Bang on a Can - 25 Years

The marathons, from early days in the East Village, to Lincoln Center, Henry Street, and beyond -- definitely powerful experiences. Being there from the first notes to the last -- definitely accorded us the badge of honor as citizens of our community! My VERY favorite memory was David onstage at Henry Street, with one of his beautiful babies in the Baby Bjorn, asleep, as he addressed the audience. This is what a life in music really means. BOAC's founders and members are my heroes.

I was in composers forum at school and heard about this download.

dave longstreth

Being amazed that a group could recreate "Music For Airports" live...

Listening to "Composition No. 19 for 100 Tubas" as the tuba armada moved around, the sound dopplering off buildings and over the water... one of my top musical memories ever.

Im curious!

I remember seeing a poster at school that led me to meet so many amazing people at Banglewood!

keep up the good work! More marathons !

BOAC - the guys who brought me a cd that actually made music. A joy!

I've never seen you as a group, but Maya Beiser is a bit of a cello idol for me!

I saw a BOAC "mini-marathon" at LSU when I was there for the College Music Society 2008 SuperRegional Conference. I have distinct memories of being moved and inspired by David Lang's Sunray. I have been awaiting a recording ever since but have settled for a YouTube excerpt. Is it coming soon??

Heard about the album in the London edition of the Independent newspaper.

Saw the all stars at Amoeba Records in SF. 2 or 3 years ago. Enjoyed meeting Evan. Thanks!

I remember walking along the hudson in battery park city and hearing a sweet and contra-melodic haertbeat of an echo; it beckoned me inside of a moderns structure where the team was in full force and the sounds were altogether awesome

My cousin told me to check you guys out.

Muy interesante

I'm a big Evan Ziporyn fan!

The first time I saw you was in Paris. The last time I heard you was in NYC. What will be next?

Music for Airports by Brian Eno has long been one of my favorite recordings. In 2011, I was surprised and elated to hear a live version of this beautiful music at a Bang on a Can performance. I immediately bought the newer recording to enjoy the full organic sounds of the reproduction. Thank you for re-introducing this wonderful music to me!

Getting prepared for take off Bang on a Can/Eno. Classic & timeless

A friend turned me onto this. Congrats on 25 years!

Growing up my father would cook dinner in the kitchen and listen to all sorts of crazed music; LaMonte Young, Steve Reich, Evan Ziporyn, David Lang, and Michael Gordon. I remember thinking "Where the hell does all this come from?" When I went to college my girlfriend and I went to see Gordon's Decasia at St. Ann's Warehouse and we were blown away, having never seen anything like it. After that I knew I had to try and attend as many marathons as possible. A particularly memorable marathon was when Gavin Bryars' "The Sinking of the Titanic" was performed and it was announced that the last survivor of the Titanic had died earlier that day. Beautiful, dark, and slightly scary. Thanks BoaC!

That time when I was a student at Bang on a Can festival and a group of us went skinny dipping in the lake and got caught by the cops. Musical memories? Playing John Adams' Shaker Loops and John Zorn's Cat O' Nine Tails with some amazing people! Ooh, and hearing Kambar Kalendarov and Kutman Sultanbekov play for the first time.

As close as I got to 9/11. When in NYC about 3 years ago I saw a note about the 24 hour Bang on a Can marathon in the World Financial Center. I met a friend at a subway stop and we made our way through contruction and barricades to the WFC, where we listened to several groups. Most notable was a youth choir. Coming from Canada, this setting was the closest I've come to the 9/11 site. I have a few of your disks though and enjoy those.

I can't wait to listen to this Big Beautiful Dark and Scary, more joy!
Mkz

I hope it will give me a wonderfull experience!

Bang on a Can, Different Trains, I still remember the first time I heard it, on headphones in a library.

got recomms on that, told that's fun..

I first heard you guys play live a few months ago at Carnegie Hall. The whole night of music was wonderful and left a strong memory. I hope the composers of the music you selected to play that night have long and fruitful careers.

Usefulchamber.com x

Two: 1. Performing JW's Lick in a basement of a church on one of the islands close to Vancouver. A very appreciative audience! (And the guitar part's a blast!)
2. Having porridge with MG, JW, and family one time when I was in NYC.

it was bakc in 1997 thanks to soros' bucks. maya beiser tearing down her cello. she is not diva but devil. dark, scary and .. phenomenal

I recently watched the video about your performance of Music for Airports. Excellent document of the state of new music at that time in America. Thanks

i remember somebody telling me bang on a can was like kali goddess playing

The first time I heard BOAC, it was the cover of Eno's 'Music for Airports', almost 15 years ago. At the time I thought it sounded too close to the original, but was interesting in itself - I couldn't define how. And still I can't, though I had since a lot of pleasure listening to their production.

through my ears !!

