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DW funny pics link from pb |
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posted on 2009-08-31 14:54 EDT Chobits, Love Hina, Samurai Deeper, Rave, Initial D, Kindaichi, Life, more
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The North American manga publisher Tokyopop has confirmed that the Japanese publisher Kodansha has decided to let their manga licensing contracts expire. That means Tokyopop will not be allowed to complete any ongoing manga series from Kodansha or reprint its back catalog of Kodansha titles once the existing stock runs out. According to Tokyopop, the company does not know Kodansha's reasons for the decision. Among other titles, Tokyopop has licensed Chobits, Love Hina, Samurai Deeper Kyo, Rave Master, Initial D, Kindaichi Case Files, Life, GetBackers, and Love Attack from Kodansha.
Source: MangaBlog
Update: Tokyopop's Germany office had acknowledged in January that Kodansha let their manga licenses in Germany expire. Just like Tokyopop's American office, Tokyopop Germany said that Kodansha had not given a reason for the decision. Another North American manga licensee of Kodansha manga, Dark Horse Comics, is no longer listing Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell in its catalog as of this year.
Update 2: In June, the North American publisher Del Rey announced that it acquired the newer volumes of Samurai Deeper Kyo. Tokyopop had published the first 34 volumes, and Del Rey will publish an omnibus book that will combine volumes 35 and 36 in December. Dark Horse confirmed at Comic-Con International last month that it is publishing omnibus versions of Clover, Chobits, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Cardcaptor Sakura — all Kodansha titles by CLAMP that Tokyopop once licensed.
Update 3: ICv2 has confirmed that Random House is distributing the Akira and Ghost in the Shell manga on behalf of Kodansha in North America; the two titles have already appeared on the pre-order lists from the online retailer Amazon and the August issue of Previews magazine. The About.com:Manga website has posted the lists of Tokyopop's incomplete Kodansha titles, Kodansha titles that have been relicensed, and completed Kodansha titles that are out-of-print for now. Tokoypop emphasized to ICv2 and AnimeVice that it minimized the effects of Kodansha's decision a few years ago by diversifying the sources for its content. The publisher added that the decision "wasn't completely unexpected" and "has little bearing on Tokyopop's current or future stability." Thank you to Aaron Deslauriers for the Previews news tip.
john drwho smith · Wed Sep 09, 2009 @ 07:44am · 0 Comments |
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Good how can i say this.. Life sucks.. For the first tome since like 2 years i was really depressed.. Now i was thinking of someone who had died... And right now my emotions are really high.. But, i think that is to be excepted. All i know is, soon i need to go and plant some flowers at this grave.. i just hope its not an emothinal ride like it has been.
R.I.P Ronald Leon Hinds.
john drwho smith · Thu Aug 27, 2009 @ 12:47am · 0 Comments |
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Police rule McNair shooting death a homicide |
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add this RSS blog email print Updated: July 5, 2009, 4:34 PM EDT NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair's shooting death was a homicide, police said Sunday, but authorities stopped short of saying it was a murder-suicide committed by the 20-year-old girlfriend found dead by his side. McNair, 36, was shot four times, twice in the head, by a semiautomatic pistol, Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron said. The woman, Sahel Kazemi, was killed by a single gunshot wound and the pistol was found under her body, Aaron said.
Aaron said the two had been in a "dating relationship for past several months."
Asked if the deaths could have caused by a lover's quarrel, Aaron said, "That's a very important part of the investigation as we work to ultimately classify Miss Kazemi's death."
Police said they need to do more interviews with friends of Kazemi and McNair before they rule on whether her death was a suicide, Aaron said.
McNair, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, was married with four children. He and Kazemi were found dead Saturday afternoon at a Nashville condominium he shared with a friend, and police said Sunday that it appears the two died in the early morning.
Police earlier said they weren't looking for any suspects and do not believe McNair's wife was involved. Mechelle McNair, mother of two of his four sons, was expected to collect her husband's belongings from authorities. Funeral arrangements were not expected to be finalized until Monday afternoon at the earliest.
"She's still very upset, very distraught," agent Bus Cook said.
McNair led the famous Tennessee Titans' drive that came a yard short of forcing overtime in the 2000 Super Bowl, before the Titans traded him to the Baltimore Ravens in 2006. "On the field, there isn't a player that was as tough as him," the Ravens' Derrick Mason said.
McNair retired last year and had recently opened a restaurant in Nashville, where he shared a condo with a friend.
A man who answered the door at a house in the Jacksonville, Fla., suburb of Orange Park said it was the home of Kazemi's family, but said her relatives did not want to comment.
"We don't have anything to say, please leave us alone," he said.
A Nashville neighbor saw McNair, 36, at Kazemi's Nashville apartment so often - two to three times a week - that she thought McNair had moved in. McNair never tried to hide his presence but kept to himself.
Neighbor Reagan Howard said Kazemi often was dropped off in the early morning hours by a limousine and upgraded recently from her Kia to a Cadillac Escalade.
"It was pretty obvious that she was taken with him," Howard said.
McNair and Kazemi had been together just two days earlier, when she was pulled over driving a 2007 Escalade registered to her and McNair. She was arrested on a DUI charges, and he was allowed to leave in a taxi.
The bodies were discovered by McNair's longtime friend, Wayne Neeley, who rents the condo in the upscale Rutledge Hill neighborhood with McNair.
Neeley then called Robert Gaddy, who had been friends with McNair since they played at Alcorn State. Gaddy alerted authorities.
"People have certain things that they do in life," Gaddy told The Associated Press on Sunday. "We don't need to look on the situation at this time (but) on the fact we just lost a great member of society."
