Editing Angus MacLise

{{Short description|American musician and poet}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Angus MacLise
| image            = AngusMacLise.png
| caption          = 
| birth_name       = Angus William MacLise
| alias            = 
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1938|3|14}}<ref name="https://www.allmusic.com/">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angus-maclise-mn0000756247/biography |title=Angus MacLise Biography by Richie Unterberger|website=[[AllMusic]] }}</ref>
| birth_place      = [[Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport]], [[Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1979|6|21|1938|3|4}}
| death_place      = [[Kathmandu]], Nepal
| origin           = 
| instrument       = {{flatlist|
*Drums
*percussion
}}
| genre            = {{hlist|[[Avant-garde music]]|[[Minimal music|minimalism]]|[[Drone music|drone]]}}
| occupation       = Musician, poet
| years_active     = 
| label            = 
| past_member_of  = [[The Velvet Underground]]
| website          = 
}}
'''Angus William MacLise''' (March 14, 1938&nbsp;– June 21, 1979) was an American [[percussionist]], [[composer]], [[poet]], [[occultist]] and [[calligrapher]], known as the first drummer for the [[Velvet Underground]] who abruptly quit due to disagreements with the band playing their first paid show.

==Biography==

===Early years===
Angus William MacLise was born on March 14, 1938, in [[Bridgeport, Connecticut]], the son of a book dealer. Despite some formal training as a percussionist, his playing style became so idiosyncratic that many assumed he was self-taught.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/arts/music/angus-maclise-of-velvet-underground-in-dreamweapon.html?_r=0|title=The Velvet Unknown, Now Emerging|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=5 May 2011 |access-date=2016-03-05 |last1=Sisario |first1=Ben }}</ref>

===The Velvet Underground===
MacLise was a member of [[La Monte Young]]'s [[Theatre of Eternal Music]], with [[John Cale]], [[Tony Conrad]], [[Marian Zazeela]]<ref>Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties" Pantheon Books, p. 157</ref> and sometimes [[Terry Riley]]. He contributed to the early [[Fluxus]] newspaper VTre, edited by [[George Brecht]], and was also an early member of [[the Velvet Underground]],<ref name="Watson, Steven 2003 p. 208">Watson, Steven (2003), "Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties" Pantheon Books, p. 208</ref> having been brought into the group by flatmate [[John Cale]] when they were living at 56 [[Ludlow Street]]<ref name="Watson, Steven 2003 p. 208"/> in [[Manhattan]]. [[Lou Reed]] recruited his friend [[Sterling Morrison]], whom he knew from [[Syracuse University]], and the initial line-up of the Velvets consisted of Reed, Cale, Morrison and MacLise.

MacLise played [[bongo drum|bongos]] and [[hand drums]] during 1965 with the first incarnation of the Velvet Underground and he was also capable of playing [[tabla]], [[cimbalom]] and [[tambourine]]. Although the band regularly extemporized soundtracks to underground films during this era, MacLise never officially recorded with them, and is often considered something of a shadowy, legendary figure in their history.{{by whom?|date=February 2025}} Demos recorded during this period are included on the ''Peel Slowly and See'' box set, but MacLise plays on none of them because (according to John Cale) he did not appreciate the need to turn up on time.

Cale describes MacLise as "living on the Angus calendar", showing up to gigs hours or even days after the band had finished.

When the band's first paying gig in November 1965 arose, MacLise quit, suggesting the group were [[selling out]]. He was replaced by [[Moe Tucker]], resulting in the "classic" lineup of the Velvet Underground.{{fact|date=February 2025}}

===Brief return to the Velvet Underground===
In 1966 when Velvet Underground lead singer and guitarist [[Lou Reed]] was in the hospital with [[hepatitis]], MacLise rejoined the group for a five-day run of performances at Poor Richard's in Chicago, June 21–26, 1966 during the [[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]] performances, sharing duties with [[Gerard Malanga]], whom Angus had taught to play [[tabla]]. Cale took over lead vocals and organ, drummer Maureen Tucker switched to [[bass guitar|bass]] and MacLise drummed; by now, Tucker's idiosyncratic tribal style of drumming was integral to the group's music.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}}

