Evan Doorbell
Johann North | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Evan Doorbell | |
| Born | Evan Moore c. 1957 |
| Other names |
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| Occupation | Former phone phreak, former DJ |
| Website | |
Johann North (born Evan Moore c. 1957), commonly known as Evan Doorbell, is a former American phone phreak and DJ. He is widely known for having recorded many hundreds of hours of telephone recordings in the 1970s and 1980s that he has continued to narrate and publish through the present day.
Early life
Evan grew up in Lynbrook, New York, served by the Number 5 Crossbar 593 (LYnbrook3)[1] and later additionally Number 1 Crossbar 599 (LYnbrook9) telephone exchanges[2]. As a teenager in the late 1960s, he became interested in telephones when he became curious about variances in recorded telephone intercept messages[3]. Evan, along with other phreaks such as Ben Decibel, went on to spend his teens and twenties recording hundreds of hours of telephone calls placed on various electromechanical and electronic switching equipment, with much of the recording being done on reel-to-reel tapes. A large number of his tapes are freely published on his website[4].
The moniker "Evan Doorbell" came into use as Evan came up with a pseudonym for use on the conference "party lines" that he and many other teenagers used frequently at the time. Evan first chose "The Doorbell" (a play on "The Bell", a nickname Moore heard used on a party line on one occasion), using his home doorbell as a sound effect in a musical ID loop he recorded for himself. Eventually, this led to the "Evan Doorbell" name he used in phreaking circles[5].
Career and Later Years
Evan lost much of his interest in the telephone network by the mid 1980s, due to the rapid replacement of electromechanical switching equipment with electronic switches such as the 1AESS. While he did make some recordings afterwards, the vast majority of his recording library dates from the 1970s and the early 1980s.
Evan worked at an answering service in his early twenties and as a DJ from 1978 until 1991[6].
In his adult years, Evan changed his name to Johann North.
North continues to narrate and publish his telephone tapes, as well as answer questions about his tapes and the "old network" more generally. He also recorded the audiobook version of Phil Lapsley's book Exploding The Phone.
References
- ↑ Doorbell, Evan. "How Evan Doorbell became a Phone Phreak, part 5, 28:00".
- ↑ Doorbell, Evan. "How Evan Doorbell became a Phone Phreak, part 4, 17:30".
- ↑ Doorbell, Evan. "How Evan Doorbell became a Phone Phreak, part 1".
- ↑ "Evan Doorbell's Phone Tapes".
- ↑ Doorbell, Evan. "How Evan Doorbell became a Phone Phreak, part 10, 1:45".
- ↑ "Twitter".