You can be making incredible music, but if no one knows about it you probably won’t be making it for very long. Having a good project name is the first step to getting publicity and having your music heard by a large amount of people.

Don’t be difficult. It has to be easy to pronounce and say over the phone. Try to avoid using numbers for letters (leet speak) since it will confuse people. Yes, there are exceptions like “!!!,” μ-siq, and whatnot, but the object is to make it easy for the press to write about you and for people to talk about you. While you’re welcome to choose a difficult name, it’s only going to make the rest of your publicity efforts that much harder.

Steer clear of profanity. While James Fucking Friedman has a somewhat high profile, whenever he gets listed in local papers that don’t allow profanity they star out either the entire middle word or just use stars after the F. People will get confused–”Did they star out ‘Faggot,’ ‘Fucking,’ or ‘Fellatio’? Should I Google for James Star Star Star?” Also profanity limits the types of publications that will feature you. While XLR8R and URB are magazines that are pretty laid back about their language, you might one day discover that your music has an interesting crossover audience (be it mountain climbers or acoustic engineers) and you want to make it easy for those types of journalists to approach you and write about you and your music.

It sounds good. Pick three of your favorite names. Say them out loud. Ask some friends what they think and notice how they respond. Do they laugh out loud when you’re aiming for a super serious image (“Abfahrt Hinwil” might cause some giggling)? It may sound obvious, but electronic musicians who tend to work alone and communicate through their computers could use some IRL human feedback once in a while.

No one else has it. While I wouldn’t say you should register for a trademark just yet, you should research as best you can if anyone else is using your name. You don’t want to shell out money for a domain name and spend years growing your project and fan base just to be hit with a cease and desist or worse, a lawsuit (look at Dan Snaith’s Caribou (formerly Manitoba) debacle.) Do some web searches to see if you can determine if anyone’s using your name. The US Patent office has an online search engine called TESS where you can search for trademarks in use. Search for all the words in your desired name, and then search for each one alone and see if they return anything similar. If you’re considering trademarking your name, it’s a very good idea but it will cost you a few hundred bucks. You can file online and read more here: http://www.uspto.gov.

It can be you, as long as you’re not already in use. You can use your own name as long as it’s not in use already and you won’t be confused for someone else. Can you imagine being the second Derrick May in Detroit? You might get a huge turnout for your first gig but the promoter and venue will hate you after the riot of pissed off people who thought they bought tickets to see one of the godfathers of Detroit techno. This second Derrick May in question used his middle name instead to avoid confusion, resulting in Derrick Michael.

Webify it. Get a domain name when you’ve settled on your choice. Although you might just want to use Myspace as your website, Myspace is not press-friendly, and if you adopt that early-90s bad-website look with repeating graphic as the background or garish colors it’s going to be unreadable (and incredibly annoying). Plus, with your own website you have total control over your image and don’t have to worry about deleting comments and photos posted by jerks. Then check to see if your choice is a domain in use already. I got lucky because mine is a completely made up word (Quantazelle) so the domain was available. If it’s not, see if you can add “music” “sounds,” or something else to the end of it and then grab it. If not, you might consider finding a different name, but it’s not a deal killer. While you might want to opt for something clever as your domain name, you want to make it easy for people to find information about you. A web search for your project name should return your site as one of the first results because your name is in the domain itself.

Some ideas for generating project names:

Take a passage from a favorite work of literature or a poem,. For example, “Joy Division” is from The House of Dolls by Karol Cetinsky.

Use an anagram. Aphex Twin relied heavily on this to name many of his songs. “Acrid Avid Jam Shred” on I Care Because You Do is an anagram of “Richard D. James”. Here’s an online anagram generator to experiment with: wordsmith.org/anagram.

Try playing with this emo-band name generator: www.bandnamemaker.com

Check out this tool for generating band names: www.greatnameforaband.com. On my first try I got “Galacticide” which is actually really cool.

Here’s another one: www.bandlookup.com. I put in “bandpass’ and got such gems as “Bandpass Disorder” and “Half-Ass Bandpass.”

Create an alias by generating combinations of male or female names with last names: kleimo.com/random. An example of this in action is “Malcom Kipe” who is actually Nautilis aka Skyler McGlothlin.

Take a hint from the Dada-ist poetry methods of William S. Burrows and do a “cut-up.” Grab a newspaper or any other sliceable piece of literature and cut out a bunch of words from it. Then toss them on a flat surface and see what interesting combinations happen.

