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Post by Timeblue on Apr 10, 2017 23:32:50 GMT
We all know about Jeff dispensing with Mik,Mel and Hughie after Discovery but why was Mik still used frequently for future shows and albums and Mel and Hughie weren't?
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Post by babyzoomer on Apr 18, 2017 4:28:35 GMT
IMHO Mik (and his famous blue violin) were kept on a bit so that 'lip service' could be payed to the "string orchestra" part of ELO's historic fanbase - especially when performing live, when I presume heavy use of backing tapes & synthed strings could be covered up (hey that's showbiz!) with Mik and his amazing trousers performing....
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Post by Timeblue on Apr 18, 2017 17:02:00 GMT
Not another one who daydreams about Miks trousers... lol
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Post by bluey on Aug 18, 2017 17:49:41 GMT
Jeff Lynne kept Mik Kaminski in ELO because Mik is also an excellent keyboard player as well as a violinist.
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Post by Timeblue on Aug 18, 2017 18:52:27 GMT
Mel is a quite competant keyboard player...
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Post by galesgal on Aug 18, 2017 20:00:04 GMT
Mel is a quite competant keyboard player... He passed grade 8 piano at age 14, and graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in his early twenties, according to interviews with him I have seen.
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Post by ShardEnder on Aug 18, 2017 20:05:52 GMT
Mel is a quite competant keyboard player... Speaking of Mel's abilities beyond his normal duties, I was surprised to learn that he played the piano solo on the studio version of Wild West Hero. As for why Jeff retained Mik yet dismissed the two cellists after the Discovery music videos had been completed, it seems he always planned to have Louis Clark reproduce their parts on a string synthesiser for the Time Tour, but the distinctive (blue) violin leads weren't as easy to emulate. I'm sure tapes or even sequencers could have been used by this point, but Jeff clearly wanted to avoid a repeat of the miming scandal that broke following ELO's live shows in '78, hence the decision to begin preliminary rehearsals with three background singers, or at least that was until Dave Morgan called to see if there was any way he could help, going on to augment the vocal blend with his vocoder. In addition to Lou and Dave both having their own keyboards, Mik also had a Polymoog - later a Roland SH-101 - that he'd occasionally jump behind to pad out the "strings." Oh, and it probably counted for something that he's supposedly able to drink like a fish without losing his ability to scrape away with the best virtuoso violinists!
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Post by galesgal on Aug 18, 2017 20:19:34 GMT
Mel is a quite competant keyboard player... Speaking of Mel's abilities beyond his normal duties, I was surprised to learn that he played the piano solo on the studio version of Wild West Hero. As for why Jeff retained Mik yet dismissed the two cellists after the Discovery music videos had been completed, it seems he always planned to have Louis Clark reproduce their parts on a string synthesiser for the Time Tour, but the distinctive (blue) violin leads weren't as easy to emulate. I'm sure tapes or even sequencers could have been used by this point, but Jeff clearly wanted to avoid a repeat of the miming scandal that broke following ELO's live shows in '78, hence the decision to begin preliminary rehearsals with three background singers, or at least that was until Dave Morgan called to see if there was any way he could help, going on to augment the vocal blend with his vocoder. In addition to Lou and Dave both having their own keyboards, Mik also had a Polymoog - later a Roland SH-101 - that he'd occasionally jump behind to pad out the "strings." Oh, and it probably counted for something that he's supposedly able to drink like a fish without losing his ability to scrape away with the best virtuoso violinists! I got the impression that Mel felt quite bitter about the way he was dismissed, and he quite quickly became disillusioned with the music business, and gave up performing altogether, such a shame.
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Post by jackpunch on Sept 22, 2017 6:13:04 GMT
Mel is a quite competant keyboard player... Speaking of Mel's abilities beyond his normal duties, I was surprised to learn that he played the piano solo on the studio version of Wild West Hero. As for why Jeff retained Mik yet dismissed the two cellists after the Discovery music videos had been completed, it seems he always planned to have Louis Clark reproduce their parts on a string synthesiser for the Time Tour, but the distinctive (blue) violin leads weren't as easy to emulate. I'm sure tapes or even sequencers could have been used by this point, but Jeff clearly wanted to avoid a repeat of the miming scandal that broke following ELO's live shows in '78, hence the decision to begin preliminary rehearsals with three background singers, or at least that was until Dave Morgan called to see if there was any way he could help, going on to augment the vocal blend with his vocoder. In addition to Lou and Dave both having their own keyboards, Mik also had a Polymoog - later a Roland SH-101 - that he'd occasionally jump behind to pad out the "strings." Oh, and it probably counted for something that he's supposedly able to drink like a fish without losing his ability to scrape away with the best virtuoso violinists! He wouldn't pad out much with a sh101. It was monophonic as well as being shit.
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