Rick Wakeman speaks with Michelle Moog-Koussa...

[GRollins]

For those who, like me, find Rick Wakeman interesting, he's talking about Bob Moog and the Mini:

 

 

Grey

[David Emm]

Rick: "He's taught St. Peter to play the MiniMoog, unless Keith's nicked them all."

Michelle: "So he can play above the harpists!"

 

Lovely. My first synth was a Mini and like many other newbies, I was ticked that it didn't play chords. O what an arsehole I was, but I sure learned great, lasting lessons from it. There's a reason for the Moog imprints on anything that isn't a home-made Furby organ.

 

I've posted this before, but if you haven't read them, Rick's books "Grumpy Old Rock Star and Other Wondrous Stories" & "Further Adventures of A Grumpy Old Rock Star" are honest, fun bits of history. Ex: He was late to play as the honored guest at an open-air university show and had spent a bit of time at a local pub, so he heralded his arrival by turning slide-ways and "parking" his car on top of the chancellor's prize rose bed. Oh bugger!

 

[GRollins]

I found the Moog's non-chord-ability disconcerting the first time I played one. Still do sometimes, to be honest. On the other hand, the enforced austerity of a single-note synth makes me approach a riff differently...and sometimes that's a good thing.

 

Rick is one hell of a raconteur. I've watched videos on YouTube of him relating various stories that had me laughing out loud--something that doesn't happen often. Only George Carlin and Robin Williams have had the ability to hit me consistently that way...and both of them are gone. Man, I'm glad Rick's still with us.

 

And as an added bonus, we get music, too.

 

Grey