About MoogFest

As Eastern North Carolina changes colors with season, Asheville has been invaded by thousands of music fans and synthesizer afficionados for MoogFest, an annual festival put on by Moog Music and curated by AC Entertainment. The three day festival features performances by some of the biggest names in music today as well as many up and coming performers who incorporate technology into their acts in innovative ways. Moog has taken over 5 venues in Asheville for shows ranging from Hip-Hop star Big Boi to constantly evolving producer Four Tet to local heroes RBTS WIN.

In addition to the music happening every night, Moog is also hosting workshops during the day to educate attendees about synthesis and Robert Moog’s key roll in its development. They have set up MoogLab next to the workshop area, filled with Theramins, synthesizers, modules, and the incredible Moog Guitar. Moog is making a great effort to connect with attendees and make the festival more than just a bunch of shows happening at once. They created a free app for iPhone users and are holding contests for re-mixers, circuit benders, costume wearers, and everyone else.

The festival is set in the perfect location. Asheville is full of the nicest people on Earth and independent businesses, restaurants, and breweries. The weather is sunny and a little cool, a nice break from the hot venues. The last Moogfest took place several years ago in New York, but now in their new location Moog promises to fest every year, and I already can’t wait for the next one.

Follow Moogfest at
http://moogfest.com/
http://twitter.com/moogfest
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/MoogFest-2010/102637876455451

Moogfest Day 1 in a nutshell

Holy god this is insanity.

In my first day in Asheville I have:

-met so many people, wow.
-Had awesome southern BBQ and locally brewed beer
-met the owners of many local businesses and local guitar pedal makers
-Seen way too many amazing bands in the space of one evening.

The night started (after a crazy day checking in, meeting an Austrian via New York Theramin player, finding my hosts house, meeting their children, figuring out where to go and walk, meeting locals, etc.) with the Octopus project, who were then joined by DEVO, then I ran to the civic center auditorium to see Big Boi, then I ran and caught the end of Saturn Never Sleep, then ran an caught a song by MGMT, took a moment and ate a bagel and heard a little of an open mic in a coffee shop, ran and caught the end of RJD2’s set, saw the first half of MuteMath’s set, then went and saw some of Girl Talk, and then finished the night with Javelin before walking to my place of rest with two strangers who happened to be walking the same way. We talked about the evils of politics and society, related to history of course. They’d drunk a bit.

North Carolina and MOOGFEST

Hello world! I'm doing that whole writing about an event thing again, and this time it's MOOGFEST
I'm so excited I can't begin to tell you about it. So I'll tell you about how I'm getting there, and how insane this weekend will be.

Today I had school from 9-6, but I skipped my 9'oclock to get my stuff together and do the homework due for m 11'oclock (I was in the synth labs till midnight last night doing other homework). I had to leave my 4'oclock class at 5 to make it to the airport on time for my 7'oclock flight (delayed til 7 30) to Charlotte. Once there I called the nice couple who I hooked up with on couchsurfing.org, David and Katie. David came and picked me up from the airport (what a nice guy!) and we drove back to the beautiful 2 bedroom brick home they live in, paying the same rent that I pay for my place in Boston, except half. I bought some nice fudge for them at the Boston airport as a thank you, David likes it, Katie's asleep (work tomorrow).
David is training to be a chef, and also makes his own beer. He says if I come back through on Sunday, hit him up and I can try some of his home brew. Bomb.

Anywho. I have to meet my ride to Asheville in approximately 8 hours at a train stop 36 minutes from here. Come back to here about Moogfest, or head over to http://performermag.com/Blogs to read whatever makes it to the official blog.

P.S. What are you eating under there?

Interview with Julia Goryuchkina

Note: This was is a piece I did for Performer Magazine and can also be found on their blog.

Garrett Frierson recently sat down with Julia Goryuchkina. Julia is a pianist, composer, and film scholar from St.Petersburg, Russia. She attended New England Conservatory of Music in the 1990s where she was influenced by Ran Blake’s "Third Stream" philosophy (now known as Contemporary Improvisation). After intensive private studies with Mr. Blake, Julia went on studying jazz piano and film music composition at the Berklee College of Music. She just released her second CD, TheatreWorks, through CD Baby.

Performer Mag: How did you become interested in film music?