Never experienced live but have many happy listening experiences via CDs.

Memories of Heidelberg are memories of you...

Working in a clothing store, any time we would put on "Music for Airports" the whole store would sigh a big beautiful sigh.

A newcomer to Bang on a Can - looking forward to hearing more.

Saw the good news on Tiny Mix Tapes. Being an admirer of Bang On A Can's work for a while, I'd really like to have this new album.

barnaba is my memory

Just heard 'Instructional Video' on 22tracks.com and wanted to hear more. Looking forward to becoming a fan.

Congratulations! I never heard your music but this will change now.
Greetings from Germany

The best contemporary in NYC.

I am using this free download opportunity to have a memory related to Bang On A Can... on the 13rd of January 2012 I first listened to bang on a can! ;-)

Due to travel from Cuba to Madrid, I was too late with my download link. Please send another.

Found you via Brian Eno and Late Junction. Thank you.

Heard from douban.com

heard the i think first public performance of cheating lying stealing in san francisco.thrilling!! Then at the end i saw david lange in audience jump to his feet,as did almost everyone,i play it often now while driving in city traffic
as it seems to have the right sort of feeling for the awkward stop
and go, it also reminds me of ernie kovacs peice about the gorilla band,though instead of cans they banged on their heads.

I have 'Music for Airport' and it is one of my favourite records

orchestra teacher

It all started with Tristan Perich's "musical box", which seemed to be some kind of modern interpretation of the noise machines made by Italian futurists.

I remember my first BOAC marathon in the East Village. I stayed for about four hours and opened my mind.

from my friend gary

First introduced to it by a close friend Bang on A can is one of my most regularly played.

My memories are of the compositions - always intriguing, mind stretching, creative, and connected to our times. I always enjoy the music, where ever I hear it! Looking forward to the CD.

robert black is the coolest!

Looking forward to your show in Naperville, IL this April and purchasing this album if available on vinyl.

I remember the first year when the All Stars were kicking cans down cobblestone streets until the Big Bang began!
Keep up de noise & de funk!
ChEars onward!

Starting out summers with the Bang on a Can Marathon. Anthony Braxton's 100 Tubas. Clangorous gamelan conglomerations. So. Per. Kush. On. All-Stars. Guitars. Et alii.

Facebook posting of a friend.

My memory is someone else's - a friend saw you in a cave in Spain and loved imaging the setting (and music!)

Don't have a memory, but got here via Tiny Mix Tapes and am always eager to discover incredible music. Looking forward to digging deeper.

I heard Brian Eno's "Music for Airports" at the Bang on a Can concert at UMD. It was held in the lobby and the music just reverberated through the cavernous space with a mystical quality that mesmerized the listeners. Even as the last notes faded away everyone sat there as if they didn't want the music to end. It's now the music I use to comfort and calm myself after a stressful day. It puts me in a peaceful zone that can be very healing. I do however find it ironic that it was written in a "pre 9/11 world where one could imagine listening to the sound of jets asending and descending (like the tones in the music) and dream of flying off to exotic locations.

Heard about this through FB, like everyone else. Thought I'd give it a try.

The first time I heard Tsimandho Ghmerto I was in college (music ed. major at Lawrence Univ. Conservatory of Music). It completely blew my mind. Bang on a Can changed my view of 20th century and contemporary classical and free music.

Last year I saw Bang on a Can playing live in Lisbon. Not much after the beginning of "Music for Airports", some technical problem forced a stop at the performance and an unprogrammed interval. Nevertheless, after the incident, Bang on a Can started "Music for Airports" from the beginning and completed a very good concert. As a bonus, they offered another unprogrammed moment. This time an encore, just for some of the lucky ones that continued in the theatre 10 minutes after the end of the show.

First time I heard the live version of Music for Airports, I got the tinglies. I'd play it again & again at night, anticipating especially the gorgeous clarinet work in 2/2.

I applied for the summer music festival as a composer. Fingers crossed...!

After hearing Bang on a Can for the first time, I immediately ran to the nearest tattoo parlor and had B-O-A-C inked across my knuckles. Since I still have real estate left on one hand, I think B-B-D-S might be next!

