From jukefox@jukejoynt.com Thu Feb 16 10:25:57 2012
Subject:Why we play Clonewheels...cross post (HammondZone)

Mike Mangan (Mike Mangan's Big Organ Trio) has a clip up on Youtube that will seem familiar to lots of us here who still gig with our Hammonds and schlep them around solo, or who used to and threw over our first love for lighter-weight clones. Thought you may get a kick out of it, although this particular scenario omits lots of our typical obstacles, such as stairs, rough rock-embedded concrete floors, ROKs that don't roll straight (even on flat surfaces) and 3' stages (the venue in this video looks to have about an 18" platform).

Anyway, just in case you're interested in taking a look, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RvjhvdOM1so

This actually seems to go fairly smoothly for him. I cross-posted this here in part to tempt a few of you into bringing your Hammonds back out into the public sphere. Not only are they actually much quicker and easier to set up and get to playing on than most clones, you could think of it as an historical public service...after all, the Grammy awards show shouldn't be the only place left to see real Hammond tonewheel organs in action!

You can view the act of schlepping around more than a quarter-ton of gear (B-3 = 250#, Leslie 122rv x 2 = 125x2 = 250#, bench = 26#, pedal clavier = 49# = = 575#/2000# = .2875 ton US) as an act of love...if not for the sound, the instrument, the audience or the back pain (and your chiropractor's upcoming Caribbean vacation), for all of those who have gone before, whom we have to thank for washing us in the sound of their Leslies, baptizing us into this legacy.

Peace,
Fox

Peace,
Fox