Cook said he was not aware that McNair was seeing Kazemi, a woman whose name the agent learned about through reports of the shooting.
"It doesn't make any sense. I don't know what to say," Cook said.
Police said a witness saw McNair arrive at the condo between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Saturday and that Kazemi's vehicle was already there. The condominium is located within walking distance of an area filled with restaurants and nightspots, a few blocks from the Cumberland River and within view of the Titans' stadium.
Fred McNair, Steve McNair's oldest brother, said some family members would likely travel to Nashville on Monday to consult with Mechelle.
"It's still kind of hard to believe," Fred McNair said. "He was the greatest person in the world. He gave back to the community. He loved kids and he wanted to be a role model to kids."
McNair and his wife split their time between Nashville and their farm in Mount Olive, Miss., according to a statement from the Titans.
An arrest affidavit from Thursday said Kazemi had bloodshot eyes and alcohol on her breath when she was pulled over, but refused a breathalyzer test, saying "she was not drunk, she was high."
McNair and his family frequented the restaurant where Kazemi was a waitress, according to employees and patrons of Dave & Buster's in Nashville.
"She was reliable 90 percent of the time," manager Chris Truelove said of Kazemi. "She was pretty outgoing. A lot of the guests liked being around her, and she liked being around the guests."
Co-worker Shantez Jobe, 33, said she was friends with Kazemi.
"We talked about who had more fashion sense, and who was the cutest, and who could get more boys, you know some of the stuff girls do," Jobe said.
In June, McNair opened a restaurant near the Tennessee State University campus. It was closed Saturday evening, but had become a small memorial, where flowers, candles and notes had been placed outside the door.
McNair led the Titans to the 2000 Super Bowl, which they lost 23-16 to the St. Louis Rams. He was co-MVP of the NFL with Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in 2003.
Manning said in a statement Sunday that he had some great battles with the quarterback.
"Sharing the NFL MVP honor with him in 2003 was special because of what a great football player he was," Manning said. "I had the opportunity to play in a couple of Pro Bowls with him, and the time spent with him in Hawaii I'll never forget. I'll truly miss him. My condolences go out to his family."
McNair's most notable moment came in the 2000 Super Bowl. With the Titans trailing by seven, he led the team 87 yards in the final minute and 48 seconds, only to come up a yard short of a touchdown. Kevin Dyson caught his 9-yard pass, but was tackled at the 1-yard line by the Rams' Mike Jones.
McNair accounted for all of Tennessee's yards in that drive, throwing for 48 yards and rushing for 14. The rest of the yardage came on penalties against the Rams. Before that, he brought the Titans back from a 16-0 deficit to tie the game.
"If you were going to draw a football player, the physical part, the mental part, everything about being a professional, he is your guy," former Ravens and Titans teammate Samari Rolle said. "I can't even wrap my arms around it."
McNair grew up in rural Mount Olive, Miss., and became a nationally known college football star playing for Alcorn State, a Division I-AA school in his home state. He was so dominant in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, he became a Heisman Trophy contender. National media flocked to little Lorman in the southwest corner of the Magnolia state to get a look at "Air McNair." He still holds the Division I-AA (now known as Football Championship Subdivision) records for career yards passing (14,496) and total offense (16,823).
McNair was the third overall draft pick in 1995 by the Houston Oilers, who eventually became the Titans. He finished his career with 31,304 yards passing and 174 touchdowns. McNair's rugged style led to numerous injuries and aches. He played with pain for several years, and the injuries ultimately forced him to retire.
During a five-game stretch at the end of the 2002 season, McNair was so bruised he couldn't practice. But he started all five games and won them, leading the Titans to an 11-5 record and a berth in the AFC championship game for the second time in four seasons.
McNair played all 16 games in 2006, his first season in Baltimore, and guided the Ravens to a 13-3 record. But he injured his groin during the season opener in 2007 and never regained the form that put him in those Pro Bowls.
McNair is survived by Mechelle, his wife of nearly 12 years; and sons Junior, Steven, Tyler and Trenton.
john drwho smith · Sun Jul 05, 2009 @ 11:13pm · 0 Comments |
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John Mayhew may not be the first drummer you think of when you think of Genesis, but he was the first drummer to appear on what would be a major turning point in the band’s evolution into superstardom. Mayhew played drums on the group’s landmark sophomore album, 1970’s Trespass, a project heavily entrenched in a (then) new genre of rock music, known as Progressive Rock.
Much like other late 1960s and early 1970s period British rock contemporaries like King Crimson, ELP, and Yes, Genesis pioneered this new style of music, and this album, while not a massive commercial success, set the foundation for future Progressive influenced Genesis albums like Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England By The Pound, and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and served as a catalyst for the many other Progressive Rock bands that followed in Genesis' footsteps.
Following his departure from Genesis, John Mayhew seemed to vanish from the public eye with not even his former Genesis band mates aware of his whereabouts... Until now. On June 10, 2006, World of Genesis.com’s own Dave Negrin sat down with John, who has rarely granted interviews in the past, to talk about that fateful year in 1970 with Genesis, and his life following his departure from the band that would eventually go on to sell in excess of one hundred million albums worldwide and become one of the biggest acts in the history of rock music. World of Genesis: At what point did you start playing drums?
John Mayhew: When I was 16, a friend of mine at school had a father that played several stringed instruments and he played rhythm guitar in a band, and they had a drummer who wasn’t fitting in too well, and he asked me if I would join the band. Granted, I had never played drums in my life!