Took our then 11-year-old son to the marathon in 2005(?) and heard the 100-tubatet outside of the Winter Garden. Unlike anything we'd seen or heard! All of NYC's tuba players in one place! With all kinds of tubas -- shiny brand new ones, ancient beat-up ones, skinny silver ones, fat fiberglass, you name it! My son was amazed (so were we). And the sounds of the small traveling tuba bands were great as they wove past us and each other.

I've been a fan since I heard about the creation of 'Music for Airports' on NPR.

I also saw you live at YBCA in San Francisco and, of course, was blown away.

Was at the '08 Marathon at the WFC Winter Garden, good times!

First time I saw Bang on a Can was their Dublin gig in Vicar Street a few years back. Mark Stewart was playing Reich's Electric Counterpoint and about 2/3rds the way through the backing CD started skipping and repeating the same phrase over and over, perhaps aware of the irony Mark started jamming along to the skipping CD for a while!

bs'd
Well, i'd have to say that my 2 favorite Bang on a Can memories are both pre-Bang on a Can. 1 is hearing Julie sing her beautiful Baal Shem Tov melody at a Shabbos meal at their apartment in New Haven 1 Friday night & the other is at a Michael Gordon Philharmonic [featuring David Lang] performance - when, at the very end of the concert, they jumped into "16 Tons" & the audience practically jumped out of their skins! [i think that was the same gig that they did an absolutely superb version of "Sunshine of Your Love"].

Thanks for the great memories guys :-)

I heard David Lang's work for La La La Human Steps' dance film "Amelia" some years ago and immediately became a fan of his work. The arrangements that he did to Lou Reed´s songs are incredible. So I started to inform me about his work and that's how I get to Maya Beiser's world, another sublime musician with the power of change any enviroment through her cello and the sounds emanating from it. Knowing that both creators are co-founders of the Bang on A Can music collective, created an interest in their work that to date has helped to expand my musical criteria besides great moments of relaxation and smiles. I celebrate their first 25 years expecting to have the opportunity of enjoy them for many more years.

Last year I went to the Winter Garden in NYC to spend an hour listening to bang on a can. Not ever experiencing the event I ended up spending the day. great day and great music.

I do not have a memory to share, but the music of Bang On A Can is something that I cannot forget.

Heard Julia Wolfe and others play one hot day at the Djerassi art residence several years ago. Unforgettable.

Well...I have many. Hearing Evan for the first time on a recording and becoming an instant fan, seeing BOAC Allstars perform Vicar St, Dublin with your drummer gyrating out front as conductor and being blown away, listening to a live recording of you guys playing Workers Union over and over trying to work out how it was so good, esp Evan's mad squeaky clarinet bits, playing with Crash at a BOAC marathon a few years ago and feeling we'd arrived!

A friend...

I heard about you when I saw a blurb for your music marathon at the Boston Museum of Modern Art.

While visiting New York from South Africa, a friend and I saw a poster for a free concert featuring Bang on the Can Allstars, so we thought why not it is free. After listening to the music for 10 minutes ,my friend was like this is not music lets go, I on the other hand was mesmerised. Years later ,I was a hosting a Jazz radio show in Minnesota and received a sampler which contained two tracks by Bang on the Can, which I immediately aired and proceeded to write Canteloupe music for some more releases. Because we were not a mainstream station I never did receive any full lenth releaese but I was gratefull for the moments that I had listening to their music.

I first saw your CDs in the PERCUSSION bin at Tower Records. Unfortunately, they no longer exist and my CD collecting has come to a screeching halt...

through a croatian based artist ;)

I gave your 1 bit symphony to my ex girlfriend as a birthday present. I don't think she liked it but I listen to it a lot.

I first heard about Bang on a Can from being a great fan of Terry Riley's "In C." I think your version was the third version I heard.

Blog post: http://auscultations.blogspot.com

A great friend of mine turned me on to Bang On A Can. She invited a group of us to lounge around in the Winter Garden while this amazing music played. We had a strange picnic and sketched.. it was like a dream!

I saw the Allstars play at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. This must have been 6 years ago; it was a marathon concert in celebration of Ornette Coleman.

Of the zillions one fond memory is from the evening of the 10th birthday party, was it at the Connelly? -- seeing Kenny and Lexi sweeping across the floor with big ballroom dance moves, not long after a piercing Glenn Branca solo. I thought, this evening is one diverse and healthy ecology.

