M Is FOR MASHUP - Rerun - August 12th, 2008
A Lot To Cover: An Interview With Party Ben
By DJ Useo
I seriously believe that all regular fans of bootleg mashups, remixes, & long mixes are familiar with the exemplary work of multi-talented mixer, dj & bon vivant, Party Ben (www.partyben.com) .
He's not only a gifted musical artist, but also has a generous nature as is proven by the bounty of tracks available on his site. Now, he gives of himself again with some splendid insight into his world, & mind, with this interview. Let's begin -
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Q1: I'm certain that most of your followers, fans & friends would like to know how you came into the bootleg dj profession, & who, if any, influenced you to take up the practice. Can you fill us in?
"Profession" you say? Well, it was a long interview process here at Mashups, Bootlegs & Bastard Inc., but once I proved to the CEO that I had what it takes... er, no. Actually to be honest, I've always been screwing around with other people's songs. If you tracked down my high school friends they'd tell you about how awesome it was that I'd always inflict my glitchy tape edits of Pet Shop Boys songs on them. I spent endless hours making mixes on my little Sears stereo. Once I discovered they made things called "mixers" there was no stopping me, and I started DJing parties and on the radio in college. I started working at LIVE 105 radio in San Francisco in 1994, and eventually they got ahold of rudimentary multi-track software ("Session 8"), which I used to make some basic remixes and stuff. Bootlegs specifically were a logical next step, although it took producers like Freelance Hellraiser and Go Home Productions, to inspire me to try cross-genre stuff. "Stroke of Genie-us" was a mind-blowing moment for me, like it is for a lot of us.
Q2: I would be surprised to find a PARTY BEN fan who didn't know of your famous SIXX MIXX series for LIVE 105 / San Francisco. A fantastic body of work from the beginning & a startler of fine skill, the SIXX MIXXes remain popular through torrents & fan sharing, do you have any memories of the series you'd care to relate?
Well, it's funny, because I'm working right now on remastering the old mixes which I'll be re-releasing on my website, one by one. The show started out very electronic-based and only evolved into a showcase for my own and others' mashups after a couple weeks. Those first couple shows also really sucked, so I'm a bit embarrassed to re-release them. Of course, everybody knows the story about how "Boulevard of Broken Songs" was the finale of a Sixx Mixx in October 2004 and the reason I used Eminem's "Sing (For the Moment)" was because I couldn't find Aerosmith's "Dream On," and I was on the air in like an hour? Anyway, good times. It was great to have a show like that but it just killed me to produce it, I was putting in 70-80 hours a week doing general production for the radio station and then would stay there til like 4am on Thursdays finishing the Mixx, then of course DJing and stuff as well, plus trying to have sex once in a while... it was pretty brutal. When my boss, losing his mind under corporate pressure to "clean up" the station, cancelled all specialty shows including mine, I didn't have it in me to fight to keep it going, to be honest, I'd had a good run.
Q3: Anyone familiar with you knows of your success at LIVE 105 with the 'Untitled Show', the electronic music show 'Subsonic; & the 'Friday Night Game Show', what are you up to currently as far as programming?
Well, I'm programming what I play on my home hi-fi. I left the station in August of 2007 and while I miss some of my old radio pals, honestly a lot of my friends have left too, so I don't really miss the constant battle. Since then it's turned very corporate and terrible, and not to get all schadenfreude-y on you but ratings have collapsed as well. American radio is very troubled at the moment so it's actually very sad to see. I'm still doing production work for a couple other stations but honestly I'm not really interested in jumping back into that environment so I'm focusing on other freelance work and DJing and stuff. Also selling my body for science experiments.
Q4: You've DJ'ed live in many parts of the world including Germany, Poland & Mexico. Have you noticed any difference in the response to bootleg material depending on where you play it? I live in Michigan & when I play mashups people often just look perplexed. (Until the bar opens, lol)
Mostly it's just funny to see how people's reactions evolve. Back when we started Bootie, people would scream when they heard the vocal come in over a different track, now everybody's jaded, they're used to it. I think it's starting to get like that everywhere -- people just expect your DJ sets will be crazy cross-genre collages.
Q5: I remember a super track you made of Queens Of The Stone Age vs Nine Inch Nails. Is it true you crafted the track while on tour with them?
