OK, now that we're (read: I'm) walking down memory lane here, let me
complete the story, there are some funny parts to it.
Mort borught a few people with him from the East when Cal Arts was formed.
They were: Ingram Marshall, Charlimaine Palestine, Serge Tcherepnin and
Barry Schrader. He also brought in Don Buchla on staff, but Don was never
there much.
When the school first started, it had an abundance of $$. They bought tons
and tons of equipment: they pre-ordered two 200's, and bought a 100 for the
school and another 100 expressly for Mel Powell's home studio. One of the
100's was from the red-faced San Fransicso Tape Music markings days and
those modules I guess are worth more now because of those faceplates. They
also bought tons and tons of tape decks, including many Revox's and some
Ampex three channels machines. They had so many Revox's that Barry said
they'd use them to prop doors open!
Mort was the assistant dean of the school of music at the time and had a lot
of say to where the spending went. So, naturally there was a ton of music
equipment. What he didn't buy though - intentionally - where chairs Yes
folks, the Cal Arts School of Music had no chairs, anywhere their first
year. Classes where held on the floor. Not sure how cellists got along.
Even the 200's spend their first year held low to the floor by bricks. It
was total anarchy: Barry Schrader's tech class, where he taught students how
to use the 200 was held at midnight. Serge and he did a live concert once
at the Ambassador Hotel downtown. Barry shlept'd the 200 and Serge played
violin believe it or not. There's another story that's a riot --> Serge
once asked to borrow Barry's car for an hour or so and didn't return it for
three days - leaving Barry stranded at school!
Man, those were the days. I wasn't around yet but I remember the stories
vividly. In any event, this was all after Touch was completed!
- P
Peter Grenader wrote:
complete the story, there are some funny parts to it.
Mort borught a few people with him from the East when Cal Arts was formed.
They were: Ingram Marshall, Charlimaine Palestine, Serge Tcherepnin and
Barry Schrader. He also brought in Don Buchla on staff, but Don was never
there much.
When the school first started, it had an abundance of $$. They bought tons
and tons of equipment: they pre-ordered two 200's, and bought a 100 for the
school and another 100 expressly for Mel Powell's home studio. One of the
100's was from the red-faced San Fransicso Tape Music markings days and
those modules I guess are worth more now because of those faceplates. They
also bought tons and tons of tape decks, including many Revox's and some
Ampex three channels machines. They had so many Revox's that Barry said
they'd use them to prop doors open!
Mort was the assistant dean of the school of music at the time and had a lot
of say to where the spending went. So, naturally there was a ton of music
equipment. What he didn't buy though - intentionally - where chairs Yes
folks, the Cal Arts School of Music had no chairs, anywhere their first
year. Classes where held on the floor. Not sure how cellists got along.
Even the 200's spend their first year held low to the floor by bricks. It
was total anarchy: Barry Schrader's tech class, where he taught students how
to use the 200 was held at midnight. Serge and he did a live concert once
at the Ambassador Hotel downtown. Barry shlept'd the 200 and Serge played
violin believe it or not. There's another story that's a riot --> Serge
once asked to borrow Barry's car for an hour or so and didn't return it for
three days - leaving Barry stranded at school!
Man, those were the days. I wasn't around yet but I remember the stories
vividly. In any event, this was all after Touch was completed!
- P
Peter Grenader wrote:
> Nope! Touch was made while Mort was at still at NYU and on the 100.
> Actually, the cut up/spliced human voice saying 'touch' at the beginning and
> other places is his secretary/assistant he had there. Touch, the LP at
> least, I don't believe had a picture. It was just the computer graphic of
> the woman's face morphing into a rectangle (I think it was a rectangle)?
>
> Anyway, Touch was done in 1969 and Cal Arts didn't exist until 1971. I
> don't think the 200 was introduced until 1971 if I'm not mistaken.
>
> Here's the story: The first piece Mort used the 200 was Sidewinder. It was
> one of the systems that was intended for Cal Art's B303, but it was
> delivered to Mort's house instead (whoops!) because the Cal Arts facility
> wasn't completed yet and the school was still operating out a place called
> Villa Cabrini which was a former catholic girls school in Burbank. The 200
> stayed at Mort's for a while waiting for the Valencia campus and the studio
> installation to be completed - the sound system, tape decks, etc.
> Unfortunately (not!) that took longer than expected because of delays from
> the 1971 Selmar earthquake, so Mort had it for a while and didn't Sidewinder
> in the meantime.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> kirkdegiorgio wrote:
>
>>
>>> One can't judge the merits of the Buchla 200 on Subotnick's Touch - that
>>> piece was done on a 100 system which is a completely different animal. I was
>>> talking to
>>>> Guido the other day, who was telling me that "Touch" by Subotnick
>>>> exemplifies the sonic virtues of the 200. If that is so, well, it's
>>>> not that impressive.
>>
>> actually Peter I thought Touch was made with the 200 Series - likewise
>> Sidewinder, 4
>> Butterflies and Until Spring. They are all early-mid 70's recordings and have
>> 200 series
>> photo's on the sleeve credits, etc. I thought it was Silver Apples and Wild
>> Bull that used the
>> 100 Series.
>>
>> Now, I'm no bug music fan but I find the sonic virtues displayed on these
>> albums to be
>> highly impressive! They have an organic timbre and controlled level of chaos
>> that I find
>> superior to other attempts at this type of music.
>>
>> I don't own a Buchla but the 200 series designs and the examples I've heard
>> make me
>> think it would be a nice system to get into regardless of the fact that I
>> have
>> a Serge/
>> Modcan system. 200 series used prices are too high for me to justify and I'm
>> worried
>> about maintenance so the new 200e modules appeal even more to me. Again - on
>> this list
>> as on others people are being misleading in stating it costs $20k to buy the
>> system. Its a
>> MODULAR system and modules are available individually. So its as expensive as
>> you want
>> it to be - many will just want to buy a few modules to add to their existing
>> 200 series
>> systems - some may just want a small system based around the sequencer, etc.
>> The $20k
>> system is just a suggested example.
>>
>> Personally I'm waiting for actual user reports on reliability and just how
>> digital some of the
>> modules are...
>>
>> KD
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Keep on Patchin'!
>>
>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> Keep on Patchin'!
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>