Files

  1. Joe Schmidt — A Lost Interview with Alvin Lucier

Description

This interview with Alvin Lucier was conducted by Joe Schmidt in 1982 and was aired only one time—on WMUH Allentown during Schmidt’s sound poetry show. WMUH was 100% live radio at the time, so archival copies depend solely on the documentation of listeners, as is the case here. Fortunately, fellow WMUH DJ Glenn R. Frantz had the tape rolling that afternoon in January 1983.

Schmidt recorded this interview while Lucier was serving in residence at Kutztown University as part of James Carroll’s NAP (New Arts Program), which for nearly 50 years has brought an impressive list of artists, musicians, and writers (e.g., Nam June Paik, Meredith Monk, Julius Eastman, and Jackson Mac Low, just to name a very small few) to work and perform in Berks and Lehigh counties in Pennsylvania. The interview appears in segments, interspersed with excerpts of Lucier's music. Speed is somewhat variable, as Schmidt was using a “cheap battery-powered cassette recorder.” Notable is Lucier referring to the All Things Considered theme music as “stupid.”

Special thanks to Glenn R. Frantz, Joe Schmidt, and Scott Ross Adams.