News Bytes For January 2010

• Aaron Bell of Degree Absolute has announced that the guitar and bass tracks for the upcoming album are finished. They were recorded earlier this month at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle. Neil Kernon was at the helm again. Their self titled album finished in the #41 position in the GlobalProgressive Rock Network's Top 100 of 2006
• Jason Varga's Endless Boundaries, the jam band program that precedes the Gagliarchives and touches into the world of progressive rock, has won the Home Grown Music's Jamcaster of the year program! www.homegrownmusic.net
• Moody Blues producer Tony Clarke has passed away. His production standards were well respected and still to this day are impressive even by today's standards. He leaves a great body of work. The Moody Blues website has not made any note regarding his passing on 1/4/10.
• British progrockers Flash have reformed with original members, Ray Bennett and Colin Carter, and are currently in rehearsals. Here's a video clip from their first session 12/16/09...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jhbb7OI0o8 The band has also posted a couple of new tracks on youtube...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSYjnvsiZ0s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xIEJHRcwVs
• Per Rush's Facebook and website: "There will be a new album released this year. Hopefully by June, and there most likely will be a summer tour. If there is we will post dates and places. Thanks."
• Andy Goldner of Exmagma has released a new video from his latest offering `Infinity` at www.anthologyrecordings.com where downloads of the Andy Goldner `Infinity` album and all exmagma albums are available.
• Cuneiform Recording artists Gutbucket will tour Europe till February 3rd. Here is their website: http://www.gutweb.com/
• Scottish neo-progressive rock band Pallas have assembled at The Mill Recording Studio for the start of recording the new album, XXV
• Saturday, January 16th, British band DeeExpus received “Best New Band of 2009” at the Classic Rock Society’s Band of the Year Awards

Announcing Mellodrama, the Mellotron Movie coming to DVD

MELLODRAMA: THE MELLOTRON MOVIE Coming to DVD January 2010

THE STORY OF THE FIRST “SAMPLING” INSTRUMENTS, THE CHAMBERLIN AND THE MELLOTRON, FEATURING INTERVIEWS WITH MEMBERS OF THE MOODY BLUES, THE BEACH BOYS, GENESIS, KING CRIMSON, CHEAP TRICK, BLACK SABBATH, THE ZOMBIES, LATIN PLAYBOYS, YES, MAROON 5, OPETH AND MANY MORE

“Surprisingly fascinating.” –Philadelphia Weekly

“A study in the unpredictability of innovation.” – Rhizome

“An insider’s view on the history of the Chamberlin and the Mellotron, which isn’t always pretty.” – Echoes

“The Mellotron stays cool.” – Brian Wilson

“This is where sampling started.” – Jon Brion

Bazillion Points Publishing is delighted to announce the long-awaited DVD release of the acclaimed and unusual music documentary,
Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie, by Dianna Dilworth, coming January 2010 in NTSC Region 0 format packed with bonus features in a deluxe Digipak.

Mellodrama explores the five-decades-long rise and fall of the Chamberlin and its better-known successor the Mellotron—the first musical keyboards to play the prerecorded sounds of other instruments. Essentially the first sampler, its haunting sound has changed the production and texture of popular music, from the Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever” and the Moody Blues’ “Nights in White Satin,” to Radiohead’s OK Computer and Kanye West’s “Gold Digger.”

Featuring Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues, Ian McDonald of King Crimson, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, famed L.A. producer Jon Brion, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, singer-songwriter Michael Penn, author Brian Kehew, (Recording the Beatles), as well as members of Opeth, Bigelf, Maroon 5, and former employees of the Mellotron and Chamberlin companies. While the musicians tell their tales, the engineers and experts deliver the gear porn by taking you inside the captivating contraption.

Mellodrama screened at over a dozen festivals throughout the world in 2009, including the CMJ Film Festival in New York, Buenos Aires Film Festival, Documenta Madrid, Portobello Film Festival in London, Atlantic Film Festival in Canada, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Indie Memphis, Tucson Film and Music Festival, and was specially programmed by Stephen O’Malley of Sunn O))) at the Lausanne Underground Film Festival in Switzerland.

“While everybody knows the sound of the instruments, most people have never heard of the Mellotron or the Chamberlin,” says director Dianna Dilworth. “I hope Mellodrama will change that.”

Mellodrama: The Mellotron Movie DVD includes the 80 minute film, 30 minutes of DVD extras, and an 8-page booklet containing an essay by Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues and several illustrated machine timelines. Preorders are now available at this location: http://www.mellodramadvd.com

http://www.bazillionpoints.com