NPR. David's description of lifelong dedication to fringe dwelling musically, was quite heartening. I paraphrase John Water's regarding the solitary life of an artist: "The beauty and strength of art is that one can express one's deepest thoughts in broad daylight and they somehow improbably reach only each their mindful kindred audience".

I love you guys! And my daughter has had great experiences at BOAC! Thanks for the download.

Happy birthday, BOAC! I've loved you ever since I heard your recording of Music for Airports!

I heard Bang of a Can in Madrid, (Spain) in a concert with just pieces by Steve Reich. I remember that I went there with a couple of my students. We traveled for 5 hours by car, we wait in a line for another 4 hours, and finally we heard the concert. Awesome!

My friends introduced me to Bang on a Can when I was in high school, and I've been hooked ever since

I remember first listening to Cheating.Lying.Stealing and being blown away by the mix of 'orchestral' instruments with electric guitar, the strength of the compositions, and the sheer energy of the performance. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I first saw the All Stars perform at UT last year. I brought along musicians and non-musicians, and we all came out of the show thrilled

I don't have any memories, but my friend thinks you're awesome, so I want to hear you :)

Banglewood changed my life--the way I look at music, the way I look at the place of the composer in the world, the way I look at myself. I'd never been around people who loved music so deeply, and I try to remember that feeling of being surrounded by people who just _believed_ whenever things get dreary in my teaching or composing life. Plus I learned how to bow (handshake to the concertmaster, then handshake to the conductor, right David?) and robbed Martin Bresnick of a single up the middle, so all in all, a pretty great experience.

My Percussion Teacher told me about it.

Almost missing the last train home after your amazing concert in London's Barbican last year ran on and on - and not wanting to leave, even if it meant a £40 cab home

One of my very first contemporary music concerts was seeing Bang on a Can All-Stars with Philip Glass at Butler University. I had a chance to meet Mr. Glass and the all-stars after the show. Everyone was extremely kind and generous with their time talking me.

I remember thinking how much more emotionally compelling (the inherently-neutral) "Music for Airports" became, the first time I saw/heard it performed live, however-many years ago.....

I saw concert.

I remember browsing the information about American minimalist (and not only) music ,because one year ago I became a fan, and among everything I read the name "Bang on a can" and thought that it must be very interesting. Congratulations from Ukraine !

Loved the last download - listened to it on the plane today.

Saw David Lang at the Chicago Cultural Center a few years back and was blown away!

I remember having my breath taken away when I heard your live performance of "Music for Airports" - an album originally full of studio-only sound that you breathed new life into

It's hard to believe that Bang on a Can is 25! While I can't claim to be a continuing and faithful fan over the years, I have fond memories of graduate studies in experimental music about the time Bang on a Can started up. Wish I could hear one of your anniversary events!

Saw BOAC All Stars during Celebrate Brooklyn!. It was August 1998 and Mecca Bodega opened for the Stars. Really excited about hearing an acoustic rendition of Brian Eno's ambient classic, Music For Airports. It struck me as nothing short of incredible that anyone could render a concert performance of this great meditation in sound.

Just as the piece was starting, a jet flew directly overhead. What an amazing confluence and a wonderful memory.

Saw Alarm Will Sound doing Nancarrow at Miller Theater in New York. Wow. Just amazing.

Thanks for this ! Can't wait to hear the album

I love this organization. At one concert at Carnegie Hall a few years ago, the then drummer had two different beats (or rhythms) going simultaneously. I had never heard anything like this before or since, and I can never forget it. The effect was stunning. Such coordination and such compartmentalization of body and mind!!

Bang on a Can All-Stars played in Knoxville where I live and it was an amazing show, heard about you guys through the Useful Chamber Dirty Projectors web site.

Tristan Perich's work > you

Tiny Mix Tapes

Saw you in Brooklyn about 15 years ago--I think you were playing the music for a dance performance. Can't remember the performance, but I sure can remmeber that night.

I got on the list when I bought Tristan Perich's 1-bit Symphony. If you haven't seen it, you should..

the first time i saw bang on a can was the same day i knew about them. bang on a can was invited to perform at universidad iberoamericana, where i studied at that time, in mexico city back in 2006. that night i was walking by the esplanade on my way home when i saw bang on a can was preparing for performance. at that moment i ran into a friend of mine and we decided to stay and see what was about to start. that concert was to become one of the best concerts i've ever attended to.

I get all your emails :)

Thanks for compelling new music!

Heard about this album through your email to me, which I appreciate as an "early notice" system. Thanks.