Make a portmanteau. “Devo” is a concatenation of “de-evolution.” “Quantazelle” is a combination of “Quantum and Gazelle.”

Create a phrase that congers up imagery of what your music sounds like, such as “Explosions in the Sky.” It’s a little difficult if you’re not a poetic or literary type, but you can ask other people for help. Just say “If you could think of an image that sounds like my music, what would it be?” Gathering a group of people in a room together along with some alcohol or other relaxing substance is a very conducive environment for name generating.

So now that you’re better equipped for the first part of your publicity efforts, why don’t you get started on that brainstorming? Good luck!

Our friends at Cynthia have a huge list of major female composers and musicians:

Girls on Synth [Cyndustries.com]

And yes, among the various names is Cyndustries’ own Cynthia Webster (pictured) — it all began with a high school purchase of an ARP 2600, she says. Unfortunately, the list isn’t terribly up-to-date; the link to my own composition teacher at Brooklyn College Tania Leon is broken! (More on her here, though most of her work has been for unplugged instruments.) So is the link for NYC’s own Keiko aka o.blaat of Share fame. But, it’s a start, and has some great resources at the bottom. Women in synthesis aren’t just an occasional oddity: you’ll see some of the most important names in the evolution of electronic music. Music using electricity simply wouldn’t be what it is today without its often-unsung female pioneers.

Got some women pioneers you’d like to point out . . . or just a female reader and want to brag about your own work? Drop us a line. Incidentally, for reference, I’d say easily 50% or more of my own colleagues are female in interactive art and electronic music alike . . . and I notice nearly half of the people who register here on CDM. Gender imbalance? Not necessarily. -PK

From our friends at Moog Music, an update. In short: there will not be a public memorial, but The Bob Moog Foundation will help advance the cause of electronic music.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — August 21, 2005 — Bob died this afternoon at his home in Asheville, N.C. He was 71. Bob was diagnosed with brain cancer (glioblastoma multiforme or GBM) in late April 2005. He had received both radiation treatment and chemotherapy to help combat the disease. He is survived by his wife, Ileana, his five children, Laura Moog Lanier, Matthew Moog, Michelle Moog-Koussa, Renee Moog, and Miranda Richmond; and the mother of his children, Shirleigh Moog.

Bob was warm and outgoing. He enjoyed meeting people from all over the world. He especially appreciated what Ileana referred to as “the magical connection” between music-makers and their instruments.

No public memorial is planned. Fans and friends can direct their sympathies or remembrances to www.caringbridge.com/visit/bobmoog.

Bob’s family has established The Bob Moog Foundation dedicated to the Advancement of Electronic Music in his memory. Many of his longtime collaborators including musicians, engineers and educators have agreed to sit on its executive board including David Borden, Wendy Carlos, Joel Chadabe, John Eaton, David Mash, and Rick Wakeman. For more information about the foundation, contact Matthew Moog at mattmoog@yahoo.com.

We’ll miss you Bob.

The folks at Moog Music have arranged some thoughts on the site, as well as links to the Moog Archives. As “Moog’s Body Leaves Us” is the headline, however, already in the form of the Moog Foundation and the ongoing gifts his instruments give players, his legacy couldn’t be more alive.

Previously on CDM:

A Bob Moog Timeline
How to use a Moog Modular
Bob Moog as movie star and action figure
Inside a Minimoog Voyager
Moog “Analog Silence” April Fool’s
Voyager Rack Mount Edition
CDM’s Moog Voyager ringtone

More reflections through the week; please send yours, too.

Jason at ThereminWorld talks about being invited to the Moog Music factory by Bob, and other memories.

Thousands of musicians and colleagues around the world continue to remember Bob Moog today. As I observed today on Gizmodo, it’s hard to find a picture of Bob alone. He’s always got a smile from ear to ear, and a musician or colleague (or two or three) in his arms.

Music technology writer colleagues of mine are all wondering what shows like AES here in New York this October will be like without his presence. Public relations veteran Marsha Vdovin recalls how surprised she was when she saw the “father of synthesis” busily helping set up the Moog booth at a trade show. He was always humble, always hands-on as a representative of the company he built, from his first Theremin models to today’s latest Voyager keyboards.

