13 Facts About Glenn Branca

Glenn Branca was an American avant-garde composer, guitarist, and luthier.

Glenn Branca created a number of tape sound art collage pieces for his own amusement.

In 1976, Glenn Branca moved to New York City to continue in experimental theater.

Glenn Branca encountered the N Dodo Band and watched their rehearsals in Chelsea, hoping to use the space for a theater production.

Glenn Branca spent time with one of its members, Jeffrey Lohn, who introduced him to bands such as Suicide.

Glenn Branca put up posters to recruit members, and after seeing one of the posters, Lohn expressed interest.

Glenn Branca recorded Barbara Ess's band Y Pants for their debut release on 99 Records and performed with Rhys Chatham's Guitar Trio on occasion from 1977 to 1979, a noise music experience that was very important in the development of his compositional voice.

In 1982, Glenn Branca launched his own record label, Neutral Records, releasing Y Pants' LP and the first few records by New York noise rockers Sonic Youth.

In 1978, Glenn Branca participated in the inception of the No Wave movement by participating twice in a five night no wave music festival at Artists Space organized by artists Michael Zwack and Robert Longo.

Glenn Branca built instruments with many strings which he referred to as "mallet guitars" because they were percussion instruments played with drumsticks and monotone electric cymbaloms with an additional third bridge on resonating positions.

In September 1996, The Glenn Branca Ensemble played at the opening ceremony for the Aarhus Festival in Denmark.

Glenn Branca played duets for excessively amplified guitars with his wife, Reg Bloor, and conducted his 13th symphony for 100 electric guitars at the base of the World Trade Center in New York City on June 13,2001, less than three months before the center's destruction in the September 11 attacks.

On May 14,2018, Reg Bloor's official Facebook page revealed in a post that Glenn Branca had died from throat cancer the night before.