Shamanzarek

When the Mellotron first became available it was marketed as a home keyboard that a novice could play due to the pre-recorded accompaniment patterns on the left-hand keys. The thing was expensive so it wasn't something the average person would buy to play at home. Mike Pinder of The Moody Blues replaced those left-hand patterns with additional instrument sounds. He was friends with John Lennon and told him he should check it out. All four Beatles bought Mellotrons.

The Mellotron name was derived as an abbreviation of Melody Electronics. Of course, the original design concept goes back to keyboards first built by Harry Chamberlin in the 1950s. The Chamberlin company was a small operation in Southern California with many of their customers being Hollywood recording studios. The company may have kept a low profile due to Musicians Union opposition to an instrument that was perceived as capable of replacing real orchestra musicians. Not knowing that the design was patented the company that became Mellotronics, Ltd. produced their first model in about 1963 based on Chamberlin instruments brought to England by a Chamberlin employee.

I don't mind the Roland lever for pitchbend but I don't like how they later combined it with modulation probably to reduce parts count. On earlier Roland synths there was a separate button for modulation. This still was not ideal as you had to preset the maximum modulation amount with a slider and then it would either immediately go to the preset amount or there was a delay function so that it eased into the preset amount over a preset time range. I prefer on-the-fly modulation amount control with the ability to leave in place which is better done with a non-sprung wheel. Korg joysticks can simultaneously control pitchbend and modulation amount but always spring back to center. Same with the Oberheim paddles. One thing I like about Roland is you could set an ultra-wide pitchbend range which was great for dramatic effects (i.e. the bend into the Jupiter 8 solo on Tears for Fears' Head Over Heels). Most Synths have a maximum of an octave bend range.

Of the modern polysynths the new Prophet 10 is tempting but lacks a few basic synth functions that I consider important so for more versatility and fatter/lusher sound I would go for the OB-X8. For a vintage polysynth that lacks almost nothing in synth function the Roland Jupiter 6 is my number one choice. With multi-mode filter and extended pitch-range oscillators it is capable of sounds that no other vintage polysynth can do as well. These days nobody would think of using an analog synth for piano sounds but the Jupiter 6 can do a pretty convincing grand piano. It can also do sparkly chime/bell/bowed string sounds that were the best until FM and Sampling came along. System 80 makes the Jove Eurorack filter which recreates the Jupiter 6 filter with some additional features.

I am currently working on this for one of my bands. After checking out some live versions it seems to me the most important thing is to have two guitars. If the band already had two guitars I would do the Clav part but we don't so I am going to play second guitar. The main riff is at times played in octaves and there are significant chordal guitar parts underpinning lines especially in the middle section. I know not every keyboard player doubles on guitar but this seems like the best way for me. I checked out some live versions by people who were on the original recording and they sometimes have two guitars as well as keys. Joe Walsh does a version with one guitar and it sounds like the keys doubling bass take the guitar melodic line while Joe plays chords in the middle section. The first one here has Don Felder with second guitar and keys while the second is Joe Walsh on guitar with horns and keys. The third is Joe with Ringo with all parts more than covered. The last video is Joe with second guitar trading lead occasionally.

I remember seeing the Raspberries on Don Kirshner in 1974. I was very impressed at the time by the orchestral sound the got using two ARP keyboards. They apparently replaced the Mellotrons with the ARP's by 1974. Starting at about 9:30:

I am always apprehensive about taking one-off gigs but usually accept them. I rarely ever write anything down but I had a one-off gig a few weeks ago where I had to learn three sets of classic rock and some country. I did make a few notes and spent three weeks going over the material. One thing about these gigs is you never know what songs are actually going to get played so I spend the most time on the more difficult songs and figure I can wing the country and blues stuff. So we get there around 5:00 but things don't go according to schedule and we actually start playing a little after 9. Then we have to be out of the room at 10 sharp. I spent all this time going over about thirty songs and ended up playing about eight of them. At least the pay was more than I expected in cash and included dinner.

I first took notice of Lee Michaels when I got his Carnival of Life album in 1968. Recorded in 1967 it was pretty heavy for the time with prominent Hendrix-inspired guitar and drums. There is a lot of fat sounding Hammond that I assumed was played by Lee. In a Keyboard magazine interview years later he said he mostly sang on that record and much of the organ was played by Gary Davis nephew of Richard "Groove" Holmes. Here is a blog that contains some interesting history about Michaels. https://upvhq.blogspot.com/2023/06/lee-michaels-carnival-of-life-1968-us.html Michaels often shared bills with the Steve Miller Band at many of the legendary San Francisco music venues as early as 1967. Lee guested on "Going to Mexico" from Miller's Number 5 album.

There is light classical and then there is impossibly demanding concert classical piano. I was watching Lang Lang on PBS last night and he falls into the impossible category while doing the European-style facial expressions.

Apparently the bass guitar was considered a guide track that was going to be replaced in the final recording. After several attempts at replacing the bass it was decided to keep the original guide track. The bass was not properly tuned but had a feel they liked. https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-tina-turner-whats-love-got-do-it

Where I grew up in the Northwest our local radio station didn't play My Generation. A musician I played with who was hipper than me told me about it but it was couple of more years more before I actually heard it. There was a Northwest band called The Bards who were a great live band that was signed to Capitol Records and worked with heavyweight producer Curt Boettcher did a cover. Not likely to impress anybody these days but it got some local airplay before The Who were known in America.

