MLT Club Member Tim Arnold
MLT Club MemberForum Replies Created
-
I mentioned it in one of the livestream chats and have it in my profile that I found the MonaLisa Twins by being a fan of Amy Slattery’s. Amy is an English YouTube artist that records a lot of Beatles covers using the correct instruments. Her and her Dad are massive fans of the Beatles and other 60’s artists. Me, being a fan of the Beatles is what drew me to Amy’s channel. I still enjoy watching her videos, I like her light, mellow style and heavy British accent.
It must have been in September of 2022 when I watched 3 videos on Amy’s channel of her playing in the Cavern Club with a band I had never heard of called the MonaLisa Twins. These videos made me curious to check out some of the Twins own videos. I started watching the Cavern Club videos and I was dumbfounded. Hearing the unique cry in Mona’s voice and just watching Lisa’s stance and mannerisms while playing, I swear, I could see the spirit of John Lennon and the same magic the Beatles had on stage. It just stemrolled from there. According to my shop records I bought my first CD “Live at the Cavern Club” on October 5th 2022. “Beatles and More” 1,2,& 3 on October 20th and The 2007 concert cd and “Duo Sessions I” in November 2022. On December 16th I joined the MLT Club, I had no choice, there was no way I was going to miss that 2022 Livestream. I have been totally submersed in everything MLT since then. I was about 5 years old when Beatlemania swept the U.S, and the whole world really, and remember how us kids could not get enough of their music, pictures and appearances. I feel the same way now about Mona and Lisa. I am experiencing MonaLisamania. I could go on and on about everything I like about these girls but this thread is supposed to be about the beginning so I’ll stop here and just say I’m thankful for These girls, their parents and Amy Slattery.
-
And if they ever wanted to put an all female Beatles cover band together well, Amy is a good left handed bass player.
-
-
I thought I would add a video of Donovan playing Hurdy Gurdy Man. Very interesting page on Wikipedia about the song and especially the recording of it. It may or may not have included three musicians, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, and John Bonham pre Led Zeppelin. Apparently, no one is exactly sure as to who’s recording tracks were used on the final mix but all three of the Led Zep musicians are credited by Donovan. He originally wanted Jimi Hendrix to record it but he was unavailable. I really would have loved to hear Jimi Hendrix do the guitar solo at least.
-
Jurgen, have you ever heard of the instrument called the Hurdy Gurdy? Up until I seen this video I never knew what a hurdy gurdy was or that it was even an instrument. It’s a string instrument originally from France that’s played by turning a cylinder and pushing keys to play the notes. To me, the sound is a mixture of violin and bagpipes. I remember the 60’s song by Donovan called the Hurdy Gurdy Man. Thanks to this video, I finally know what he was singing about. Guess you’re never to old to learn.
-
Dennis, great work on those stats. I wonder if the Cavern Club paid that much for a night’s work, I kind of doubt it. Hopefully the turnout and payoff will inspire the girls to do them more often. I think it also satisfies some of the fans desire to see and hear them live, it does for me. I know it’s not exactly the same as seeing them in an auditorium but in some ways I like it better. The sound is probably better, we get the fun banter in between songs as well as the interaction via the chat that you would never get at a concert. You get them right in your living room where you have easy access to food, beverages and the bathroom. You don’t have to fight traffic and spend money for gas or a hotel room, heck, you don’t even have to wear pants, Lol, but I usually do.
-
Here’s a cool video if you have an hour to spare. Rick Neilsen’s guitar collection is absolutely massive and includes a lot of guitar history and info. You can just watch the first 15 minutes but if you do you will probably watch the whole thing.
-
Jurgen, Rick Neilsen from the band Cheap Trick has over 400 guitars in his collection. One of his most unusual ones is an orange 5 neck guitar he used while touring in the 80’s. This one is retired and he has one with his signature checker board finish that he still uses on occasion. He is a cool dude that still lives in his hometown of Rockford Illinois. Here’s a video of him playing his orange 5 neck guitar in the Houston Astrodome in 1989.
-
It’s quite similar to the hurdy gurdy as it uses the many pegs to make the notes but only uses the bow to play the strings. Many more strings on the nyckelharpa. I found one called the tagelharpa which is only a two string bass that make some very low and deep notes. It looks quite simple compared to the nyckelharpa.
-
Thanks Jurgen, I never heard of the nyckelharpa before. It is quite an unusual instrument. It almost sounds like an entire string section in one instrument. I started smiling around the 4 minute mark when he started playing Smoke On The Water.
-
Jurgen, thanks for that video, That is a really good band I never heard of before. I like the 7 string guitar and 5 string bass. Very good musicians and a great sound. Patty Gurdy really adds a lot to it with her fantastic singing and playing. I found another video of Patty playing with the German band called D’artagnan. I think it is so cool when they are using the hurdy gurdy, bagpipes, and violin to play some modern music. I guess you call it prog rock but I think it is good when you can’t exactly put a name on it, I just enjoy it.
-
Thanks Jurgen, I think that is really cool that Patty Gurdy is using an ancient instrument to play modern music. I never heard of her before but she is very good at playing it. I watched a few of her videos now and she is very talented. That’s one of the many good things about this MLT Club is sharing music and learning about new artists, instruments etc.
-
Jurgen, I’m not a guitar guy either. I do know the top neck of this guitar is indeed a 12 string and I believe all the others have different tones and he uses them all. I remember in an interview he said he originally wanted a guitar that had 6 necks that he could spin around like a roulette wheel but then he thought that would be silly, like a 5 neck guitar isn’t silly. Rick and his band Cheap Trick are from Rockford, Illinois and were really big in the late 70’s and 80’s. They had hits called Surrender, Dream Police, The Flame and many others including covers of Don’t Be Cruel and Ain’t That A Shame. Ironically they became hugely popular in Japan before even becoming noticed in the U.S. and their breakthrough album was a live concert recorded in Japan called Live at Budokan. They were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and are still listed as active.
On a side note, there is a guitar shop in my neighboring town of Tomah, Wisconsin that is owned by a guy named Barry Clark. Barry is a good friend of Rick Neilson and has showed me pictures of him and Rick jamming at Rick’s house in Rockford. Barry has worked on many of Rick’s guitars. Here’s a great power ballad from Cheap Trick called The Flame. The singer Robin Zander, I think, has one of the best voices in rock, especially for these ballads.
-
David, Just for everyone’s info, the MonaLisa Twins video of Hotel California is currently available in the U.S. on YouTube but not on the MonaLisa Twins channel. It is on a channel called Hotel California Vault so I don’t think MLT is getting credit for it. Doesn’t seem fair that the creators of the video (MLT) cannot post it even without royalties but someone else can post the MLT version. I don’t think that channel belongs to Henley or the Eagles either as there are only two videos on the channel and both are covers of Hotel California. Here is the link for the MonaLisa Twins version.
-
Jung, it is really is very nice, everything they do is first class, even the packaging.
-
The dog sled finally made it up the I-90 from Chicago. It takes a while because they have to mark every tree, Lol.
