Music can be a cruel mistress.

Getting done at 2 am in the morning. Loading the truck at five below zero in a blizzard after making 65 dollars. That was the last straw.
 
I've done that for a bandmate's collaboration with a local college group's video production, only we got zero dollars and drove home at 4 AM in a snowstorm. At least I got to put away a 12-pak during the process.
 
Getting done at 2 am in the morning. Loading the truck at five below zero in a blizzard after making 65 dollars. That was the last straw.
Ya know I'm banging on the door of 69 and fortunately was gifted with a strong back and a weak mind. Both are requirements for playing in an unsigned local band...you have to be crazy or REALLY love what you're doing....I suffer from both....Being a keyboard player hauling a 88 MODX and 76 Nord in their cases and all the cords n pedals and the stand to make them work is a lot of shit. I have a pickup truck and the strong back so no problem on the moving... Now as far as drums vs keys he's usually done packing up before I am and nothing he has weighs more than 20 pounds so drummers have hard...keys have it harder...in this keyboard players opinion... With regards to weather.....well I live in So Cal so it is NEVER even close to 32 degrees yet alone below zero...Good God man you're a trooper. Fortunately this country rock gig is like a gift from heaven for an old fart like me...It's only maybe 10 or so gigs a year...Never more than 2 one hour sets, almost every one is a "bigger" gig on a stage with sound and lighting...We only practice once a month..
AND (and I'm bragging here)...The least each member has been paid since I started playing with them...mind you there are 5 us not counting Mr. Payne is $200...WTF? DOES NOT SUCK! And it's So Cal ....... last Wednesday week at San Juan Capistrano Historic park over 2,000 peeps came on at 6 PM in a cool ocean breeze of @ 74 degrees...played two sets , packed up and was able to pick up tacos and be sitting with the wife watching TV by 10 PM.

Ok Ok so I'm a lucky mo fo ................EXCUSE ME!
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The only thing that really kept me going was playing all original music of my own for the last twenty years and working with the other two guys. The bass player was the best guitarist I ever stood next to. He played bass for me because he liked my tunes! Other than that, he smoked my ass on guitar. Here is a discography of his.
He always used an old Fender precision bass with about 7 frets up the neck and the rest was fretless! His son is the drummer for Coheed and Cambria and his other son is a killer guitar player also. You don't see his bass so well in the pic if you click on it but you can see where the frets end and the fretless begins. When Rick Danko wound up in jail for a bit he toured with the Band filling in.
 

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TAE,
You are a keyboard player. Have you ever heard this album? I find it some of the most innovative, creative use of synths I have heard and it was before midi and preprogrammed synths. Maybe not your cup of tea but the sounds he is getting out those synths never ceases to amaze me. I have listened to this album for over forty years and I can almost find something new to focus on. He had no classical training either although it sounds like it. The second tune, Roads to Rome, with the opening, you might as well be in the colloseum watching the slaves being thrown to the lions, all done on his synths.
 
Nope never heard of it till just now...but I am sure I'll dig it even before hearing it...
from the album credits I garner I'll enjoy being as they included the coffee makers...Don't know them but in 1975 synths were very limited Arp's and Moogs mostly both sounded incredible...and of course the mellotron mmmmmmmmm The Krumar stringman was the earliest of non tape strings..The Elka Rhapsody (On Crime of the century) was right there coming out about the same time... There is Hammond and Piano going on not mentioned ...4 keyboardist involved in the production of this album and there was a sequencer used on A3 very early use of such a thing...

Thanks for the pass on I'll give it a good listen... been a long time since I sat and "listened" to a whole album in one sitting.


