|
Dr Fletch v.8.5.1 ask
a question |
|
| Steel | Hi
Doc, looks like this tour is becoming even better the (already
fantastic) one before. Just a quick question: on Shangri-la,
during the instrumental in the end of the song, there are some solos
of a steel guitar. Is it
you? playing a (true) steel guitar or with a keyboard with sample
sounds of it? Good luck for the rest of the tour. |
Yep It's me on a synth. I stick little pegs so the Hammond drones away for a few rounds and get on the 'Steel Eliminator!' |
| auto-fun | Hallo Doc, How big is the danger to play a concert
on auto-pilot after - let's say - 20 or 30 shows in one tour? |
With this band, no danger at all. It's such a pleasure to play each show. I can honestly say I've never enjoyed playing concerts so much...especially with Emmylou. |
| pre show | Hi
Dr. Fletch, just a short question: who chooses the pre-gig songs?
Perfect for a MK concert. Give my compliments
to Guy for the shirt he wore in Verona! Same shop of Paul Crockford?
;-) Max |
Thanks, I put that CD together. The shirt is one of my old hawaiians, nowhere near as bad as PC's |
| MK pics | Hi
Doc, MK rarely appears on pictures taken between venues (on the
plane, in the streets...). Is it because he prefers
staying at the hotel playing his guitar? Is he too shy? Does he have
a hidden agenda? Please Doc, tell us more about this mystery...
Pierrick |
No mystery and no aggenda where the pics are concerned. |
| pickin | There's few questions for you that have appeared lately
in my head: 1. On your rehearsals page you show a picture where MK is being photographed holding his new Martin signature guitar. It looks like a classical guitar (nylon strings) to me, and seems like it is a different one from HD-40MK. There is no info at Martin web site so far regarding this new model. Do you know any details about it? Is it going to be available as was the HD-40MK? 2. What guitar does he use in Red Staggerwing on this tour, is it Gretsch? Which one? 3. Does Mark use a pick in So Far Away? I mean especially the first rythm riffs? Or is it just all finger-picked? |
Yes, I can't really say anything at present about the new MK Martin except that it is beautiful/ Gretch 6120 Yes, he does use a pick for So far away |
| download | Hi Doc Any news regarding crowfly concerts? I mean any chance to buy the MK & EH concerts at crowfly? | No sorry, this tour will not be available for download as it stands. |
| bed | Hi Dr. Fletch, thank you again for sharing your thoughts
and impressions from the tour. Last year you used to base in a city
for a couple of days, sometimes a week. You flew to the concert and
returned in the evening. From
what I gathered from your and Rich's diary the band liked this concept
a lot. Having one room for a week is far more comfortable than checking
in and out each day. So why did you change this? |
There are many criteria which determine where we end up staying, too many for me to go into but basically we extend our stays in cities whenever possible. |
| Digico | Hi
Guy, Quick query regarding the current band - how much room is
there for you (or anyone else apart from
MK) to "stretch
out" on
various songs, changing arrangements on the fly and that kind of
thing. Are you tied to a set "play a G# major seventh on the
first beat of bar 37 using sound x on board y"-kind of plan
or is there scope to extend the middle 8 because you fancy wailing
on a moog lead sound at that point on that night? Are you making
stuff up as you go or is it all pre-planned, I suppose I'm asking?
Also, what 'boards are you using this time round? And, why no songs
from "Wrecking Ball"? That's a genius
Emmylou album! |
There is plenty of room to stretch solos etc. Boards? We're using the same FOH board as last tour (Digico) and an identical Digico for monitors now. |
| 12 or 14 | Dear Doctor!In front row of the Stockholm concert I was blinded during a few seconds. What happened was that Mark brought out a National so shining I had to shut my eyes and contemplate about what I just had gazed at. When my sight returned it looked as if Mark had aquired the brand new National Style O 14-fret (instead of the "normal" new 12-fretted ones in production). And then he changed to the old one just before R&J.Was this a correct observation or do I need to see a specialist about my eyes? | Yes correct observation. Mark is using his Beltona 14 fret for Bonaparte. |
| same guitars | Hi Doc I really enjoyed you show in Copenhagen yesterday.
So nice to see you guys mixing up the setlist and lineup from the
last few tours.
