Bob Moog Foundation's Ignite Gala Sparks a Crowd

via The Bob Moog Foundation

[BMF's Michelle Moog-Koussa and Toto's Steve Porcaro]

"Encino, CA - October 2014... The First Annual Bob Moog Foundation Ignite Gala is one for the history books, exceeding even the most optimistic expectations.

Held to benefit the Foundation's hallmark educational initiative, Dr. Bob's SoundSchool, the event brought a full house of the best and brightest in music, recording, science, and technology to the splendid Encino, California home of Michael and Edie Lehmann Boddicker.

Guests were treated to an intimate candlelight dinner, capped by an amazing performance by a star-studded house band that included keyboardists CJ Vanston (Prince, Tina Turner, Toto, Joe Cocker, Spinal Tap) and Steve Porcaro (Toto), bassist Leland Sklar (James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Toto), drummer Joe Pusateri (John Lee Hooker, John Entwistle, the Muppets "Animal"), guitarists Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan) and Tony Valenziano (The Stand, Smash), and singers Joseph Williams (Toto) and Rob Giles (Circa Zero, The Rescues), as well as a guest performance by theremin virtuoso Michael Gough."

[The House Band: Joseph Williams, Joe Pusateri, Steve Porcaro, CJ Vanston, Jeff Baxter, Tony Valenziano, Leland Sklar]

" Proceeds from the event will go to benefit the Bob Moog Foundation's hallmark educational initiative, Dr. Bob's SoundSchool, a 10-week experiential curriculum teaching children about the science of sound through the magic of music. Now in its fourth year, Dr. Bob's SoundSchool currently serves more than 1,000 second-grade students in 55 classrooms. Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa, shared with guests the Foundation's plans to expand Dr. Bob's SoundSchool, including an upcoming pilot program in Southern California.

Visitors were welcome to see and play many of Boddicker's vintage instruments from his extensive collection, including a rare, custom engineered Moog modular synthesizer, Polymoog, Minimoog Model D, Moog Drum Controller, Big Briar theremin signed by Bob Moog, Moog String Filter, and a custom Multiple Resonance Filter Array-24 designed by Moog himself. Within the rooms of Michael Boddicker's studio, guests were treated to exclusive previews of new inventions in the Inventor's Corner including the new Vo-96, a revolutionary acoustic synthesizer for guitars, the Jambé, a new electronic percussion instrument, and Center Point Stereo monitor, which delivers a 300 degree sound field from a single cabinet."

[Michael and Edie Lehmann Boddicker]

'We were absolutely overwhelmed by the attendance at our first Ignite Gala, and by the tremendous support we have received,' remarked Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation. 'This is just the first in a series of events we have planned to raise awareness for the Foundation, and it is clear that Dr. Bob's SoundSchool is a program that resonates with educators and parents nationwide. We're looking forward to our next event.'

'It was a tremendous honor for me and the band to pay tribute to Bob Moog's pioneering legacy by performing at this event for the Bob Moog Foundation," stated musical director CJ Vanston. "What a great way to honor the legacy of a man whose innovations have brought so much to contemporary music.'"

Bob Moog Foundation to Host Ignite Gala Benefit

"Encino, CA - September 2014...

The Bob Moog Foundation will be hosting a very special benefit event on October 4, 2014. The Ignite Gala, held at Michael Boddicker's residence in Encino, CA, will benefit the Foundation's hallmark education initiative, Dr. Bob's SoundSchool.

The event promises to be a spectacular evening celebrating Bob Moog's enduring legacy and the power of music as an inspirational, cultural force. Entertainment will be provided by a stellar band including CJ Vanston (Prince, Tina Turner, Toto, Joe Cocker, Spinal Tap) and Steve Porcaro (Toto) on keyboards, Leland Sklar (James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Toto) on bass, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter (Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan) on guitar, Joe Pusateri (John Lee Hooker, John Entwistle, the Muppets "Animal") on drums, and Rob Giles (Circa Zero, The Rescues) on vocals, as well as other surprise guests.

