1. Angus William MacLise 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.
17 Facts About Angus MacLise
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Angus William MacLise was born on March 14,1938, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the son of a book dealer.
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Angus MacLise contributed to the early Fluxus newspaper VTre, edited by George Brecht, and was an early member of the Velvet Underground, having been brought into the group by flatmate John Cale when they were living at 56 Ludlow Street in Manhattan.
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Angus MacLise played bongos and hand drums during 1965 with the first incarnation of the Velvet Underground and he was capable of playing tabla, cimbalom and tambourine.
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Demos recorded during this period are included on the Peel Slowly and See box set, but Angus MacLise plays on none of them because he did not appreciate the need to turn up on time.
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Cale describes MacLise as "living on the Angus calendar", showing up to gigs hours or even days after the band had finished.
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Angus MacLise was replaced by Moe Tucker, resulting in the "classic" lineup of the Velvet Underground.
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Cale took over lead vocals and organ, drummer Maureen Tucker switched to bass and Angus MacLise drummed; by now, Tucker's idiosyncratic tribal style of drumming was integral to the group's music.
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Angus MacLise married Hetty McGee in a wedding ceremony at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, presided over by LSD guru Timothy Leary.
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Together, they had a son named Ossian Kennard Angus 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.
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Angus MacLise was cremated to the traditions of Tibetan Buddhists in a funeral pyre.
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Angus MacLise recorded a vast amount of music that went largely unreleased until 1999.
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Angus MacLise collaborated with Tony Conrad, John Cale and La Monte Young on several other recordings:.
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Angus MacLise worked on soundtracks for several underground films by Piero Heliczer, and appears in at least two: Venus in Furs and Satisfaction.
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Angus MacLise worked on the soundtrack for Voyage, a short film by Jerry Jofen.
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In May 2011 a major retrospective exhibit Dreamweapon: The Art and Life of Angus MacLise was mounted by the Boo-Hooray Gallery in Chelsea, New York City.
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In 1965, a work by Angus MacLise titled Rites of the Dream Weapon was included in the New 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.