Thomas Lopez
Encyclopedia
Thomas Lopez, aka Meatball Fulton, is one of the founders and president of the ZBS Foundation
. He writes and produces the ZBS Foundation's audio drama productions. Some of these aired in 1984-85 as part of ZBS' stereo radio series The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz
.
His output includes the entire Jack Flanders
and Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe
series. His stories are identified by the humorous, insightful and occasionally transcendental plots, plus puns and references to 1950s music. He travels widely, recording environments from such locations as Morocco
, Mexico
, India
, Bali
, Sumatra
, Java, Rio de Janeiro
, the Amazon
and the United States. These recordings have been used as the background sounds for ZBS Foundation audio dramas.
Erik Bauersfeld's radio series The Black Mass
was an influence on Lopez, who noted, "In the 1960s, I was inspired by someone at KPFA in Berkeley, Eric Bauersfeld, who did a series called The Black Mass, adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft
and such. He helped me a lot. I consider Erik my mentor. He also did some fine Eugene O'Neill
plays for radio."
In 1968, Lopez worked at WUHY
, a Philadelphia public radio station. He had his own show Sunday night called Feed. Lopez has conducted audio interviews featuring such talents as Jerry Garcia
, Jimi Hendrix
, Don Van Vliet of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, Mel Blanc
, Paul Bowles
and Dinotopia
's James Gurney
. He has recorded a music album with Abbie Hoffman
, appeared in an experimental film directed by Yoko Ono
and provided the sound tapestry for the Mabou Mines
stage production of Philip K. Dick
's Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
.
ZBS Foundation
ZBS Foundation, a small non-profit audio production company, was founded by Thomas Lopez in 1970 with a grant from Robert E. Durand as a working commune based on a donated farm in Upstate New York...
. He writes and produces the ZBS Foundation's audio drama productions. Some of these aired in 1984-85 as part of ZBS' stereo radio series The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz
The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz
The Cabinet of Dr. Fritz was a 1984-85 binaural radio drama series produced by Thomas Lopez and the ZBS Foundation. At the beginning of each show, it was suggested that listeners wear headphones....
.
His output includes the entire Jack Flanders
Jack Flanders
Jack Flanders is the protagonist of a series of audio dramas produced by the ZBS Foundation. He is the creation of writer and sound artist Thomas Lopez and is played by actor Robert Lorick....
and Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe
Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe
Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe is the titular character of a radio drama series by the ZBS Foundation, written by Thomas Lopez. The first series, Ruby: Adventures of A Galactic Gumshoe was created in 1982, and the eighth and most recent was copyrighted 2009...
series. His stories are identified by the humorous, insightful and occasionally transcendental plots, plus puns and references to 1950s music. He travels widely, recording environments from such locations as Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Java, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
and the United States. These recordings have been used as the background sounds for ZBS Foundation audio dramas.
Erik Bauersfeld's radio series The Black Mass
The Black Mass
The Black Mass was a horror-fantasy radio drama produced by Erik Bauersfeld, a leading American radio dramatist of the post-television era. The series aired on KPFA and KPFK from 1963 to 1967, on an irregular schedule...
was an influence on Lopez, who noted, "In the 1960s, I was inspired by someone at KPFA in Berkeley, Eric Bauersfeld, who did a series called The Black Mass, adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
and such. He helped me a lot. I consider Erik my mentor. He also did some fine Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
plays for radio."
In 1968, Lopez worked at WUHY
WHYY-FM
WHYY-FM is an NPR member station serving the Delaware Valley area, which is the metro area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is located in Philadelphia. Its transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.-History:...
, a Philadelphia public radio station. He had his own show Sunday night called Feed. Lopez has conducted audio interviews featuring such talents as Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Don Van Vliet of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc
Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
, Paul Bowles
Paul Bowles
Paul Frederic Bowles was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator.Following a cultured middle-class upbringing in New York City, during which he displayed a talent for music and writing, Bowles pursued his education at the University of Virginia before making various trips to Paris...
and Dinotopia
Dinotopia
Dinotopia is a fictional utopia created by author and illustrator James Gurney. It is the setting for the book series with which it shares its name. Dinotopia is an isolated island inhabited by shipwrecked humans and sentient dinosaurs who have learned to coexist peacefully as a single symbiotic...
's James Gurney
James Gurney
James Gurney is an artist and author best known for his illustrated book series Dinotopia, which is presented in the form of a 19th century explorer’s journal from an island utopia cohabited by humans and dinosaurs...
. He has recorded a music album with Abbie Hoffman
Abbie Hoffman
Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman was a political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ....
, appeared in an experimental film directed by Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono
is a Japanese artist, musician, author and peace activist, known for her work in avant-garde art, music and filmmaking as well as her marriage to John Lennon...
and provided the sound tapestry for the Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines
Mabou Mines is an avant-garde theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City.-History:Mabou Mines is a collaborative, avant-garde theater company based in New York City...
stage production of Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
's Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said
Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is a 1974 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick about a genetically enhanced pop singer and television star who loses his identity overnight. The story is set in a futuristic dystopia, where America has become a police state after a Second Civil War. The novel...
.