Something curious occurs around the 27-minute mark, however. “For years, I have told people about a primitive drum machine I had [legendary sound man Alex] Rosner install,” Siano says. “I would mix into it in the middle of the night, and on the fly I would create beats. I was so happy when I heard this tape, because there it is right in the middle of this side. It even hums a bit; being such a primitive version of this machine, it didn’t have a ground!” Wax Poetics contacted Alex Rosner, still dapper and sharp at 79 years of age, who told us, “With regard to the Beat Box, I went back into the This and That Gallery [as it was known] file and I found it listed in an old invoice, where it’s called the SR-95 Rhythmer. We connected it to Nicky’s Bozak mixer on June 12, 1976. His distinctive signature is on our Service Report dated that day.”


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