I just went down to the practice hall, you know, I think it was near The L ab or Party in Britain , and I played with them (John reminisced momentarily ab out the rhythm he played as a demonstration). It went on from there.
WOG: Did you play in any other band before joining Genesis, or were they your first foray into a proper group?
JM: I had played in lots and lots of bands prior to [Genesis]. What seemed to be happening was that there was a steady rise. I went from smaller bands to what would be seen as more significant bands in my area, or my county, of Suffolk and the city that I lived near, Ipswitch.
I was never out of work as far as being a musician was concerned. I just seemed to go and go and go. Now, that’s looking back at it, but in retrospect, I think I took it for granted that I was always playing with a band, you know? Now, I can see that there was growth going on there.
WOG: Were there particular albums or drummers at that time that you feel influenced you as a drummer?
JM: Just the whole ‘60s crowd, I mean, although I would love to explore… A friend of mine in Australia has got a magnificent record collection. I would like to explore that. Before I left Australia, he turned me on to some music… Lebanese Blonde and a few other bands. Asfor influences when I was much younger, it was just the music of the time, and that was almost enough. Between the revolution of the ‘60s and all of the new sounds that were coming out. There wasn’t any shortage of that. So, to say if one drummer was more influential… I think they all were. It was an amalgamation. Like The Beatles themselves. They played so many gigs in sweaty clubs and so on, that when it came time to play their own stuff, they were pretty well versed in how to bring a sound out… To make a sound like a pantomime or a circus or something like that, you know?
WOG: How did you first come to get involved with Genesis?
JM: To my certain recollection, I did not take out any ads in Melody Maker. I just put my telephone number around London, and I didn’t think too much about it at the time. I thought another band would pop up and it would be just another band.
I was at work, actually, and I got home around four o’clock or five o’clock in the afternoon. My wife to be, Nikki, said to me a guy called Mike Rutherford called you on the phone this afternoon. He’s calling you back at six o’clock. He wants you to join this band. At six o’clock, the telephone rang, and I raced down the stairs, and I spoke to Mike on the phone. He was more trying to persuade me to join them rather than me trying to convince him and hoping it was going to be me… But, as soon as I heard the name Genesis, I had an intuitive feeling about it. It just seemed right somehow. It was quite strong at the time, and now, of course, enough time has passed to be able to look back on that time and say, “Yes, that was how I felt at the time when I heard that name.” WOG: What were your recollections of that first meeting with the band? Was there an audition or was it more of a formality?
JM: More like a formality, looking back on it. I was auditioned and found not wanting. I remember that they were very possessive of their music. I think, probably more than they realized at the time. It was very precious to them and I felt very sensitive to that right from the start. We did this audition and then subsequently practiced up in the music room at what was Anthony Phillips’ place. That’s where I was auditioned. WOG: When you say that the guys in Genesis were possessive, do you mean that they wanted you to play the drums in a specific way, like they had something in mind, for a given song?
JM: I wasn’t always entirely sure about that. I didn’t talk about that. In fact, so much did not get talked about. Perhaps, it will now?
What happened was that I locked horns with myself, really, and I thought, “Oh goodness, I can do anything to spoil or inhibit their musical flow” or whatever and deferred to the music itself and cut everything down to a very spare way of playing in consequence… I realize now.
WOG: Do you recall the exact date when you joined the group?
JM: Not the exact date. I do remember it was a beautiful summer’s day here. I remember it was just the same on the day that I arrived at this little garden country railway station in a small town in the south of England. I can’t remember at the moment what the name of the place was but, hopefully, I will. I arrived there, and I had all my drums and everything in those hard fiber cases, and they were black, and I was dressed all in black. There was a London taxi that all arrived in that was black. I got in and stashed all the drums in the storage space, got in, and there was Peter Gabriel writing notes on little scraps of paper. So, I do remember meeting them for the first time… in the back of an old London cab.
WOG: I interviewed Tony Banks back in 2004, and he mentioned that back in 1971 during the making for Nursery Cryme, which immediately followed Trespass, that the band would sometimes have very passionate, creative arguments that might lead to the occasional storming out of someone in the band during recording sessions or songwriting sessions. Was that a common situation during the making of Trespass?
JM: No, it wasn’t common. It was very civilized. There were tensions and fears and the unknown was there. Of course, they didn’t know that they would be as successful as they were… or are.
World of Genesis: At what point did you start playing drums?
John Mayhew: When I was 16, a friend of mine at school had a father that played several stringed instruments and he played rhythm guitar in a band, and they had a drummer who wasn’t fitting in too well, and he asked me if I would join the band. Granted, I had never played drums in my life!
I just went down to the practice hall, you know, I think it was near The L ab or Party in Britain , and I played with them (John reminisced momentarily ab out the rhythm he played as a demonstration). It went on from there.
WOG: Did you play in any other band before joining Genesis, or were they your first foray into a proper group?
JM: I had played in lots and lots of bands prior to [Genesis]. What seemed to be happening was that there was a steady rise. I went from smaller bands to what would be seen as more significant bands in my area, or my county, of Suffolk and the city that I lived near, Ipswitch.
I was never out of work as far as being a musician was concerned. I just seemed to go and go and go. Now, that’s looking back at it, but in retrospect, I think I took it for granted that I was always playing with a band, you know? Now, I can see that there was growth going on there.
That was an unknown at the time, so the tension was there. Oh, there were tensions alright. I was nothing but a knot of tension, myself.
I’ve since learned from Anthony Phillips that he had absolute stage fright over the prospect of playing live. So, people storming out and stuff like that, no. I didn’t see anything like that at all, actually. Of course, they are but flesh and blood, and after my departure they may have had arguments and left the studio over it… I might have done it on occasion!
