Fact #157462
When:
Short story:
The Cream begin their second tour of the USA with a gig at the Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, supported by Steppenwolf and The Electric Prunes (performing their orchestral work, Mass In F Minor).
Full article:
Jack Bruce (bass/vocals, The Cream) : I think that long US tour, February to June 1968, led to the demise of the band, simply because you can't lock up three guys in a car for that long, and because we never had time to write. We had Bob Adcock by now as a personal roadie, and we would just go from whatever place it was – it always seemed to be somewhere in the mid-West – arrive at the airport, rent a station wagon and drive to the hotel, which would probably be a Holiday Inn or similar. We'd then drive to the gig which would probably be called a Psychedelic Supermarket or something like that. It had all become a grind by that point.
Mark Tulin (Electric Prunes) : We were on tour when we were told we would be performing the mass almost immediately upon our return. Aside from the time spent recording it, this would be the first time we played the mass; the first time we played it straight through without the stops/starts facilitated by recording. There was one rehearsal, at the Musician's Union rehearsal hall. Four celli, four French horns, six vocalists (from The Smothers Brothers show), and the band. James took charge of the vocalists and I was put in charge of the musicians. I was told I was to play bass, play the organ and conduct. Didn't work, but I believe we managed to at least talk our way through the charts.
That night, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, we had the same complement of musicians/singers plus Richie Podolor (our recording engineer and a great guitarist in his own right) and Don Peake added on guitar. Don Randi was called in for the concert to play organ and conduct. Only problem was that prior to the last-minute call Don had spent the entire day on his boat. He was sunburned and burned out from the day. Everyone had to use music stands to read the charts because no one on stage knew the songs or arrangements.
From the outset the performance was a disaster. We missed the intro on the first song and it never got any better. Amp speakers blew, charts fell off music stands and everyone was, in general, in a complete state of confusion. Ended up each song turned into one long jam. I think we were, at times, all in the same key. I made my way over to the four celli and four French horns and told them to 'jam in E.' Somehow we would hit a break and James would manage a vocal. Mercifully, this all ended and as we were leaving a few 'fans' said, 'We didn't know you guys were into avant-garde jazz.'
(Source : not known)
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Mark Tulin (Electric Prunes) : We were on tour when we were told we would be performing the mass almost immediately upon our return. Aside from the time spent recording it, this would be the first time we played the mass; the first time we played it straight through without the stops/starts facilitated by recording. There was one rehearsal, at the Musician's Union rehearsal hall. Four celli, four French horns, six vocalists (from The Smothers Brothers show), and the band. James took charge of the vocalists and I was put in charge of the musicians. I was told I was to play bass, play the organ and conduct. Didn't work, but I believe we managed to at least talk our way through the charts.
That night, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, we had the same complement of musicians/singers plus Richie Podolor (our recording engineer and a great guitarist in his own right) and Don Peake added on guitar. Don Randi was called in for the concert to play organ and conduct. Only problem was that prior to the last-minute call Don had spent the entire day on his boat. He was sunburned and burned out from the day. Everyone had to use music stands to read the charts because no one on stage knew the songs or arrangements.
From the outset the performance was a disaster. We missed the intro on the first song and it never got any better. Amp speakers blew, charts fell off music stands and everyone was, in general, in a complete state of confusion. Ended up each song turned into one long jam. I think we were, at times, all in the same key. I made my way over to the four celli and four French horns and told them to 'jam in E.' Somehow we would hit a break and James would manage a vocal. Mercifully, this all ended and as we were leaving a few 'fans' said, 'We didn't know you guys were into avant-garde jazz.'
(Source : not known)