AETHERPHON, global theremin family

For anyone reading, please don't misinterpret anything I say as criticism of
Moog Music, the Theremin event, or their intentions. I don't have enough
good things to say about the company, the festival, the people and the
instruments. (NB, if I lived within 4 or 5 hundred miles, I'd probably try
to make it regardless because it was a lot of fun.)

I can come up with an un-doable festival that no one could afford to put on
or attend -- but it's just throwing out ideas for fun and speculation, not
even as serious suggestions.

I'm just speculating, blowing smoke and blue skying here, which is cheap and
easy. 

> John Hoge wrote:
> 
> This festival is still a side line for them, they are not dedicated event
> producers and do not seem be able yet  to engage one affordably.  It
> reminded me of a local film festival I'm attending, they're a mess and I'm a
> bit less forgiving of them because they've been doing it for 18 years and
> despite *major* sponsors, massive audiences, and computer ticketing support
> they are still badly run.  But a lot of my buddies have films in it and I
> won't see those and several others at all if I don't catch them now so I
> endure.
> Moog hasn't been doing annual Theremin festivals for 18 years, and I
> understand it's frustrating for us.  But I'd rather have them focused on
> keeping alive making instruments and helping me with technical questions
> first and event, concert and party planning second.

I totally agree. It's difficult to do this kind of thing, and expensive,
especially with Moog being the sole sponsor and running the event.

What I'm musing is that to survive it will probably change and grow, simply
because of the small number of thereminists and theremin music lovers. I
don't think they can come back for pretty much the same things every year.
OR, it will have to be part of a larger festival, just in terms of the cost
and viability -- attracting more people.

Again, I'm just blowing smoke here -- I guess I'm kind of hoping someday it
will evolve into something like Moogfest with seminars. Of course, Moogfest
is in New York, which is a different situation than Asheville. But, I like
the idea of it being at the site of the factory.

> Out reach is tough, from what I've seen here, theremin players don't support
> each other's concerts much.  If we don't even show up for each other how
> could Moog entice a broader base?  Part of it is the therevangilism we all
> can do, no matter what style or level we work at, if we want bigger
> audiences we have to be in those audiences, if we want broader audiences we
> have to keep everyone we know frequently reminded of the theremin and it's
> diversity, if we want to see more theremin recordings we have to buy
> theremin recordings.  If every theremin player constantly shared pictures,
> tunes, concert fliers and their own passion with the uninitiated maybe that
> would help both players and festivals draw a broader base.  I think the push
> has to constant and come from both ends: corporate like Moog, grassroots
> like us.

You said it. AND, it's actually a struggle to get anyone to come out for
live music. Period. Challenging live music? Feh!

(However, play roots, Americana or bluegrass and they will come...don't get
me started...)

I try to do what JH is talking about. Every time I play a show with the
Inactivists, I introduce the instrument to the uninitiated because most of
them came for a rock band and not for theremin.  Theremin events are few and
far between in Denver, but I rallied everyone I knew for Barbez last year. I
attend shows -- not just theremin but ANY music that I care about. You have
to or it will go away.

I'm seeing a turn in the tide. More people than ever have seen a theremin at
some time. It's not a mystery as it was even a couple of years ago.

I played in a new (for me) setting for the first time last week, sitting in
with a local improvisational trio at a jazz club. It was a revelation for
the club goers, who are used to a horn player sitting in. I think about 50%
of them had seen a theremin -- pretty high percentage. I'm gratified that
just trotting the thing out for a few "woo woos" isn't enough to get their
attention. 

So, as Mr. Hoge says everyone get out there and show people what you are
doing with the theremin, and support other theremin players by attending
their shows and buying their work.
 

-- 
http://www.inactivists.com
http://www.myspace.com/theinactivists
victoria@...

Oh yes,
VL:"it's actually a struggle to get anyone to come out for
live music. Period. Challenging live music? Feh!",
we are not alone in this aspect of the entertainment revolution.

All the folks in the repertory theaters I used to work with are facing this
same challenge.
Getting us humans, out of our homes (away from the flat screen and
computer) and not into a movie theater but to any kind of a live show is
tougher than ever!

Now given the risk factors
[e.g. you pay 100 bucks US for a Broadway ticket, end up in a partial view
seat and then the person in front of you vomits and decides to stay anyway,
a true story]
I'm shy of paying more than 10 bucks US for anything I'm not totally sure
about.  But at that 10 buck and less level I'm willing to risk sitting in a
folding chair and regret forgetting my earplugs because I've been rewarded
by a few real gems.

Now-a-days I usually only go out for theremin related events or friends who
are performing.  True, I may not go again to a theremin act I didn't like or
hurt my ears, but I try to catch them the first time at least and talk about
it.  I'll admit I'm biased to two antenna theremins, I won't word-of-mouth
just pitch only sound effects usage but I would *never* bad mouth or condemn
it.  The world needs more artists, period.