WOG: Anthony Phillips mentioned that the evolution from the group’s initial acoustic sound to the more electric sound on Trespass came as a result of a need for amplification when they were playing live for audiences.
JM: Yes.
WOG: When you started playing with Genesis, were they still in the acoustic style of the late ‘60s or had they transitioned to the electric sound of the ‘70s already?
JM: They hadn’t made the transition. I lived with them through that transition. I think relates back to what I was saying about their music being so precious to them. It was just so gentle and soft and so ‘un-Friday night-ish,’ if that makes any sense. You know? People get through the week and then they meet this amazing band at the end of the week and all the tensions come out over a couple of beers. But that would tend not to happen with the softer songs. WOG: Were there particular albums or drummers at that time that you feel influenced you as a drummer?
JM: Just the whole ‘60s crowd, I mean, although I would love to explore… A friend of mine in Australia has got a magnificent record collection. I would like to explore that. Before I left Australia, he turned me on to some music… Lebanese Blonde and a few other bands. As Genesis was starting to hear bands on the scene other than themselves, for one thing, on a regular basis. They were noticing how strident these bands were by comparison with their own sets which were very touch sensitive things that didn’t fare well in a sweaty crowd on a Friday night at nine o’clock. Of course, [in addition to the evolving to electric music], the element of theater awaited and Peter Gabriel stood up to the mark, was not found wanting, and what came out, came out. The rest, as you know, is history.
WOG: Anthony also shared that there were a number of those more acoustic songs that were written after Jonathan King and DECCA Records parted ways with Genesis and before Trespass was recorded that kind of fell by the wayside. for influences when I was much younger, it was just the music of the time, and that was almost enough. Between the revolution of the ‘60s and all of the new sounds that were coming out. There wasn’t any shortage of that. So, to say if one drummer was more influential… I think they all were. It was an amalgamation. Like The Beatles themselves. They played so many gigs in sweaty clubs and so on, that when it came time to play their own stuff, they were pretty well versed in how to bring a sound out… To make a sound like a pantomime or a circus or something like that, you know?
WOG: How did you first come to get involved with Genesis?
JM: To my certain recollection, I did not take out any ads in Melody Maker. I just put my telephone number around London, and I didn’t think too much about it at the time. I thought another band would pop up and it would be just another band.
I was at work, actually, and I got home around four o’clock or five o’clock in the afternoon. My wife to be, Nikki, said to me a guy called Mike Rutherford called you on the phone this afternoon. He’s calling you back at six o’clock. He wants you to join this band. At six o’clock, the telephone rang, and I raced down the stairs, and I spoke to Mike on the phone. He was more trying to persuade me to join them rather than me trying to convince him and hoping it was going to be me… But, as soon as I heard the name Genesis, I had an intuitive feeling about it. It just seemed right somehow. It was quite strong at the time, and now, of course, enough time has passed to be able to look back on that time and say, “Yes, that was how I felt at the time when I heard that name.” JM: Yes. I’m glad that “Pacidy” survived. That was my favorite at the time.
WOG: Did any of those early songs that did not resurface on the first Genesis Archive box set, get recorded or were they mostly just performed live?
JM: Well, “Pacidy” certainly was recorded, because I heard it recently [from the Genesis Archive box set]. Were the other songs recorded? On that point, I wouldn’t be too sure. Truth be told, I wasn’t always party to cabinet meetings within the band. There was this obvious bond between them and their background, their attitude towards their music, and so on. What’s been recorded, I don’t know.
To be honest, I am re-discovering Genesis actually at the moment. I didn’t have to take too much of an interest, because they were everywhere including the Muzak in the supermarket! At least, Phil Collins was. So, I’ve had a bit of a parted history with Genesis, really. Long periods have gone by where I haven’t listened to any of their music, but I have been listening to it just recently.
WOG: During Trespass and that acoustic period prior to it, were there more dominant songwriters in Genesis or was it more democratic?
JM: I think Tony, Peter, Mike and, of course, Ant all would say that they thought it was reasonably democratic, or it would not have worked in the first place. It was only when another figure came in to somehow change that…
I believe Steve Hackett tried to write some music and record it, and I think there were some differences there. But as for the writing partnership, it felt very democratic to me. I don’t think anybody strove for total dominance. There certainly wasn’t one of those total situations there. "...as soon as I heard the name Genesis, I had an intuitive feeling about it. It just seemed right somehow." WOG: So, in terms of guiding the direction of the band, it was equitable as well?
JM: It felt that way, yeah. I mean, I was young and just so much less aware. I’d had a few experiences by that time, but Genesis was certainly a new type of experience for me. Of course, then, unfortunately, Ant was leaving the band, you know? He kind of kept that balance – almost literally… A counter balance there with Peter.
WOG: So, Ant left the band prior to your departure from Genesis?
WOG: What were your recollections of that first meeting with the band? Was there an audition or was it more of a formality?
JM: More like a formality, looking back on it. I was auditioned and found not wanting. I remember that they were very possessive of their music. I think, probably more than they realized at the time. It was very precious to them and I felt very sensitive to that right from the start. We did this audition and then subsequently practiced up in the music room at what was Anthony Phillips’ place. That’s where I was auditioned.
Mayhew and Phillips May 2006 JM: Oh, there was a bit of a sort of a dry period there for a while where we didn’t gig much. People were coming backwards and forwards. Did he technically leave before me? I’m not sure. I will have to ask him for another question and answer session later.
WOG: When you say that the guys in Genesis were possessive, do you mean that they wanted you to play the drums in a specific way, like they had something in mind, for a given song?
