1975-1979...
My time spent during "The Great E.V. Depression" (See Part 1) was exciting, educational and explorational. I had discovered the music of Tangerine Dream, and the Moog synthesizer. I bought a Sony Reel-To-Reel tape recorder and a cool Marantz Cassette deck with a 4 channel mixer in it. Musically I couldn't keep up with my talented friends so I figured they'd have to keep me in the band if I owned some nice recording equipment.
I wanted a MiniMoog so bad, but could not afford one. And around 1974 ended up buying a PAiA modular kit. Most of the PAiA was sent to me in envelopes, all I had to do was solder the resistors, diodes and transistors to the circuit boards, solder some wires and mount the modules to the keyboard case and play! Well, The PAiA never did work right, I couldn't keep it tuned, so it was a complete disaster. Jeff and Joe would often joke, "Whya Did I Buya Paia?"
After the great PAiA mistake I saved my money, and in 1976 bought a Mellotron M400 (s/n 459). The Mellotron was an incredible machine. And because it was used by most of my favorite bands, Tangerine Dream, King Crimson, Genesis, Yes and Gentle Giant, it was the perfect choice as my first real instrument.
The Mellotron is basically a tape player with a keyboard : under every key, there is a tape and a magnetic head. The keyboard has 35 keys, so there are 35 tapes and 35 magnetic heads. Each tape has 3 tracks, on which 3 different sounds are recorded. A selector switch places the heads on the desired track (A, B, C). With a mediate position of the selector, the heads straddle between 2 tracks - which allows the musician to play two tracks at once : A+B or B+C.
Each recording lasts for 8 seconds. Once the tape has been played in its entirety, you have to release the key to be able to play the tape once more. When the key is released, the tape returns to its initial position, thanks to a spring.
When you switch on the instrument, a motor (linked to a belt) puts the capstan in motion. The capstan is constantly turning.
When you press a key, the tape comes in contact with the replay head, thanks to a felt pressure pad, and with the capstan, thanks to a pinch roller; thus, the tape can play.
The Mellotron had a reputation for being an unreliable and finicky instrument on the road. As Robert Fripp (of King Crimson) once said, "Tuning a Mellotron doesn't" But I had no plans to "tour" so I figured it wouldn't be an issue. Other than minor keyboard adjustments (standard maintenance) and a audio buzz from an unknown ground problem it developed in the late 80's, (which caused me to sell it in the early 90's) my Mellotron was pretty much trouble free. I wish I still had it, Only 1800 original M400 Mellotrons were ever made, so they've become a valuable piece of music history.
To enhance the sound of mine, I ran it through a Morley Phaser Pedal and a Morley Echo Pedal.
It soon became apparent the PAiA was useless, And I still wanted an analog synthesizer, so I bought a new Univox K-2 Mini Korg, I was now equipped to explore my musical boundaies.
From 1975 to 1979 I recorded enough material for my own solo album. But for some reason, I never got around to actually releasing the material in "album" form, and it was completely forgotten about until October of 1999 when I found the Master Tapes buried in a box of tapes. After wiping the mold off the tape, I designed a simple cover and transfered it to Digital Compact Disc complete with tape hiss, timing errors and wrong notes. I used my initials C.P.S. And called the album In Earth Nights.
What a glorious find. There was some pretty good stuff here. And the song titles are just awesome!
Here are the liner notes from the CD.
"In Earth Nights" was recorded from 1974 to 1979. All of the music was recorded late at night, in the dark, with headphones on. (Big white egg shell Pioneers!)
The music was 100% improvised... The first "track" of music was recorded live to a Sony reel to reel 1/4" tape deck. Then as that was recorded to a Marantz cassette deck, another part was mixed in during that recording. If the take was a "keeper". (more good parts than bad!) the process was repeated until the composition was complete. As more overdubs were done, tape hiss increased, and clarity diminished.
The Songs...
1. THE SPELL... Inspired by H. R. Giger's painting. This song features Jeff Fasula on bass and Rob Bradley on guitar. Vocal sounds are made through the sound hole of an electric African thumb piano.
2. NIGHTWIND... The old Morley echo pedal along with the Mellotron volume pedal create very nice string sounds. Jeff also played bass on this one.
3. PYRAMID SHADOWS (Including; Pharoah's Wake, Delirium Pursuit, Infinity Domain)... A borrowed Yamaha organ had some nice sounds. Did Pharoah's have wakes?
4. A CYBERNETIC DREAM... The first song I ever recorded. Featuring the PAIA synthesizer and Mellotron (boys) choir.
5. SLOW MOTION... I think I borrowed Mark Fasula's Farfisa electric piano for this one.
6. SCIENCE FICTION... After a sloppy intro, this settles into a nice laid back groove. I love Sci-Fi.
7. MYSTIC CASTLE... I remember thinking the Mellotron church organ tapes didn't see much action. So I wrote this. Nice and simple.
8. LIGHT YEAR TRANSIT... If you could travel at the speed of light, this is what it would sound like. Your luggage would be almost certainly lost.
9. SURREAL AREAS OF SPACE (Including; In Space Nights... Part One, Symphonic Drift, Energy Meets The Dawn, Eclipse Of The Glass Moon, In Space Nights... Part Two)... Listen to music in the dark. Look at the night sky. Mark Fasula might be playing a keyboard or two during the "Eclipse".
10. THE LAST SUNSET... I think I recorded this to use up the rest of the tape. Oh yeah, I also had to use the Mellotron gongs at the end.
In Earth Nights didn't really break much new ground in music exploration, It was basically a low budget spacey Tangerine Dream sound, but it has some very creative moments and was pretty unique for a young midwest kid with no musical training.
Some cool Mellotron websites...
egrefin.free.fr/eng/mellotron/melhist.php
www.planetmellotron.com/
www.mellotron.com/
www.vemia.co.uk/mellotron/
The Mellotron I actually owned, appears on this album. I bought it from Mark Dahlgren. Jeff and Joe would later play in a couple bands with Mark.
www.planetmellotron.com/reva2.htm#albatross
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