I stopped having to itemize everything when the Standard Deduction was doubled several years ago. As long as you're not in a high tax bracket for other income it shouldn't really be an issue.

Rare Bird put out many albums but only the first two from 1969 and 1970 are a showcase for the Pianet. The band went through personnel changes after this. Kaffinetti stayed but used more Clavinet and other keyboards. In 1976 I was at a rehearsal studio in Hollywood where a band called Fresh Start was rehearsing. One of the band members mentioned that the keyboard player from Rare Bird was coming down. Another band member says "Who's Rare Bird". I immediately got excited being a big fan. Soon David walked in with a Clavinet under his arm. He ran down several songs, wrote some notes, and promptly left. Not too long after I saw their album in a record store with David pictured. They had shortened their name to Fresh apparently not knowing there was a British band with that name from several years earlier. Standout songs on Rare Bird's first album are Beautiful Scarlet, Sympathy, Nature's Fruit, Bird on a Wing, and God of War. Best songs on As Your Mind Flies by are What You Want to Know, Hammerhead, and the side-long epic Flight.

I am a big Pianet fan having played one through most of the 70s. One of my favorite Prog bands Rare Bird had David (Viv Savage) Kaffinetti doing amazing things on the Planet which inspired me to get one. Unfortunately Pianet sounds are not found on most keyboards these days. Nord has one in the Sample section but not in the Piano section. Kurzweil seems to be the only choice. Pianets can be quite noisy so are probably difficult to replicate. The Beatles Anthology version was officially released in 1996. I was in a band in the 2000s that did the song and I used a Wurlitzer sound on a PC2 to cover the part.

If I had an OB-X8 it would have to be for something like an 80s band where it would get more than occasional use. In the old days I took out an OB-8 and Matrix 12 along with other expensive gear. These are both much bigger than the typical modern keyboard but I was doing five night a week gigs where I didn't have to move them often. At that time most players setups were all synths, samplers, or DX7. More recently I was with a band that did a lot of 80s so I took out the Jupiter 6 and Pro-One for a while. Then the band started doing less 80s so I went to just a Juno 60. Now my synth needs are minimal so I use sample-based keyboards for the occasional synth sound. For the last few years my most expensive keyboard has been a Nord Stage 3 Compact. So far I have never gigged with it but recently I have taken it to rehearsals with a new band. As I expected they are more impressed by this keyboard than they probably would be if brought my Casio. When I start gigging with them I will probably use the PX-5S and WK-3800 on stage. The Nord does very good Hammond and synth sounds but I prefer the Casio PX-5S for acoustic piano/EP. The WK-3800 while the tonewheel organ is not the best is capable of other organ sounds that no expensive modern keyboard I've found can do and the synth/sample sounds have very good editing options. I am constantly on the lookout for a newer more expensive keyboard that can do what this setup does but haven't found it yet. If I had to pick something new right now it might be the Korg Vox Continental or something by Kurzweil.

Al got a B3 when he was in Blood Sweat and Tears that was provided by record company advance money. He made an agreement with the other band members that if a band member quits or the band folds they get to walk with their gear. Of course the band kept the B3 when Kooper left.

George Harrison was the first Beatle to go vegetarian around 1965. All The Beatles were heavy smokers from about 12 years old and were often seen with cigarettes in 1960s photos. Paul quit around 1981 and Ringo in 1990. John was still smoking the day he was killed and had tried being vegetarian but didn't stay with it.. Harrison quit smoking at times but went back to it.

I don't know how I never knew about this before. The first few times I heard it I thought it was a 60s surf band I had never heard of. Then I looked it up and it is Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, and Ron Blair of The Heartbreakers along with Randall Marsh of Mudcrutch from a surf album they did in the late 90s.

A former bandmate who played on the same circuit with Billy when he was with The Hassles in the 60s told me that back then Billy sang with with a bleating vibrato that reminded him of a sheep. Maybe that was his true voice and he was able to change his singing style in later years.

The Cars "Just What I Needed"in addition to using chords from "I Want to Hold Your Hand" took the intro from "Yummy Yummy Yummy" by the Ohio Express.

I bought a new 200A around 1979. Seems to me I paid about $775. I suppose I was influenced by Supertramp who were big at the time. I also read a Keyboard Magazine interview with Al Greenwood of Foreigner who had good things to say about it and the ARP Omni which I bought at the same time. Here is that interview: http://www.4eigner.net/theband/197904coke-algreenwood.html . Loved the Wurlitzer until reeds started breaking and I got discouraged with it. Then in the 80s there wasn't so much need for it when everybody went to polysynths. Wish I had kept it now. These days I'm happy enough with the Wurlies in my Casio PX5S and I also have a Nord Stage 3 Compact.

At https://groups.io/g/combo-organ there has been a discussion going on prompted by an eBay sale for the prototype RMI Rocksichord used by Mandrake Memorial. I'm sure if Craig could supply them with any additional info it would be appreciated.

On Star Trek: TNG they were still using US Apex stands in the 24th century. Here is Marina Sirtis on drums and Jonathan Frakes checks out my Casio WK-3800 at Garden State Comic-Con in 2011. Marina's husband was in a band with one of my former bandmates in California at the time. That same day I got to play with Davy Jones which may have been his last public performance.

Gino Vannelli with brother Joe on keys were users of the PS-3300 and PS-3100 on their 1978 album Brother to Brother and live shows. You might catch a glimpse of a PS in this live show when they take the camera off of Gino. .

I consider Joe Jackson to be one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century. He has done so many styles including extended orchestral works.