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