Hugh McDowell R.I.P. 

Very saddened to hear of the passing of Hugh McDowell, former cellist in ELO, on November 6, 2018. In a statement from Jeff, “I'll always be extremely grateful to Hugh for playing on the title track of the Simon Apple "River To The Sea" album. After I sent him the song, he got back to me immediately saying he would love to play on it. Being a life-long ELO fan, it was certainly a huge personal & musical thrill. He resided in England, and I, unfortunately, never met him in person, but we had some pleasant…

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"Where are they now?" 

This could take many chapters to get into all the details, but, in an attempt to do it as briefly as possible…

The band has never broken up.

Will the band record again? Possibly, but not likely a full album (maybe a few songs here & there…no time table). Although no doors have been closed to any possibility.

Does the band play live anymore? Rarely…the occasional festival gig…and always at the annual Cystic Fibrosis Gala every February.

Why? What happened?

Well…long story…

In a nut-shell, the band is simply…

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Inferior audio quality of MP3's 

I've realized over the past few years that many people don't care about audio quality of their music. While I can understand their indifference, it's still frustrating from the "artist perspective" (In wanting their recorded music to be heard in the best light possible).

I've also realized many people don't know that MP3's are lesser quality than CD quality. The irony is, that while recording technology continues to advance, the consumer (play-back) end has become worse! I have yet to hear a recording…

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Richie Havens (voice of the ages) - Sad passing... 

Honestly, I can't say I know much of Richie Havens great body of work. I don't know why. But, what I do know, is, he was one of the most emotional and "human" voices I've ever heard.

My first real exposure to Richie was via Steve Hackett. As a huge Genesis fan, growing up, I also delved into all of the solo careers of the Genesis guys (Steve being the guitarist in the 70's era). Steve's 2nd album "Please Don't Touch" featured Richie on 2 songs. I was mesmorized by the song "How Can I?". A nice Hackett…

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