Love the collaboration on the album Bang on a Can meets Kyaw Kyaw Naing

i really want to explore your works, i haven't got much references from the musicians involved in this scene..cheers

BoaC has been a presence in our lives almost since the beginning --- way back to Harry Partch at the Rapp Arts Center. All good since then, especially PFC open rehearsals & concerts (really good to be able to compare them), Mark Stewart's inventive workshop at Mass MoCA (& his wonderful xaphoon), and all the marathons. You all have done amazing things for all of us & for posterity. Many thx!
Mia Leo & Dick Kuczkowski

I saw bang on a can a.s. live first time in NYC about 12 years ago, in one of the public commission concerts. Love them since that, and try to go to as many marathons or concerts i can, but now in Brazil that's rare...when are you coming south??

I first heard you while listening to John Schaefer.

Bang on a Can has opened me up to so many unique composers and musicians, its hard to pick a single memory, though I will always think fondly of driving from LA to Chicago with good friends, listening to Andriessen & Paul Reller. Loud. As they should be. Kind thanks for the good work.

I found Bang on a Can through the work of Dominic Frasca, a fellow tapping guitarist the occult worldbeat records store guy in Portland insisted I'd enjoy. He was right and I've been surrendering to your sounds for years, now, waiting for the right moment to leap and offer my own submission.

heard alarm will sound perform revolution 9 at the kitchen some years back. been hooked to the sounds coming out of boac ever since.

When I was in my undergrad studying music composition, my friends and I were thrilled to get the chance to see "in C" performed live, with Phillip Glass and Terry Riley, at Washington University. We arrived somewhat late because we had never been to that part of campus. As we were walking in, we were stuck behind a few older people. We were trying to get to our seats, but as we were stuck behuind these people, they sat down exactly in our seats!!!!! When they sat down, we noticed "Hey, isn't that Phillip Glass?... and Terry Riley!?". So we sat next to them for the first half until they performed. And now I can say that Phillip Glass and Terry Riley once stole my seats.

I've been listening to your music for years... as a contemporary dancer/teacher/choreographer, I've always felt a connection to your music. Your collaborative efforts are always admired and appreciated as they have helped to change the way I approach using music in my teaching and creative discoveries.

I remember an incredible performance of Stockhausen's Stimmung in the Winter Garden as the sun rose over the Hudson River. Unreal.

While in Barcelona we missed half the concert because of daylight savings time change. What a bummer, yet what a joy to hear NYC sounds there.

Philadelphia's Marathon in 2010 was unbelievable. Come back to our city and do it again!

I first learned of Bang on a Can when they came to Vancouver to perform as part of the Push Festival. I was lucky enough to win tickets to the show at The Chan Centre at UBC, and brought a friend along. The show was phenomenal, really impressive playing and lots of fun. I remember feeling the enjoyment of the players shining through the music they performed. I picked up the Music for Airports album at the show, and it's since become a regular staple in our listening rotation. Congrats on a quarter century of great music!

Email, friends, and brookfield.

Caught the 2009 Marathon at the University of Maryland with my five year old son. Loved "Music for Airports." Please come visit Seattle again soon!

"Music for Airports" every morn. . .

Remember when I got my first BoaC sampler CD, I was amazed at each piece's quality and uniqueness.

friend on Facebook

My only memory of Bang on a Can was attending last year's marathon in NYC for the first time. Seeing Sun Ra and Glenn Branca perform were always goals of mine, and it was incredible to see them both in the same evening. Thank you!

Bang on a Can was my first major introduction to new music when I first moved to NYC. They still influence me today.

I was so taken with Bang on a Can's rendition of "Music for Airports." It re-awakened the transcendent experience of hearing Eno's ambient masterpiece for the first time and added new layers, flavors and insinuations.

I found out about Bang On A Can, when I borrowed some cd's from my city library. I was amazed to see all work done, to perform new contemporary music.

Ruben catching frogs in the hills off Mass Mocha while violins fill the space big as an airplane hangar with Julia's composition. Musicians setting instruments down and filing in for lunch, nodding and speaking all kinds of languages in staccato fragments to one another knowing this is a high point of their lives, walking by giant striped paintings, barefoot, essence of freedom, amused guards protecting the wandering crowds as musicians are in every space wandering frictions of sound, and smiles, smiles everywhere. this is the sound of freedom

I happened upon a Summer-Festival concert at the Winter Garden (that juxtaposition is almost funny). I told my companions that I wanted to linger for 10-15 minutes. They only succeeded in dragging me away several hours later.

