Editing ZBS Foundation

{{Short description|Non-profit audio production company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
'''ZBS Foundation''', a small [[Non-profit organization|non-profit]] audio production company, was founded by [[Thomas Lopez]] (aka "Meatball Fulton") in 1970 with a grant from Robert E. Durand as a [[Art Commune|working commune]], located on a donated farm in [[Upstate New York]]. ZBS stands for "Zero Bull Shit".<ref name="en.w_User">{{Cite web|title=Meet the Artists: Tom Lopez |author=Roger Gregg |work=natf.org |date=20 July 2002 |access-date=25 December 2015 |url=http://natf.org/resources/profiles/86 |quote=We don’t normally tell people that. We couldn’t really go to the National Endowment for the Arts representing ourselves from the ‘Zero Bull Shit Foundation’. So we just made it ‘ZBS.’. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721032643/http://natf.org/resources/profiles/86 |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref> The commune's purpose was to raise consciousness through media, specifically full-cast [[audio drama]]s. The foundation is "one of the most prolific producers of contemporary radio drama."<ref name="Straczynski2002">{{cite book|author=J Michael Straczynski|title=The Complete Book of Scriptwriting|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j33XTHWIZhsC&pg=PA261|date=1 July 2002|publisher=Writer's Digest Books|isbn=1-58297-158-7|pages=261–}}</ref>

The commune started with 18 people, and an island in the Hudson River was chosen as the location because it was between New York City and Montreal.<ref name="poststart1">{{cite news|author=Thomas Dimopoulos|title=Studio on the river: ZBS continues four decades of audio| work =Glens Falls Post-Star|location=Glens Falls, New York|date=1 February 2012|url=http://poststar.com/news/local/studio-on-the-river-zbs-continues-four-decades-of-audio/article_e98c21be-4cf2-11e1-b40f-0019bb2963f4.html|access-date=25 December 2015}}</ref> Eventually, the commune disintegrated, and the foundation moved to create an artists-in-residence program over the next decade. [[Allen Ginsberg]] recorded at ZBS in 1981, and [[Laurie Anderson]] visited in 1975. [[Philip Glass]] also worked on the opera ''[[Einstein on the Beach]]'' at ZBS.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kalish |first1=Jon |title=Radio Drama's Leading Man, Still Adventuring |url=https://www.npr.org/2016/05/08/473397042/radio-dramas-leading-man-still-adventuring |access-date=9 March 2025 |publisher=NPR |date=May 8, 2016}}</ref> The residency program ended in the mid 1980s.

The foundation also became the outlet for audio dramas written by writer/producer Lopez. His dramatic programs, notably ''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe]]'', ''[[The Fourth Tower of Inverness]]'' and ''Travels with [[Jack Flanders]]'', are noted for their meticulous production values and [[New Age]] mysticism. Lopez has won numerous awards including the [[Prix Italia]], and his work enjoys a cult following.

ZBS did a 1984–85 radio series, ''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz]]'', later releasing some shows in the series on cassettes and CDs. These productions were [[binaural recording|recorded binaurally]] using a Neumann Ku81 [[Dummy head recording|Kunstkopf]] microphone. ZBS also produced a widely acclaimed<ref>{{cite book|title=Hi-fi News & Record Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lBtQAAAAYAAJ|year=1986|publisher=Link House Publications|page=17|quote=It was a knock-out.}}</ref><ref name="sffaudion">{{Cite web | title = News: The Mist | author = Jesse Willis
| work = SFFaudio.com
| date = 25 October 2012
| access-date = 25 December 2015
| url = http://www.sffaudio.com/stephen-kings-the-mist-in-3d-sound/
| quote = …how astoundingly great an audio drama it really is.
}}</ref> dramatization of [[Stephen King]]'s ''[[The Mist (novella)|The Mist]]'', recording in binaural sound.

