Boyd Rice
Birth nameBoyd Blake Rice
Also known asNON
Born (1956-12-16) December 16, 1956
Lemon Grove, California, United States
OriginDenver, Colorado, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Composer
  • performance artist
  • author
  • painter
Instrument(s)
Years active1975–present
LabelsMute

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

Year Title Under
1976 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 (w/ Rose McDowall)
1994 The Monopoly Queen – 7" The Monopoly Queen (w/ Mary Ellen Carver & Combustible Edison)
1995 Might! NON
1995 Hatesville The Boyd Rice Experience
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

Film

  • 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

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

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Staff (February 21, 2013). "THE SELF-TITLED INTERVIEW: Boyd Rice". Self Titled magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Hain, Stefan (October 19, 2020). "Interview with Boyd Rice". Caesura magazine. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Staff (March 16, 2019). "Culture Talk – Boyd Rice of 'NON' and Countless other Projects". The Aither. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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.
  5. 1 2 3 Schurr, Maria (February 5, 2013). "BOYD RICE/NON: 24 JANUARY 2013 – BROOKLYN, NY". PopMatters. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Huey, Steve. "NON Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  7. Koczon, Mallie (October 26, 2018). "This young, female director just created this unreal video for Collapsing Scenery". Galore. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  8. 1 2 3 "New York Gallery Pulls Boyd Rice Show Following Neo-Nazi Claims". Frieze. September 7, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  9. Dillon, Noah (2012). "Boyd Rice Ain't Nice". Artwriting. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Staff (June 27, 2013). "Cold Cave shows being cancelled due to Boyd Rice being there, 285 Kent still on, Boyd-less Glasslands added". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  11. 1 2 McGrath, Thomas (June 8, 2013). "WHEN GOTHS THOUGHT IT WAS OK TO GO ON NEO-NAZI TALKSHOWS". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  12. Staff. "Boyd Rice". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  13. Staff (June 28, 2013). "Todd P issues statement about Saturday's Cold Cave / Boyd Rice show at 285 Kent which is still on". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  14. Staff (July 23, 2013). "Cold Cave speaks about Boyd Rice controversy, opening for Gary Numan on the West Coast ++ other dates". Brooklyn Vegan. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Schmid, Thacher (February 21, 2017). "A Northeast Portland Record Label Lands on a National Hate-Group Registry". Willamette Week. Retrieved March 19, 2023.

Further reading

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

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