Mellotronists

At 08:50 AM 5/13/2005, JMoore6397@... wrote:
>Ken Leonard and I saw Medeski, Martin and Wood last night. I strongly urge 
>everyone to go to their show. He has taken the Mellotron to the next level 
>and he has a technique where he scratches the Mellotron by using one hand 
>to slow the flywheel.

Yeah, he slows it, lets the tapes play while the motor is getting back up 
to speed, flutters it, stops it, leans on keys with his elbow while 
grabbing the flywheel while playing another keyboard---you get the idea.

His roadies carry extra fuses...:-)

>He has just gotten the Bass Clarinet sound and used it quite effectively.

The low notes break wind when the flywheel is slowed.  I think Medeski 
liked that.

>He is a fan of all the old classic keys such as a clavinet. wurlitzer, 
>Hammond A 100 Leslie, Moog voyager and a grand Piano.

Is the Voyager an old classic already?  :-)

Medeski's playing style is somewhat physical, and I could NOT picture him 
doing this with a couple of digital synths.  It seems right for his style 
that he has the meaty A-100, a Clav he can lift the lid on and twiddle with 
the insides, and a chunky Wurly.  Plus grabbing the flywheel, of course.

>What a show! The bass player was using a stand up bass with the new 
>Fishman P/U and the FOH mixer had a fantastic low end sound which was 
>shaking the entire building. If you can see them do yourself a favor and go!

That upright bass certainly did rock the building, and it made a quick MD 
recording I did during sound check useless (that I was using the default 
mic settings didn't help :-(  ).

MM&W do have great communication while up there on stage.  Most of the 
first part of the concert consisted of jazz improvs, ranging from a little 
out there to more familiar progressions.  As things went on they got into 
more conventional things (I-IV-V blues pattern, etc).  Medeski flies around 
from instrument to instrument, picking a central keyboard or two for the 
song and occasionally using one of the others.

Jimmy and I were the Mellotron techs, and we got the machine running 
nicely, with some brand new Streetly tapes and newly azimuthed 
heads.  John's playing style, though, does put a bit of stress on the 
machine, but--considering that--it's still holding up well.  We give the 
motor another year, though.  :-)

I will have a few pictures and a short trip report soon.

...kl...

** Ken Leonard - Web Table of Contents:  http://www.kleonard.com
 >> Now available:  "Improvised Waves: Mellotron/synth improvisations"
** Get Outdoors New England:  http://www.GONewEngland.org