Boyd Blake Rice (born December 16, 1956) is an American composer, performance artist, author and painter. A pioneer of industrial music, Rice was one of the first artists to use a sampler, as well as the second, after John Cage, to use a turntable as an instrument.

Biography

As a teenager and in his early 20s, Rice was a prankster.^[2] Rice began painting when he was 18.^[3] In the 1970s, Rice pioneered techniques of noise, industrial and electronic music. Rice says that he made sample-based music "about a decade before the advent of samplers".^[4] In addition to pioneering industrial music, Rice was one of the first artists to use a sampler, which he referred to as a "noise manipulation unit".^[5] Recording under the name NON, Rice released vinyl records with locked grooves or multiple holes, and encouraged listeners to play them at any speed they chose, preceding the use of turntable manipulation by composers Pierre Schaeffer and John Cage.^[4] Rice was the second, after Cage, to use a turntable as an instrument.^[5] Rice's first album, The Black Album, consisted of looped samples of girl group and bubblegum music.^[6] Rice was the first artist to be signed to Mute Records.^[1] Rice's 1992 album In the Shadow of the Sword focused on social Darwinism.^[6] His 1995 album of poetry backed by music, Might!, was inspired by author Ragnar Redbeard's book Might Is Right.^[6]

After collaborating with Jim Morton on the book Incredibly Strange Films, Rice became involved with a film festival related to the book, which was attended by Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, and subsequently became friends with LaVey; the two shared a love of girl groups and Tiny Tim.^[1] Rice was later appointed to the Council of Nine of the Church of Satan,^[4] and then as the Grand Master of the Order of the Trapezoid by LaVey.^[1] Since LaVey's death, Rice has criticized the Church, saying "They’re trying to make it some sort of rationalist movement. He wasn’t into rationalism; he was into mysticism."^[1] Rice told an interviewer that his allegiance was to LaVey, not the Church of Satan.^[1]

In 2004, Rice co-founded the UNPOP Art group; his pop art pieces included a Brady Bunch comic book cover altered to look as if it had been signed by Linda Lovelace.^[2] In 2009, Rice released a book of anti-philosophy entitled No.^[3]

In 2018, Rice appeared in the music video for the song "Resort Beyond the Last Resort" by the band Collapsing Scenery. In the video, Rice goes to Casa Bonita in Denver and then is drugged and raped by a woman. Directed by Kansas Bowling, the video was inspired by Rice's essay, "Revolt Against Penis Envy".^[7]

Views

Rice is apolitical and a registered Independent.^[3] Rice considers all politicians to be "dissimulators".^[4] Rice has also stated that he considers ideology itself to be toxic and that he rejects the concept of ideology; Rice has designed T-shirts that read "Ideology Is Toxic".^[3] Rice has also expressed the opinion that "the far left and the far right [overlap]" because Rice considers both intolerant, saying that "both want to take away people’s rights if they have the power to do so".^[3] In 2019, Rice said regarding the Presidency of Donald Trump that "It has made the United States into this kind of reality TV show where the populace is behaving like an audience members on a Jerry Springer show", which Rice considered "entertaining to watch".^[3] Rice designed a T-shirt which reads "Victimhood is Powerful", and explained in an interview that the shirt was inspired by the MeToo movement, saying that "There’s a certain segment of the population for whom being victimized is the ultimate form of heroism, and I don’t understand that."^[2]

Controversies

Rice has faced numerous accusations of sympathies to fascism over the years.^[8] Rice's work has employed fascist imagery, including the use of military costumes and references to Iron Youth, and his music project NON uses a Wolfsangel as its logo.^[9] Some have defended Rice, arguing that Rice is a "arch provocateur"^[4] who uses "shock tactics".^[10] Rice has also been described as a performance artist and a "button-pushing prankster".^[1] Larry Wessel, director of a documentary on Rice, compared Rice to Mel Brooks, in response to Nazism allegations.^[11] According to The New Yorker, Rice "has made a point of alienating as many people as possible".^[12] In a review of a Rice performance for PopMatters, Maria Schurr wrote that "Rice's main aim as not just an artist, but as a human, is to bring others face to face with the things much of society would care not to talk about and to ensure there is never a passive moment from the viewer in all that he does."^[5]

Rice appeared in a 1989 photograph for the teen girl magazine Sassy, in which Rice and Bob Heick of the white nationalist organization American Front were wearing uniforms and brandishing knives.^[8] The magazine was traveling the country interviewing skinheads, and Heick promised free beer to Rice if he appeared in an American Front uniform, only for Rice to discover when he arrived at the bar that Heick was the only National Front member who had showed up, due to bad weather.^[3][4] Rice was also interviewed by white supremacist Tom Metzger on Metzger's show Race and Reason^[4][11] on which Rice said that critics in Europe had described industrial music as "the most uniquely 'white' music" and argued that surf music and heavy metal did not have any roots in blues.^[3]

A scheduled 2013 performance on the same bill as Cold Cave was cancelled due to allegations surrounding Rice.^[10] 285 Kent offered pamphlets on anti-fascist activism, support for the victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, and in support of freedom of expression at the Rice concert they hosted.^[13] Cold Cave responded to the allegations against Rice, stating, "I guess you just can't say or do anything without opposition. People say art doesn't need to be explained, but then they demand an explanation. I know Boyd Rice as a kind, intelligent, influential individual, not as any of these things that people are saying about him personally. It's not my problem that people are ignorant or can't contextualize his work."^[14]

In 2017, Oregon record label Soleilmoon Recordings was listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center's hate group registry for distributing albums by Death in June, and Boyd Rice's project NON.^[15] Charles Powne, the label's owner, denied that Soleilmoon was racist, and said that neither Douglas Pearce of Death in June or Rice are racist either.^[15]

In 2018, A New York art gallery cancelled an art show that featured Rice's work due to Rice being accused of being sympathetic to Neo-Nazis. Rice responded to this allegation by saying, "The people saying these things don't really know about me, and aren't familiar with the stuff I've done."^[8]

Discography

Filmography

Print

• 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

Further reading

Chad Hensley. "Non Sense: An Interview with Boyd Rice". Esoterra: The Journal of Extreme Culture 9 (Fall/Winter 2000), pp. 12–17.