To get a sense of Moog’s infectious love for his instruments, just check out this video interview from our friends at AudioMIDI.com. (Disclosure: AudioMIDI.com is a CDM advertiser.) CDM contributor Lee Sherman just ordered a Rack-Mount Edition Moog Voyager; can’t wait to hear the music you make with it, Lee. Here’s Bob talking about his instrument:

Video: David DaVinci interviews Bob Moog [AudioMIDI]

Our friend James of Reflex Audio recalls that Bob Moog inspired him as he started his own music maker; Bob told him “It’ll be hard, but do it if it’s what you love.” [see Retro thing

The terrific synth blog Matrixsynth has been reflecting on Bob Moog for several days now; here are some of the latest links from that site:

NPR Performance Today Remembers Bob Moog
Associated Press on Moog’s death and legacy
Moog, toolmaker for musicians, talks about why analog is coming back (link + commentary at Matrixsynth)
Video of Moog with Jean-Jacques Perrey (see also Perrey’s own site)

I’ll continue to collect memories and thoughts, for anyone who wishes to send them.

Composer, author, and filmmaker Richard Lainhart (award-winning, internationally performed composer who has worked with the likes of Steve Reich and John Cage) writes CDM with memories of Bob Moog:

I first met Bob Moog around 1973, when I was attending the State University of New York at Albany and studying electronic music and composition with Joel Chadabe. Joel was good friends with Bob, and with his help, had assembled one of the largest Moog modular systems in the world at the time – a system on which I spent thousands of hours. Bob designed many custom modules and components for the CEMS system, including the digital master clock system you see in the foreground of the picture above – and of course all the other modules as well

Through Joel, I got to know Bob fairly well, and we found that we had an earlier unknown connection – Peter Reuter, a pianist friend of my father who was also an artist and graphic designer, had designed Moog Music’s new logo in the mid-Sixties, receiving a Moog Melodia Theremin in exchange. Peter gave that Theremin to me later when I told him of my interest in electronic music, and I kept it until just recently, when Moog Music was kind enough to give me a new Etherwave Theremin in exchange for the now non-functional Melodia.

Bob was a brilliant engineer and instrument designer, but he was a genuinely nice man too, always friendly and willing to share ideas and information with aspiring electronic musicians and composers, and always interested in and supportive of the work people did with his instruments, no matter how esoteric.(read more)

The last time I saw Bob was at the first MoogFest in New York City, right around the time of his 70th birthday. I attended the MoogFest with Jordan Rudess, and we decided to do a live online performance using Moog and Moog-inspired instruments in honor of Bob’s birthday. I hadn’t seen Bob in many years at that point, but he remembered me and was, as always, gracious and happy to record a little introduction for us for the performance, which we gave a few days later. He was obviously having a great time at the MoogFest, and it was gratifying to see the respect and admiration that the performers and audience had for him.

I am a composer today in part because of the inspiration his instruments provided me. He was, in many ways, the father of all contemporary electronic musicians. Rest in peace, Bob.

-Richard Lainhart

Thanks for sharing this with us, Richard. For the uninitiated wanting more information on some of the folks mentioned in this article, links below. -PK

Lainhart – Jordan Rudess collaboration [ @ moogmusic.com ]

Richard Lainhart site

Jordan Rudess

Joel Chadabe

Moog Archives

Keep the memories coming, whenever you feel ready to share. Thanks.

UPDATED: Richard sends along another anecdote:

One additional note that perhaps I should have added to the info I sent you – Peter Reuter was friends with the cartoonist Johnny Hart, and was the inspiration for the character “Peter” in the B.C. comic strip. I took piano lessons from Peter for a while, and it was he who turned me onto Switched-On Bach before it became well-known; I was strictly a Morton Subotnick partisan at the time. Peter died too young, in his forties, and he was a great guy – a concert pianist and internationally-known watercolorist; one of those guys who was so talented, he didn’t really know which way to go.

He also lets us know that he’ll keep us posted on the organization with a lofty mission but an awkward name, The Bob Moog Memorial Fund dedicated to the Advancement of Electronic Music. (BMMFDAEM?) Thanks again, Richard.

As reported here previously, Dr. Robert Moog, synthesis pioneer, musician, and instrument builder, has been ill for the past months. A brain tumor is keeping him bed-ridden. The CaringBridge guestbook that had been temporarily closed to public access is now public again:

CaringBridge – Bob Moog

Matt Moog is sending regular journal entries updating readers on Bob Moog’s condition as he undergoes treatment. Matt writes that “The growth in the number of visits to this site is staggering. I am so heartened by the thought of all that positive energy flowing toward Bob, sending healing to him.”

If you have a moment, send some positive energy out and sign the guestbook. Dr. Moog, our thoughts are with you.