==Releases==
{| class="wikitable sortable" id="noveltable"
|-
!Title
!Released
!Series
!Notes
|-
|''Ha! Fat Chance''
|1963
|
|Meatball Fulton's first radio drama, produced at KPFA Pacifica Radio. This story predates the founding of ZBS, but was released on the ZBS site to streaming subscribers.<ref>{{cite web |title=HA! FAT CHANCE |url=https://www.zbsmedia.com/ha-fat-chance/ |website=ZBS Media |access-date=18 November 2018}}</ref>
|-
|''[[The Fourth Tower of Inverness]]''
|1972
|[[Jack Flanders]]
|
|-
|''[[Moon Over Morocco (radio series)|Moon Over Morocco]]''
|1973
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''Stars & Stuff''
|1977
|Science Fiction
|includes ''[[The Ah-Ha Phenomenon]]'', ''Tired of the Green Menace'', ''The Adventures of Rocket Pierre'', ''The Thing That Ate Aunt Sophie'', ''Boogie Woogie to the Stars'', and more
|-
|''[[The Ah-Ha Phenomenon]]''
|1977
|Jack Flanders
|Originally part of ''Stars & Stuff''
|-
|''Tired of the Green Menace''
|1977
|[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby]]
|The original Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe story, originally part of ''Stars and Stuff''
|-
|''[[The Incredible Adventures of Jack Flanders]]''
|1978
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''The Taj Express''
|1980
|Drama
|Features stories written by contemporary Indian writers
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby: The Adventures of a Galactic Gumshoe]]''
|1982
|Ruby
|
|-
|''The Android Sisters: Songs of Electronic Despair''
|1984
|Android Sisters
|Spinoff of Ruby
|-
|''[[The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz]]''
|1984–1985
|Science Fiction, Drama, Horror
|Including ''The Mist'', ''Mumbo Jumbo'', ''Aura'', ''Sticks'', ''The Bleeding Man'' and ''Saturday Night at the White Woman Watching Hole,'' recorded in binaural sound
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 2: The Further Adventures of a Galactic Gumshoe]]''
|1985
|Ruby
|
|-
|''Starflight One''
|1986
|Music
|Music by Tim Clark
|-
|''[[Dreams of Rio]]''
|1987
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''Music from the Dreams of Rio''
|1987
|Soundtrack
|Music featured in ''Dreams of Rio''
|-
|''Myth: The Music of Tim Clark''
|1987
|Music
|Music by Tim Clark
|-
|''A Night on the Rio Negro''
|1987
|Soundtrack
|Background audio featured in ''Dreams of Rio''
|-
|''Saratoga Springs''
|1989
|Humor
|Produced as a series for [[NPR|National Public Radio]]
|-
|''Tales of the Sun People''
|1990
|Music
|Music by Tim Clark
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 3: The Underworld/The Invisible World]]''
|1990–1991
|Ruby
|
|-
|''Dishpan Fantasy: A Real Soap Opera''
|1991
|Humor
|
|-
|''The Music from Ruby 3''
|1991
|Soundtrack
|Music featured in ''Ruby 3''
|-
|''Travels with Jack''
|1992–1993
