Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: The Mellotron Group

I was browsing some of the Tron pages on Facebook last night and was surprised to see a 30 second video snippet of me playing when I took the Tron to my son's school for a demo. I thought it was odd, because I didn't know how it got on FB. Long story short, I contactd the poster, who turned out to be the previous owner, and asked for a little history on the instument. Below is what I received less a couple of edits for privacy:

"Hi John! That little piece of video was sent to Dave, looks like someone took it with their cell phone, doesn't it? I'm not sure who took it. We miss #911 very much already, Dave got her around 1974 in the New Haven, CT area. When I met him in 1975, she was still pretty new, and he had a big Hammond B-3 and another synthesizer on stage with the Tron. Those were the good old days when musicians worked 6 nights a week in all the clubs, she got played every night, and everyone remarked on how special she was. Poor thing, the last few years since we moved to NC from South Florida, he had no place to play her. Band is only part time here and gigs are few and far between, lots of country music and that doesn't call much for a Tron. Dave pretty much plays rock and R&B, he toured with Wayne Cochran and the CC Riders for a few years with her, she backed up a lot of famous people including Doc Severinson, Engelbert Humperdink, Steppenwolf, and all the old disco and Motown performers who needed a backup band when their show came into Fort Lauderdale. She even made a few records in CT. When Dave sold her to Frank, he had a lot of misgivings but she deserved to be played and appreciated, and Frank was the man to make that happen. He is AMAZING. We had the best time with him and his wife when they drove from VA to pick up the Tron.

Now, we would love to know about you, and where this video was taken, what kind of music you like and where you will be playing this awesome instrument! We know you will take excellent care of her because Frank assured us he would only sell her to someone who would provide T.L.C., and you certainly look appreciative!

Feel free to call Dave, he would be tickled pink, we are at and his email is . No kidding, he would LOVE to talk to you.

Thank you so much for contacting us, and I'll have you know that Joey Melotti (who is a big producer in Las Vegas and is musical director and keyboard player for Barry Manilow, Michael Bolton, and many other big names) is a good friend from our hometown in CT, saw the video of #911 on Facebook and remarked on it. He always loved that keyboard, even when they played in competing bands in the New Haven area back in the early - mid 70's. See, she has a distinguished fan club!

Hope to hear from you,

Linda & Dave
Maiden, NC"