A Theremin Need Never Be Constrained
2013. Two solo concerts, then an improvised set with PascAli that showed why the theremin, and in fact,
all instruments need never be constrained to playing any form of traditional melody, tempo, or genre.
Dissolving those boundaries yields moment to moment exploration. Some might say, “That’s just noise!”
Some might say, “Wow!” everyone responds differently to music that challenges the ear’s, mind’s and
heart’s capacity for accepting the unusual. What will your reaction be? There’s new music on the way.
For now, try the unbound sound below…
A Lesson From the Vinegar Mother
It’s hard to believe that it was back in 2016 that my ambient concept album, “Lessons From
Vinegar Mother” was released. While I’m working on a new one, please enjoy the full experience
of Lesson 7, complete with narration, music and multimedia. This is the version that I use in
live performance.
Meditate to 88
In 2012, the brilliant electro-musician, Howard Moscovitz, and I spent many hours improvising over
the course of a few months – he on acoustic piano and electronic keyboard, me on a variety of
theremins. We chose what we felt were the best seventy minutes of our instrumental “conversations”
and produced our ambient CD, Exploration of the Black Exterior. This piece, 88 Evening Devotions,
from a purely musical standpoint, is an exploration of the theremin’s ability to play the notes
between notes, quarter-tones, eighth-tones, etc. These are frequencies that inhabit the expanse
beyond the boundaries of our traditional western 12-tone scale, yet still remain hauntingly melodic.
From a conceptual standpoint, the composition is a very spare meditation on fragility. The “88”
in the title refers to the number of times the “bells” sing. And the broccoli, a tree of life in microcosm,
is just plain delicious.
The Past Tense Does Not
Necessarily Mean a Tense Past
FLASHBACK TIME…Possibly the strangest of my performance pieces, “TranscendAmbiental
Medication,” had a scant number of performances yet it remains a favorite of mine. Everything from
the stories to the original music is off the wall, yet presented almost as a meditation. This is an excerpt
from a 2012 performance in Kansas City.
Music in Mind
All together now…daydream…muse…meditate…imagine…
There Are No Words
Even though it was made three years ago, there’s still something to be said for saying something
without words.
A Scary Bizarre Thing Just Happened!
A little over a year ago, I appeared in brilliant filmmaker/director/writer Jason Allen’s psycho-thriller,
EMULATOR. As he usually does, Jason submitted the film to various festivals around the country
and he’s been nominated by the Binge Horror Film Festival for Best Feature Film Screenplay!
What’s really weird is that someone bearing a scary bizarre resemblance to me has been nominated for
Best Performance in a Feature. Two others have been nominated in this category. The results will be
announced in early November. Making the film was incredible enough, and this nomination is the
icing on the blood pudding.
A Song for Then. A Song for Now.
From 1971 to 2020. Looks like “what’s going on” is about the same.
Interview for Theremin Online
Last year, I was contacted by Peter Theremin, great grandson of Lev Termen himself. Peter is an
extraordinary thereminist, someone I admire very much. We’ve occasionally corresponded over the
last few years and he approached me about doing an extended interview during which I answer
questions from other thereminists. It immediately struck me as a marvelous opportunity, so I
responded with a big “yes.”
Something I would love to do someday would be to visit Peter and the other members of his family.
When and if that can happen is anybody’s guess, given the current pandemic and other factors. But
I can always hope…