Actually, I was in the hot tub with Trent and Josh, and they were arguing over who was going to give me a back rub. The only way I could settle it was by letting them both explore the wonderland of my body at the same time. Later, watching the video I'd surreptitiously taped, I had an idea for a musical tribute to our 72 hours of meth-fueled passion. The rest is history.
Q6: The 'DEAN GRAY' bootleg collection you bestowed upon the world with Team 9 created quite a stir in many respects. Is there a chance you might work on a similar project with any other bootlegger? I would relish the opportunity to hear tracks you made with the likes of DJ Moule, Pheugoo, or McSleazy.
All DJ Moule wants to talk about is English words for bodily functions, McSleazy is busy tending to his elaborate facial hair, and I have no idea how to pronounce Pheugoo, so screw all those guys. Honestly, I'm surprised Team 9 was able to put up with me for the time it took to assemble the Edit. Thankfully the fact that we're basically at complete opposite sides of the world helped to provide a kind of "annoyance cushion." I could use some "hipster points" though, so I should probably try and hitch my train to another hot young producer.
Q7: Your expertise in music extends to the world of journalism with your history of reviewing for MOTHER JONES magazine's arts blog. Like, how's that going for you?
Like, totally awesome. Actually I don't know if anybody's reading it, they just have me on as a kind of easily-mockable columnist. I'm a real jabberjaws though so this gives me an outlet, at least.
Q8: As a resident DJ at 'Club Bootie', America's First All-Mashup Nightclub™ you've delighted clubgoers since 2003. Can you tell us a little about the bootie shows?
Who have you enjoyed working with at bootie,& who have you met while at club that you enjoyed? Or perhaps didn't enjoy.
Oh, you'd love for me to spill the Bootie gossip wouldn't you. I have so many stories I could tell. Mysterous D, she's really a MAN baby. Actually, you know, some guest DJs at Bootie stay at Party Ben's deluxe accommodations, i.e., my couch. I've seen things you could never imagine. Ahem! At the club itself, it's always interesting to see what different people bring to the floor -- the "all-mashup" thing is both a blessing and a curse, and it's kind of tough to do a set that balances the need to play clear, obvious a-plus-b's with some evidence of DJ talent and mixing and stuff. But I love seeing what people do, so that's always great, and I can steal their ideas after they leave. Honestly, everyone I've met in the mashup "scene" has been incredibly friendly, funny, and unpretentious, and I wonder if, like, the minimal techno scene is like this? Or do they just all sit around quietly looking fabulous? Something to be said for that too...
Q9: It's not so often that we see you posting at bootleg forums of late. I reckon you do fine without the moodiness that occurs at some forums, but can you tell us any stories of your time spent at them?
I'm the moodiest of them all, that's for sure. Actually I give all the respect in the world to GYBO, of course I couldn't have done the Sixx Mixx show without it, so I always felt like a) I needed to post the shows there as a "thank you" to all the producers who had contributed or inspired me, and b) the least I could do in return was post some of my own stuff for people. But to be honest, I don't really care what people think about my work, and so now I feel like if someone is interested in what I do they know where to find it.
Q10: Are there any bootleg collections you enjoy hearing? I'm enamored with mashup collections, & hope they continue to appear regularly & forever.
Yeah, boy, I dunno, collections get attention but I rarely have time to contribute or listen. When I had the idea for American Edit, that was my first thought, was to open it up and have different tracks from all different people, but then I realized that it would probably be far too scattered, and I had kind of envisioned it as a single "work." Working with Team9 meant I only had to hypnotize one person to agree with me instead of 20. So, with respect to all the collection-makers out there, I know that you can get a post on Boing Boing for doing 'em but they rarely grab me.
Q11: What do you see as the future of bootlegging? I hear a lot that it's dead, but I hear that phrase about every style of music & even polka music still continues. lol.
I love how mashups have died and come back to life, zombie-like, about 7 times since I've started doing it, and even then it had already been dead for years. I'm terrible at predictions though -- if I could predict the future, I'd be sitting on a billion dollars worth of Google stock right now, not talking to you about bootlegs.
Q12: What artists or tunes captivate your listening when you aren't playing mashups?
