The Asheville-based foundation aimed at preserving the legacy of electronic-music pioneer Bob Moog has organized two upcoming fundraising events.
The Bob Moog Memorial Foundation has announced the eBay auction of a Moog guitar that has been played and signed by musician Lou Reed. The auction will begin Monday, Dec. 7, and run through Thursday, Dec. 17.
The limited-edition instrument, which normally sells for about $6,500, has a maple top with an ash body, maple neck and fret board. Moog Music Inc. of Asheville is donating the instrument for the auction.
Michelle Moog-Koussa, the foundation's executive director, says money raised from the auction will be used to expand the foundation's student-outreach program. "We bring Moog instruments into the schools and teach children the science behind the sounds of electronic music," she explains. "This program, even in its infant stages, has opened children's minds and engaged their spirits to explore the extensive sonic possibilities that Moog instruments offer."
The Moog Foundation has also announced the sale of a 2010 calendar featuring vintage photos, quotes and information taken from Moog's archives. The photos mark key moments in Moog's early career. There are five photos of Moog; others show his mentors and collaborators, including Léon Theremin, Keith Emerson and Herb Deutsch.
The $20 calendar is available online and in the following Asheville area stores: Accent on Books, Downtown Books and News, Earth Guild, the L.O.F.T., Malaprop's and Smashing Guitars. It was designed by Asheville-based graphic artist Rose Hecht in collaboration with the Moog Foundation. In addition to the calendar, the foundation's new online store offers T-shirts, limited-edition CDs and other merchandise.
The calendar "is a fantastic vehicle for us to share some of the historical treasures that we have found in Bob's archives," says Moog-Koussa. "It traces Bob's early path and explores some crucial moments in Moog history."
Moog championed the eerie-sounding theremin as well as other electronic devices, such as synthesizers, that altered the musical landscape. Since his death in 2005, the Bob Moog Memorial Foundation for Electronic Music has been working on a Moog archive and trying to secure funding for a permanent museum in his honor.
The foundation has three main projects: preserving Moog's archives, establishing the student-outreach program and creating the museum, dubbed the Moogseum. The foundation is looking for a location and funding for the latter project. Earlier this year, the Moogseum received a $600,000 grant from the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority.
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