Attended the Lisbon concert. It was great!!!

email from Bang on a Can

Love your "Music for Airports" even more than the Eno original! Congratulations for 25 yrs!

After going to the 2010 Philly Marathon and seeing the All-Stars, Sun Ra, and every other ensemble, changed my life as a music lover, a music student, and completely opened my mind to this incredible world of new music I've been looking for. Thank you Bang on a Can.

Hi everybody,
the first time i heard about bangonacan and cantaloupe was about five years ago,when i went to the zweitausendeins-store in berlin and found by chance the wonderfull renegade heaven album for reduced price.Arnold Dreyblatt,Glenn Branca and Mark Stewart told me to buy it and back home i was very pleased and listened to it over and over again.Later on i found in the same store Lisa Moore plays Frederic Rzewski which is a great recording and Steve Reich tehillim/the desert music. If my home wasn`t thousands of miles away i shurely would be part of the audience of your live concerts.My best wishes for the next 25 years
Bernhard Steudel

February 28, 2004, Hancher Auditorium in Iowa City, IA. I hadn't heard anything by Bang On A Can but was a fan of Terry Riley who was playing with them. The show blew my mind. I remember thinking "This is f...g unbelievable". It is one of my cherished memories, and made me a devoted fan of the ensemble.

Heard you first years ago in Merkin Hall. I thought we would all just lift off!

Best always!

I remember performing with BoaC at the Barbican in May 2011, and how during that performance I was remembering being coached by BoaC as a student at the Norfolk Festival in 199?. In that moment, a surreal snapshot of the artistic trajectory of my life.

Being so delighted when the bang on the can marthon came to world cafe live in Philly.

I first heard Bang on a Can when I came across their recorded version of Terry Riley's "In C" a few years after it was released. I've been following them ever since.

Music for airports

I first heard about you when you started up a festival in the East Village in 1987. My girlfriend at the time had roomed with David Lang, so I knew of the principals in the group before that. I've been following Bang on a Can,and listening to their music, and attending performances ever since.

Going to the WinterGarden & sitting indoors among the palm trees listening to and LOVING bang on a can allstars and the Books. Must have been 2007? I was taken there by 2 Koreans that my friend met while standing in line at another free concert.

I'm a poor starving artist, and can rarely pay to hear live music, so I soak up hours of it annually at the Bang on a Can Marathon. It's one of the highlights of the NYC music season, in my opinion, and has allowed me to introduce many of my friends/colleagues to your music.

Driving along on a sunny day and being care-free, just listening to good music and enjoying life. Thanks :)

Many memories, but one is
attending the Marathon in San Francisco.

My first Bang on a Can CD was the Steve Reich + So Percussion...braintwisting through headphones. Hope to make it to the Marathon one of these days!

Loved the first BOAC marathon I attended--hearing Music for 18 Musicians during sunrise was surreal.

Heard previous works by BOAC artists and was mesmerized.

I heard about Bang On A Can because it was the ONLY place to find Tristen Perich's Music Machine/Album at first. I was immediately struck by the fact that they seemed like the only people to have the guts to release it. Way to go Bang On A Can!

great band

I went to see BOAC at Butler University. It was a good show. A good memory. Or was it Memorex? I can not tell anymore as my brain has been replace by a cauliflower.

Bang On A Can has been performing music that's propelled inspiration for me, as a young musician.

Too many to say - have seen every San Francisco performance of All Stars for at least 20 years i have a terrible memory for titles, but the Julia Wolfe piece at Yerba Buena in 06 or 07 was a highlight - beautiful and frightening...the way music should be!

Never forget the first time I heard Child; it lead me to other haunting, unusual, provocative sounds: music for which labels do no justice

Evan Ziporyn's explosivly bassy slap tonguing

For a long time I thought bang on a can was just a band or something... When I finally learned more about it, and realized the vast amount of projects bang on a can does, it really changed my life and exposed a world of art to me I had no idea existed. Thanks Thanks Thanks!

I saw Bang on a Can's performance of Brian Eno's Music for Airports at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis — a very intimate performance space. I'd been listening to the album for well over a decade, but as ambient music, I didn't sit and focus on it. It was always atmosphere.

As I sat back and let the ambient music drift over me, I was struck by how specifically I remembered every note of that work. It was as if it has sunk so deeply into my subconscious without me ever realizing it.

Got sucked into the vortex by David Lang's Anvil Chorus. Never escaped.

My best memory of seeing Bang on a Can All Stars in London - and I've seen you several times - is hearing Reich's Four Organs for the first time, and being mesmerised by the maracas player's zen-like strength!! I stumbled out of the South Bank Centre in something of a daze...

