Mellotronists

Chris Dale wrote:

> All great suggestions guys/girl, but perhaps the scope of the book should be
> slightly wider if possible.
>
> Will the book include any observations/experiences of Chamberlin playing
> (maybe Birotron as well - time to ask Wakeman/Earthstar)?
>
> Otherwise the book will still be lacking a LOT of information and leaving
> readers with many questions.
>
> If you only had one chance at this and you wanted to do it beyond reproach
> for all time - what/who/why would you ask???
>
> I guess what I'm getting at is there's a whole plethora of musicians/people
> (albeit not as well known) who would have been familiar with using these
> instruments from the early 50's on up. Lawrence Welk was one of the first
> people interested in the Chamberlin and even offered to fund it if it was
> called a "Welk Machine" (His interest in Harry's wife being a moot point).
>
> That's an example of the kind of arcane info that would be worth reading
> about, along with what we do and still don't know about Mellotrons. I think
> this would make it a more worthwhile venture.
>
> Another fact is that at least over here in Canada/U.S  the
> Mellotron/Chamberlin have been confused together to the point where one is
> consistently mistaken for the other by musicians/liner note writers etc.
> This was true in the golden days and it's still true now.  This is something
> we tend to ignore because we're fairly well versed in the differences
> between the two machines. Unfortunately, many others are not and the laymen
> don't care to be.
>
> So.....can it be a 50/50 amount about the history of the machines
> themselves/music celebrity observations or is that going overboard?
>
> Chris

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Greetings Again Everyone,

Chris made a great point above about including many details
previously unwritten.     Unfortunately, in today's world of
instant marketing/sales, I'm afraid that such a definitive undertaking
would never reap huge profits.......or even return on investment (R.O.I.).

....As an example, I have befriended people who researched
history of Edison/electric light and  early towpath canals of the USA.
These individuals spent decades creating  books on their specialties.
But ultimately, anything shy of  mass marketing   never brought
a customer sales base to fruition.   These books are still out-there,
their  sales numbers are lackluster at best.  And now are being sold
used on eBay and elsewhere...... They're incredible sources of
information....but only to those who WANT to learn of  topics within.

A new Mellotron book sounds wonderful in principle, gang.
But would it appeal to the masses or just to a special-interest group
such as ourselves??   What factors these days creates a "best-seller?"

Rick, your experience with bookwriting and sales  is invited.....

-- JK --

In a message dated 9/23/2004 3:01:36 AM Pacific Standard Time,  
jkorb@... writes:

Chris made a great point above about including many details previously  
unwritten.     Unfortunately, in today's world of instant  marketing/sales, I'm 
afraid that such a definitive undertaking would never  reap huge profits.......or 
even return on investment (R.O.I.).... A new  Mellotron book sounds wonderful 
in principle, gang. But would it appeal to the  masses or just to a 
special-interest group such as ourselves??    What factors these days creates a 
"best-seller?" Rick, your experience with  bookwriting and sales  is invited..... 
Hi, gang.
 
I would certainly welcome a new book with a different perspective,  but Jerry 
does also raise a good point, which was part of the limitation of the  
original book.  A lot of technical details were omitted on the advice of my  agent, 
publisher, Streetly, etc., as detracting from its appeal.  Even  then, it was 
viewed as a niche book, with limited overall appeal.  The text  itself had 
been revised to make it more "consumer-friendly" as it neared  publication, but I 
was told it was "too late to make any changes" by the  publisher.  And I was 
disappointed that the pics were not in color, as  submitted.
 
As far as interviews, a good number of those artists listed were  included in 
the original book; some others listed were contacted but either  refused or 
did not respond (i.e., Fripp, Weaver).  The Italian artists and  other more 
obscure proggers would be a great addition, but would that just  appeal to our 
select group of troniacs.  I did interview Tony Clarke during  my visit to 
England last summer, which was to be included in a revised version  of "The 
Mellotron Book", which has been on hold due, perhaps never to  surface, to the 
non-response of contemporary artists that were contacted  but never responded (i.e., 
Wallflowers, Tim Christiansen, Tory Amos, Nelly  Furtado, to name a few).  
Also, during my two weeks in England, I was in  contact every other day with 
McCartney's publicist, Geoff Baker, to try and  secure an interview, but was told 
Paul was recording at his Sussex studio at  that time.  Yes, definitely more 
Chamberlin, Birotron (although Rick  was rather mum on the subject), and 
Orchestron, (even Optigan) stuff would be  welcome that is more comprehensive than 
the rather passing references in the  original book (which was intentional).  
Derek Varnals and even George  Martin interviews would be nice too.

 
It's a hard road writing any sort of book, especially a non-fiction  work 
that requires reliance on others as source/corroborative material.   The 
Mellotron Book was a labor of love, a decent first effort, I  think, in a world where 
there were NO other Mellotron books at all and  the only real mention was the 
2-page blurb in Vail's book.  I  might also mention that permission was 
secured to use all material, even  verbatim, from every source used, including pics 
(Streetly's underhanded sniping  notwithstanding), including John Bradley 
contributing details via phone after  reading the original draft of the text.  
Bill Eberline and Jim McNeely  were particuloarly helpful in providing 
information regarding the Sounds  Sales/Kean gap, for which there were no other known 
source(s) at the  time.
 
I'll be first in line for a new book if/when it comes  out.
 
Frank Samagaio
San Diego CA
MkII #134 / M400 #908
author, The Mellotron  Book

Dear All,

Thanks so much for all the input over the last few days and for some neat 
suggestions.  It's good to get a strong response and we'll be putting forward 
your ideas to the chap writing the book and see how it gels with his thoughts.  
We'll definitely keep you posted.

We'd also like to thank Frank in San Diego who found time between bible 
studies to privately send us this snippett: <<Otherwise, fuck you!>>  

May your god go with you Frank.

Best,

Martin and John 
Streetly Electronics - all things MELLOTRONIC - click this link..........

US East Coast Agent: Jimmy Moore - JMoore6397@...

West Coast Service Agent:  Paul J Cox - pjc56@...

"Otherwise, fuck you!"

Hahaha, feel the love!!!!!!!

> We'd also like to thank Frank in San Diego who found time between
> bible studies to privately send us this snippett: <<Otherwise, fuck
> you!>>

Bless him. I wonder where he cut and paste that one from?

Mike Dickson (tron@...) M400 #996
The Official Cynic of Streetly Electronics
Streetly Sample Library http://www.blackcat.demon.co.uk/tron/