Oh my God. My appetite for music is totally ravenous, so I don't even know where to start. Album-wise, Portishead, Santogold, M83, Beach House, No Age, Lil Wayne, Cut Copy... Also I'm nuts for swampy stoned-sounding instrumental hip-hop so the Flying Lotus album is on heavy rotation. Anything with a laser-bass noise like Sinden, Herve, Fake Blood, Machines Don't Care; spazzy techno like Crookers, Boy 8-Bit, Jokers of the Scene. My Last.fm account shows that In Rainbows is still my #1 most listened to album this year though.
Q13: I've heard that you favor ADOBE AUDITION when mixing your tracks.Is that still the case, or have advancements changed that? It seems to me it's the mixer, not the program. I've even heard fantastic tracks created on freeware like AUDACITY.
Yeah, still mucking about in Audition. I'm so unbelievably lazy, I can never be bothered to learn new stuff, and I've been using Audition for like 7 years now, so I can work pretty fast with it. I always imagine other producers have these fantastic setups, since mine is pretty rudimentary, but then I see they're using crappy old PCs or whatever and that's kind of heartening.
Q14: Thanks much for taking the time to give of yourself in this interview. As we wind up this exchange, what can you share with us of upcoming PARTY BEN matters?
Well, since I've been freed from focusing on productions that will appeal to mainstream alt-radio listeners, I've defaulted to my love for quirky electro, and I'm currently working on a bunch of tracks that are basically my attempt to sound like Fake Blood, stuff I can play out at the discotheques. Who knows if anyone will like them. I keep thinking I should do another mashup album project but nothing has struck my fancy. Then, of course, there's the obvious fact that I've had my brief 15 minutes of fame and I should slink off the stage before things get too embarrassing, but I'm so lazy I can't be bothered to cancel my web hosting account. Lots of bootleggers like to make "I'm leaving the scene" announcements but that's not my style: I'll just slowly peter out until everybody's forgotten about me. I'm already 3/4 of the way there I think. In the movie version, I'd retire to an island off Costa Rica, when suddenly there would be a worldwide crisis that could only be solved by mashups. They'd send DJ Zebra out to find me, and I'd be all grizzled and leather-skinned and I'd grumble, "that man who used to make mashups is dead, he's dead I tell you," but then he'd arrange it so I'd have to save a little girl from a crocodile using only a mashup and then realize I owed it to the world to come back. That'd be cool.
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Useo again now. Thanks Party Ben for an intriguing, pleaser of an interview. If y'all want to thank him, drop by his site, sample the wares & leave a note of thanks. I know I will.
Mix Of The Week - If you check on the long mix section of Party Ben's site, you'll find his 'Party Ben's Neon Noise Guest Mix Part One'. It's 23 minutes of joy recorded during a broadcast at Indie 103.1 FM Los Angeles. Pure bastard pop fine enough to make you tear up, grab yours now!
Mashup Tip : If you add some olive oil to any hip hop track, it will graft onto rock music better.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Frances Moore Lappe: The Key to Happiness That No One -- Not Even the Happiness Gurus -- Are Discussing (YES! Magazine)
Having our basic physical needs met isn't enough. Though they're important, neither are family and friends.
Paul Krugman: Bailouts for Bunglers (nytimes.com)
Saving the economy is going to be very expensive: that $800 billion stimulus plan is probably just a down payment, and rescuing the financial system, even if it's done right, is going to cost hundreds of billions more. We can't afford to squander money giving huge windfalls to banks and their executives, merely to preserve the illusion of private ownership.
FRANK RICH: Herbert Hoover Lives (nytimes.com)
HERE'S a bottom line to keep you up at night: The economy is falling faster than Washington can get moving. President Obama says his stimulus plan will save or create four million jobs in two years. In the last four months of 2008 alone, employment fell by 1.9 million. Do the math.
'I hope he fails' (guardian.co.uk)
How are the folks at Fox News - and all the other rightwing pundits - coping with the ascension of Barack Obama? Ed Pilkington reports.
Bill Press: GOP STABS OBAMA IN THE BACK (Tribune Media Service)
If Obama fails, the economy fails even more. If Obama fails, millions more Americans lose their homes and jobs. If Obama fails, America fails. But Republicans don't care. They care only about how best to win back political power - which they believe, misled by Limbaugh, will happen only if they oppose everything Obama stands for. They want him to fail.
