Boyd Blake Rice (born December 16, 1956) is an American experimental sound/noise musician using the name of NON since the mid-1970s. A pioneer of industrial music, Rice was one of the first artists to use a sampler and turntable as an instrument.[1] He is also a writer, archivist, actor, and photographer.
Boyd Rice | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Boyd Blake Rice |
| Also known as | NON |
| Born | December 16, 1956 Lemon Grove, California, U.S. |
| Origin | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, author |
| Instrument(s) | Tape machines, turntables |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Labels | Mute |
Biography
editRice was born on December 16, 1956, in Lemon Grove, California.[2] He became widely known through his involvement in V. Vale's RE/Search Publications.[citation needed] He is profiled in RE/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook[3] and Pranks![4]
In the mid-1980s Rice became close friends with Anton LaVey, founder and high priest of the Church of Satan, and was made a priest, then later a magister in the Council of Nine of the Church. The two admired much of the same music and shared a similar misanthropic outlook. Each had been inspired by Might Is Right in fashioning various works: LaVey in The Satanic Bible, and Rice in several recordings.
In 1987 Rice and Nikolas Schreck founded the Abraxas Foundation, an "occult-fascist" think tank that also counted Adam Parfrey and Michael J. Moynihan among its members.[5] During an interview, Rice described the basic philosophy of his foundation as being "The strong rule the weak, and the clever rule the strong".[6]
Rice has documented the writings of Charles Manson in his role as contributing editor of The Manson File.
Music
editRice creates music under his own name, as well as under the moniker of NON and with contributors under various other project names.
Early sound experiments
editRice started creating experimental noise recordings in 1975, drawing on his interest in tape machines and bubblegum pop sung by female vocalists such as Little Peggy March and Ginny Arnell. One of his earliest efforts consisted entirely of a loop of every time Lesley Gore sang the word "cry". After initially creating recordings simply for his own listening, he later started to give performances, and eventually make records. His musical project NON grew out of these early experiments; he reportedly selected the name because "it implies everything and nothing".
Techniques and implementations
editFrom his earliest recordings, Rice has experimented with both sound and the medium through which that sound is conveyed. His methods of expanding upon the listening possibilities for recorded music were simple. On his second seven-inch, he had 2–4 extra holes punched into the record for "multi axial rotation".[7] Another early LP was titled Play at Any Speed. While working exclusively with vinyl, he employed locked grooves that allowed listeners to create their own music. He was one of the first artists, after John Cage, to treat turntables as instruments[8] and developed various techniques for scratching. Rice has been treating sounds from vinyl recordings as early as 1975.[9]
NON
editUnder the name NON, originally with second member Robert Turman, Rice has recorded several seminal noise music albums, and collaborated with experimental music/dark folk artists like Current 93, Death in June and Rose McDowall. Most of his music has been released on the Mute Records label. Rice has also collaborated with Frank Tovey of Fad Gadget, Tony Wakeford of Sol Invictus and Michael Jenkins Moynihan of Blood Axis. His later albums have often been explicitly conceptual.
On Might! (1995), Rice layers portions of Ragnar Redbeard's Social Darwinist harangue, Might Is Right over sound beds of looped noise and manipulated frequencies. 1997's God & Beast explores the intersection in the soul of man's physical and spiritual natures over the course of an album that alternates abrasive soundscapes with passages of tranquility.
In 2006, Rice returned to the studio to record raw vocal sound sources for a collaboration with Industrial, modern primitive percussionist/ethnomusicologist Z'EV. In addition, he and long-time friend of twenty years Giddle Partridge planned an album titled LOVE/LOVE-BANG/BANG!, under the band name of Giddle & Boyd. After the limited edition release of a bubblegum pink, heart-shaped vinyl E.P. titled, Going Steady With Peggy Moffitt. In early 2010, Rice announced that he and Giddle Partridge would focus on solo projects/albums for the time being.
Crowd control
editEarly NON performances were designed to offer choice to audience members who might otherwise expect only a prefabricated and totally passive entertainment experience. Rice has stated that he considers his performances to be "de-indoctrination rites". Rice has performed using a shoe polisher, the "rotoguitar" (an electric guitar with an electric fan on it), and other homemade instruments. He has also used found sounds, played at a volume just below the threshold of pain, to entice his audiences to endure his high decibel sound experiments.