JM: I wasn’t always entirely sure about that. I didn’t talk about that. In fact, so much did not get talked about. Perhaps, it will now?
What happened was that I locked horns with myself, really, and I thought, “Oh goodness, I can do anything to spoil or inhibit their musical flow” or whatever and deferred to the music itself and cut everything down to a very spare way of playing in consequence… I realize now.
I wasn’t consciously aware of him leaving. I suppose you could quite completely say that we left together before any further work progressed. They were reshaping the band. Everything was on hold and people came and went and we signed a few bits of paper and made their excuses and left.
WOG: Signing ‘bits of paper’ as in signing away your rights to royalties with the band?
JM: I remember a couple of paper signing sessions. To be honest with you, I don’t recall precisely what they said at the time, as I wasn’t looking to pursue any financial gain from the band. It just so happens that I am in the middle of negotiations at this time with Genesis about payment from Trespass. So, if you’ve wondered why I sort of drifted off their a bit and didn’t talk about it, it’s because I am waiting for a check from the post. I know, it sounds incredible, doesn’t it?
John Mayhew Interview Continued...
WOG: Wow! This is this essentially back payment for your work on Trespass dating back to 1970?
JM: Exactly. Incredible isn’t it? 36 years! (laughs)
WOG: I hope you get a nice vacation out of it anyway! (laughs)
JM: I should come to the States, shouldn’t I? Do they have Genesis conventions in the States?
WOG: There hasn’t been one yet, but I will let you know if there is one.
JM: Thanks.
WOG: In 2004, Genesis released The Platinum Collection, which was a three disc anthology which included “The Knife” from Trespass. I assume you received no residuals for that either?
JM: At this time, as I say, I am in the middle of negotiations with Genesis. It is all looking pretty good at the moment. I don’t want to say anything to rock the boat. So, no comment. I never thought I would say that (laughs)!
WOG: Of course. I totally understand.
WOG: What were your recollections of recording the Trespass album?
JM: Oh yeah! Just bits and pieces really. I remember sitting by the mixing desk for a few hours and watching what was happening there. I recall one of the last tracks we recorded was actually “The Knife.” I remember feeling particularly in the mood to play “The Knife” that day for some reason – that is what I recollect. Not that I didn’t feel in the mood to play the other songs as well on other days, but I really liked playing it that day. It seemed to go well. I had a letter recently from Ant, and he talks [in the letter] about how we were on autopilot at the time. We were just so well-drilled on the songs. Everything was note perfect. So, that it just took over. It was fun.
WOG: Ant had shared with me that there was a demo called “Everywhere is Here” from that period that he liked but didn’t make it to the album. Do you have any recollections of that song?
JM: I don’t know why, but I don’t. Sorry.
WOG: On Genesis’ debut album, From Genesis To Revelation, their then producer Jonathan King has been said to have taken the group’s music in a direction that they were not keen on with string arrangements, and had produced a final product that they were supposedly not thrilled with. When the band went to record Trespass, it was a very different sounding album.
JM: I think they were very keen to maintain creative control, of course. I sense that so much was going on. If I could go back now, I would probably have a much better idea about what was going on, but at the time I was still very young and quite naïve. Music was everything. I was desperately trying to live up to Genesis’ exacting standards.
WOG: When they were recording Trespass do you think that they had that freedom or do you think that Charisma Records maintained a certain amount of control since the band was still very young and inexperienced in the studio? JM: I think that they were just learning to listen to outside influences. Not that they needed to learn hard. For example, they knew that they had to listen to the people who were paying for these sessions. That would be the thing to do. Just like how the softer songs had to go and be put on the back burner and louder, more strident Friday night at the pub sounds were the new order of the day. So, Genesis went through lots of changes at that time, and I think some of that advice would have come from Charisma. They were giving advice right from the start when they came down to hear us in Sussex.
WOG: So, when Charisma first came to hear Genesis, that was then they said that they should replace you as the drummer? ...Was that their suggestion?
JM: I wouldn’t be surprised if that didn’t happen at those meetings. It was becoming quite obvious. They were improving all the time and probably quite obviously they would have been looking at that. The album contract had been secured months ahead of the actual recording date. In the meantime, we were still rehearsing, just practicing so the music would be note perfect. By the time we got to the studio, I felt like a well-drilled soldier, I think we all did. Especially, after reading a similar account from Anthony Phillips in this letter he sent me a week ago. For me, I was finding it difficult to pull out innovation and creativity. I suppose I should have this glorious history of gigging and recording, but I really was just this guy from the suburbs or nowhere almost. I just somehow managed to land that gig. I did the best I could out of it, and lots of people like it. “The Knife” came out of it, which I am really glad about. I’m quite happy with all of that. Of course, I would have loved to go down like Phil Collins, but that wasn’t to happen. The other story is just as interesting, I think.
JM: No, but I recently had an invitation to join a band. I went down to see them and… It’s a bit like jumping into a lake of cold water (laughs). Do I really want to go back to this? (laughs). I don’t know if you would be interested in the story of my final gig, which was in Sidney, Australia?
WOG: Sure!
JM: It was 1982, and I was working [outside of music], but I also wanted to play drums. I had brought my drum kit over from New Zealand. I went out this particular night, and I was driving back. I had about $50 Australian in my pocket, and I was wet and sweaty from the gig. So, I was driving home from the gig on a Saturday night, and it was pouring down rain, and the wind screen wipers were keeping time, and I just said to myself, “This is enough! I want something else new and fresh to come into my life.” There is a city in Britain called Liverpool, and this suburb where I made this decision was called Liverpool. I will never forget that. I think I had my drums sold within about two or three weeks. WOG: When you left music behind, what did you decide to do?
