Met Rick Wakeman tonight...

[Squids]

Well, he endorses Tritons and they have been some of the hottest selling keyboards of all time. But, he's cool to endorse things he likes. How about the Axxel Resynthesizer? Gleeman! Or... the PRISM! Anyone remember these ads in old Keyboard mags? I LOVE LOVE LOVE the old Keyboard mag ads. "Every sound in your imagination".

[donkey tugger]

Aye, I don't even like Yes, but Rick Wakeman always comes across on TV (on Countdown, quiz show for the elderly and unemployed...errr ) as a funny and nice chap.

Dave Spiers from Gmedia used to do work for him quite a lot and backs this up. He told me about some of the practical jokes they used to play on Wakeman......errrr, something about urine and slippers...

[Kriminal]

Rick Wakeman always comes across on TV (on Countdown) as...

...desperate for work

[eddiemacarthur]

I think Jean Michel Jarre ended up being the only paying customer for the Axcel. I wonder if he had his own support forum:
Q. Hi, I'm Jean Michel Jarre, and i just bought this really expensive box. does anyone have sounds for it?

Reply: Hi Jean Michel, this is your wife, Charlotte Rampling. you are one sad git! just put it in the cupboard with the Fairlights....

p.s. I have a really good book from the 80s called "Keyfax" by Julian Colbeck. worth searching for on Ebay if you like old synths (there are reviews of the Prism etc.).
Ed

[clueless]

I had a major Yes problem in my early/mid teens - but I think pubescent boys are susceptible to the "charms" of prog (in much the same way as sci-fi, fantasy art, etc). That said, there's some great stuff on Fragile, Yessongs, Close to the Edge (especially - f**king monstrous Moog!). And I quite like Going for the One, although IMHO Awakening is the ugliest track on it, and the title track's a blast! Which I guess is contrary to conventional wisdom...

They did do an awful lot of pretentious, bloated, bollocksy twaddle though

On the subject of Nice Famous People, I met the late Sterling Morrison (he was alive at the time though) and Moe Tucker - they both seemed really affable, and extremely patient with young music obsessives. I met Ian McCulloch at one of our gigs. He was barely tolerant - too busy maintaining his pop mystique, methinks. Met Liam Gallager, again at one of our gigs. He seemed OK, for a tosser. Surprisingly short. And coked off his tits. And I met Alex Chilton at Benicassim in 2001, who was amenable but, er, tired, and Jarvis Cocker, who seemed more interested in my missus for some strange reason...

Can't think of anyone else. But they're only people!

[AndreasE]

We went back stage and I finally got to meet Rick Wakeman in person. What a really nice guy.
...
They even did a side of Topographic Oceans! (A Squid's favorite, naturally )

One of mine, too. And I also like most of their albums from the time between 1970-78, many great pieces on them.

You´re really a lucky man, Squids, having met Rick Wakeman. Did he also use a real Mellotron or "only" sampled sounds?

I´ll see YES in June in Munich for the 4th time but for the first time with Rick - I´m really looking forward to this event.

[peppy197]

Back when Columbia was not SONY I met Walter (the president of Columbia at the time) and since the girlfriend said he was a manager at Olympia Records (???? she is from Mexico city you see and her English was, well, bad), I listened to him "rant" for 10 minutes then gave him a short word of encouragement in the music industry, which is tough I told him. I felt sort of sorry for the guy, but after, aside, his cousin came and talked to me and put me straight. Shit I blew it again. He was nice, his wife is nice too.

Similar deal with Brian Adams, he has a nice Bentley btw, and is a sweet heart. I offered to trade my mountain bike for his Bentley but he said "no way". I told him he was missing out on a deal of his lifetime.

Was invited to meet Janis Joplin but got cold feet.


Allen

[clueless]

Then it occured to me that as I have met a lot of keyboardists over the years they all tend to be really nice and friendly. It made me sort of proud to be a keyboard player! I am serious. I've met some very unfriendly and rude musicians many times but I can't say it was ever a keyboardist! They are ALL really nice.

I'm a keyboard player, and a bloody nice bloke!

I was always flattered when people would come over and talk to me after a gig (maybe that's why keyboard players are "nice" - they're grateful for the attention usually reserved for singers and guitarists ). It was only the people who'd been mouthing the lyrics (glassy-eyed) throughout the set I used to steer clear of

[Squids]

Then it occured to me that as I have met a lot of keyboardists over the years they all tend to be really nice and friendly. It made me sort of proud to be a keyboard player! I am serious. I've met some very unfriendly and rude musicians many times but I can't say it was ever a keyboardist! They are ALL really nice.

I'm a keyboard player, and a bloody nice bloke!

I was always flattered when people would come over and talk to me after a gig (maybe that's why keyboard players are "nice" - they're grateful for the attention usually reserved for singers and guitarists ). It was only the people who'd been mouthing the lyrics (glassy-eyed) throughout the set I used to steer clear of

Right. Keyboardists get less attention and therefore their egos aren't ruined. That's one reason. The other is probably because keyboard players have just a little bit of geek in them that makes them not be "too cool" to talk to anyone. They're into technology as well and that gives them (us all here) a lot to talk about.

