Knobcon organizers have announced that their guest of honor for Knobcon 11, being held September 8-10, 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, Chicago, will be pioneering modular performer Doug McKechnie.
McKechnie helped pioneer live modular synth performance, starting in 1968, playing live with one of the first Moog modular systems. Between 1968 and 1972, McKechnie gigged with the Moog modular synthesizer, doing solo performances in the Bay Area. He made history as the first person to play a Moog synthesizer at a rock festival, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival.
While some of his performances were recorded, they were never officially available until 2020, with the release of San Francisco Moog: 1968-72:
Listening to them now, the performances sound like precursors to the some of the music that came out of Germany in the mid 1970s. And they make you wonder how electronic music history might have been very different if there had been more of an audience for it at the time in the US.
At Knobcon, McKechnie will be featured in an interview and AMA, moderated by Suit & Tie Guy. He will also be the Guest of Honor at Knobcon’s ‘Golden Knob’ Banquet. The Banquet is an optional add-on for attendees, and features a catered buffet with vegetarian options, a raffle, a presentation and live music. See the event site for details.
If you enjoy the “Berlin style” at all, you should be aware that Doug was one of the very first people to use a big Moog that way. It was still mostly a mystery to everyone except Bob himself. That kind of sequencing was eventually going to reveal itself, but his music of the time is uncanny. He really related to the instrument. Its a great story. I love how Bob was always amazed at how musicians used his synths, too.
Ok besides the museum value, this is unbearable. It sounds like a small child playing with a synth..