Rice coupled his aural assaults with psychological torture on audiences in The Hague, the Netherlands, by shining in their faces exceedingly bright lights that were deliberately placed just out of reach. As their frustration mounted, Rice states that he:
...continued to be friendly to the audience, which made them even madder, because they were so mad and I didn't care! They were shaking their fists at me, and I thought that at any minute there'd be a riot. So I took it as far as I thought I could, and then thanked them and left.[3]
Other work
editAfter dropping out of high school at the age of 17, Rice began an in-depth study of early 20th-century art movements, producing his own abstract black and white paintings and experimental photographs. Early on, he met European art historian and gallery owner Arturo Schwarz, with whom he began a long correspondence. Schwarz, a biographer of Duchamp and Man Ray, encouraged Rice to pursue his art, no matter what. And he did. Though he would later shift his focus to sound, he has never stopped creating visual art and has given a number of one man shows over the years.[10]
In the mid-1970s Rice devoted a great deal of time to experimental photography, developing a process by which he could produce "photographs of things which don't exist".[11] He had a one-man show of the photos in the early 1980s at Richard Peterson's Pink & Pearl Gallery in San Diego, which was documented in the local press, the San Diego Union and Evening Tribune. He has never revealed the means by which he made these photos, and has stated publicly that the secret will go to the grave with him. Some of these photos can be seen in his book Standing in Two Circles (Creation Press, 2008).
Personal life
editRice dated Lisa Crystal Carver, with whom he has a son, Wolfgang.[12]
Rice was arrested in 1995 for domestic violence, though never charged.[13] Carver writes in her memoir, Drugs Are Nice, that he physically abused her.[13]
Views
editSince the 1980s Rice's music and art have been influenced by fascist and otherwise transgressive ideas and aesthetics. The packaging for NON's 1986 album Blood & Flame, for instance, included a Wolfsangel and a quote from Alfred Rosenberg.[14] He has often been accused of fascist sympathies as a result.[15][16] He also cultivated connections with neo-Nazis such as James Mason (who he began corresponding with in 1986[17]), Tom Metzger (whose TV show he appeared on in 1986[18]) and Bob Heick.[19] Rice introduced Mason to Adam Parfrey and Michael J. Moynihan, who would bring Mason's book Siege to a larger audience.[16] In 1989, Rice and Heick were photographed for Sassy wearing uniforms and brandishing knives. He has also expressed support for fascism in his writings, interviews, and public appearances.[20]
Rice began to face a backlash for these associations in the late 1980s, when more left-wing avant-garde figures like Jello Biafra, Peter Christopherson, and V. Vale cut their ties with him.[21] In the 1990s he began to disassociate himself from the far right and to use fascist iconography with more irony.[22]
Rice has denied that he is a neo-Nazi.[23] In one 2012 interview he praised Arthur de Gobineau while adding, “I don’t think that to believe in the principle of natural inequality that necessarily equates to: you hate black people or you hate Jews or something.”[24] In another 2019 interview he described himself as "utterly apolitical."[25] A 2018 art show was cancelled because of protests over Rice's fascist associations,[23] as were some shows on Rice's 2013 tour with Cold Cave.[26][27]
Discography
edit| Year | Title | Under |
|---|---|---|
| 1976[28] | The Black Album | Boyd Rice |
| 1977 | Mode of Infection/Knife Ladder – 7" | NON |
| 1978 | Pagan Muzak – 7" with multiple locked grooves | NON |
| 1982 | Rise – 12" | NON |
| 1982 (rec. 1977–82) | Physical Evidence | NON |
| 1983 | Sickness of Snakes / Nightmare Culture | Boyd Rice & COIL / Boyd Rice & Current 93 |
| 1984 (rec. 1981) | Easy Listening for the Hard of Hearing | Boyd Rice and Frank Tovey |
| 1985 | Sick Tour – Live in Holland | NON |
| 1987 (rec. 1983) | Blood and Flame | NON |
