Mellotronists

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rick Blechta" <rick@...>
To: "Mellotronist's List List" <Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Saturday, April 23, 2005 1:03 PM
Subject: Re: [Mellotronists] Keyboard Players


> On Apr 23, 2005, at 4:34 AM, Andy Thompson wrote:
>
> > Martin Orford is actually quite a nice guy
>
> I'm sure he is. Maybe I should have said that professionally he is an
> arse.
>
> My email was disputing the fact that, like most keyboard players, he
> displays a total disregard for maintenance of his instruments. Notice
> that in his own words, it was the mellotron at fault, not him. Yes, at
> the time it was almost impossible to get competent maintenance, but
> keeping a mellotron running happily is not rocket science, either. I
> did it (as did others, I'm sure) with no help from any competent
> technicians. The only thing I ever worried about was the motor control,
> but I eventually figured out how it worked (and I had one of the
> original CMC10s!).

I'm impressed! I never got my head round even basic maintenance until after
Martin & John resurrected my machine.

> Andy, I'll gladly take your word for it that Martin Orford is a nice
> guy, but that doesn't change my feelings about his attitude towards his
> instruments. I was aiming my email at the attitude that mellotrons are
> shite because when they're abused they don't play well. Duh! I wonder
> how a case of guitars would respond to being bounced down a stairs by a
> roadie? I also would have bounced the roadie down the stairs with a big
> boot mark on his arse!

You're absolutely right, of course. I wasn't actually being pissy about your
comments - I only know Orford vaguely, although we've had a few
conversations (both in the flesh and over e-mail) over the years.

You should've heard the fuss some members of my band (well, one in
particular) made when I announced my intention to take #1145 on tour in
January. "You'll have to bring it to AT LEAST two rehearsals". Because?
Because I don't know how to play it? Because I won't be able to cope with an
extra instrument (in fact, two) on stage? "There won't be room in the van".
There was. "They're unreliable". It wasn't. In fact, I can honestly say that
those few gigs supporting Julian Cope were the most fun I've had in this
band yet, and only partly due to FINALLY playing the Great White Beast on
stage. And no-one bumped it down any stairs.  :-)

Andy T.

p.s. Oh, and the two extra instruments actually made my life easier, as
fewer patch changes were needed. And they made my 'Tron/analogue poly
samples sound like the pieces of shit they are.  :-)   I've got a C3
(unsplit!)/122 combination lined up from a friend who's selling them. Next
time I'll insist they go too.