People

Conspirators

People I have made things with.

Third Wall Studio

1. SavasDesigner and creative director, Head of Creation at Third Wall Studio. Kubler-Ross Model is his film.
2. Jacob McCoyFilmmaker, Director, Production at Third Wall Studio. Book of Sarth, the For Lovers duet, Introspections, and, as director, the Meatsuitz films and Through the Brambles.
3. Doron LevDrummer, MC and illustrator. The drums on my Christmas song, a Beautiful Tornado guest, and three Third Wall films in 2026.
4. Jonathan AronsThe dancing trombonist, artist in residence at Third Wall Studio. The Trinary Matrix, fourteen minutes from his own book, is his film.
5. Tetiana KhodakivskaFilm director and editor, artist in residence at Third Wall Studio.

Book of Sarth and the Gralbum Collective

1. Archie P. ValdezIllustrator of The Book of Sarth, with Tom Hall.
2. Bora YoonComposer, vocalist and sound artist. Sunken Cathedral was one of the first gralbums, and she played the launch with me.
3. Billy MartinDrummer of Medeski Martin & Wood, and a visual artist. His Omnisphere was a gralbum in the making.
4. Andrew BeckLead programmer of the (gr)album app. Three years of work together on Book of Sarth and the platform.
5. Alex WylyThe artist of The Book of Sarth, credited as Alex Smith and thanked as Elik Smith. Now a textile and home furnishings designer.
6. Adam MattaBeatboxer, visual artist and animator. Sketches was one of the first gralbums, every sound his own voice.
7. Tom HartThe artist of Train O’ Thots, drawn on the subway, with music by Moon Hooch and then by Exaltron and me.

Songs, records and improvisations

1. Joe KellyComics writer and filmmaker. The melody of my “Softly Questioning” became the main theme of his film Poughkeepsie.
2. Sxip ShireyComposer, performer and storyteller. Two improvised duets in 2015, his shruti box and prepared guitar against my Continuum.
3. MoldoverInstrument designer and the coiner of controllerism. Warper Party bills in 2009, the Jamboxes, and improvising together.
4. Michael Patrick Flanagan SmithFolksinger, playwright and author of The Good Hand. The voice of my Christmas song, and a Beautiful Tornado guest.
5. Dominic BouffardGuitarist and composer, a Robert Wilson regular. The Lulu band in Berlin, guitars on my Christmas song, and my co-host on Beautiful Tornado.
6. Phil WeinrobeProducer and engineer. He recorded my Christmas song at Figure 8 and played banjo on it.
7. Marc UrselliGrammy-winning engineer. He reviewed The Book of Sarth and mixed my Christmas song.
8. Scott HamptonTrumpeter, guitarist and composer, also Exaltron. He named Reflections, Vol. 1, plays its last track, and scored Train O’ Thoughts with me.
9. Lou PettoDrummer. Our one-take duet is “Softly Questioning,” whose melody went into Poughkeepsie.

Lou Reed’s bands and Metal Machine Trio

1. Lou ReedAmerican songwriter, guitarist and singer, 1942 to 2013, who co-founded the Velvet Underground and then made solo records for forty years. I played in his touring band and in Metal Machine Trio, and worked on both the theater score and the album of Lulu.
2. Laurie AndersonAmerican artist, composer and musician. I played between her and Lou Reed on the Yellow Pony tours in 2009, resampling their voices live.
3. Ulrich KriegerGerman composer and saxophonist. He arranged Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Music for ensemble, and was a third of Metal Machine Trio with Reed and me.
4. Rob WassermanAmerican bassist, 1952 to 2016, known for the electric upright bass he developed with Ned Steinberger and for the Solo, Duets and Trios records. He and I first played together at Lou Reed’s apartment, in the session that became “Junior Dad”.
5. Kevin HearnBarenaked Ladies keyboardist and Lou Reed’s musical director. Lou’s band with me from 2008, and the Winter Garden in 2023.
6. Steve HunterThe guitarist of Berlin and Rock ’n’ Roll Animal. Lou Reed’s band with me in 2008 and 2009.
7. Tony “Thunder” SmithLou Reed’s longest-serving drummer. The band with me from 2008 to 2011.
8. Aram BajakianGuitarist and composer. The eight-piece band on Lou Reed’s 2011 European tour.
9. Shahzad IsmailyMulti-instrumentalist and owner of Figure 8 Recording. Lou Reed Drones with me in 2019 and 2023.
10. John ZornComposer and saxophonist. A set with Lou’s band in 2008, sitting in with Metal Machine Trio in 2009, and the drones in 2019.
11. Marc RibotGuitarist. The ten-piece set at Noise Night, Sydney Opera House, 2010.
12. Mike RathkeLou Reed’s guitarist since New York. The 2008 band, a trio at the Whitney, and “Solsbury Hill.”
13. Stewart HurwoodLou Reed’s guitar tech, who performs Lou Reed Drones. I have played inside the drones in 2019 and 2023.

Lulu

1. Robert WilsonTheater director, 1941 to 2025. Lou Reed and I wrote the score for his Lulu at the Berliner Ensemble.
2. MetallicaThe band. Lulu, 2011: our score reinterpreted, and I played on every track and on stage in November 2011.

Number19 and Lucibel Crater

1. Leah ColoffBrooklyn cellist, singer and songwriter. She fronts Lucibel Crater and played in Number19 with me.
2. Paul ChuffoDrummer, originally with the punk and jazz band Gutbucket. He played in Lucibel Crater.
3. Mark RighterDrummer of Number19, on Suspension, 2001. Now a furniture maker.
4. Tony DiodoreGuitarist and violinist. He and I formed Number19 in 1999 and played together again in Lou Reed’s band from 2011.
5. Rich KulsarDrummer and Grammy winner. We are both on Mike Acerbo’s The Search.
6. Mike AcerboSinger-songwriter. My bass is on “Trilby,” the opening track of The Search.

The makers of my instruments

1. Carla ScalettiComposer and the inventor of Kyma. I beta-tested it, and my name is on the Kyma X startup screen.
2. Kurt HebelCo-founder of Symbolic Sound and designer of the Paca, the orange box I ran on stage.
3. Lippold HakenInventor of the Continuum Fingerboard, my instrument.