Doug Skinner: An Archive on Your Gizmo

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Flywheel

April 26th, 2012 · 1 Comment

In 1976, I joined Michele Larsson for a performance by her nascent company Flywheel.  I had forgotten about it until I turned up this program.

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Twelve

April 25th, 2012 · Comments Off on Twelve

One of my infrequent forays into serialism.  For another, look here.

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John Keel and the Mothman

April 24th, 2012 · 1 Comment

In 2002, I gave a talk about John Keel and the Mothman Prophecies (with, I add, his blessing) at the Fortean Times UnConvention and at the FortFest held by the International Fortean Organization.  The idea was to drum up interest in the movie — and, more particularly, the book.  Dave Singer has posted the INFO version here.

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The Moron

April 16th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Moron

A melancholy round, based on a traditional quatrain.

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The Dee Sermon

April 16th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Dee Sermon

For the 1996 FortFest, the annual gathering of the International Fortean Organization, I delivered a talk on John Dee, that intriguing Elizabethan polymath.  I had already composed and performed a song cycle based on Dee’s dream diary; so when Phyllis Benjamin, the head of INFO, suggested a Dee talk, I took his dreams as a framing device.  Each dream generated a mock interpretation, which then bloomed into a consideration of one part of his life.

Here’s the first page:

 

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Cinderella’s Glass Eye

April 12th, 2012 · Comments Off on Cinderella’s Glass Eye

“Cinderella’s Glass Eye” is a bit of fairy tale music, scored for tuba and piano.  There is a story to go with it; here it is.  (Some readers have complained that the images are too small; let me remind them, gently, that you can enlarge a thumbnail by clicking on it.)

And here’s the brooding counterpoint that begins it, before the waltz.

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The Speakeasy Series

April 11th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Speakeasy Series

David Gold and I performed in “The Speakeasy Series,” produced by Studio B in Maplewood, NJ, March 24, 2012.

Our set:

Make a Wish
Never Shtup a Nutjob
Fa La La La La
The Gypsy (by Billy Reid)
Don’t Talk To Me
Good Night

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Blunders

April 11th, 2012 · Comments Off on Blunders

I wrote the score for Katie Nelson’s dance “Blunders” back in 1980.  Frankie Mann recorded it; I played all the instruments, including piano, toy piano, ‘cello, organ, and percussion.  Here’s the first page.

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The Disinfocast

April 6th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Disinfocast

Matt Staggs interviewed me about my old friend, the inimitable John A. Keel, for his “Disinfocast.”  You can listen to it here.

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The Big Show

April 6th, 2012 · Comments Off on The Big Show

Michele Larsson put together The Big Show in 1978, in connection with an exhibit devoted to Loie Fuller at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, in San Francisco.  I provided music, which was mostly improvised, as I recall; Tony Gnazzo talked and rode an exercise bike; Helen Dannenberg and Michele danced.

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