Richard Roeper: Americans can hate the war, love the warriors (suntimes.com)
The acerbic and flat-out hilarious comic Lisa Lampanelli was on Sirius/XM last week when a caller mentioned he was just back from Iraq.
Katrina-Kasey Wheeler: "Communicating Music Heart to Heart: An Interview with Yo-Yo Ma" (popmatters.com)
Yo-Yo Ma is a world-renowned, Grammy-winning cellist extraordinaire, and his talent matches his level of humility. He is extremely joyous and eager to share his music with the world in such a way that will engage them unlike ever before.
Why Buddy Holly is still pop's hero (timesonline.co.uk)
He was the first man to mix original melody with rock'n'roll and I became an immediate fan, says Chas Hodges.
Charles Aznavour: the French Sinatra (timesonline.co.uk)
He has written a thousand songs and has as many memories, but often it's just better to move on, he tells Alan Franks.
John Farr: "George Carlin and 'The Aristocrats': A Best Movie By Farr?" (huffingtonpost.com)
By focusing on the power of words to affect us, George Carlin may have done more to advance the Lenny Bruce legacy than anyone else, with the possible exception of Richard Pryor.
One hour with Kiefer Sutherland (guardian.co.uk)
Decca Aitkenhead talks with Kiefer Sutherland about 24's influence on the American public.
Aaron Barnhart: Simon Baker is looking good, and so is 'The Mentalist' (McClatchy Newspapers)
I suppose if I had Simon Baker's looks, or just his hair, I'd be the strong, silent type, too. After all, there's really no need to advertise yourself when the ladies instantly swoon at your close-up.
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Betrayl of Baron 52
Just left?
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'Stimulate me... Please!' Edition
Are there any aspects of the pending 'Stimulus Bill' that you find to be inadequate or inappropriate?
Send your response, and a (short) reason why, to
answered:
Reader Suggestion
'Notorious San Francisco'
Hi Marty,
Tonight here at midnight on the Travel Channel, they are broadcasting "Notorious San Francisco", including the site where Milk was killed, etc.
Hope you get the channel, AND this message in time.
Kappy in Snowy Philly
Thanks, Kappy!
A program to watch for - the beauty of the Travel Channel (and pretty much all cable) is everything repeats. And repeats. And repeats.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still like the middle of summer.
Calls Out Joey The Rat
Angela Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Pope Benedict XVI to make a "very clear" rejection of Holocaust denials after the Vatican's rehabilitation of a former bishop who questioned whether 6 million Jews were gassed by the Nazis.
Merkel's rare and public demand came amid increasing outrage among Germany's Roman Catholic leaders over the pope's decision to lift the excommunication of British-born Richard Williamson.
Merkel said she "does not believe" there has been adequate clarification of the Vatican's position on the Holocaust amid the controversy.
As a young man in Germany, Benedict, then called Joseph Ratzinger, served briefly in the Hitler Youth corps.
Williamson was consecrated by the late ultraconservative Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre without papal consent. The Holy See has said that removing the excommunication did not imply the Vatican shared his views.
Angela Merkel
Cancels Vermont Speech
Ben Stein
So-called comedian Ben Stein has withdrawn as the University of Vermont's commencement speaker because of complaints about his critical views on evolution in favor of intelligent design.
UVM President Daniel Fogel said he chose Stein based on the warm response to a lecture he gave on campus last spring. Fogel said, however, he was deluged with e-mail messages from people offended by Stein's views of science.
When told about the criticism, Stein - who was to be paid $7,500 - backed out of the May 17 commencement, Fogel said.
Stein, 64, a graduate of Yale Law School, worked as a Federal Trade Commission lawyer and wrote speeches for presidents Nixon and Ford. As an actor, he is best known by some as the droll teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Ben Stein
Boosts Butter Sales
John Lydon
Dairy Crest has no plans to raise capital or cut its dividend, it said on Tuesday, as it reported steadying trade since a November profit warning, helped by a marketing campaign fronted by former Sex Pistol John Lydon.
The maker of Cathedral City cheese, Yoplait yoghurts and Clover spreads said sales rose 4 percent in the nine months ended December 31, down from 6 percent at the half-year stage, though this was partly due to the sale of a cheese business.
Volumes of Country Life spreads leapt 85 percent in the latest quarter, which the group attributed in part to promotions and also to the success of the John Lydon advertising campaign.
