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.
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!
ReplyDeleteI 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 )
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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