| 1990 | Music, Martinis and Misanthropy | Boyd Rice and Friends |
| 1991 | Easy Listening for Iron Youth – The Best of NON | NON |
| 1992 | In the Shadow of the Sword | NON |
| 1993 | I'm Just Like You | The Tards (8" single by Boyd Rice & Adam Parfrey) |
| 1993 | Ragnarok Rune | Boyd Rice |
| 1993 | Seasons in the Sun | Spell |
| 1994 | The Monopoly Queen – 7" | The Monopoly Queen (w/ Mary Ellen Carver & Combustible Edison) |
| 1995 | Might! | NON |
| 1995 | Hatesville | The Boyd Rice Experience with Adam Parfrey |
| 1996 | Heaven Sent | Scorpion Wind (w/ Douglas P. & John Murphy) |
| 1996 | Ralph Gean: A Star Unborn | Boyd Rice Presents |
| 1996 | Death's Gladsome Wedding: Hymns and Marches from Transylvania's Notorious Legionari Movement | Boyd Rice Presents |
| 1997 | God & Beast | NON |
| 1999 | Receive the Flame | NON |
| 1999 | Pagan Muzak – 7" with multiple locked grooves Rerelease | NON |
| 2000 | The Way I Feel | Boyd Rice |
| 2000 | Solitude – 7" with locked grooves on B-side | NON |
| 2001 | Wolf Pact | Boyd Rice and Fiends |
| 2002 | Children of the Black Sun | NON |
| 2002 | The Registered Three | Boyd Rice & Friends (C.D. Single) |
| 2002 | Music for Pussycats: Girl Groups | Boyd Rice Presents |
| 2004 | Baptism By Fire (Live) | Boyd Rice and Fiends |
| 2004 | Terra Incognita: Ambient Works 1975 to Present | Boyd Rice/NON |
| 2004 | Alarm Agents | Death in June & Boyd Rice |
| 2005 | The Very Best of Little Fyodor's Greatest Hits! | Boyd Rice Presents |
| 2008 | Boyd Rice and Z'EV | Boyd Rice and Z'EV |
| 2008 | Going Steady With Peggy Moffitt | Giddle & Boyd |
| 2012 | Back to Mono | NON |
| 2020 | Blast of Silence | NON |
Filmography
editFilm
edit- Pranks! TV! (1986, VHS) (directed by V. Vale), RE/Search Publications
- Tyranny of the Beat (1991), Mute Records
- Speak of the Devil (1995, VHS) (about Anton LaVey, directed by Nick Bougas), Wavelength Video
- Boyd Rice Documentary, Part One (1994), Joel Haertling
- Boyd Rice Documentary, Part Two (1998), Joel Haertling
- Pearls Before Swine (1999) (directed by Richard Wolstencroft)
- Nixing the Twist (2000, DVD) (directed by Frank Kelly Rich), High Crime Films
- The Many Moods of Boyd Rice (2002, VHS), Predatory Instinct Productions
- Church of Satan Interview Archive (2003, DVD), Purging Talon
- Baptism by Fire (2004, DVD) (live performance in Bologna, Italy), NERO2
- Frank Tovey by Fad Gadget (2006) (documentary), Mute Records
- Iconoclast (2011) (directed by Larry Wessel), iconoclastmovie.com
- Modern Drunkard (directed by Frank Kelly Rich)
- In Satan's Name (BBC documentary by director Antony Thomas)
- In Satan's Name (Bob Larson's 31-episode television series), Trinity Broadcasting Network
- Resort Beyond the Last Resort (music video directed by Kansas Bowling), Collapsing Scenery
Performance
edit- Live in Osaka (DVD) (features a concert performance from Osaka, Japan in 1989, with Michael Moynihan, Tony Wakeford, Douglas P. and Rose McDowall; also includes Rice's films Invocation (One) and Black Sun)
- Perpetual Permutation Poetry, International Artist's Cooperative, (1976)
- Painted Black, Carl Rashke
- Tape Delay, SAF Publishing, (1987)
- Pop Void, Pop Void Publications, (1987)
- RE/Search No. 6: Industrial Culture Handbook, RE/Search Publications (1983, ISBN 0-940642-07-7)
- RE/Search No. 10: Incredibly Strange Films: A Guide to Deviant Films, RE/Search Publications (1986, ISBN 0-940642-09-3) (joint author)
- RE/Search No. 11: Pranks!. RE/Search Publications (1986, ISBN 0-9650469-8-2)
- The Manson File edited by Nikolas Schreck, Amok Press (1988, ISBN 0-941693-04-X)
- Apocalypse Culture: Expanded & Revised Edition edited by Adam Parfrey, Feral House, (1990, ISBN 0-922915-05-9)
- ANSWER Me!, issue No. 3 (1993, ISBN 0-9764035-3-6)
- ANSWER Me!, issue No. 4 (1994)
- Death in June: le livre Brun, Camion Blanc, (1994)
- Death in June: Misery & Purity, Jara Press, (1995)
- The Exit Collection, Tacit, (1998)
- Taboo: The Art of Tiki, Outre Press, (1999)
- Lucifer Rising, Plexus Publishing, (1999)
- Cinema Contra Cinema, Fringecore, (1999)
- Apocalypse Culture II, edited by Adam Parfrey, Feral House (2000, ISBN 0-922915-57-1)
- Paranoia: The Conspiracy Reader, issue 32, Spring 2003.