JM: I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I’ve become skilled with a number of materials. I am an artist/craftsman, which is hard to do when you are a trained carpenter. You have to stop thinking of yourself like that and start thinking of yourself as an artist, which I had an opportunity to do at a college in western Australia at a three year course, and got myself a diploma. I’m a scenic artist and set designer and that type of thing. I also make a range of 16th to 17th century French painted furniture, which is being copied and collected and so on. I also want to go back to Australia and build a workshop and make my furniture.
WOG: Is there a possibility that you may consider recording an album yourself at some point?
JM: Isn’t that an interesting question? I don’t know to be honest with you. It’s sort of a huge project and I would need lots of input from many others. I am not sure how to put the team together. I mean, who would do that? I would need all kinds of things. But why not? Live a little! If I had other people like Anthony Phillips or, although I haven’t spoken to them, Tony or Mike... or anybody else for that matter. I’ve only talked to Ant, and he blew me away when he wrote to me, “No, you didn’t hold back Genesis’ creativity!” I’m still living on that kind of high, really. To realize that so much time has gone by now that the issues that were there, which weren’t really any kind of deep routed resentment or anything of that sort. It was all quite fairly light weight, you know?
WOG: How did your move to Australia come about in the first place?
JM: I got divorced. I met her when I was playing in a band in Norway. We got a divorce after about three and a half years of marriage, and I just wanted to get the hell out of there, and went to Australia. I arrived on my mother’s birthday on January the 18, 1982. I didn’t look back, really.
WOG: For many years, you have pursued a different craft, but is that the reason that you rarely grant interview about your Genesis days? Or, is that just a personal preference?
JM: Good question! It wasn’t conscious at all, it was just habitual. I just thought I would turn my back on the band. I thought, “Oh Christ! I really stuffed that up for them!” I thought it best that I just walk away quietly...You know that sort of feeling?
WOG: Had you kept in contact with anyone in the band?
JM: No one at all. I made a couple of weak attempts on occasion, but nothing serious. I never thought about meeting up with them. I just thought we’ll just wave that goodbye and quietly walk away as I said.
WOG: How did you come to hear of that Genesis Convention in May 2006 in the UK?
JM: I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of an artist named Charles Riley McIntosh. He is a Scottish designer and furniture builder. I went to this workshop to learn how to build his furniture, which is really quite complicated. Anyway, there was a guy there called Dave Burgess. He recognized my name on the list of trainees and said, “Oh, it can’t be!” A group of us were talking about music, and I said, “Yeah, I used to play the drums…” and at that very moment, Dave came to the door. He’s an absolute rabid Genesis fan, who’s father turned him on to Genesis. He decided to ask me. He was so pleased to meet me, that he contacted Genesis management, and it all took off from there. I heard about the convention from Dave as well.
WOG: Did you know that Anthony Phillips would be there?
JM: I had heard that he would be there, and I thought that was going to be quite scary. He completely put me at my ease. I was not expecting the reception I got! I ended up giving him a big hug at the end when I was walking to the door. It was quite the reverse of what I expected. I thought he might say something like, “You were the one who nearly wrecked Genesis!” ...Just a joke, really. I was suspecting a mild negative reaction though.
WOG: Someone had mentioned that you had joined a Genesis tribute band on drums for “The Knife” at that convention?
WOG: When you did record Trespass, you had no idea that Charisma or Genesis might have been already planning to remove you from the band, correct?
JM: That is all supposition about Charisma’s suggestion to the band may or may not have been. Who knows?
WOG: How did you find out that you were being dropped by the band?
JM: I took a trip to a coffee shop in London. Mike Rutherford was there and Peter was there. I think it was Peter that said to me, “How would you feel about leaving?” And I said, “Sure.” I acknowledge that now, and I have a tear in my eye, you know? It wasn’t an acrimonious parting or anything of that sort. It was quite sad. I felt quite sad.
WOG: So, it was completely their idea for you to leave? It sounds like you knew it might be coming?
JM: Well, it was a bit like somebody under sentence. Eventually, you’re going to get sentenced and I would like to think I knew it more and more. I say boldly that I was pushed out or that they asked me to leave, yes all that happened, but I knew it was coming. There was no pretence. I didn’t speak to anyone about it, but I could see that they were going to places where I probably wasn’t destined to go. So, C’est la vie! Wouldn’t it have been lovely… and I had my fifteen minutes.
WOG: Progressive Rock was fairly new in 1970. Were there any bands that Genesis considered their rivals in this new style of rock music?
JM: Not rivals. No. Rivals is the wrong word. Bands like King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer and bands of that time. There were loads of others. I don’t think Genesis saw themselves as rivals to anyone. Only temporarily on the touring circuits perhaps on who might take top billing at a gig and who is going to do support. Not in the adversarial sense. I suppose if you ask the others, they might say that they had some rivalries, but I guess that might be enviable, isn’t it? I think they were far more focused on the music and the events that sort of carried them along, which they certainly were.
WOG: Do you have any recollections of the "Genesis Plays Jackson" recording sessions? There has been some talk that these recordings may be released at some point as part of an archive release. How would you feel about these tracks seeing the light of day?