Julia Goryuchkina: I first became interested in film music during the 90's, I checked out a book by Tony Thomas called Music for the Movies. It focused on composers of Hollywood's Golden Age, and I found it to be a very fascinating art-form that didn't seem to be fully explored. I started watching films with these scores, and they influenced me tremendously in the way they compliment the action and the story. Today the music in movies is mostly used to provide ambiance and mood, they like to insert something that is not in the film already.

P: How do you use this history in your writing?

J: How film music inspires me is the way the music tells a story, often with time changes because in a film the music must sync up with what's happening on the screen. Also in terms of melody and texture, both very important in French film music. I let the melody twist and turn, much like film music, instead of constant repetition like in most popular music.
P: Your music has a great sense of location, where do you write? Do you pursue that sense of place or is natural?

J: A lot of that comes from instrumentation, we all have our favorite instruments to work with and then complimenting those with a consistent band. I have always loved the vibraphone and have a lot experience writing for it, so once I formed the band around that I stayed with it and got comfortable in that space.P: Does the orchestration affect the writing process or does it come later?

J: Later. For me, melody always comes first, instrumental thinking comes later. I compose and then I orchestrate.

P: Does that change when you score film?

J: Yes, then you have to focus more on genre-specific instruments. The director will often have desires that you need to fulfill, so a lot of your work will be discovering what will suit their needs. If you develop a relationship with a director they may start to trust you and allow you to do your own thing with visuals. Personally, I tend to blend classical and jazz, which is very thin wire to walk because it is most often done very badly.

P: But you manage to avoid the stiffness most composers encounter when approaching this combination, you do a great job of keeping Jazz's fluid nature while using more classical melodic ideas.

J: Well, I was classically trained in Russia before spending several years at Berklee focusing purely on Jazz. I was very influenced by Ran Blake's Third Stream Philosophy.

P: Has technology changed the writing process?

J: Somewhat. After writing out the parts I sequenced everything in MIDI, and then subistuted the most important instruments with live musicians. Also, the mastering was done with Guilherme M. Vaz in Rio De Janeiro, we worked completely online mastering my record. He was a delight to work with.

P: What could you recommend for people who don't know much about film music but are curious?

J: Watch movies and listen to their scores. Start with the Golden Age, the old composers like Max Steiner and Franz Waxman. Many classics, like King Kong (1933), Informer(1935) and The Bride of Frankenstein, have brilliant scores that compliment the action beautifully. Georges Auric was the main collaborator of Jean Cocteau and wrote very interesting scores to movies like La Belle et la Bete and Le son de Poet.

P: What about contemporary composers?

J: Michael Giacchino has had a lot success recently, he recently won an Oscar and composed for Ratatouille and successful TV shows like Lost. It's funny because he got his start writing for video games. Ennio Morricone is legendary, he lives in Italy, but works for Hollywood. James Horner and Howard Shore are both amazing composers working right now.

P: What challenges might an artist run into on their first scoring project?

J: Most artists used to writing for themselves will find it challenging to create within the limits of what they are given. In contrast to a free composition, which is a method of your self expression, writing film music you have to write for someone else. You have to write for the visuals and there is a director whose vision you have to conform to. With the right mindset though, this challenge can become an inspiration to create in a new and refreshing manner.

CD Review

Buke and Gass
Riposte
Brooklyn, NY
Produced and recorded at Polyphonic Workshop in Brooklyn by Buke & Gass. Mixed and mastered by Aron Sanchez

How much noise can two people produce? A hell of a lot, as Arone Dyler and Aron Sanchez prove on their debut full-length record.  Riposte is sonic feast, Arone’s voice carrying melodies heroically over the bevy of amps and effects their homemade guitar/bass/ukelele combinations run through, while their foot powered percussion keep the whole affair charging unstoppably forward.

“Medulla Oblangata” begins the album with a rise before laying out the full sound and laying waste to any doubts about the duo’s power. The album continues this design with songs like “Medicana” and “Revel in Contempt” where moments of melodious calm form the valleys of raucous and uplifting canyons. The album moves up and down through moods and ideas, but the drive never ceases, you may find yourself striking nearby objects in time by the end of the first song. The foot drums seem to double as canons, pounding steadily to keep your head bobbing while their hand held instruments play with and against each other, moving in complex rhythmic patterns that keep the songs from ever getting old. Riposte is an energetic album that will make you move with power and purpose, just make sure you don’t have anything fragile in your hands. (Brassland Records)

Garrett Frierson
http://www.bukeandgass.com/

(Note: This was published in the current issue of Performer Magazine and is available on the performermag.com blog)