There is hardly a band making music today that hasn’t in some way benefited from the work of the late, great Dr. Robert A. Moog. Even if they don’t use his instruments, the way those tools have affected the path of music is incontrovertible. The simple fact is we wouldn’t be hearing what we are today if it wasn’t for Bob.
Five years after his passing, his legacy is stronger and more corporeal than ever. Toubab Krewe may feel that patrimony more than most other musicians. They formed in Asheville, North Carolina, the town where Moog spent most of his life and eventually died of a brain tumor in 2005. As a boy, guitarist Drew Heller even played in Moog’s own living room, as the Hellers and Moogs were close family friends. A personal favorite of Moog’s during the weeks before his death, Toubab Krewe played a special performance at his memorial service at the request of his family. Recently, the Moog Foundation supplied the band with equipment to use on their latest release, TK2.
Now, on the eve of the inaugural MoogFest, Toubab Krewe and the Bob Moog Foundation have released an exclusive tribute video to the late scientist and sonic pioneer. The first in what is to be a series of videos entitled the Bob Moog Foundation Music Series “Voices,” the video “celebrates Bob Moog’s legacy across many genres of music.” In it you can hear his daughter and executive director of the Moog Foundation, Michelle Moog-Koussa, detail his inspirational life and future plans for his memory, including the excellent-sounding Moogseum. Members of Toubab Krewe share their feelings for and connections to the man himself, and the video also features music from TK2 and some behind the scenes looks at its making.
View the video below, and click over to www.moogfoundation.org for more information and to support the foundation with a donation. To join in the eternal celebration of Bob Moog’s contributions to science and music, head down to Asheville this weekend for MoogFest. If you’re already there, don’t forget to stop by The Southern tomorrow night for the CoS and WNC Magazine Official MoogFest Kickoff Party with King Britt. Also, if you haven’t already, you can read our interview with MoogFest and Bonnaroo founder and AC Entertainment President Ashley Capps.