Category Archives: my very first post

My mention of Lawrence Fritts helped jog the memory of a drive Jenna and I were taking up Beacon Hill one night upon our return from a function in the city. As I punched buttons on the radio dial, I came upon a familiar voice on Ira Flatow’s Science Friday on KUOW–the local NPR station here in Seattle.

It was Larry (as he’s affectionately called by those who have the honor of knowning him) speaking upon the passing of Robert Moog earlier that day. Larry is known for gloriously detailed and complex stories, and this interview happened to be no exception. He recounted a loving tale of his own personal interaction with the man, Moog, and how he acquired a knob (or cord, or something) from one of ‘Bob’s’ original Moog machine prototypes.

When prompted to give a summation of Moog’s legacy, I was crossing my fingers that it would all get sandwiched into the last thirty seconds of airtime. I didn’t want to hear him get rushed or cut off by the host for station identification. . . and you know, Larry pulled it off quite gracefully. The host had a good 5 to 7 seconds of interlocutor thanks and pause for Moog’s passing.

That said, thought I’d check into Larry on YouTube and luckily, I found a very interesting art piece I remember seeing from my days as a University of Iowa Graduate Student. Originally observed at the University of Iowa Art Museum, it is a collaboration betwtixt Fritts, the artist Sue Hettmansperger, and mezzo-soprano Katherine Eberle. While its a good representation of how Larry gets down, bear in mind compression–both in video and sound format–take away from just how effectively this piece can resonate in the body and brain.

It should be noted that Larry is known for his work in anechoic chambers, whereby, simply put, the sound of a sound is non-reflected back upon itself. OR, its unaffected by its own self and exists as ‘pure sound’ when interpreted through the ear or recorded by microphone. . . I think?