Cris from plasq writes us with a link to a fascinating interview featuring Clint Bajakian, Senior Music Supervisor for Sony Computer Entertainment of America. Winner of 2003 Game Audio Network Guild awards for Best Interactive Score and Music of the Year

, Clint has been doing audio in the game industry for over 13 years. (Ed: Apple did a great profile of Clint, too. -PK)

Clint covers a brief history of game audio in the interview, beginning with the built-in PC speaker all the way through to current 5.1 desktop surround systems. (read more)

Today, CD quality audio in surround formats is fast becoming the norm in both the PC platform and console segments. More importantly here is that the consoles now do realtime mixing and processing, wheras in the ‘old days’ we were dealing with MIDI files being played back by 2-Op FM synthesizers or the slightly more advanced wavetable synths of Creative fame. As game audio became slightly more advanced we had the opportunity to stream audio direct from the CD or hard-disk, yet still nearly everything was pre-rendered and streamed directly with no post-processing whatsoever.

In recent years, the production of game audio has become more specialized and segmented. What used to be a one-man-gig has now split into a variety of different audio specialties: a separate sound designer, composer, engineer, mixer, conductor, voiceover specialist, etc. Field recording is becoming far more predominant in todays games as well. Of course what is unique to game audio as opposed to audio in films and television is that the mixing of game audio, while similar in effect to movies, happens in real-time, in-game. There is, in effect, no ‘final mix’ until someone actually plays the game. Each stream of dialog, effects and music is brought in and out independently by the game’s audio engine.

Bajakian contends, however, that in order to take game audio to the next level of being on-par-with and even surpassing ‘Hollywood quality sound’ is the tools and limited resources in the games and platforms themselves. He encourages developers to build tools that minimize the repetetive, manual tasks that game audio producers deal with in today’s market. He goes on to talk about the types of tools he envisions to improve the communication and processes used in the creation of today’s game audio production infrastructure, stating that providing tools to control the in-game mix in an offline setting is the big challenge. Given the vast amount of audio files in a modern console game, asset management becomes absolutely critical to the success of the game. Interestingly enough, the sophistication of the audio file formats themselves have not evolved. Composers actually have more system-level control with General MIDI than they do with a standard audio file, so from that perspective the tools of the sound designer and composer for game audio haven’t evolved as quickly as the consoles themselves.

All in all, it is about a 40-minute session, but well worth the listen for anyone interested in game audio. Thanks, for the tip, Cris!

Ed: Thanks, Brent. I was at this presentation at O’Reilly; Clint was really great and there’s some stuff in there that’s well worth the listen! This is a really big deal for game composers; I shudder at the manual asset management they have to do, and having talked to a couple of the ‘majors’ in the field, this complaint always comes up. Wonder when we’ll see game platforms that really take the composer to heart? -PK

Behold the instrument-designing prowess of Roger Linn. You can check out his resume at the museum page of his site, but to make a long story short, it ranges from ground-breaking sampled drum machines to the legendary MPC sampler series from Akai. Without Roger, hip-hop as we know it would probably never have happened.

Fortunately, the man isn’t becoming a museum piece. With new AdrenaLinn gear and the Black Box guitar/drum box for M-Audio, the dude is going strong. Our friends over at the Fake Lab Report podcast sit down with Roger in the latest edition of their digital music-centric program; don’t miss it!

Pop quiz: what instrument by pioneering “father of digital audio” (or, if you’d rather, “great-grandfather of Techno”) Max Mathews was featured on the cover of Playboy Magazine?

If you guessed the IBM 704 mainframe, the computer on which Mathews generated the first computer music the world ever heard, you’d be — wrong! Would that we were so lucky. I’m sure you hard-core geeks can imagine your favorite woman or man sprawled over those . . . crisp lines . . . cold, slab surfaces . . . humming away . . . see the 704 photos here and here.

The correct answer is, as shown, Mathews’ Electronic Violin, from the April 1998 Playboy. The player is a serious violinist named Linda Brava who, apparently, has an affinity for posing for soft-core violinist porn. Then again, if I were a blonde bombshell Finnish violinist, my publicity shots would probably involve me in lace-up boots, too. Brava has a hard-core violinist resume, but she really does play digital violins — not just for photo shoots.

But, in all seriousness, I don’t enjoy looking at Finnish violinist nearly as much as looking at IBM mainframes, especially as operated by serious-looking businesspeople in suits. So, for posterity, check out the real first digital musical instrument after the break (hit ‘read more’). Oh, sure, it was too slow for real-time digital audio and IBM discontinued it in 1960, but that hardly matters. 704 forever. Rock and roll!

My kind of porn below: never trust a computer you can lift.