During an [[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]] performance in 1966, MacLise showed up half an hour late and carried on drumming for half an hour after the set had finished to compensate for his late arrival.<ref name="blastitude.com"/><ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|author=Richie Unterberger|author-link=Richie Unterberger|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angus-maclise-mn0000756247 |title=Angus MacLise &#124; Biography & History |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref>

By this time the Velvet Underground had found some recognition (if not great financial success) and MacLise was anxious to rejoin the group, but according to the notes of the box set ''Peel Slowly and See'', the VU's primary songwriter and ''de facto'' bandleader [[Lou Reed]] had specifically prohibited MacLise from rejoining the band full-time due to his erratic behavior.

===Later years===
After leaving the Velvet Underground for good, MacLise moved to [[Berkeley, California]]. He married Hetty McGee<ref>{{cite web|author=Richie Unterberger |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hetty-maclise-p416087/biography |title=Hetty MacLise &#124; Biography & History |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> in a [[ceremony|wedding ceremony]] at [[Golden Gate Park]] in [[San Francisco]], presided over by [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]] guru [[Timothy Leary]].<ref name="blastitude.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.blastitude.com/13/ETERNITY/angus_maclise.htm |title=Blastitude 13 |website=Blastitude.com |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> Together, they had a son named Ossian Kennard MacLise, who was recognized by [[Rangjung Rigpe Dorje]], the 16th Karmapa, as a reincarnation of a Tibetan saint, or [[tulku]], and at age four became a [[Buddhist monk]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phantomlyoracula.com/2007_03_01_archive.html |title=March 2007 |publisher=Phantomly Oracula |date=2007-03-06 |access-date=2016-03-05 |archive-date=2016-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702092349/http://www.phantomlyoracula.com/2007_03_01_archive.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The MacLises travelled to [[Canada]], [[France]], [[Greece]] and [[India]], before finally settling in [[Nepal]].

A student of [[Aleister Crowley]] (he was working on a script for a film version of Crowley's ''[[Diary of a Drug Fiend]]'' before he died), he began to blend Tibetan [[mysticism]] with his music to create sound through various [[drone (music)|drone]] techniques.

==Death==
A heavy drug user who was never particularly mindful of his physical health, MacLise died of [[hypoglycemia]] and pulmonary [[tuberculosis]] at the Shanta Bhawan Hospital in [[Kathmandu]] on June 21, 1979, aged 41.<ref name="blastitude.com"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> The cause of death has also been attributed to [[malnutrition]].<ref name="nytimes.com"/> He was cremated to the traditions of [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhists]] in a funeral pyre.<ref name="blastitude.com"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/news/18697/dreamweapon_angus-maclise-retrospective-in-new-york |title=Dreamweapon: Angus MacLise Retrospective In New York |publisher=The Wire |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref>

==Recorded music==
MacLise recorded a vast amount of music that went largely unreleased until 1999. These recordings, produced between the mid-'60s and the late-'70s, consist of tribal trance workouts, spoken word, poetry, [[cut-up technique|tape cut-ups]] and [[minimal music|minimalist]] [[drone (music)|droning]] and [[electronic music|electronics]], as well as many collaborations with his wife Hetty. In 2008, she bequeathed a collection of her husband's tapes to the [[Yale University|Yale Collection of American Literature]].