JM: I would be absolutely, perfectly comfortable with its release. They were a part of the history of Genesis and the kinds of slings and arrows that got thrown their way (laughs). I seem to remember… I’ve experienced it with my own work. So, I know what it’s when you have a rhythm going or a groove going, and you’re producing. Then, probably monetary or the need for publicity or something of that sort comes along, and you’ve got to let that come into your world. I seem to think that the BBC recordings are something like that. They were bits and pieces from that which never made it to any songs, but as for remembering them with any clarity, I count really remember them myself. I think bits of “The Fountain of Salmacis” got woven in there, but that is all pretty vague now.
WOG: Were you aware that Genesis has remixed the entire Trespass album in both stereo and 5.1 surround along with the rest of the Genesis catalog for a as yet to be known release date? If so, were you consulted on the new remixes for Trespass?
JM: Oh, really?! I’ve got to have that, but then you have to have a surround sound system. Oh dear! Well, once I get my money from Genesis, I’ll think about that. Now that it’s being forced upon me.
WOG: Now that those tracks are remixed, there are different schools of thought about a different producer remixing music that he wasn’t involved within the first place. What if your opinion about Genesis producer Nick Davis remixing Trespass?
JM: Well, two things. The guy is probably close to a genius anyway. So, I’m sure that Genesis would have chosen wisely. They usually do. They other thing is that did he need to be there? Genesis music was always very personal to themselves. Anybody outside of it would have retained a kind of heart about their relationship to the music. I don’t see any problem at all with someone who wasn’t there originally remixing the recordings. Anyway, we’ve all heard the original, and now there is the remix and so on. It’s like copying a painting. It doesn’t detract from the original if there are a few copies made.
WOG: So you were not consulted on the remixes?
JM: No.
WOG: When you left Genesis, did you continue to pursue music? Do you still play drums now?
WOG: Someone had mentioned that you had joined a Genesis tribute band on drums for “The Knife” at that convention?
WOG: When you did record Trespass, you had no idea that Charisma or Genesis might have been already planning to remove you from the band, correct?
JM: That is all supposition about Charisma’s suggestion to the band may or may not have been. Who knows?
WOG: How did you find out that you were being dropped by the band?
JM: I took a trip to a coffee shop in London. Mike Rutherford was there and Peter was there. I think it was Peter that said to me, “How would you feel about leaving?” And I said, “Sure.” I acknowledge that now, and I have a tear in my eye, you know? It wasn’t an acrimonious parting or anything of that sort. It was quite sad. I felt quite sad.
WOG: So, it was completely their idea for you to leave? It sounds like you knew it might be coming?
JM: Well, it was a bit like somebody under sentence. Eventually, you’re going to get sentenced and I would like to think I knew it more and more. I say boldly that I was pushed out or that they asked me to leave, yes all that happened, but I knew it was coming. There was no pretence. I didn’t speak to anyone about it, but I could see that they were going to places where I probably wasn’t destined to go. So, C’est la vie! Wouldn’t it have been lovely… and I had my fifteen minutes.
WOG: Progressive Rock was fairly new in 1970. Were there any bands that Genesis considered their rivals in this new style of rock music?
JM: Not rivals. No. Rivals is the wrong word. Bands like King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer and bands of that time. There were loads of others. I don’t think Genesis saw themselves as rivals to anyone. Only temporarily on the touring circuits perhaps on who might take top billing at a gig and who is going to do support. Not in the adversarial sense. I suppose if you ask the others, they might say that they had some rivalries, but I guess that might be enviable, isn’t it? I think they were far more focused on the music and the events that sort of carried them along, which they certainly were.
WOG: Do you have any recollections of the "Genesis Plays Jackson" recording sessions? There has been some talk that these recordings may be released at some point as part of an archive release. How would you feel about these tracks seeing the light of day?
JM: I would be absolutely, perfectly comfortable with its release. They were a part of the history of Genesis and the kinds of slings and arrows that got thrown their way (laughs). I seem to remember… I’ve experienced it with my own work. So, I know what it’s when you have a rhythm going or a groove going, and you’re producing. Then, probably monetary or the need for publicity or something of that sort comes along, and you’ve got to let that come into your world. I seem to think that the BBC recordings are something like that. They were bits and pieces from that which never made it to any songs, but as for remembering them with any clarity, I count really remember them myself. I think bits of “The Fountain of Salmacis” got woven in there, but that is all pretty vague now.
WOG: Were you aware that Genesis has remixed the entire Trespass album in both stereo and 5.1 surround along with the rest of the Genesis catalog for a as yet to be known release date? If so, were you consulted on the new remixes for Trespass?
JM: Oh, really?! I’ve got to have that, but then you have to have a surround sound system. Oh dear! Well, once I get my money from Genesis, I’ll think about that. Now that it’s being forced upon me.
WOG: Now that those tracks are remixed, there are different schools of thought about a different producer remixing music that he wasn’t involved within the first place. What if your opinion about Genesis producer Nick Davis remixing Trespass?
JM: Well, two things. The guy is probably close to a genius anyway. So, I’m sure that Genesis would have chosen wisely. They usually do. They other thing is that did he need to be there? Genesis music was always very personal to themselves. Anybody outside of it would have retained a kind of heart about their relationship to the music. I don’t see any problem at all with someone who wasn’t there originally remixing the recordings. Anyway, we’ve all heard the original, and now there is the remix and so on. It’s like copying a painting. It doesn’t detract from the original if there are a few copies made.
WOG: So you were not consulted on the remixes?
JM: No.
WOG: When you left Genesis, did you continue to pursue music? Do you still play drums now?
JM: Yes, I joined Nigel Appleby, who is the drummer for ReGenesis at the convention on “The Knife.” Although it hasn’t been 36 years since I played drums, it had been that long since I played “The Knife.” I just fluffed and flaffeled my way through it. It was more important that my bum was on that drum seat, I think, than what I actually played that night, because I couldn’t give any guarantees at all that I knew how the song went anymore (laughs)!
