From: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org (avalon-digest) To: avalon-digest@smoe.org Subject: avalon-digest V8 #319 Reply-To: avalon@smoe.org Sender: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-avalon-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk avalon-digest Thursday, November 20 2003 Volume 08 : Number 319 Today's Subjects: ----------------- [AVALON] Michael Kamen RIP ["SIMON GALLOWAY" ] Re: [AVALON] Awesome in Aberdeen ? [Jane Fraser ] [AVALON] alan robertson [Scotty ] Re: [AVALON] alan robertson ["Tracy Connell" ] [AVALON] BOUNCE avalon@smoe.org: Message too long (>7000 chars) (fwd) [Colleen Matan Subject: [AVALON] Michael Kamen RIP http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&sto ryID=405456§ion=news Versatile composer Michael Kamen dies Wed 19 November, 2003 09:20 By Tamara Conniff LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Renowned composer-arranger Michael Kamen has died of an apparent heart attack at his home in London. He was 55. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years ago. A four-time Grammy winner and a multiple Oscar, Golden Globe and Emmy nominee, Kamen scored more than 80 films and TV shows, including the "Lethal Weapon" and "Die Hard" franchises, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," "Mr. Holland's Opus," "Open Range" and the miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" and "Band of Brothers." Kamen is considered a visionary of orchestration and one of the few composer-arranger-conductors to fuse classical music with rock. Kamen worked with Pink Floyd on the seminal work "The Wall" and did orchestrations with such rock greats as Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Queen, Alice in Chains and Metallica. Born in New York in 1948, Kamen began playing piano at age 2. He started his professional music career as a folk singer in a blues-influenced band and went on to study oboe at the Juilliard School of Music before delving into composition. While at Juilliard, he formed one of the first rock-classical fusion groups, the New York Rock and Roll Ensemble. After the group broke up, David Bowie asked Kamen to be his musical director and keyboardist on the 1974 Diamond Dogs Tour in the early 1970s, which resulted in the critically acclaimed album "David Live." In 1976, Kamen scored his first film, "The Next Man," starring Sean Connery. He also wrote 10 ballets, including works for the Harkness, Louis Falco, Alvin Ailey, Joffrey Ballet and Milan's La Scala. Additionally, Kamen wrote two special concertos for rock musicians: "Concerto for Saxophone" for David Sanborn and "Concerto for Guitar" for Clapton. "The affection for classical music and the involvement in rock 'n' roll and popular music has somehow never been permitted to become two different things for me," Kamen said in a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter. "They were always one and the same. Singing rock 'n' roll or singing Bach is something I love to do." Kamen had not publicly spoken about his illness until September before he was honoured with the Dorothy Corwin Spirit of Life Award by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. "People in general ask me, 'Are you all right? Are you in pain?' There is really no pain," Kamen said. "There is some discomfort, and my walking isn't as good as it used to be, but I'm still able to conduct. I'm still able to get onstage and offstage. I'm still playing the keyboard and playing the oboe and singing. I'm writing music, and that hasn't slowed down. They talk about (MS patients) being overwhelmed by fatigue, but I think my life is so filled with stimulating things to do that fatigue just doesn't enter the equation." Kamen's illness did not slow him down. In recent years he recorded four albums, including the multiplatinum "Metallica With the San Francisco Symphony," which he conducted, orchestrated and arranged. In January 2000, Kamen premiered his first symphony, "New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms," at the Kennedy Centre for the New Millennium. He also wrote and directed music for the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and performed at the Grammy Awards with Coldplay and the New York Philharmonic. Last year, Kamen served as musical director for the Queen's Golden Jubilee at Buckingham Palace. Kamen was working on a stage musical based on the film "Mr. Holland's Opus," with producer Marty Richards ("Chicago"), as well as an orchestral concert with Bob Dylan. He co-founded the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation with Richard Dreyfuss, a nonprofit dedicated to giving musical instruments to needy students. Kamen is survived by his wife, two daughters, three brothers and his father. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 10:05:07 +0000 From: Jane Fraser Subject: Re: [AVALON] Awesome in Aberdeen ? On Tuesday, November 18, 2003, at 05:57 PM, alan robertson wrote: > Jane's friend had my poster, ( you little thief you ?) Oops. Sorry, Alan. That was my sister but she had come from Holland for the show. Our first ever home-town gig. She had that poster whipped off the billboard and shoved under her coat the second we arrived. You'll have to be quicker next time! The photo I took of her and Bryan is great, one of the best I've seen of him for a while. She was so excited she forgot to take one of me while I was getting my Roxy Live CD signed!! Ferry had a good look at the Manzanera signature on it then turned it round and signed down the side. I was so nervous I couldn't speak apart from thanking him. It was a great show. BEB and VP made a nice change from B&G and Limbo and really got the crowd going. Paul Thompson is a very naughty man. He must know we