Live music is a tough row to hoe,
live theremin music more so,
that's why we need both the corporate
and grass roots to grow.

Denver?  Ah, where a thereminist can walk a mile high!
Have there been any theremins at Red Rocks yet?

Thanks for the interesting smoke *Victoria Lundy.*

-- 
Skål - jh


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Yes, it seems like Etherfest is hurting a bit, and they're considering 
cancelling by June 30 if the number of people registered falls short 
of their goal ( what that goal is they've never speificed ).

I contrast their enrollment difficulties with a festival I've just 
participated in -- Electro-Music 2006 that took place just outside of 
Philadelphia on June 2, 3, and 4th. This is also only their second 
year and it was a phenomenal success with over 200 participants, 36 
hours of concerts that were audio-streamed worldwide, scheduled demos, 
scheduled panel discussion on composing, talks on performance 
technique and all kinds of other subjects, open free-for-all jam 
sessions. All three days for just $60.00. All musicians pay their own 
way -- it's like an investment in the festival and EVERYONE performed! 
There are catered meals available -- you could buy meal tickets on a 
per meal, per day, or full three-day basis. Tee shirts, all the 
artists (dozens of them) were selling their CDs. Trevor Pinch, who's 
going to be the keynote speaker at Etherfest was even there selling 
and signing copies of his book!

The fesitval was put together by a realtive handful of extremely 
dedicated people, and to be fair they don't have a company to run 
simultaneously like the folks at Moog. Still, it was a model for how 
amazing an event of the sort can be. Granted, this was for a wider 
base of musician: ANYTHING electronic, and did they ever have a 
variety -- everything from electronic trumpets played with double 
reeds to voerhwelmingly complex arrys of keyboards, synths, 
sequencers, and more. Last year I was the only thereminist there. This 
year, there were four. Accomodations are many times arranged by poeple 
in the area putting up folks from far away. Everybody helps out. The 
sense of true community and generosity really make for a wonderful 
atmosphere.

One of the largest demos was given by musician Mark Mahoney, and guess 
what he was demonstrating? ... ALL MOOG PRODUCTS -- about nine effects 
pedals, mizers, and the Voyager! MArk and Michael Peck's performance 
at 11:00pm on Saturday night featured ALL Moog products, including a 
standard Etherwave. Even Moog Music itself was a huge presence at this 
festival! Ironic in a way.

The subject of diversity was mentioned and this was definitely a 
diverse crowd, tremendous variation in styles of music and sonic 
bizarreness, but everyone united under the banner of ELECTRO.

The event is also open to the general public and a;though some folks 
do show up, that's the area where they hope to improve. There's a fan 
base out there for this sort of music, but organizing publicity is a 
big undertaking. Either way, It's an event not to be missed.

Everyone's just coming down off the instense weekend, but gradually, 
photos, possibly some video, and definitely audio will soon be 
available on the site: www.electro-music.com. There is also a theremin 
forum there, started at the request of Hypnotique.

I hope Etherfest is able to happen, and I'm still trying to see if 
there's any way at all I can afford to go --but with registration fee, 
4 days of hotel, four days of meals, travel expenses driving to and 
from, I'm looking at around $900, possibly a bit more.

Moog's hoping for more enrollment and I'm hoping for a windfall.

That event sounds tremendous.  Thank you Kip for the update.
How did your demo "How the #!&@$? Do You Play a Theremin?" go?
How many of the curious showed up, did you find it supported your other
performances?
Will keep fingers crossed for your windfall.
-- 
Skål - jh


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sir OmHoge:

To answer your questions…

>How did your demo "How the #!&@$? Do You Play a Theremin?" go?>

The demo went very well. During the demos, people typically wander 
in and out, so there were as few as three or four people and as many 
as twenty-five or so throughout the forty-five minutes. The purpose 
of the demo, as opposed to just playing music, was to upset the 
applecart a bit – I'm a proponent of dispelling what I perceive to 
be a self-defeating dictate: that the theremin is the most difficult 
instrument in the world to play. I won't get started on a long 
diatribe, but I will say that for thereminists to bemoan the fact 
that the instrument is viewed as a novelty and rarely taken 
seriously while simultaneously adopting an attitude that the 
instrument's challenges keeps us in a sort of exclusive "club" if 
you will – is hardly the way to transcend its novelty status. 
Anyway, my intention was to get people up and playing a 
passable "Mary Had a Little Lamb" or other simple song within ten 
minutes of practice time. Using some very specific techniques I 
shared, it worked pretty darn well. The main thing was that people 
had a good time, laughed, heard some music, and for the most part, 
left wanting more.


> How many of the curious showed up, did you find it supported your 
other performances?>

The hour-long performance was two days later. There was very little 
correlation between the two. Part of that was due to the fact that 
about a third of the folks there on Friday were gone by Sunday. A 
lot of the musicians had other obligations and were unable to stay 
the full three days. Quite a few of us missed one another's 
performances in the course of doing sound checks, or being upstairs 
playing at some of the informal sessions.

