Monday, August 22, 2005

Synthesis

One of the touchstones and designers of the digital age, living and working near here in Asheville, N.C. died on Sunday. For many years, his name was known by all musicians and music lovers, and as the technologies quickly expanded, his name, too, got mixed in with all the other ones and zeros of digital information.

Robert Moog added so much, changing rock music and classical and providing the tech that is at the basis of hip-hop. Most people gained their first grasp of the meaning of "synthesis" thanks to his "synthesizer".

He spent the early 1990s as a research professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Asheville before turning full-time to running his new instrument business, which was renamed Moog Music in 2002. Recent customers includes Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam, Beck, Phish, Sonic Youth and Widespread Panic.

A public memorial is scheduled for Wednesday in Asheville.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:37 PM

    I was lucky enough to meet Bob Moog when I was living in Asheville in the late 70's. I had to knock on his door to ask to inform him that there was going to be a telephone company crew who were going to plow a cable through his property. I was the engineer of this project and wanted to assure him that any damage would be repaired to his specs. Then I asked his full name and he said R.A. Moog. I started to babble, because I was an owner of a Mini Moog, and Bob Moog was indeed a hereo to me. I had no idea that he even lived in Asheville. That was a bigger thrill to me than the time I got to spend an afternoon with Tim Leary!
    I don't have my Mini Moog any moore, but I play with the wonderful software version that Bob approved before his illness. I owe this guy big time. I'm sad to hear of his passing.
    T.F. ( TC Clay )

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  2. another story about you I did not know T.C. ... man oh man, knowing who he was and meeting him at that time while owning a mini moog -- You has always been plugged into the pulse, my friend. i call it my good fortune to have knocked at yer door once or twice, almost like being a second cousin to someone of Great Fame. News of his death was sad fer me too, and was glad to see a sizeable amount of press coverage and expect more. As FZ says in Joe's Garage, "Music Is Life."

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