Selections can be found on:
*''The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda'' (Siltbreeze, 1999)
*''Brain Damage in Oklahoma City'' (Siltbreeze, 2000)
*''The Cloud Doctrine'' (Sub Rosa, 2002)
*''Astral Collapse'' (Quakebasket, 2003)
*''The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda'' (DVD, Bastet/Saturnalia, 2006)

MacLise also collaborated with [[Tony Conrad]], [[John Cale]] and [[La Monte Young]] on several other recordings:

*''[[Day of Niagara|Inside the Dream Syndicate Vol.I: Day Of Niagara]]'' (Table of the Elements, 2000)
*''[[Stainless Gamelan|Inside the Dream Syndicate Vol.III: Stainless Steel Gamelan]]'' (Table of the Elements, 2002)
*''[[An Anthology of Noise & Electronic Music]]: First A-Chronology 1921-2001/Vol.1'' (Sub Rosa, 2002)

He worked on soundtracks for several underground films by [[Piero Heliczer]], and appears in at least two: ''Venus in Furs'' and ''Satisfaction'' (1965).<ref name="vu_book">{{cite book |last1=Unterberger  | first1=Richie | author-link=Richie Unterberger | title=White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day by Day | publisher=Jawbone Press | date=2009 | isbn=978-1-906002-22-0}}</ref><ref name="raworth">{{cite web|last1=Raworth|first1=Tom|author-link=Tom Raworth|title=Piero Heliczer Web Page|url=http://tomraworth.com/pierosite/ph.html|website=tomraworth.com|access-date=31 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412010055/http://tomraworth.com/pierosite/ph.html|archive-date=12 April 2014}}</ref> He also worked on the soundtrack for ''Voyage'', a short film by [[Jerry Jofen]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Angus MacLise Artist Biography | last1 = Unterberger | first1 = Richie | url = https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angus-maclise-mn0000756247/biography | website = AllMusic | access-date = 26 October 2014}}</ref>

==Book titles==
* ''The Completed Works of Angus MacLise''. (Privately printed by Piero Heliczer, 1957)
* ''Straight Farthest Blood Towards''. (The Dead Language, Paris, 1959)
* ''Year, A Wednesday Paper Supplement''. (The Dead Language Press, New York, 1962)
* ''New Universal Solar Calendar''. (George Maciunas, New York, 1969)
* ''Dream Weapon/Aspen #9''. Edited by Angus & Hetty MacLise (Roaring Fork Press, New York, 1970)
* ''The Cloud Doctrine''. Limited edition with facsimile Angus MacLise [[holographs]] and hand-tinted cover by Don Snyder (privately published by Snyder in 1972 and reissued in 1983, New York) 
* ''The Cloud Doctrine''.  (Dreamweapon Press; Kathmandu, Nepal; 1974)
* ''The Subliminal Report''. (Starstreams Poetry Series; Kathmandu, Nepal; 1975)
* ''The Map of Dusk''. (SZ/Press, New York, 1984)
* ''Ratio:3 Volume 1''. Ira Cohen, Angus MacLise, Gerard Malanga - Media Shamans (Temple Press Ltd., 1991) {{ISBN|1-871744-30-X}}
* ''Angus MacLise Checklist''. Edited by Gerard Malanga (Limited edition, privately published, 2000)

==Influence==
As co-founder of the Dead Language Press with Piero Heliczer, MacLise published works by influential writers, including early work by the [[Beat Generation|Beat]] poet [[Gregory Corso]].<ref name="vu_book"/>

English [[experimental music]] group [[Coil (band)|Coil]] regarded MacLise as an important influence in the later years of their career; lead member [[John Balance|Jhonn Balance]] referred to MacLise as a "a liminal genius and, alongside such people as [[Ira Cohen]], largely and unjustly semi-neglected",<ref>{{cite news|url=http://brainwashed.com/coil/news/news2002.html|title=Coil News|date=2002|publisher=Brainwashed|access-date=July 11, 2019}}</ref> and the title of their album ''[[Astral Disaster]]'' is an intentional tribute to MacLise's archival release ''Astral Collapse''.