John Lydon
Moves To MLB Network
Bob Costas
Bob Costas has left HBO and joined the new MLB Network.
The agreement announced Tuesday does not affect Costas' relationship with NBC, where he has worked since 1980. Although NBC doesn't televise major league games, it does report on them on its news program and those of its affiliates.
Costas hosted the MLB Network's first show on Jan. 1. HBO insisted on cable exclusivity.
Bob Costas
Lions Gate Gets Approval
TV Guide
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp has received U.S. antitrust approval to buy TV Guide and TV Guide Network, the Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday.
Lions Gate will pay Macrovision Solutions Corp $255 million for the properties, the companies said in early January.
Macrovision sells digital entertainment technology, and Lions Gate produces movie and television programs.
TV Guide
Bronze Sets Record
Edgar Degas
A sculpture by French Impressionist Edgar Degas sold for 13.3 million pounds ($19 million) Tuesday at Sotheby's auction house in London.
Degas' "Petite danseuse de quatorze ans" or "Little 14-year-old dancer," a bronze depicting a young ballerina with her chin tilted up and hands clasped behind her back, was bought by a private bidder from Asia.
Sotheby's said the sale price is the highest ever paid for a Degas statue - the previous record was $12.3 million at Sotheby's in New York in 1999.
Edgar Degas
Hearing Scheduled
Roman Polanski
A hearing for Roman Polanski's bid to have a 31-year-old sex case dismissed has been rescheduled for Feb. 17.
The date was announced Tuesday, a day after Polanski's lawyer lost a bid to disqualify all Los Angeles Superior Court judges from considering the long dormant case against the director.
Polanski's attorney, Chad Hummel, claimed the entire Los Angeles Superior Court bench is biased against the director. The California 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the motion to disqualify the judges. It also lifted a stay that had halted court proceedings in the case.
Roman Polanski
Another Legal Move
Screen Actors Guild
Like a horror movie with one false ending after another, the Screen Actors Guild story continues to twist and turn but refuses to bend toward resolution.
National president Alan Rosenberg and first vice president Anne-Marie Johnson notified the guild Monday that they are seeking legal action, industry sources said, effectively halting the resumption of talks for a new TV/film contract between the performers union and Hollywood producers that were to have begun Tuesday morning.
SAG said Monday in announcing the indefinite postponement of negotiations, "Screen Actors Guild today notified the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers that the guild had received a notice of intent to file a complaint (Tuesday)."
Rosenberg and Johnson's move further escalates a brutal internecine battle within the union, one that has seen a 28-hour, all-night national board meeting; the removal of the guild's national executive director and chief negotiator, Doug Allen; and the disbanding of its negotiating committee by written decree.
Screen Actors Guild
Shocking - Corporate Shilling
`SNL'
Was "MacGruber" a "Saturday Night Live" sketch or Pepsi commercial?
Depending on when you were watching television over the weekend, it was hard to tell.
On Saturday night's "SNL," the recurring bit starring cast member Will Forte aired three times during the show, each time with comical over-the-top promotion for Pepsi.
Then on Sunday night, one of the same "MacGruber" sketches - in which Forte plays a parody of the `80s action series "MacGyver" - aired during NBC's broadcast of the Super Bowl as a commercial.
As it turns out, all were paid commercials by Pepsi, made in collaboration with producer Lorne Michaels' "Saturday Night Live." The segments weren't product placement, but commercials paid for by Pepsi and produced by "SNL." Though they appeared to be sketches on "SNL," they ran during allotted commercial breaks.
`SNL'
Profits Drop
Disney
The Walt Disney Co. missed analyst targets Tuesday, as it reported a 32 percent decline in quarterly profits amid a downturn that Chief Executive Robert Iger described as "likely to be the weakest economy in our lifetime."
Shares in Burbank, Calif.-based Disney, fell $1.87, or 9.1 percent, to $18.75 in after-hours trading.
Net income fell to $845 million, or 45 cents per share. In the same period a year earlier Disney earned $1.25 billion, or 63 cents per share.
Disney's movie studio suffered a stunning 26 percent drop in revenue due to a weaker lineup of home video selections, a collapse Iger also blamed on the increasing ability of consumers to access video online.
Disney
Ordered Released
Joe Francis
"Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis was ordered released from federal custody on Tuesday and put on home detention, a day after he was arrested for failing to attend a court hearing in a tax evasion case.
