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At Home with Benmont Tench


Dana.

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Through the miracle of modern technology, I was able to exchange a few tweets with Benmont (@benchten) yesterday about what keyboards he has at home. Read 'em and weep. :cry::D

 

Bosendorfer baby grand

two different model Wurlitzers

Mason & Hamlin grand

Yamaha U7 upright

Hammond A-100 with Leslie

 

He wasn't sure of some of the models. He also said he plays them all and doesn't believe in collector's items.

 

He's pretty active on Twitter, frequently engaging people and tweeting about music, books, and politics. :cool:

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Producers. Some are good, and know how to bring out the most in a band. Then there are the others, who think they need to RESTRUCTURE the band and arrangements because they just dont GET what is already there.

 

Jimmy Iovine, is one of those guys who falls into both camps. He brought the best out of Petty & The Heartbreakers, and ended up sowing the seeds for drummer Stan Lynchs departure. He didnt get Stans playing (admits that now), didnt appreciate what he did for the arrangements, and now says he was wrong. (Duh.) And in my opinion, the band is a little less than it was because of his absence. He added fire.

 

My experience with producers (and it is limited, but I did an album with a name guy who had some success) has shown me that if they have to insert their personality or sound into yours, they are the WRONG guy for the job. They should put out their OWN records. Or make headphones.

 

Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me.
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And yeah, the producer I worked with stated at the very beginning of our sessions that Dont take it personally, but I hate keyboards. Well, we dont use synthesizers in this band, its a very rootsy, traditional thing we do. Yeah, well, I dont like piano or organ either. They get in the way of the guitars.

 

I felt like telling him: Yeah, I can see what you mean. Sort of like your ass getting in the way of your head. How do you drive like that? That not only rubbed me the wrong way, but really greatly diminished my enthusiasm for the project. (And yeah, he got paid HANDSOMELY for 2 weeks work.)

 

Ass hat. He made us ½ a good record.

 

Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me.
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And in my opinion, the band is a little less than it was because of his absence. He added fire.

When I think of Stan, I don't think "fire," I think "attitude." His groove was usually a bit behind the beat. Distinctive? Yes. Integral to the band's sound? On everything up through Long After Dark, yes. Fiery? IMO, no.

 

Have you seen them with Ferrone? His tendency to play right on the beat gives a lot of the songs a different feel. There's a lot of power now. It's like having The Thing behind the kit. "Runnin' Down A Dream" is a freight train.

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Having seen Petty with Lynch 3 or 4 times, and with Ferrone at least that many, I can say that definitely, Stan brought the fire/attitude in spades live.

 

Ferrone is a great drummer, but everything feels reeeeeeeeeeeal relaxed. Not bad, just different. I just prefer Stan.

 

 

Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me.
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A real Hammond artist, yet Tom Petty's producer hates Hammond organs.

Which one? He's had many.

 

If memory serves, it's Jeff Lynne he's referring to.

"I played on one song. I didn't really get to play, it was just can you come in here and go 'ding ding ding ding ding' and the feel of the record was awkward for me to play to so I couldn't even go 'ding ding ding ding ding' very well. I think I was clean..."

 

- Benmont Tench, Runnin' Down a Dream

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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The problem with Jeff Lynne is that he makes the things he produces sound like Jeff Lynne. Which, of course, already sounds like someone sprayed Cheez Whiz on the Beatles' Revolver.
Which sorta made sense to do when George Harrison worked with him. That Beatle-esque sound is what I believe he wanted.

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Can we get back to giving Benmont props?
Oh, Ben gets all the props from me. Where does he get his hats?

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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I remember reading that Rick Rubin - specifically in the context of producing Wallflowers, expressed not liking Hammonds. There is, however,some very nice piano on that album - title track in particular.

I love Jeff Lynne as a producer - for ELO and only for ELO.

It just doesn't seem to work well on anything else- though I might concede the first Travelling Willburys album if pressed on it.

 

Moog The One, VV 64 EP, Wurlies 200A 140 7300, Forte 7, Mojo 61, OB-6, Prophet 6, Polaris, Hammond A100, Farfisa VIP, ,Young Chang 6', Voyager, E7 Clav, Midiboard, Linnstrument, Seaboard
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I think Mr. Lynne is terribly overrated... Even for ELO... but just my taste..

'55 and '59 B3's; Leslies 147, 122, 21H; MODX 7+; NUMA Piano X 88; Motif XS7; Mellotrons M300 and M400; Wurlitzer 200; Gibson G101; Vox Continental; Mojo 61; Launchkey 88 Mk III; Korg Module

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Being almost sure Linn has served an important role in making the sound of E.L.O. not just pretty marvelous, not just for the time, but also to contain interesting use of certain production values (effects/signal standards). But, hey, even the band themselves had artistic and maybe other differences of opinions up to and including legal issues..

 

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