick Reid 21:23
That's an experience that I'm sure that very few people get to have with their parents, even though he's not with us anymore. It seems like the relationship you have with him is transformed by the work you're doing.
Michelle Moog-Koussa 21:36
Yes, it is. And it's been very interesting for me to learn more and more about his professional history, which I knew very little about before I started this job, which was after his passing, because he never really talked about his work. So a lot of what I've learned has been through the work with the foundation. And there will be times when I'm reading about what's happening, often the challenges and you know, even some of the low points in his career, and thinking about what's going on in our family life at that point, maybe how he was, what his stress level was, what other things happened. And it all kind of clicks for me. And that goes for some of the, you know, the positives, as well as not just the hard stuff. But you know, he spent a lot of time away from home. And as a kid, that you interpret that one way, and it might make you feel a certain way about yourself, depending on what kind of kid you are. But the more I read about all these fantastic relationships that my dad had with musicians, how devoted he was to helping them express their craft, and how they were really his beacon, and how deeply inspired they were not only by his work, but by his humility and the ease in which they could connect with him. It really helped me understand and appreciate why he was gone so much because he was gone working with those musicians. And, you know, finally, I would say that running the bob Foundation has not always been an easy to ask. And just about everyone in my family and a few other people have at different points suggested that I give up because it was too hard. And I have said to them, you know how many times in your life you get a chance to do something like this. If you're lucky, you get one chance. So no, I'm not giving up.
Rick Reid 23:20
While I have you here. Tell me about the documentary film project you're working on.
Michelle Moog-Koussa 23:26
Electronic wager is a documentary that follows me tracing my dad's footsteps in order to help people understand him well beyond his iconic status. And we've been working on the project for a few years, we have done extensive filming all up and down the East Coast and in Europe, and the director has spent the last four or five months doing some really fascinating editing. And they are hoping to have the editing done by the end of the year, I know that they will be at the grand opening. And they will be doing some additional filming. And Nashville will be doing some voiceover work. And we will be doing an additional set of interviewing and traveling in California, and then the project will wrap up. So we're really excited about it. Because at this point, there are over 100 hours of interviews for the 90 minute documentary and I think it's going to be incredibly interesting and insightful in ways that no other piece of material about Bob mo has been before.
Rick Reid 24:31
I understand electronic Voyager has been crowdfunded. Is it too late for someone to buy into it or to preorder a copy of the finished film?
Michelle Moog-Koussa 24:39
I'm not sure but I do know that in the latest Indiegogo campaign they were in a phase that was called something like extended which means you could basically participate after the official deadline. So if any of your listeners are interested they can go to Indiegogo campaign and search electronic Voyager And see if those opportunities are still open. But electronic voyageurs also has a website and they can check there. I know that the crew was looking into accepting donations and there are other ways that people can help. And that help is always welcome because producing a documentary is not only a ton of work, but it requires a lot of finances. So any support there is greatly appreciated. Well, thank
Rick Reid 25:22
you. I'm curious, are you a Theremin player?
Michelle Moog-Koussa 25:24
I am not. But I would love to learn how to play the theorem. And if you're only a little bit
Rick Reid 25:30
so when I I've been at it for 10 years.
Michelle Moog-Koussa 25:34
Right? And then that's part of it. You know, it's a yes, I would love to learn how to play the Theremin. And I have respectfully not even tried yet because I understand the dedication that it takes. I am in admiration and all of all of the practicing therapists out there.
Rick Reid 25:53
Well, it sounds like you've got work that you're dedicated to that benefits salt. There are minutes so we really appreciate all you're doing for the electronic music community.
Michelle Moog-Koussa 26:02
Oh, thank you. Okay, appreciate that. It's my honor.
Rick Reid 26:04
In the time since I recorded that interview with Michelle, the museum grand opening has been expanded from one day to three days, a full slate of performances, presentations, museum tours, and a banquet have been scheduled for August 13 through the 15th special guests include electronic musicians herb Deutsch, Patrick Moran, Lisa, Bella, Donna and Larry fast you can get all the details online@mobium.org or follow the link on our website. Coming up I'll tell you about next month special guest joining us all the way from Japan. Right now let's go to the UK. Here's B frequency with a brief ambient track called more Dante elephant Oh.
Rick Reid 28:52
From croxley green England that was beat frequency who many of you may know as Gordon Charlton? I want to thank Gordon alien duet for Theremin and lap steel Robert and Charlie for allowing me to play their music on this podcast and a special thank you goes to my interview guest Michel Moog kusa next month I'm planning to visit with Mario's Giovanna ellia about the Theremin 100 Japan project and the planned attempt to set a new Theremin world record. Also, in this September episode, we'll play some of your original Theremin music, but only if you send it into me, so be sure to contact me through the website to get all the details. Of course, I want to remind you that August is Leon Theremin his birth month. His birthday falls on either August 15 or August 27 depending on which calendar you use. So I'm just going to celebrate for the full two weeks. I hope you do too. I'm your host, Rick Reid. Thank you for tuning in.
David Brower 29:51
You've been listening to the Theremin 30 podcast visit Theremin 30 on the web at Theremin threezero.com
