Join us for the premiere of the Mellotron Variations concert film, recorded live at Crosstown Arts on April 21, 2018. Mellotron Variations is a performance of new works and collaborations for the Mellotron by Robby Grant, Jonathan Kirkscey, John Medeski, and Pat Sansone. Projections by Winston Eggleston and John Markham. Videography by Justin Thompson.
Film begins at 7:30 pm
Free
Contains some adult content
Mellotron Variations was the brainchild of Robby Grant & Jonathan Kirkscey. Given unlimited access to Memphian Winston Eggleston’s collection of expertly restored vintage Mellotrons and original tape banks, Grant and Kirkscey composed and performed a complete body of work using the exceptionally rare and finicky instrument. The 2016 concert was recorded and subsequently released on vinyl as Duets for Mellotron.
Seeking to continue their Mellotron experiments, Grant and Kirkscey put together a new set of work with the addition of keyboard giants John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood) and Pat Sansone (The Autumn Defense, Wilco). This 2018 concert was recorded and released as a record; Mellotron Variations and was also filmed. The Mellotron Variations concert film captures the excitement of this rare event as well as featuring behind-the-scenes footage of how the music was created. The Mellotron Variation Concert Film is presented with a newly created 5.1 surround mix. There will be a short Q&A with some of the participating musicians immediately after the screening.
Mellotron Variations concert film featuring the music and compositions of Robby Grant, Jonathan Kirkscey, John Medeski and Pat Sansone. Shot, directed and edited by Justin Elliott Thompson. Additional concert cinematography by Kevin Brooks and Edward Valibus Phillips. Produced by Robby Grant and Crosstown Arts. Surround mix by Daniel Lynn. Concert visuals and projections by Winston Eggleston and John Markham.
Multi-day festival featuring original musical compositions for the mellotron performed live alongside newly created multidisciplinary installations.
Sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
Pt. 1
Wednesday, April 18, 7 pm
New work for the mellotron by composer Robert G. Patterson, performed by members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. A documentary featuring keyboardist Audie Smith. Performance by Ross Rice collaborating with the New Ballet Ensemble.
Free | Open to the public
Pt. 2
Saturday, April 21, 7:30 pm
Performance of new works and collaborations for the mellotron by Robby Grant, Jonathan Kirkscey, John Medeski, and Pat Sansone. Projections by Winston Eggleston and John Markham.
Free | Open to the public
Doors 7:30 pm | Concert 8 pm
Pt. 3 Sunday, April 22, 12:30 pm
Reprise brunch featuring a performance of various acts from Part 1 of Mellotron Variations. Q&A sessions with performers from parts 1 and 2.
Light refreshments will be served.
Free | Open to the public
Doors 12:30 pm | Performance 1 pm
About the artists:
Robby Grant is a songwriter, performer, and producer who has recorded and released records over the past 15 years under both his name and the moniker Vending Machine. He spent the 1990s co-fronting and touring the country with Big Ass Truck and currently plays with the garage pop group Mouserocket.
Jonathan Kirkscey is a composer, cellist, and producer who performs regularly with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Mouserocket, and is a co-founder of Blueshift Ensemble, a contemporary classical chamber ensemble. As a film composer, Jonathan has scored several award-winning documentaries including Best of Enemies, directed by Morgan Neville, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor, a film about Fred Rogers which premieres in January 2018 at the Sundance film festival.
Winston Eggleston is a woodworker and avid collector of Mellotrons (he recently built one from scratch).
John Markham is a videographer and collaborates with the experimental group >mancontrol<. Together they created the oil-based light show that accompanied 2015’s Duets for Mellotron performance.
Pat Sansone is a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, keyboard, percussion, harpsichord) from the bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense.
John Medeski is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York’s 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood.
Robert G. Patterson is a resident composer with the Luna Nova Ensemble. Recent accomplishments include commissions from Opera Memphis, the One Coin Concert series in Osaka, Japan, and First Prize in the NATS Art Song Composition Award. In addition to his musical activities, Patterson also has been a professional software developer, and his interest in computers led him to become an expert in musical engraving using a computer.
New Ballet Ensemble and School is a thriving after school dance program in the heart of Midtown Memphis, founded in 2001. Dancers from all over the Mid-South fill their studios six days a week, training and exploring cultural forms of dance alongside a strong classical ballet curriculum. New Ballet Ensemble was awarded the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award in 2014, recognizing the country’s best creative youth development programs for using engagement in the arts and the humanities to increase self-direction, academic achievement, graduation rates, and college enrollment.
Ross Rice might be best known as the lead singer/writer/keyboardist for Human Radio, who hit Billboard Top Forty in 1990 with “Me & Elvis” (Columbia), but has also appeared frequently on Memphis stages with Big Ass Truck, The Coolers, Riverbluff Clan, The Mudflaps, and Ross Rice Group. Rice has produced, toured, and recorded with Peter Frampton, George Clinton, Todd Snider, Adrian Belew, Stephen Perkins (Janes Addiction), and Susannah Hoffs (Bangles), to name but a few. Presently residing in Murfreesboro, Rice is enrolled in the MFA program in Recording Arts at MTSU, and is working on a documentary comparing Memphis and Nashville recording styles.
Reprise brunch featuring a performance of various acts from Part 1 of Mellotron Variations. Q&A sessions with performers from parts 1 and 2.
Light refreshments will be served.