Kerryx

Barbican, London, spring 2002...I remember because that's the last time I fell in love...Congratulations on your 25 years!! Look forward to your March performance...same place

friend of david lang

I've enjoyed the annual BOAC marathons at the Winter Garden in NYC for many years now. Great music always - keep it going!

For a quarter century Bang on a Can's propelling energy has been sparking creative thinking around the world

First heard of Bang on a Can through 1-bit Symphony, but was re-acquainted with your work while reading Alex Ross' The Rest is Noise.

I gave my groomsmen 1-bit Symphony as appreciation gifts. Some worried about TSA hassles on the flight home.

I remember listening to Michael Gordon's "Light is Calling" for the first time on the M60 bus on the way to LaGuardia airport following a long semester at college - it has stuck with me since then.

I enjoyed the wonderful concerts some years ago at the Financial Trade Center .... great music and wonderful environment

I'll never forget my first Marathon. 2008 at the Winter Garden. So much music, made new friends, provided the foundation for my graduate research (ethnography of new music). It was an amazing night.

alright the twin towers went down but you built a tower of sound, resounding all over the world. Listened to Phil Kline in Senegal, Michael Harrison in New Delhi and David Lang Godhead pretty much all the time. Even friends and family enjoy, not a solitary pleasure any longer listening to contemporary music ! Hurrah !

I have met several wonderful people affiliated with your organization. Thanks!

My wife and I were at the 2006 Marathon with our 2-year old son. A bit of nostalgia for all that free time we used to have. Wished we could have stayed longer, but after 2 hours he was done.

Many wonderful concerts with Gutbucket, and with Ethel and the Bang On A Can All Stars. Many more to come, I hope. Thanks!

I received 'Cheating, Lying, Stealing' as a gift several years ago and have been a fan ever since!

BOAC splendid music

Having attended many concerts, I was saddened when the Icelandic ash prevented us from hearing and seeing Louis Andriessen and Marijke van Marmerdam's works. I look forward to the digital version.

In the 90s I was classical director of a college radio station, playing a lot of the burgeoning downtown scene. The music of Bang on a Can was exactly what we were looking for to tie together our eclectic mix, striking a chord with DJs and listeners from all the myriad genres that are the best of college radio.

Chris Oppermann always gives good advice :)

I discovered bang on a can after So Percussion came and played at my school. I then rediscovered them after using Tristan Prich's 1-bit Symphony in one of my electronic music classes.

Somehow I picked up the Terry Riley In C disc, recommended by amazon reviews, and found it a revelation... which led me to Renegade Heaven and thence to a whole slew of discs from Bang on a Can and the composers it favors. Wonderful! It really opened up for me the whole scene of younger (and, ahem, middle-aged) composers around New York City. Anyway, I'm grateful for the superb taste, tremendous talent, and tireless organizational work of Bang on a Can.

Hearing "Music for Airports" live at the marathon at the World Financial Center in 2007.

My memory is of the Bang on a Can Marathon at World Financial Center. I particularly remember a trombone piece that wafted gently in from above; the musicians were on the balconies. Also a Steve Reich piece played by an ensemble of young musicians; later I met some of them. Great way to hear new music.

I'm glad to have been able to present Bang on a Can and also attend one of the 24 hour fesitval at Mass MOCA.

I was able to go to a rehearsal with the Duke New Music Ensemble when Bang on a Can came to Duke! I learned a lot by watching. They were able to pick out details of the music after hearing it the first time. I was really impressed.

I was so lucky to watch and listen to Bang on a Can in Cologne, Germany, performing an incredible and amazing concert, including Terry Riley's "In C". Great Memory!

found you at the local library 10+ years ago and have been into it all ever since

The show at UNC a few years ago was one of the first experiences that brought my best friend and I closer together. We were dancing throughout the night...both during the show and with the memory of the music that we had heard.

WXXI, 91.5 in Rochester NY has linked to you via their monthly classical music commentary - looking forwasrd to building a memory.

its beautiful

tiny mix tapes.

I heard from my sister

I think my first BOAC concert was in Hamburg in 1999 or 2000. I came over from the UK and as a student without much money, I planned on staying at a youth hostel. Except they had a 12am curfew and the show didn't end till almost 2am-- so I solved that problem by opting to sleep in one of the parks. I wasn't going to miss the music. Definitely worth it.

