Lee Ranaldo
The picture above was taken by Ralph backstage at the State-X New Forms Festival 2006. I had
brought a few instruments to show Lee, among which the Moodswinger as visible on the pic. The
Moodswinger is based on the Pencilina and on texts I had read about Glenn
BrancaÕs instruments. I could hear what he was doing and I had the intention to
develop an instrument similar to what Branca had made. When I showed him the
Moodswinger, Ranaldo however told me this was not like BrancaÕs instruments.
His instruments also had the 3rd bridge, but the
string division scale I had worked out was not on his instruments. Just the
movable 3rd bridge rod was present, nothing more than that. They
used it based on trial and error positioning and a few logical positions like
the octave or 1/3 or 1/4, but not on purpose on 3/8 or 2/7 or whatever other
calculated position. Or at least sometimes more or less accidentally like on The
World Looks Red,
because it simply sounded cool. I was happy I had developed something more
accurate and scientific than anything else in this field. I thought I was just
copying the best I could.
For people whoÕd like to know more, the following
information about RanaldoÕs work besides Sonic Youth.
Ranaldo has also published a large list of solo recordings
and albums in collaboration with other artist as well as a list of books with
short stories, diaries and poems. Many of his work consist of spoken word
pieces. Armarillo Ramp is a recommendation, if you are searching for the most accessible solo
release.
Allmusic Biography
Lee Ranaldo, co-founder of avant-garde rock group Sonic
Youth, was born in 1956 in East Norwich, NY. In addition to constant touring
with Sonic Youth, Ranaldo has been extremely active in the New York music scene
for the past 20 years, recording and collaborating with numerous acts,
producing discs, and publishing several books of poetry and journal entries.
Ranaldo attended SUNY Binghamton in Binghamton, NY, where he played in an
experimental punk outfit called the Fluks (named after the dadaist art
movement, Fluxus). His early influences include many psychedelic California
bands from the late '60s, including the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and
Hot Tuna, as well as early New York City punk units like the Ramones,
Television, and Talking Heads. After moving to New York in 1979, Ranaldo
briefly attempted to revive the Fluks before playing in a series of acts
including Rhys Chatham and
Plus Instruments (with whom he recorded an LP in 1982). Through Chatham,
Ranaldo met the charismatic composer Glenn Branca, who created avant-garde
pieces for electric guitar ensembles. Through the burbling downtown no wave
scene of the early '80s, Ranaldo met future Sonic Youth bandmates Thurston
Moore and Kim Gordon. Throughout the '80s, the band worked hard to sustain
themselves, recording and touring constantly. The early years of the band are
documented in a book of road journals written by Ranaldo and published by Soft
Skull Press in the mid-'90s. In 1987, he released his first solo album, From
Here to Infinity, on
SST Records, a vinyl release with locking grooves at the end of each track. By
the early '90s, after the completion and subsequent canonization of their
seminal Daydream Nation (and probably partially by dint of sheer survival), Sonic Youth was
looked up to as elders in the fledgling alternative music scene, acting as
mentors to dozens of younger bands (including Nirvana). In this role, Ranaldo
has produced albums for Babes in Toyland, You Am I, Deity Guns, and others.
Ranaldo's role in the ever-experimental Sonic Youth has been an important one,
acting as a textural axis for Gordon and Moore. Though he typically only
contributed a handful of songs to each Sonic Youth recording, Ranaldo quickly
developed his own songwriting style -- throbbing beats topped with
beat-influenced, half-spoken/half-sung poetry delivered in Ranaldo's
reassuring, gently confident voice, such as "Eric's Trip" on Daydream Nation and the title track off of 1999's NYC
Ghosts & Flowers.
In addition to releasing a book of his poetry (also published by Soft Skull
Press), Ranaldo has also edited a volume of tour journals from the 1995
Lollapalooza Tour written by Moore, Beck, Stephen Malkmus (of Pavement),
Courtney Love, and others. Ranaldo also has an ongoing collaboration with jazz
drummer William Hooker. The two create dissonant music -- Hooker on drums,
Ranaldo on modified guitars, synthesizers, and other electronics -- while
taking turns reading and improvising poetry.
Ranaldo is also one of the three guitarist in the
super-group "The Million Dollar Bashers" that were assembled
specifically for the soundtrack of I'm Not There (2007), alongside Nels Cline from
Wilco and Tom Verlaine from Television.
Books
Bookstore and Others (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Hozomeen Press
(April 1995), ISBN 978-1885175069
Online Diaries : the Lollapalooza '95 tour journals (Paperback) - Beck, Courtney Love,
Stephen Malkmus, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Mike Watt, David Yow, Soft Skull
Press (1996), ISBN 978-1887128209
Moroccan Journal: Jajouka excerpt (Unknown Binding) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah
Singer, Ring Tarigh for the Literary Renaissance (1997), ASIN: B0006RJF80
JRNLS80s (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Soft Skull Press (1998), ISBN 978-1887128315
Moroccan Journal (Hardcover) - Lee Ranaldo, Fringecore (1999), ISBN
978-9076207520
Ground Zero: New Yorkers Respond (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, David
Amram, Frank Messina, Wasteland Press (August 15, 2002), ISBN 978-0971581173
Lengths & Breaths (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Cynthia Connolly, Water Row
Press (August 2004), ISBN 978-0934953795
Road Movies (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Soft Skull Press (Nov 30,
2004), ISBN 978-1932360738
Drift (Paperback
+ DVD) - Lee Ranaldo, Leah Singer, Gigantic ArtSpace (2005), ISBN
978-1933045344
Hello from the American Desert (Paperback) - Lee Ranaldo, Curt
Kirkwood, Silver Wonder Press (November 2007)
Discography - solo recordings and collaborations
From Here to Infinity, SST, 1987
A Perfect Day EP (1992)
Broken Circle / Spiral Hill EP (1994)
Scriptures of the Golden Eternity (1995)
East Jesus (1995)
Clouds (1997)
with William Hooker
Mmmr - Jean-Marc Montera, Ranaldo, Moore, Loren Mazzacane
Connors 1998, Xeric
Records
Amarillo Ramp (For Robert Smithson) (2000)
Music for Stage and Screen 2005
Oasis of Whispers Ranaldo, Hall Hooker 2005
Nothing Makes Any Sense Cline, Giffoni, Licht Ranaldo, 2007
Four Guitars Live - Ranaldo, Moore, Nels Cline, Carlos
Giffoni, 2007
Lee Ranaldo - Dirty Windows (cd + book)
Out Trios Volume One: Monsoon - Ranaldo/Miller/Hooker
Countless Centuries Fled Into The Distance Like So Many
Storms (2008)
External links
www.leeranaldo.net (unofficial website)
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