WOG: Were you surprised at your reception at this event?
JM: Yes, I was. I couldn’t believe it. I am just waking up to the fact that I was part of that, which seems silly really.
WOG: In closing, do you have a favorite or least favorite moment during your tenure in Genesis?
JM: My favorite moment was being in that studio and recording “The Knife.” I can’t vividly remember recording the other songs, but I can remember recording “The Knife.” That lovely sort of beefy, fruity feeling. That’s the sort of feeling you get. It just felt right, right, right. I have such respect for them, and I like them as people, so much. We didn’t have to do things over and over and over again. That’s the moment. Another one would probably be during quiet moments when I got to read all of George Orwell’s essays and letters in the cottage where we rehearsed for Trespass. There was a little library, and that was nice. I have lots of little pictures, that I’ll hold for another time. I’ve got no hanging dark regret. I do have some regret that I wish I knew then what I know now and so on. That I wasn’t a bit more wisdom or insight of them or me. Obviously, there were differences between us, especially with me who was ‘working class’ and the rest of them who, obviously, were not. It was remarkable that it ever came off at all, really!
john drwho smith · Sat Jun 06, 2009 @ 02:56am · 0 Comments |
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the passing of jonh mayhem |
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FORMER Genesis drummer John Mayhew has died just days after his brother mounted a search for him, the Evening Star can today reveal.
Mr Mayhew died of a heart-related condition on March 26, just two days after his Ipswich-based brother Paul began a search for him to heal a decades-old family rift.
Paul, 71, of Roundwood Road, had not seen his brother for 18 years and had little to do with him since the early 1970s.
He had wanted to patch things up with his sibling and had believed he was living in New Zealand. Paul said: “My brother passed away last week just a day before his birthday. I had found where he was - he was in Scotland working for a furniture company.
“He was an alcoholic and had heart problems.”
Paul, who is planning to visit Scotland to attend the funeral, said he was very upset that he was unable to put things right between he and his brother.
Fighting back the tears he said: “Someone contacted me who had known John and where he was. They had seen I was looking for him on the Evening Star website. I don't have all the details yet. I'm very, very upset to get this news.”
The brothers, who had a ten year age difference, grew up together at the family home in Macaulay Road.
Speaking to the Star previously, Paul said: “I was in my 20s when we lost touch. Our parents split up and I went with our mother and John went with our dad.”
Do you remember the Mayhew family? Are you a fan of Genesis? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
TRIBUTES have been paid today by one of John Mayhew's closest friends.
Theresa Howie said she knew Mr Mayhew for the last four years of his life.
She said: “John was friends with my younger brother since he moved to Glasgow and John lived round the corner from us. We knew he was a drummer with Genesis but he didn't like to boast about it, though he would talk about it if we asked him.”
Theresa said she had asked John about his family but said he thought his brother had died.
She added: “When he died the state was going to pay for his funeral but I thought I better check if there was any family. There was no wife or children.
“I looked on the internet and found the story that his brother was looking for him just days before he died. It was very strange.
“John had heart problems and he was being looked after in hospital when he died.
“It was very sad he didn't see his family, it was a tragic end.”
Paying tribute to Mr Mayhew, Theresa said: “John was a legend and deserves recognition.
“He was a wonderful man, he was always smiling and would help out anybody.
“He was very good to my family. That's how I'll remember him.”
Tony banks on john mayhem
Genesis-music.com sadly announces the passing of John Mayhew, drummer on the Genesis album Trespass originally released in 1970. John is pictured on the far right in the above photo.
The members of Genesis all send our deepest sympathies and condolences to John's family.
From Tony Banks:
We were very sorry to hear about the death of John Mayhew, who had only recently appeared back in our lives after over thirty years. His time with the group was short, but it was a very crucial period and his contribution was very important. After John Silver, the drummer who had played on 'From Genesis to Revelation' decided to leave we rehearsed for a while as a four-piece before auditioning for a replacement. The trouble was we didn't have a full drum kit for them to use. I remember one poor chap having to play with the cymbals hanging from the ceiling, almost decapitating himself every time he used one. When John Mayhew arrived he had the great advantage of owning a kit as well as being a very competent drummer. At the time, one of our favourite drummers was Rob Townsend of Family, and when John showed he could reproduce a few of his riffs he was hired. How we must have appeared to him I hate to think. We had all been to the same school so we were a very closed unit with our own language and humour, and we were very inexperienced both in the business and in life in general. John was a bit older than us and had played live in the group 'Steamhammer" so had some knowledge of what was expected on stage. I remember him at the first show changing to go on stage; this had never occurred to us, strange since later we became almost better known for Peter's costumes than anything else. For this reason he was a very important factor in those early days on the road, having already been there before. During the few months we worked together, writing music for the 'Trespass' album, John became very much part of the group sharing everything from the legendary immortal yoghurt through to the first experience of Monty Python. His carpentry was a great asset in these early days; he built me a copy of the Leslie style speaker I had, (still in existence I think) and put a seat in the back of the bread-van we used as the group's vehicle amongst many other things. He was a very solid drummer, but not really a writer, a lot of his parts came from the rest of us, particularly from Ant. This was really why we decided that if we were to continue after Ant left, we had to find a more creative drummer, a hard decision because by this time John had become a friend.
john drwho smith · Wed Apr 22, 2009 @ 10:08pm · 0 Comments |
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john drwho smith · Wed Apr 15, 2009 @ 07:27am · 0 Comments |
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