Free | Open to the public
Doors 12:30 pm | Performance 1 pm
Mellotron Variation Part 1 will be on April 18th (free) and Part 2 will be on April 21st (free with ticket). More info on those shows here: https://goo.gl/qNkoGv
Sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
New work for the mellotron by composer Robert G. Patterson, performed by members of the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. A documentary featuring keyboardist Audie Smith. Performance by Ross Rice collaborating with the New Ballet Ensemble.
Free | Open to the public
Mellotron Variation Part 2 will be on April 21st (free with ticket) and Part 3 will be on April 22nd. More info on those shows here: https://goo.gl/qNkoGv
Sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
About the artists:
Robert G. Patterson is a resident composer with the Luna Nova Ensemble. Recent accomplishments include commissions from Opera Memphis, the One Coin Concert series in Osaka, Japan, and First Prize in the NATS Art Song Composition Award. In addition to his musical activities, Patterson also has been a professional software developer, and his interest in computers led him to become an expert in musical engraving using a computer.
New Ballet Ensemble and School is a thriving after school dance program in the heart of Midtown Memphis, founded in 2001. Dancers from all over the Mid-South fill their studios six days a week, training and exploring cultural forms of dance alongside a strong classical ballet curriculum. New Ballet Ensemble was awarded the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award in 2014, recognizing the country’s best creative youth development programs for using engagement in the arts and the humanities to increase self-direction, academic achievement, graduation rates, and college enrollment.
Ross Rice might be best known as the lead singer/writer/keyboardist for Human Radio, who hit Billboard Top Forty in 1990 with “Me & Elvis” (Columbia), but has also appeared frequently on Memphis stages with Big Ass Truck, The Coolers, Riverbluff Clan, The Mudflaps, and Ross Rice Group. Rice has produced, toured, and recorded with Peter Frampton, George Clinton, Todd Snider, Adrian Belew, Stephen Perkins (Janes Addiction), and Susannah Hoffs (Bangles), to name but a few. Presently residing in Murfreesboro, Rice is enrolled in the MFA program in Recording Arts at MTSU, and is working on a documentary comparing Memphis and Nashville recording styles.
Due to demand, we’re opening the 8 pm Mellotron Variations Pt. 2 performance up to everyone — no ticket required. So feel free to bring a friend, even if they didn’t get a reserved ticket. All guests who reserved tickets for the 10:30 pm show are now welcome to come to the 8 pm show (the 10:30 show is rescheduled to the earlier time).
To accommodate everyone, we’ve moved the 8 pm show to our East Atrium space, which holds more guests than the Listening Room (where the show was planned to be). Just come up the red spiral staircase, and you’ll land in the East Atrium.
Performance of new works and collaborations for the mellotron by Robby Grant, Jonathan Kirkscey, John Medeski, and Pat Sansone.
Projections by Winston Eggleston and John Markham.
Free | Open to the public
Doors 7:30 pm | Concert 8 pm
Mellotron Variation Part 1 will be on April 18th and Part 3 will be on April 22nd. Neither of these will require reserved tickets. More info on those shows here: https://goo.gl/qNkoGv
Sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
About the artists:
Robby Grant is a songwriter, performer, and producer who has recorded and released records over the past 15 years under both his name and the moniker Vending Machine. He spent the 1990s co-fronting and touring the country with Big Ass Truck and currently plays with the garage pop group Mouserocket.
Jonathan Kirkscey is a composer, cellist, and producer who performs regularly with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Mouserocket, and is a co-founder of Blueshift Ensemble, a contemporary classical chamber ensemble. As a film composer, Jonathan has scored several award-winning documentaries including Best of Enemies, directed by Morgan Neville, and Won’t You Be My Neighbor, a film about Fred Rogers which premieres in January 2018 at the Sundance film festival.
Winston Eggleston is a woodworker and avid collector of Mellotrons (he recently built one from scratch).
John Markham is a videographer and collaborates with the experimental group >mancontrol<. Together they created the oil-based light show that accompanied 2015’s Duets for Mellotron performance.
Pat Sansone is a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, keyboard, percussion, harpsichord) from the bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense.
John Medeski is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York’s 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood.
Duets for Mellotron — a blue vinyl gatefold LP package of a live performance by Jonathan Kirkscey and Robby Grant, organized in collaboration with Winston Eggleston — will be available for pre-order pick-up on January 13, 14, 17 and 18. A limited number of copies will also be available to the general public for $20 each.
Times for pick-up: Friday 1/13: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. (On Friday, from 6-8 p.m., there will be screenings of Winston Eggleston’s “Liquid Light Show” and Crosstown Arts’ Mellotron video. Jonathan and Robby will be on hand for a meet-and-greet, and cocktails will be available). Saturday 1/14: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday 1/15: CLOSED Monday 1/16: CLOSED Tuesday 1/17: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Wednesday 1/18: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m.
The album was originally performed during the “Duets for Mellotron” event at Crosstown Arts on April 16-17, 2016.
This unique performance — the world’s first Mellotron duet — features an obscure but ingenious keyboard instrument invented in the 1940s which was designed to reproduce the sound of virtually any acoustic, electromechanical, or synthesized instrument.
The Mellotron is essentially a giant cassette tape player, operated manually by pressing keys on a keyboard. When a key is struck, a prerecorded sound is played/heard, conceptually making the Mellotron an analog forerunner to digital sampling.
The M400 and a new M4000 cycling Mellotron, from Winston Eggleston’s small but diverse Mellotron collection, will be played at the performance. Eggleston will also share a series of new site-specific digital projections to complement the music.
