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the Theremin (cool then...cool now) |
Shipwreckjoey
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: Nov 29, 2002
Posts: 1793
From: San Diego, CA
|  Posted: 2003-02-07 9:31 pm
I was sitting here listening to Capt Beefheart & the Magic Band's "Safe as Milk", and the song Electicity came on & I was totally tuned into the theremin in the song, which I have heard many times before in exotica music & Si-Fi soundtracks and I thought to myself..."where can I latch onto one of these simple but unique "instruments" today. I used to play in a band several years ago that featured theremin in some of our songs (it was a black, skinny shoebox about 16" long, made of plywood, with an 24" antenna on the left side and a metal plate on the right. It was perched on old cymbal stand adapted to support it.) Our theremin was built for us by our sound guy, who like most sound techs was an electronic whizz(probably works for General Dynamics now).This instrument was invented by a Russian shortly after the dawn of electricity and still sounds cool today!
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TikiMikey
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 24, 2002
Posts: 179
From: Dallas, TX
| Posted: 2003-02-07 10:13 pm
There a was a documentary video out a few years ago called - Theremin, An Electronic Oddessey. A fairly informative work about Leon Theremin and the invention that bears his name. You can probably rent it at Blockbuster or your favorite video store. I've seen theremins in kits and fully assembled on eBay. I can't ever hear one without getting a mental picture from "The Day The Earth Stood Still".
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atomictonytiki
Grand Member (6 years) 
Joined: May 14, 2002
Posts: 1076
From: Thailand
| Posted: 2003-02-08 08:20 am
A friend of mine used to have a band called "Khoom-bye-Ah" and they used fifty headed Theremins (Theremin with 50 odd antenas, tape head violins and this seriously industrial hurdy-gurdy made out of a beer keg and fence wire strings. Apocalypse lounge is the best way to describe them, i atribute most of my hearing loss to them.
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Swanky
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 4170
From: Hapa Haole Hideaway, TN
| Posted: 2003-02-08 08:59 am
I got to play a theremin in Chicago a few years ago with my friend's noise/rock band. The girl that owned it said you order a kit and make it yourself. But you need to be knowledgable. I understand it's a pretty dangerous thing. Thus the heavy wood (insulating) box.
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Shipwreckjoey
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Nov 29, 2002
Posts: 1793
From: San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2003-02-16 11:17 pm
atomictonytiki,
That band sounds great! Do they have any vinyl out? I love those old (and new) industrial noize bands like Throbbing Gristle,the Residents, Suicide, the Normal, Flying Lizards, etc. Although their not for everybody. I've chased off many a party guest by putting on Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" or Fripp & Eno's "Swastika Girls". If you can't handle psychological warfare then you should stay away from my parties.
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tikifille
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 18, 2002
Posts: 123 | Posted: 2003-02-17 08:48 am
If you can't find the video, there is a brief article on the theramin in this months National Geographic.
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thejab
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2960
From: Forbidden Island, CA
| Posted: 2003-02-17 1:26 pm
Speaking of Throbbing Gristle, you gotta love their tribute to Martin Denny on their "Greatest Hits" album:
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thejab
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 2960
From: Forbidden Island, CA
| Posted: 2003-02-17 1:27 pm
Warning: the contents of the album shown above are NOT exotica!
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freddiefreelance
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Feb 15, 2003
Posts: 2908
From: San Diego, Ca.
| Posted: 2003-02-18 10:37 am
You can buy a Theremin from Robert Moog (creator of the Moog synth) & his company Big Briar, Inc. (www.bigbriar.com or www.moogmusic.com), the Theremin comes either assembled or in kit form. You can also buy a good one from PAiA (www.paia.com) that comes as a kit, although I think you can have it assembled for you.
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Tiki_Bong
Deleted
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 0 | Posted: 2003-02-18 3:05 pm
Shipwreckjoey,
If you're into Capt Beefheart, I would imagine you're also into one of my personal all-time favorites - Frank Zappa?
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atomictonytiki
Grand Member (6 years)
Joined: May 14, 2002
Posts: 1076
From: Thailand
| Posted: 2003-02-18 4:11 pm
Quote:
| Do they have any vinyl out? |
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I don't think they ever got it together to make ant records but I've emailed them to see if they have anything on MP3 or tape.
But their type of "assualt louge" is best heard live. We used to get the big band version of "Khoom-bye-Ah", which was called "Cheese-wire", to play our club. Ah their is nothing better (outside of tiki that is) than hearing extreme weird noises played through a twenty K rig, the way your internal organs vibrate to the music or when they get the sound right and your bowels go slack. Top fun.
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Shipwreckjoey
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Nov 29, 2002
Posts: 1793
From: San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2003-02-24 12:28 am
Bong,
The first time I ever saw the Mothers of Invention was like 1966-67 on the Louis Lomax show on KTLA. Zappa & Co. were introduced and proceeded to 'FREAK OUT'(which was there description of their musical style & the title of the 1st record).I was a total Mother's fan from then on and a loyal follower of all the other bands on the Straight/Bizaar label (Alice Cooper, Capt Beefheart, G.T.O's....and last, but not least...WILDMAN FISCHER!). I still have vinyl and CD copies of Freak Out, Absolutely Free, Lumpy Gravey, Weasles Ripped My Flesh, Uncle Meat & Hot Rats. I know Frank isn't with us any more, but his recorded words are just as meaningful today as they were thirty seven years ago - "aint no way to delay that trouble com'n every day".
Hell, I almost forgot, Frank Zappa also introduced the kids of the 60's to one of the greatest and most overlooked masters of Beat/Hipster poetry/oratory/perfomance art of all time...Lord Buckley (Straight Records).
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emspace
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 05, 2003
Posts: 791
From: Vancouver
| Posted: 2003-02-24 6:15 pm
Hee hee! I once did a tribute to the Residents, covering the Shaggs' "My Pal Foot Foot" in Residents style...can't seem to find the damn disk now, or I would have stuck it on my server and posted a link.
My bro and I are OG synth doodz, lived for electronic music in the 70s. I used to check Milton Babbit albums out of the library when I was 13, we had a couple of mono Korgs, bought every LP with a synth on it we could find...geeky, no?
hee,
emspace.
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Shipwreckjoey
Grand Member (first year)
Joined: Nov 29, 2002
Posts: 1793
From: San Diego, CA
| Posted: 2003-02-25 09:25 am
emspace,
I first got into electronic music in the '70's listening to the likes of Klaus Schultz, Tangerine Dream and Gong. Bought my first Residents record back then as well...an EP called "Duck Stab" (came w/ a cool t-shirt too). My fave tune off that record is "Elvis and His Boss".
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emspace
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 05, 2003
Posts: 791
From: Vancouver
| Posted: 2003-02-25 11:21 am
Geeks forever! What could be better than a towering stack of Moog modules! For some guys it's hot-rods, for some it's guns, and for some of us...
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