- The Book of Lies, Disinformation Press, (2003)
- 100 Artists See Satan, Last Gasp Press, (2004)
- The Vessel of God, Terra Fria, (2005)
- .45 Dangerous Minds, Creation Press, (2005)
- Art That Kills, Creation Press, (2006)
- Noise Music: A History, Continuum International Publishing Group, (2007)
- The Book of Satanic Quotations, Purging Talon Press, (2008)
- Bubblegum & Sunshine Pop, Les Cahiers du Rock, (2008)
- Iron Youth Reader, Underworld Amusements, (2008)
- Standing in Two Circles: Les Ecrits de Boyd Rice, (French translation) edited by Brian M. Clark Camion Noir, (2009, ISBN 978-2-35779-010-0)
- Standing in Two Circles: The Collected Works of Boyd Rice, edited by Brian M. Clark, CTBKS, (2008, ISBN 1-84068-118-7)
- No, Heartworm Press, (2009)
- Death in June: Hidden Behind the Runes, Aldo Clementi, (2010)
- Mondo Movies, Baazar & Co., (2010)
- Charles Manson: Le Guru du Rock, Camion Noir, (2010)
- Twilight Man, Heartworm Press, (2011)
- Vlad the Impaler, Ian Allan, (2011)
- No, Expanded and revised edition Heartworm Press
- Death in June Songbook
References
edit- ^ Schurr, Maria (February 5, 2013). "BOYD RICE/NON: 24 JANUARY 2013 – BROOKLYN, NY". PopMatters. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- ^ "Boyd Rice Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Vale, V. Juno, Andrea. Re/Search #6/7: Industrial Culture Handbook (1983) ISBN 0-940642-07-7
- ^ Juno, Andrea (Editor), Ballard, J. G. (Editor), Re/Search #11: Pranks (1987) ISBN 0-940642-10-7
- ^ Sunshine, Spencer. Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism. Routledge. 2024. Page 161.
- ^ "Boyd Rice vs. Bob Larson Interview Talk Back Broadcasts 1-5". YouTube. October 25, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Laugh til it hurts". The Wire (256).
- ^ Zylo, Arvo (May 19, 2011). "Have A Nice Day: An Interview with Boyd Rice". Archived from the original on May 25, 2011.
- ^ Blood Book "Boyd Rice Interview" 2010
- ^ Press release from Mitchell Algus Gallery (NYC) for Rice's one man show of paintings.
- ^ Standing in Two Circles
- ^ Levin, Martin (March 18, 2006). "Perfectly punk". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Sunshine 186
- ^ Sunshine 175
- ^ "New York Gallery Pulls Boyd Rice Show Following Neo-Nazi Claims". September 7, 2018.
- ^ a b Sunshine 168
- ^ Sunshine 170
- ^ Sunshine 173
- ^ Sunshine 180. "During this period, the USA Today TV show ran a series called 'Racist Youth.' The third episode featured interviews with both Heick and Rice. Heick, Rice, and others were shown walking through the streets and toasting in a bar. For his sit-down interview, Rice wore sunglasses and his paramilitary uniform, with an American Front patch on the breast."
- ^ Sunshine 179. "By 1987, Rice had already started referring to his views as 'fascist,' though not--in public at least--as a 'Nazi.' (He would continue to do so for many years)."
- ^ Sunshine 184-85
- ^ Sunshine 188. "After 1993, Rice kept some of the elements of Nazism that he had already picked up, including uniforms and Hitler iconography, even as he moved on. His attention turned towards tiki bars and Holy Grail mysticism, cultivating a relationship with actor Tiny Tim, and collecting Barbie dolls as well as writing and making art. The Nazi imagery he used became blatant and--as he was no longer embedded in the neo-Nazi milieu--more ironic. He posed for a photo in the ANSWER ME! fanzine, in a T-shirt with 'RAPE' in large white letters, in addition to wearing a swastika necklace."
- ^ a b "AFTER BACKLASH, GREENSPON GALLERY SCRAPS SHOW BY ALLEGED NEO-NAZI BOYD RICE". Artforum. September 6, 2018.
- ^ Barry, Robert (October 3, 2012). "FACT meets Boyd Rice: noise pioneer, film buff, leader of the Church of Satan". Fact magazine. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- ^ Staff (March 16, 2019). "Culture Talk – Boyd Rice of 'NON' and Countless other Projects". The Aither. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ "Cold Cave concerts cancelled due to inclusion of Boyd Rice". Fact Magazine. June 27, 2013.
- ^ "Cold Cave shows being cancelled due to Boyd Rice being there, 285 Kent still on, Boyd-less Glasslands added".
- ^ Boydrice.com
Further reading
edit- Hensley, Chad (Fall–Winter 2000). "Non Sense: An Interview with Boyd Rice". Esoterra: The Journal of Extreme Culture. No. 9. pp. 12–17. ISBN 978-1-84068-166-6.
- Zylo, Arvo (May 19, 2011). "Have A Nice Day: An Interview with Boyd Rice". WFMU's Beware of the Blog. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
- Sunshine, Spencer. Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism: The Origins and Afterlife of James Mason’s Siege. Routledge. 2024.