U.S. District Judge S. James Otero ordered Francis released under the condition that his doctor provide evidence that he was too sick to appear in court on time Monday.
But Otero restricted Francis to home detention and electronic monitoring for the next week.
Joe Francis
BBC Drops
Carol Thatcher
The BBC has dropped former British premier Margaret Thatcher's daughter from one of its programmes after she used the word "golliwog" to describe a tennis player, a spokesman said Tuesday.
Carol Thatcher allegedly made the comment during a conversation with fellow presenters after Thursday's filming for the television programme, in which she has appeared as a regular roving reporter for the last three years.
The presenters reported her off-air remark about a player at the Australian Open tennis to senior staff, sparking another scandal at the publicly-funded corporation that has only just emerged from a row over two of its comedians.
The spokesman rejected the suggestion that Thatcher's comments were private as "wrong", saying they were made in the presence of members of the public.
Carol Thatcher
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen Media Research for Jan. 26-Feb. 1. Listings include the week's ranking, with viewership for the week and season-to-date rankings in parentheses. An "X" in parentheses denotes a one-time-only presentation.
1. (X) Super Bowl XLIII: Arizona vs. Pittsburgh, NBC, 98.73 million viewers.
2. (X) Super Bowl postgame show, NBC, 57.4 million viewers.
3. (1) "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 27.36 million viewers.
4. (2) "American Idol" (Tuesday), Fox, 25.54 million viewers.
5. (X) "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 24.61 million viewers.
6. (X) "The Office" (Sunday), NBC, 22.91 million viewers.
7. (4) "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 20.15 million viewers.
8. (5) "NCIS," CBS, 19.2 million viewers.
9. (21) "House," Fox, 15.69 million viewers.
10. (8) "The Mentalist," CBS, 15.23 million viewers.
11. (19) "Without a Trace," CBS, 13 million viewers.
12. (12) "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 12.78 million viewers.
13. (22) "Eleventh Hour," CBS, 12.74 million viewers.
14. (17) "24," Fox, 12.22 million viewers.
15. (18) "Lie to Me," Fox, 12.2 million viewers.
16. (44) "Fringe," Fox, 11.62 million viewers.
17. (22) "Lost," ABC, 11.23 million viewers.
18. (28) "Biggest Loser," NBC, 11.08 million viewers.
19. (26) "Hell's Kitchen," Fox, 10.86 million viewers.
20. (36) "The Bachelor," ABC, 10.57 million viewers.
Ratings
In Memory
Millard Fuller
Millard Fuller, the millionaire entrepreneur who gave it all away to help found the Christian house-building charity Habitat for Humanity, died Tuesday. He was 74.
Fuller died about 3 a.m. after being taken to the emergency room at Sumter Regional Hospital near his south Georgia home in Americus, his wife, Linda, said. An autopsy was planned to determine the cause of death.
Fuller ran Habitat for Humanity with his wife for nearly three decades but lost control of the charity in a conflict with its board. When ousted in January 2005, he and his wife started The Fuller Center for Housing to raise money for Habitat affiliates.
The ouster and a subsequent relocation of the nonprofit to Atlanta "cut the heart out of Habitat," said longtime friend Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala.
The son of a widower farmer in the cotton-mill town of Lanett, Ala., Fuller earned his first profit at age 6, selling a pig. While studying law at the University of Alabama, he formed a direct-marketing company with Dees selling cookbooks and candy to high school chapters of the Future Homemakers of America. That business made them millionaires before they were 30.
Founded in 1976, Habitat's first headquarters was a tiny gray frame house in Americus, which doubled as Fuller's law office. For the first 14 years, Fuller's salary was just $15,000; his wife worked 10 years for free.
Habitat grew to a worldwide network that has built more than 300,000 houses, providing shelter to more than 1.5 million people. Preaching the "theology of the hammer," Fuller built an army of volunteers that included former U.S. presidents, other world leaders and Hollywood celebrities.
In addition to his wife, Fuller is survived by four children - Chris Fuller of Macon, Ga.; Kim Fuller Isakson of Dallas, Texas; Faith Fuller Umstattd of Americus, Ga.; and Georgia Fuller Luedi of Jacksonville, Fla.
Millard Fuller
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