The First International MelloFest 2008 proved to be the unique experience it had promised! After all, how often do you find two Mellotron 400s nestling onstage plus such an august gathering of keyboard players (amongst other musicians!)? The event featured discussions and live Mellotron-inspired music from very special guests plus the official launch of Nick Awde's new book "Mellotron: The Machine and the Musicians that Revolutionised Rock".
Scroll down for a report of the night. Click HERE for PIX and INTERVIEWS of the night..
Talking about their
music and in some cases also playing it were (click on names for INTERVIEWS):
David Cross (King Crimson)
Nick Magnus (Steve Hackett Band)
Martin Orford (IQ)
Jakko Jakszyk (21st Century Schizoid Band/Tangent)
Dave Cousins (Strawbs) & Robert Kirby (Strawbs)
Robert Webb (England)
Tony Clarke (Moody Blues)
And a huge thanx to Andy Thompson, Lisa Royal, Gary Knight, Knox, Fiona, Gaulthier Gareau and Fred for making it happen on the night!
The event was held
on SUNDAY NOVEMBER 16th 2008, 18.00 till late, at THE FIDDLER'S ELBOW, Kentish
Town, London.
Round-Up of the First International MelloFest! November 16, The Fiddler's Elbow, Kentish Town, London, UK
The First International MelloFest went wonderfully on a wet and windy November evening. The free event featured a mix of live music, book launch and retro analogue keyboard fest where special guests variously chatted, played songs and demonstrated the brace of M400s standing proudly onstage throughout. It turned out to be a magical musical celebration where the discovery of the night was the Mellotron as the perfect accompaniment for 'unplugged' performances.
Nick Awde - author of the volume at the heart of the launch, 'Mellotron: The Machine And The Musicians That Revolutionised Rock' - introduced and interviewed the evening's guests, all of whom are interviewees in the book and each revolutionary in their contribution to popular music.
Kicking off was violinist David Cross who recalled meeting up with guitarist Robert Fripp and how they set about forming the classic 1972-74 line-up of King Crimson. There were many wry smiles of recognition in the audience as David described the band trying to tune up one violin and two Mellotrons onstage before each show and the wonder that Crimson dared to improvise nightly in the face of such unpredictability.
Next up was keyboardist Nick Magnus who shared his amusement (with hindsight) at the slippery effect of condensation and sliding voltages on Mellotron tapes as well as the strange experience of embarking on a career in progressive rock just as punk was exploding all around him. Luckily, neither prevented him from a long and fruitful partnership with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Nick went on to provide intriguing insights the workings of the music business, particularly the break-down of the relationship between musicians and record companies in the 1980s and the subsequent problems inherited by today's bands over the cost of performing and touring live.
Longtime IQ stalwart and keyboardist Martin Orford also mused on the trials and tribulations of being a fish out of water during the 1980s when neo-prog rockers IQ had to play faster and ever more furious to keep the post-punks and New Wave of British Heavy Metal, amongst others, at bay. He then sang an excerpt from the band's classic track 'The Last Human Gateway' off the album 'Tales From The Lush Attic' in an electrifying rendition where he accompanied himself on the Fender Rhodes piano especially brought in for those long-suffering Mellophobes unwilling to revisit the vagaries of an analogue Mellotron.
Strawbs singer/guitarist Dave Cousins and arranger Robert Kirby teamed up for the night's double act, swapping stories about the weighty double-manual Mellotron that their (understandably) grumbling roadies had to lug halfway round America tour after tour, and how Kirby's arranging skills took him from working with Nick Drake to the Strawbs, where the band later asked him to join as keyboardist after John Hawken's departure. They then launched into powerful performances of Strawbs classics 'New World' and 'Grace Darling' (they couldn't do more, including 'Hero and Heroine', because, thanks to the vagaries of British Rail, Dave had taken three hours to get to Kentish Town by train and had to leave early after learning that a truck had hit a bridge near Dover and so, to add to the ignominy, he was going to endure a lengthy bus replacement service home). Aside from the audience being bowled over by Dave's vocal delivery, the mini set was notable for Robert's rapid switch between Mellotrons in between songs- pretty impressive for someone who probably hadn't touched one for almost thirty years.
Guitarist extraordinaire Jakko Jakszyk had intended to play but after hurried negotiations in the corner with saxophonist Mel Collins and keyboardist Lyndon Connah, it was concluded that their planned version of King Crimson's epic 'Islands' wouldn't work as the stripped-down version they envisaged. Particularly since this an achingly beautiful classic that has been somewhat overlooked, we hope they'll get the chance to do the song at the next MelloFest. By way of ample compensation, Jakko regaled us with tales of his first encounter with a Mellotron and his quest to multi-tape his own voice on one, plus reminiscences on life on the road with Level 42 and working with Ian McDonald and Mel in the 21st Century Schizoid Band.
Keyboardist Robert Webb enjoys the distinction of being perhaps the only person in the world who has sawn a Tron in half, and he was happy to share his feelings at committing such an act of sacrilege, as well as telling how he came to form England and why he moved from guitar to keyboards (he even studied harpsichord in his post-England years). He ended with a classic England track 'Poisoned Youth' off the album 'Garden Shed', playing Mellotron and Minimoog.
Rounding off the night was legendary Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke who stole the show (and a hard job to do) with a chatty description of life, the universe and everything in the music business. The man known as the 'Sixth Moody Blue' told us about life as a young rock'n'roll bassist playing the same circuit as the Beatles, the landmark Decca recording sessions for the Moodies' 'Nights in White Satin', and the pure joy of recording sound effects for the movie 'Supergirl'. Still clearly bearing an immense love for music, he brought the First MelloFest to an inspirational close. The two Mellotron M400s arrived courtesy of Andy Thompson of Planet Mellotron and Gary Knight. Andy also supplied the Minimoog and Fender Rhodes, all overseen by our attentive sound engineer Gaulthier Gareau. And a big thanks to Dan of Elbow Promotions for his belief in musicians and helping make it all happen.
The night was a taster for greater things to come - the next MelloFest will take place in early 2009 and, while it will have a more formal programme of music featuring or inspired by the Mellotron, there'll be room for MelloChat and a session to view the Workings of the Beast and to talk to the people who own, maintain and play them. For details, email mellotron@deserthearts or call Nick on 07961 154590.
Pix and transcriptions coming soon at www.mellofest.com!
Mellotron progressive rock prog rock British invasion Tony Banks (Genesis), Mike Pinder (Moody Blues), Ian McDonald (King Crimson, Foreigner), Woolly Wolstenholme (Barclay James Harvest), Greg Lake (King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer), John Wetton (King Crimson, UK, Asia), Nick Magnus (Autumn, Steve Hackett Band), Martin Orford (IQ, Jadis), Roine Stolt (Flower Kings, Transatlantic, Tangent), Jakko Jakszyk (Level 42, 21st Century Schizoid Band, Tangent), John Hawken (Renaissance, Strawbs), Doug Rayburn (Pavlov's Dog), Tony Clarke (Moody Blues), David Cross (King Crimson), Dave Cousins (Strawbs), Blue Weaver (Strawbs, Bee Gees), Robert Kirby (Strawbs), Robert Webb (England), Dave Gregory (XTC), Andy McCluskey (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark). Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) provides a drummer's view of working with four classic Mellotron bands, and there are perspectives from Geoff Unwin, the first Mellotronics demonstrator, John Bradley & Martin Smith of Streetly Electronics, the original makers of the Mellotron, and Planet Mellotron's Andy Thompson Nick Awde