==Dreamweapon==
In May 2011 a major retrospective exhibit ''Dreamweapon: The Art and Life of Angus MacLise (1938–1979)'' was mounted by the Boo-Hooray Gallery in Chelsea, New York City. The exhibit features the contents of a recently discovered suitcase containing photographs, notes, poetry, and 100 reels of music. In addition to the gallery exhibit, there are sound installations at Boo-Hooray's second location in Chinatown and film screenings at the Anthology Archives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://flavorwire.com/177937/the-life-and-art-of-the-velvet-undergrounds-first-drummer|publisher=Flavorwire|author=Marina Galperina|date=May 9, 2011|title=The Life and Art of the Velvet Underground's First Drummer|access-date=2011-05-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/arts/music/angus-maclise-of-velvet-underground-in-dreamweapon.html|title=The Velvet Unknown, Now Emerging|author=BEN SISARIO|date=May 9, 2011|work=New York Times|access-date=2011-05-10| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110509074132/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/arts/music/angus-maclise-of-velvet-underground-in-dreamweapon.html| archive-date=May 9, 2011| url-status= live}}</ref>

In 1965, a work by MacLise titled ''Rites of the Dream Weapon'' was included in the New Cinema Festival (also known as the Expanded Cinema Festival), an extensive series of multimedia productions in New York presented by [[Jonas Mekas]] and featuring the work of such artists as [[Robert Rauschenberg]] and [[Claes Oldenburg]]. Mekas was impressed with MacLise, writing in the ''[[The Village Voice|Village Voice]]'', "The first three programs of the New Cinema Festival – the work of Angus McLise [sic], [[Nam June Paik]], and Jerry Joffen [sic] – dissolved the edges of this art called cinema into a frontiersland mystery."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Comenas|first1=Gary|title=Expanded Cinema?|url=http://www.warholstars.org/expanded_cinema.html|website=warholstars.org|access-date=31 October 2014}}</ref> MacLise's entry also made a lasting impression on the playwright [[Richard Foreman]], who praised it years later in an interview.<ref>{{cite book | title = Richard Foreman and the Ontological-Hysteric Theatre | date = 1981 | last1 = Davy | first1 = Kate | publisher = UMI Research Press | isbn = 978-0835712200 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=LBNaAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Cinema+Festival+vividly%22}}</ref> According to Sterling Morrison, Andy Warhol's multimedia shows (Andy Warhol Uptight and the [[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]]) were based on similar works by MacLise and Heliczer, which they called "[[Happening|ritual happenings]]."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Landemaine|first1=Olivier|title=The Velvet Underground Live performances and rehearsals|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/live/1965-66/perf6566.html|website=olivier.landemaine.free.fr|access-date=1 November 2014}} See Morrison quote.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angus-maclise-p42603/biography Angus Maclise]  AllMusic bio
* [http://flavorwire.com/177937/the-life-and-art-of-the-velvet-undergrounds-first-drummer The Life and Art of the Velvet Underground’s First Drummer] - Illustrated feature on Dreamweapon exhibit.
* {{YouTube|ga4q6IycZqg|Angus MacLise "Humming in the night skull"}} Video clip.
* {{YouTube|DeOlX37SiLQ|Angus Maclise - Heavenly blue pt.4&5}} Video clip.
* [http://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/beinecke.maclise Angus MacLise Sound Recordings] at Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
* [https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_10260984 Finding aid to Angus MacLise papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.]

{{The Velvet Underground}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclise, Angus}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:Musicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut]]
[[Category:American avant-garde musicians]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Greece]]
[[Category:American expatriates in India]]
[[Category:American rock drummers]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in Nepal]]
[[Category:The Velvet Underground members]]
[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:American rock percussionists]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Nepal]]
[[Category:American expatriates in France]]
[[Category:American expatriate musicians in Canada]]
[[Category:American calligraphers]]
[[Category:American male composers]]
[[Category:American occultists]]
[[Category:Bongo players]]
[[Category:20th-century American poets]]
[[Category:20th-century American composers]]
[[Category:Tabla players]]
[[Category:Cimbalom players]]
[[Category:American tambourine players]]
[[Category:20th-century American drummers]]
[[Category:American male drummers]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:Locust Music artists]]
[[Category:Sub Rosa Records artists]]
[[Category:Siltbreeze Records artists]]
[[Category:Drummers from Connecticut]]
[[Category:American expatriate writers in Canada]]