I know that you'd expressed interest in what happened in the process 
of performing, given the fact that my entire set-up had to be 
altered in order to accommodate the audio streaming. I will post the 
story of that shortly. Suffice to say for now that a lot has been 
written about thereminists insisting upon their independent setups 
to achieve optimum performance. And, I usually do so without any 
difficulties or offending others – however, every performance for 
the Electro-Music Festival is streamed worldwide as a matter of 
course, and EVERYONE performing adjusted things accordingly. More on 
that in another post.

I have been following the tread "Ethermusic Fest 2006" with much  
interest. This is why.

Like some others I am a little frustrated about not being able to go.  
In my case this would have involved arranging a family holiday in  
Asheville, and I needed more time to do that. My interest in going  
was for the opportunity to meet with a whole bunch of thereminists.  
But, not being one to sit and moan about things, I decided to create  
my own opportunity.

So, about three weeks ago, I started a thread over on TW to see if I  
could arrange some sort of get-together. So far I have the interest  
of about ten TW posters, and also of Mr Richard Cole, the proprietor  
of the Musical Museum (home of Musaire's theremin as mentioned on  
this list previously.) But I am not reaching the majority of UK  
thereminists. I don't want to just mail-shot every Brit I can think  
of - I already mail-shot a goodly bunch of thereminists for the Happy  
Birthday thing, and in my opinion, if I did it again that would be  
spamming.

One point that really hit home from the chat on this list is that  
there is not a culture of visiting each other's gigs etc. It seems to  
me that at least in part that is because it is not easy to find out  
about upcoming gigs. There are a few, but each is publicised on the  
artist's own website. If I want to hear about theremin gigs I have to  
locate a lot potential websites, and then monitor them all.

So I am thinking about setting up a website - The UK Thereminists  
Register - as a place for people to publicise their activities, not  
least for my own benefit, so that I can have a single place to find  
out about new CDs, TV appearances, concerts etc, but also for others  
in a similar position, and also as a venue where people looking for  
thereminists, for studio work, or whatever can go and find a good  
selection.

And of course as a place where I can promote my idea of a get- 
together - at the moment I am thinking of something like a two-day  
workshop, where we can share techniques, and learn from and get to  
know each other.

This is all in a very early stage of development, and all very fluid,  
so I would appreciate your thoughts.

:-)

Gordon

Hi:

Good ideas you've got, Gordon. And your point is well taken regarding 
all of us who post our upcoming events on our own websites. Maybe we 
need to post them additionally in forums like these. You never know 
what will happen, but it can hardly hurt. It's unlikely that I'd come 
from Pennsylvania to the UK, BUT just to KNOW that someone's doing 
somthing is always cause for the rest of us to offer our encouragement 
as well as follow up with our curiosity about how things went. I love 
hearing about what others are doing, how the performances proceeded, 
how you were received, what pieces you played, etc.

Sharing of indormation like that is great. Maybe we can all start 
posting it right here on an ongoing basis.

On 12 Jun 2006, at 01:00, brickblad wrote:

> Hi:
>
> Good ideas you've got, Gordon.

Sorry about the slow reply - I'm a bit busy implementing them.
>

> Sharing of indormation like that is great. Maybe we can all start
> posting it right here on an ongoing basis.

Agreed.

I'm off to see Ninki V on July the 7th at the Russian Club Bomonti in  
Hackney as part of a "Songbird" evening. Apparently it's a pot-pourri  
of music and poetry.

Gordon

Cool, tell her to get subscribed to the list! ;-)

-----
DAVID VESEL -- synthetic music for humans
http://davidv.purplenote.com
porphyrous@...
-----
The Purple Note Radio Network:
Escape From Noise, vocal electronica, 10PM Sats http://efn.purplenote.com
Spellbound, music for theremin, 11PM Suns http://spellbound.purplenote.com
-----




Gordon Charlton wrote:

> On 12 Jun 2006, at 01:00, brickblad wrote:
> 
> 
>>Hi:
>>
>>Good ideas you've got, Gordon.
> 
> 
> Sorry about the slow reply - I'm a bit busy implementing them.
> 
> 
>>Sharing of indormation like that is great. Maybe we can all start
>>posting it right here on an ongoing basis.
> 
> 
> Agreed.
> 
> I'm off to see Ninki V on July the 7th at the Russian Club Bomonti in  
> Hackney as part of a "Songbird" evening. Apparently it's a pot-pourri  
> of music and poetry.
> 
> Gordon
> 
> 
> 
> 
> SPELLBOUND-L, the glocal thereminist community
> 
> To contact the moderator, e-mail porphyrous@...
> 
> 
>  
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 
>

On 14 Jun 2006, at 21:40, David V wrote:

> Cool, tell her to get subscribed to the list! ;-)

Yessir!

Gordon