But, this is a massive generalization. More of an observation. For example, here is a short list of keyboard players I either know or have met once or twice that are all very friendly and nice people:

Roger Manning, Patrick Warren, Rami Jaffe, Herbie Hancock, Keith Emerson, Adrian Lee, Bill Champlain, Rick Wakeman, Geoff Downes, Patrick Moraz, Mark Hart and others I can't think of at the moment. All really nice people. In fact, I am going to do some interviews with many of them for www.soniksynth.com which will be coming soon. That site will be dedicated to all of the themes Sonik Synth 2 is about and one of them being vintage keyboards. So, since all of these guys I mentioned have used some classic keyboards I'll put together a bunch of questions. In fact, perhaps if you guys have any questions you want to ask we'll have a thread in advance of the interview to offer the opportunity. Kind of interesting for keyboardists? All kinds of content planned.

[relayer2001]

Met Rick for the first time after the Sydney show in 2003. Such a gracious, fun guy. Rick was my inspiration for moving from bass to synths. (Couldn't resist the siren call of the Moog.)

It was a very brief meeting...Hi, Hello, smile for the camera. Would have loved to have had a chat to him but he (and the rest of the band) was cornered by a drunken git who seemed to have followed (stalked) the band around the world. This dude didn't give anyone else a chance to get a word it.

As it happened, I saw the band again 4 days later in Singapore but alas no meeting. Hope YES tour Australia again in 2004/2005.

[Squids]

I got to hang out with him again at this Moogfest. In fact, Keyboard magazine took a picture of us together so let's see if that gets in the mag! That would be awesome (what a keyboard geek I am). Yeah, he's nice. He loves SampleTank by the way. I told him about Sonik Synth 2 and he wants to be one of the first to get it. I think it will sound more organic than a lot of the newer synths he uses. Although, the best thing would be if those guys just brought out the old Hammond, Mellotrons, RMI and Mini sticking to the sound we love to hear (at least when they play the old stuff). Although there are some interesting things Sonik Synth 2 can do with its Stretch engine ability to make a mellotron string have glissando! You should have seen his eyes when I told him that! It's nice to see he is still excited about keyboards and synths (especially software).

[cfurlin]

Anyway, we had a good night. I brought one of our young sample editors to the show who likes Yes. His nick name here is Zamplebot. That is because he barely says two words all day but cuts up samples like a madman (like a robot). So, Zamplebot was thrilled to see the show. I am surprised he even knew some of these songs as they went back in time quite far. They even did a side of Topographic Oceans! (A Squid's favorite, naturally )

Any Yes fans?

In the grand scheme of things, there are really only 5 albums worth listening to, and Tales is one of them.

I fell in love with the Yes sound around graduation (1972, which tells you how old I am!). 30+ years later, they still send shivers down my spine.

Actually, the 5 albums I'm referring to are my personal favorites -- stuff I keep coming back to over and over. They are (in order):

1. Brain Salad Surgery - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
2. Animals - Pink Floyd
3. Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin
4. Tales from Topographic Oceans - Yes
5. Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull

what more is there to say?

[opiadream]

the last 4 choices I like
but ELP...
they always put me off for some reason

cept for hoedown

[Squids]

Anyway, we had a good night. I brought one of our young sample editors to the show who likes Yes. His nick name here is Zamplebot. That is because he barely says two words all day but cuts up samples like a madman (like a robot). So, Zamplebot was thrilled to see the show. I am surprised he even knew some of these songs as they went back in time quite far. They even did a side of Topographic Oceans! (A Squid's favorite, naturally )

Any Yes fans?

In the grand scheme of things, there are really only 5 albums worth listening to, and Tales is one of them.

I fell in love with the Yes sound around graduation (1972, which tells you how old I am!). 30+ years later, they still send shivers down my spine.

Actually, the 5 albums I'm referring to are my personal favorites -- stuff I keep coming back to over and over. They are (in order):

1. Brain Salad Surgery - Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
2. Animals - Pink Floyd
3. Houses of the Holy - Led Zeppelin
4. Tales from Topographic Oceans - Yes
5. Thick as a Brick - Jethro Tull

what more is there to say?

Tull fan eh? I am working with Doane Perry at the moment. Any drum sounds you liked from Tull records? Want to have them for your very own? For that matter, we should make a thread of your favorite drum sounds on prog records (or any record really) while we're in the studio this Summer. Any requests?

[Har]

Patrick Warren,

Whoa Squids, do you know what's Patrick Warren been up to these days?? I absolutely loved his work with Michael Penn (damn tasty Chamberlain playing! )...I think I saw his name on the latest A Perfect Circle CD, but I'm curious what else he's been doing lately.