KPIX’s broadcast operation manager Eliot Curtis copped a dose of the Don Buchla special when, cleaning out an old Buchla 100 system, he swiped his finger over some residue on the underside of the module. The resulting high had him tripping for a cool nine hours.
The story gives credence to the longstanding conspiracy that Buchla, an devout experimenter of sorts, doused various units with the transformative element to enhance the experience of using his synthesisers. While it’s not exactly very ethical by today’s standards, we reckon it’s still a very cool little creative strategy.
The rumour started due to Buchla’s association with counter-culture figureheads and drug enthusiasts Ken Kasey and The Merry Pranksters, The Grateful Dead, and chemist Owsley Stanley, who was the first known private individual to manufacture mass quantities of LSD.
After his time-bending experience, Curtis had the remaining residue tested and determined that it was in fact LSD.
Read the whole story at the KPIX website.