only stay awake during JG for his drum beats and to skip one like that made us look like right idiots. It certainly amused the band though. I've had enough of that show now and am hoping to something different before too long. Jane ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 04:30:55 -0800 (PST) From: Scotty Subject: [AVALON] alan robertson Alan Robertson wrote: Er...that would be the Airbus I think. Gotta buy your tickets before boarding though! So, who's coming over to Australia then? Scotty __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 13:35:31 +0000 From: "Tracy Connell" Subject: Re: [AVALON] alan robertson >So, who's coming over to Australia then? >Scotty I wish.......! Tracy _________________________________________________________________ Tired of 56k? Get a FREE BT Broadband connection http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/btbroadband ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 19:09:44 -0500 (EST) From: Colleen Matan Subject: [AVALON] BOUNCE avalon@smoe.org: Message too long (>7000 chars) (fwd) From: Jocelynfiske@aol.com Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 18:25:33 EST Subject: Ceud mille failte na The Highlands To: avalon@smoe.org > J McFiske A hundred thousand welcomes it offered and a hundred thousand welcomes it delivered. The minute you step out of Inverness airport you're proffered the Gallic hand of welcome (unless you're a Cockerney and then it's hacked off). Picked up in the stretch 4X4 chauffeured by Mr O'Brien bearing an uncannily non resemblance to Ferry the Driver on For Your Pleasure, and whisked off to O'Brien Towers. There I was duly tied to a chair and forced to listen to a non stop rendition of the multi instrumental O'B "doing" Roxy. I had a strangely not dissimilar experience with Young Ivor once. I think between you lot there's a Roxy collective (a camp?) of tribute bands waiting to happen. Speaking of which don't forget Lovely Lee's honking debut in the Capital next Wednesday punters. Anyway, what was meant to be a leisurely build up to the Sunday Ferry gig in Aberdeen had the kibosh put on it by The Jocks unexpectedly beating The Dutchies in a footieball Euro 2004 qualifier. My God, Inverness made a Saturday night out in N'castle seem like a Butlin's talent show in closed season. I've never seen so many falling down drunk people still standing up in my life! We were treated to the delights of an Irish Diddly Diddly Dee band fronted by Reecey's doppleganger right down to the leather waistcoat and dodgy T-shirt, and what looked like Tom Wallace's Dad on guitar - OK lads hope you had alibis. I surprised myself by singing all the words to Flower of Scotland and the band were surprised we requested Carrickfergus. What a mad hooley of a night. Sunday was all the more sedate. We arrive at the venue to find a frozen Mrs Fraser and entourage defrosting with coffees that smelt decidedly of brandy. We opted for the hot chocolate and stomped our feet like Riverdance professionals just to keep the circulation going. Doors open and a leisurely stroll, canter, gallop to take up positions left, right and center. Later, a pincer movement of blitzed aggressive knobheads and tiny foreign voices pleading for our spots assaulted us from all sides. Why do people always decide to do this just before TTOIA and BEB? Why not save it for Jealous Guy when we'd happily have a long conversation about how their spouses and kids were? Alan has already taking us all through the concert, so just a few asides from me. The sound was crystal clear. You could pick out each instrument, not the old mish mash of sound we've had on some of this tour. Also Paul's playing seemed to have even more snap than usual. This apparently was down to a new sound engineer and a new snare respectively. Well it certainly seemed to do the trick. Also the Duellling Banjo Boys were on fire. Mick Green in dapper black suit and wearing his heart on his neck with a Pirates medallion, and Spedding with a newly coiffed mad badger haircut. My Old Love turned into a rocking jam at the end for a change, and Mick played some really delicate bits I've never noticed before. And boy those lasses have some lungs on them! R&B divas both, they swooped around instead of swamping like the Wailing Sirens of yore. Oh and have I mentioned the old boy yet? He kept rubbing his throat threateningly - don't you fail us now! Probably a result of The Selfriges Six Song Set, Dundee, a private gig in Edinburgh and now Aberdeen. I don't think he'll be out caroling this year (unless you have a spare few thousand in your pocket). But he had a whale of a time - as did we, with his hair becoming more Melvin Bragg by the minute. Funniest moment of the night was when Paul caught out the drumming mimers by (intentionally?) missing a thunderous beat during Jealous Guy and we all automatically examined our invisible drum sticks to see why they weren't working. Mick Green could hardly play for laughing. They should have left on the extended Wooly Bully, but lurched into Goodnight Irene with a near redundant percussion unit falling asleep at the wheel. Then out into the bitter cold for refreshments with the usual (and unusual) suspects, a chip and battered sausage supper and a game of Hunt the Car. As per, lovely to meet up with you all again, and fantastic that, as ever, Scotland never lets you down. J McFiske P.S. And a huge thanks for the endless hospitality to the O'Briens. ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: unsubscribe avalon ------------------------------ End of avalon-digest V8 #319 **************************** ======================================================================== For further info, mail majordomo@smoe.org with: info avalon-digest