|Jack Flanders
|Includes ''[[Dreams of the Amazon]]'', ''Dreams of India'', ''[[Dreams of Bali]]'' and ''[[Dreams of Sumatra]]''
|-
|''Journey to Qayyum''
|1992
|Soundtrack
|Music featured in ''Dreams of India''
|-
|''[[Dinotopia]]''
|1993
|Dinotopia
|Adaptation of the book by [[James Gurney]]
|-
|''The Maltese Goddess''
|1994
|Mystery
|Recorded in binaural sound
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 4]]''
|1994–1995
|Ruby
|Includes ''The Moon Coins of Sonto Lore'', ''The Turban of El Morya'', ''Dark Night of the Reptoids'', and ''Mad Moon for Rubina''
|-
|''rain''
|1995
|Music
|Music by Tim Clark and Kevin Breheney
|-
|''Dinotopia: The World Beneath''
|1996
|Dinotopia
|
|-
|''The Spell''
|1996
|Music
|Music by Tim Clark and Kevin Breheny
|-
|''O Boy O Boy O''
|1996
|Science Fiction
|Recorded in binaural sound
|-
|''[[The Mystery of Jaguar Reef]]''
|1996
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''The Land of Enchantment''
|1997
|Mojo Sam
|Spinoff of Jack Flanders
|-
|''Ol' Cactus Kapoor, and Other Prickly Tales''
|1997
|Rodant Kapoor
|Spinoff of Ruby
|-
|''The Insiders' Lounge''
|1998
|Science Fiction
|
|-
|''[[Midnight at the Casa Luna]]''
|1998–2000
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 5: The Land of Zoots]]''
|1998
|Ruby
|
|-
|''Fat Cats''
|1999
|Fat Cats
|Later reissued as ''Saratoga Fat Cats'', recorded in binaural sound
|-
|''Recipe for Murder''
|1999
|Mystery
|
|-
|''The Android Sisters: Greatest Hits''
|2000
|Android Sisters
|Spinoff of Ruby
|-
|''[[Return to Inverness]]''
|2000
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''Little Frieda's Life Lessons''
|2001
|Little Frieda
|Spinoff of Jack Flanders
|-
|''Mojo Plays Morocco''
|1977
|Soundtrack
|Mojo Sam's music from ''Moon Over Morocco''
|-
|''Mojo's Concert at Inverness''
|2001
|Soundtrack
|Mojo Sam's music from ''Return to Inverness''
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 6: The Illusionati]]''
|2001
|Ruby
|
|-
|''The Ultimate 3D Thunderstorm''
|2001
|Soundtrack
|Binaural recording of a thunderstorm
|-
|''Travelling Jack''
|2002–2003
|Jack Flanders
|Includes ''[[Dreams of the Blue Morpho]]'', ''[[Somewhere Next Door to Reality]]'', ''[[Do That in Real Life?]]'', and ''[[The Eye of Van Gogh]]''
|-
|''The Android Sisters: Pull No Punches''
|2003
|Android Sisters
|Spinoff of Ruby
|-
|''The Best of the Android Sisters''
|2004
|Android Sisters
|Spinoff of Ruby, released in Japan
|-
|''The Best of Saratoga Springs''
|2004
|Humor
|Compilation of ''Saratoga Springs'' episodes
|-
|''Fat Cats 2: All the Cat's Meow''
|2004
|Fat Cats
|
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 6.5: Far Flung Farouk]]''
|2004
|Ruby
|
|-
|''A Streetcar Named Le Petit Lafitte''
|2004
|Little Louie Lafitte
|Spinoff of Jack Flanders' ''Do That in Real Life?''