Mikel Rouse told me about Bang on a Can in 1992

Hearing BOAC All-Stars at Northwestern University a few years ago. Evan Zyporin is a monster!

I'm about to enjoy this album so hard.

I remember Robert Black's rendtion of Tom Johnson's "Failing"

Can't wait to hear bang on a can all-stars.

My first Bang on a Can-concert was in March 2010 in Amsterdam. Iy was marvelous!

Midnight. I remember walking 2.5 miles North of North Adams looking for the cheapest hotel around. The summer night was dark and I was driven by Music for Airports I just saw at MassMoCa. I remember thinking about the arrangements, and about the possible reasons why the English pronoun I is always capitalized. Then I thought: ''why don't we have such an ensemble in France ?''

thx for your music :)

1996. Junior in High School. Marathon at Lincoln Center. Big deal for me. I'd never seen anything like it.

At the festival this summer, a fellow participant crafted a hydrophone from a blank CD and a contact microphone. We sonically explored various locations on the creek by Mass MOCA and the pool back at the Holiday Inn.

Since my childhood, I've always been interested in what was happening "now" in the musical world since we live "now; at a certain time (it could be 25 years ago)it was unavoidable to get acquainted with the activities and products of BOAC!

gamelan + uzbeki traditional instruments michael jackson cover

I had notice about the download in the youtube channel as follow : minimalisminmusic.

I heard about you while Googling about contemporary composers using Ableton Live as a tool of choice: Todd Reynolds' name came out and... I already knew your work and really love it so congrats for the 25th and thanks for sharing your work with us!!!

quiltsuns.blogspot.com

Heard about it via Alex Ross on Twitter.

incredible people's concerts in NYC

I connected with you because of Tristan Perich's beautiful CD packaging for 1-bit Symphony.

Saw you guys play Music for Airports at Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival in December 1999. It was wonderful and I got to sit just in front of Mr Eno himself. I loved it all.

Got introduced via Acoustica by Alarm Will Sound (those wild Aphex Twin arrangements)

In the 90's I went to a "bang on a Can" concert" in Utrecht, Holland. The encore was an arrangement from a Nirvana song. So Cool. Those guys rocked!

My first Bang on a Can-concert was on 25 March 2010 in Amsterdam. I loved it!

your biggest fan!

A friend thought I might like this.
Thank you!

I do not have a Bang on A Can memory. I read about this from the US Embassy in Nairobi website when reading about details for applying for a music exchange program.

Heard a bit of you from a professor at my school and would love to hear more!

I attended the 2004 10th OM Music Festival and I was trying to recall my experience to a musician daughter of a friend. From my description she mention, Bang on a Can.

Fortunately, I discovered Bang on a Can through their studio recording of Brian Eno's 'Music for Airports' that I like better than his original. I've gradually increased my collection of their work ever since.

It was July of'07 when I first learned about the Bang on a Can at Mass Moca. Since moving to the US I had only sporadically been able to enjoy live contemporary music. My daughter Isabel was then 6 and had just graduated from kindergarten. I thought I'd come and bring her along, and crossed my fingers that she'd last a half hour... She wanted to stay to the very end. Don Byron performed and became fondly known between the two of us as "The Happy Guy". The next year we shook hands with Terry Riley!, again at the very end of the show. Long story short: we have not missed a Marathon at Mass Moca since, it became our special father-daughter yearly event.

The 1992 CRI recording of Bang on a Can Live Vol. 1 is still in my Top 10 recordings--among some 2000 CDs, 1500 LPs, and 35.9 days worth of iTunes tracks. At the start of the CD, Robert Black says, "The piece called Failing by Tom Johnson has become somewhat of a classic modern or new music piece..." I say, BANG ON A CAN has become somewhat of a--or more like "THE"--classic modern or new music FORCE of the whole new music scene.

Reich's 2x5!

I heard about this album through my friend David Gottlieb- a wonderful composer and person.

Daneeka's Ghost sent me.

Camping out in Winter Garden all night, listening to Music For 18 Musicians as the sun rose. Unforgetable.

I love new music, and saw that you were giving away this album via Facebook :)

Happy birthday Bang on a Can!
I heard you for the first time on web - Keeril Makan - Bleed Through. Flavio from Italy

BOAC is all over the place.

Stage managing my first Mass MoCA summer marathon. Then the WFC marathons. Bang on a Can, you got me on the first drumbeat :)

To love contemporary music is to love the music of bang on a can.

The first time I heard about Bang on a Can was our conservatory music history course. You made it to the canon. Happy 25!