In addition to an intimate candlelight dinner, the event will also feature a silent auction of fabulous offerings including various instruments (signed and unsigned), travel opportunities and other valuable services. Donors thus far include Dave Smith Instruments, Yamaha, Line 6, Synthology, Sennheiser, PreSonus, JBL Professional, Blue, Novation, and Shure, with other donors still being added.

Visitors will also be invited to take in the exclusive Innovator's Corner, where new inventions in music technology will be revealed, and to view some classic Moog and other synthesizers from Michael Boddicker's private collection.

Proceeds from the event will benefit the Bob Moog Foundation's hallmark educational initiative, Dr. Bob's Soundschool, a10-week experiential curriculum teaching children about the science of sound through the magic of music. Now in its fourth year, Dr. Bob's Soundschool currently serves more than 1,000 second-grade students in 55 classrooms. Visitors to the Ignite Gala will be helping to support the Foundation's plans to expand the program nationwide, including new initiatives in Southern California.

'It is a tremendous honor for me and the band to pay tribute to Bob Moog's pioneering legacy by performing at this event for the Bob Moog Foundation,' stated musical director CJ Vanston. 'This is a way for us to give back to a man whose innovations have brought so much to contemporary music.'

'We've had interest from all over the country about Dr. Bob's SoundSchool,' remarked Michelle Moog-Koussa, Executive Director of the Bob Moog Foundation. 'It's an innovative, STEAM-based curriculum that resonates with teachers and school districts who recognize the importance integrating arts and science education. Through Dr. Bob's SoundSchool, we inspire children to think more creatively by offering them multi-sensory approaches to scientific discovery. We are creating tomorrow's innovators and problem solvers.'

Attendance to the event is limited, and tickets may be ordered online at www.bit.ly/IgniteGalaTix"

The Muppets: Pöpcørn

YouTube via MuppetsStudio | July 02, 2010

"[CAPTIONED]
(c) 2010 The Muppets Studio, LLC
Official Website: http://muppets.com
Official Twitter: http://Twitter.com/MuppetsStudio
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/muppets"

And the original done with the Moog modular synthesizer:

Gershon Kingsley - Popcorn


sometest353 | June 16, 2007

The Original Popcorn Video cuz i didn't found it on youtube."

How to Wreck a Nice Beach - Book on the Vocoder

via Melville House Publishing and available on Amazon here.


"How to Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocoder from World War II to Hip-Hop, The Machine Speaks

The history of the vocoder: how popular music hijacked the Pentagon's speech scrambling weapon

This is the story of how a military device became the robot voice of hip-hop and pop music. Though the vocoder, invented by Bell Labs in 1928, was designed to guard phones from eavesdroppers, it expanded beyond its original purpose and has since become widely used as a voice-altering tool for musicians. It has served both the Pentagon and the roller rink, a double agent of pop and espionage.

In How to Wreck a Nice Beach—from a mis-hearing of the vocoder-rendered phrase "how to recognize speech"—music journalist Dave Tompkins traces the history of electronic voices from Nazi research labs to Stalin's gulags, from the 1939 World's Fair to Hiroshima, from Manhattan nightclubs to the Muppets.

The result is an amazing chronicle of postwar music and culture, filled with unexpected and surprising encounters. We see the vocoder brush up against FDR, Solzhenitsyn, Stanley Kubrick, Stevie Wonder, JFK, Eisenhower, Neil Young, Kanye West, the Cylons, Walt Disney, Henry Kissinger, and Winston Churchill, who boomed, when vocoderized on V-E Day, "We must go off!" And now the device is a cell phone standard, allowing your voice to sound human.

From T-Mobile to T-Pain, How to Wreck a Nice Beach is a riveting saga of technology and culture, illuminating the work of some of music's most provocative innovators."

Update: You can find an NPR segment on the vocoder and book here.

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

video upload by The Muppets

custom red synth?

image at 3:01

via Laura