|-
|''The Wee Weever: A Little Frieda Mystery''
|2004
|Little Frieda, Mojo Sam
|Spinoff of Jack Flanders
|-
|''The Case of the Disappearing Witch''
|2005
|Little Frieda, Mojo Sam
|Spinoff of Jack Flanders
|-
|''The Fantastic Voyages of Captain Jack Flanders''
|2005–2008
|Jack Flanders
|Includes ''[[Orchids and Moonbeams]]'', ''[[The Ghost Islands]]'', ''[[Tropical Hot Dog Night]]'' and ''[[The White Castle (ZBS Foundation)|The White Castle]]''
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 7: Dream Weaver, Dream Deceiver]]''
|2006
|Ruby
|
|-
|''90 Second Cellphone Chillin' Theater''
|2008
|Humor
|
|-
|''Blue Bamboo''
|2008
|Music
|Music by Tim Clark
|-
|''Dinotopia Suite''
|2008
|Soundtrack
|Music from ''Dinotopia'' 
|-
|''Two Minute Film Noir''
|2008
|Film Noir
|
|-
|''More! Two Minute Film Noir - "Joe & Moe"''
|2008
|Film Noir
|
|-
|''The Music from Ruby 4''
|2008
|Soundtrack
|Music from ''Ruby 4''
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 7.5: The Tookah's Tales]]''
|2008
|The Tookah
|Spinoff of Ruby
|-
|''The World Beneath Suite''
|2008
|Soundtrack
|Music from ''Dinotopia: The World Beneath'' 
|-
|''Even More! Two Minute Film Noir''
|2009
|Film Noir
|
|-
|''Four Minute Film Noir''
|2009
|Film Noir
|
|-
|''Fallen Angels That Bounce''
|2009
|Film Noir
|
|-
|''Mojo's Vest Pocket Voodoo Adventures''
|2009
|Mojo Sam
|Spinoff of Jack Flanders
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 8: The Good King Kapoor]]''
|2009
|Ruby
|
|-
|''World Sounds''
|2009
|Soundtrack
|Audio used in Jack Flanders adventures
|-
|''Steam Dreamers of Inverness''
|2010–2011
|Jack Flanders
|Steampunk spinoff, 4 parts
|-
|''Lady Windermere's Brass Fantabulous''
|2010
|Lady Windermere
|
|-
|''Lady Windermere's Brass Fantabulous, Part 2: You Can't Outrun the Flying Dead''
|2011
|Lady Windermere
|
|-
|''Ruby Refreshed''
|2011–2013
|Ruby
|A reissue of the original ''Ruby: The Galactic Gumshoe'', with new music and sound effects
|-
|''Do Angels Really Have Wings?''
|2012
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 9: Masque of the Red Moon]]''
|2012
|Ruby
|
|-
|''Dixon and Sparks: Excuse Me While I Disappear''
|2013
|Dixon and Sparks
|
|-
|''Dixon and Sparks: The Night Has Begun''
|2013
|Dixon and Sparks
|
|-
|''Dreams of Tiffany Blue''
|2013
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''The Music of Steam Dreamers of Inverness''
|2013
|Soundtrack
|Music from ''Steam Dreamers of Inverness''
|-
|''The Music of the Tookah's Tales''
|2013
|Soundtrack
|Music from ''Ruby 7.5: The Tookah's Tales''
|-
|''Saratoga Noir''
|2014
|Mystery
|
|-
|''The Secret of the Crystal Maidens''
|2014
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''Dixon and Sparks: Shadows in the Night''
|2015
|Dixon and Sparks
|
|-
|''The Green Velvet Chair''
|2015
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 9.5: Who Knows How This Ends?]]''
|2015
|Ruby
|
|-
|''League of the Green Velvet Chairs''
|2016
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''Tiny Dreams''
|2017
|Humor
|
|-
|''Madonna in a Green Velvet Chair''
|2018
|Jack Flanders
|
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 10: The Black Star of Summa Nulla]]''
|2018
|Ruby
|
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 11: Little Fritzi and the Wonder Game]]''
|2023
|Ruby
|
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 12: Can We Ever Turn Into Light?]]''
|2024
|Ruby
|
|-
|''[[Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe|Ruby 14: Spooks of the Ancient Nullians]]''
|2024
|Ruby
|
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://zbs.org ZBS Foundation]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20170611173703/http://whirlitzer.org/ Whirlitzer of Wisdoms]}}
* [http://natf.org/resources/profiles/86 NATF Interview with Thomas Lopez], by the [[National Audio Theatre Festival]], an organization that includes Lopez as one of its advisors.
* [https://www.experimentaltvcenter.org/vhp/program-descriptions-1974-1984 Artist in Residence program]
* [http://www.finseth.com/zbs The Great ZBS Data Collection]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:ZBS Foundation| ]]
[[Category:Mass media companies of the United States]]
[[Category:American artist groups and collectives]]