Artwork [Colour Retouching] – T & S
Bongos – Tony Elliott (tracks: A5)
Design [Sleeve] – Gull Graphics, John Pasche
Drums, Percussion [Multi-percussion], Vocals – Kieran O'Connor
Electric Bass, Double Bass – Steve Cook (2) (tracks: B1, B3)
Organ, Keyboards [Crumar Stringman] – Brian Gould (tracks: A5, B5)
Organ, Synthesizer [Melatron, Arp] – Hugh Banton (tracks: A3)
Other [Coffee Makers] – Bill, Cathy, Leslie, Pete

Other [Fugal Inspiration] – Hugh Banton (tracks: B5)
Other [Road Crew] – Des, Ji, Nik
Percussion [Multi-percussion], Other [Kind Energy] – Tony Utah* (tracks: B4)
Photography By [Back] – Mick Rock
Photography By [Cover] – Phil Jude
Producer, Engineer [Console Control] – Neil Richmond
Sequenced By – Chris Amson (tracks: A3)
Synthesizer [Arp, Rmi], Keyboards [Crumar Piano] – Pete Lemer* (tracks: A3, A5, B1, B3, B5)
Technician [Amps & Volts] – Mike*
Technician [Facilities], Other [Cigar Smoke] – Vic*
Technician [Tape Operator] – Tony*
Vocals – Pepi Lemer (tracks: A3), Rob Elliott (tracks: A1, A2, A4, A5, B2, B4), Tony Elliott (tracks: A3, B5)
Vocals, Keyboards [Multi-keyboards], Synthesizer, Other [Pedals], Percussion – Ken Elliott
Written-By – Elliott*, Richmond* (tracks: B3)
The A side vinyl label on this Gull UK version has 'Elliott' credited for all tracks on the A side. There exists another Gull UK version with slightly different A side label with 'K. & R. Elliott' credited for track A4.

Catalog# on sleeve: GULP 1010
Catalog# on labels: GULP.1010
 
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I used to own a record store back in the mid seventies in Woodstock N.Y. so I came across a lot of obscure stuff including my wife lol.

 
Funnily enough, I have been familiar with both Seventh Wave album covers for about 43 years. "Things to come" makes me feel dizzy if I look at it too long !
Back in 1979, according to the journalist John Tobler, Neil Peart nearly joined the band when he was in England in the very early 70s, but he injured his hand and that hastened his return to Canada.....and fame.
 
Funnily enough, I have been familiar with both Seventh Wave album covers for about 43 years. "Things to come" makes me feel dizzy if I look at it too long !
Back in 1979, according to the journalist John Tobler, Neil Peart nearly joined the band when he was in England in the very early 70s, but he injured his hand and that hastened his return to Canada.....and fame.
I've been a Rush fan for a long time, and haven't heard of this before. According to this brief bio, they credited him as a member of Seventh Wave but make no mention of a broken hand leading him to flee back to Canada (rather, London being an unsuccessful career propelling move). I suspect that detail is either lost to time or fabrication. https://prabook.com/web/neil.peart/3743935
 
ForTAE. We had a keyboard player come in and lay down some tracks. For this particular tune we wrote out a chord chart, went through it once then recorded his track. When finished he said, if you want we can do it again and I can do better. We said lets listen to it first. We didn't do it again. I had a solo recorded at the end of the tune, we said screw that and let the keys do the work. Personally I thought it was quite the achievement.
 
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Funnily enough, I have been familiar with both Seventh Wave album covers for about 43 years. "Things to come" makes me feel dizzy if I look at it too long !
Back in 1979, according to the journalist John Tobler, Neil Peart nearly joined the band when he was in England in the very early 70s, but he injured his hand and that hastened his return to Canada.....and fame.
This is the same drummer in 7th wave, he wasn't any slouch either.

 
I am not good when it comes to counting time but I can play em by feel if I have to. I have been trying to count the time on the first tune after the intro on the 7th wave Things to Come album, Metropolis, for about 45 years now and can never get it. Seems to me they keep switching between 4/4, 3/4, 5/4 and 7/4. I know they play other tunes in 7/4 and I can count them, but, Metropolis, I just can't keep up.

Music can be such a cruel mistress
with love she can beat you down
such a cruel cruel mistress
she'll pick you up
and hypnotize you with her sound
just when you think you might understand her
it's time for another round
You can't help but love her
she makes you feel so good
you can't help but hate her
sometimes you know you should
but you keep on keep on keepen on
till the end comes around
you can''t seem to help yourself
like an addict for your fix
you just come back for more.
such a cruel cruel mistress
until death is at your door.




 
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