I noticed that Richard often plays on the same guitars as Mark
and I even got confused sometimes as Richard can play some licks
very similar to Mark I especially noticed this on Right Now - but
anyway Do they use the same guitars most notably both of them use
the MK Fender Signature and the Les Paul or do they have there
own and just seem to like the same models? Enjoy the rest of the
tour and bless you all! |
Yes the do play guitars that are similar but I don't think there is any instance where it's the same guitar. |
| Dick the great | Hi Doc, Which guitars, amps, pedals did Richard the Great bring with him on the tour? Thanks! | Gear diary entry imminent |
| er | Hi doc, has there ever been a situation that you don't
know what song to play, i mean Mark starts playing a song you don't
immediatly recognice
(improvisation?)And a question about 2005 HELSINKI gig, Why APPLAUSES
WERE'NT ENOUGH TO GET MORE ENCORES TO BE PLAYED (I'm so stupid to
ask for this kind of questions, but i'm enthusiastic fan of MK ). |
er,. no because APPLAUSES WERE'NT ENOUGH TO GET MORE ENCORES TO BE PLAYED...no seriously, after a few of those Scandinavian shows we flew to the next city so we sometimes didn't do the 5th encore in order to get slot for take-off. |
| flying tonite | Hi
Doc, I notice that you guys had a bumpy ride into Hamburg the other
day. Obviously being on the road is pretty hectic
with lots of travelling,
but are people used to flying and turbulence, particularly as you
use small private jets these days? I remember Johnnie Walker once
saying to Mark that he didn’t look happy at Heathrow, and
Mark replied “oh, flying!” – so can a bad flight
put you in a shaky frame of mind for the show, or even put you
off touring? |
I think what Mark meant was 'oh, terminals'. We are all pretty used to flying as you'd expect but we are spoilt in that we generally don't have to deal with airport terminals preferring to use GA terminals (general aviation) specifically designed for private travel. Believe it or not, there seems to be less turbulence in these jets we use than on commercial jets. The Hamburg landing was made to feel more tricky than it was due to the sheer speed at which our pilot approached the runway (and the angle due to the crosswind) |
| esquire | Hi
Doc, I am considering buying a Fender Squier standard stratocaster
I can't afford a true Fender strat). Have you or MK ever played
a Squier version of the strat, and if so can you tell me what you
or Mark think of them in terms of playability and sound quality? |
It's a bit of a lottery as some are good and some are bad, basically if you like it, buy it. |
| vision | Hi
doc! No glasses on the pictures. Are Mark's eyes better? Could
the good doctor tell us more about that miracle? |
'tis no miracle, he's just decided to ditch them, his eyesight was never that bad. |
| why bother | Hello,
Dr. Fletch, please help me! Just got infected with a virus that
I just can't get out my head anymore. It's the 'Why worry'-virus!
Guess it happened at about 22:08hthat day... It's been such a wonderful
closer for a beautiful show that puttwo superb voices of MK and
Emmylou into one even more beautiful voice. I guess the only thing
that might help me cure my pain is a promise that you will film
one or two of your shows and mix them down onto a live-DVD of that
concert series. Everybody I talked to after the show said, they
loved to take that moment back home. So please, check out if there's
a chance
to ever get that beautiful evening on DVD, won't you? |
I'm sure it will appear on youtube.com very soon it is magical isn't it. |
| obsessed |
Hi Doc! A quick question for you (and one for Dr.
Fletcher). Did you notice the HUGE MOTH that kept landing on Glenn
Worf, during
the Shangri-la
concert, in Minneapolis? I don't know if it was visible to many
audience members, but, being in the third row, I saw it very
clearly! Or, am I knuts? This leads into my question for Dr. Fletcher........
Dr. Fletcher, I seem to be having a problem. I've become obssessed
with
the MKNews Forum. I spend countless hours reading threads, replying,
posting new threads and going into the MK chat. I jump to your
website
and many other MK related sites, as well. I then return to the
Forum, to see if I've missed anything. Some say this is an addiction.
Do
you have any advice for me, in your professional capacity, as a
Dr.? If so, what is your opinion? Thank you, Doc and Dr. Fletcher. |
Believe it or not, yes I do remember that moth. Forum addiction eh? No hope I'm afraid. |
| Tex | Hey Fletch! Just a quick one, I'm considering purchasing
a MK strat. There has been some talk MK changed the pickups in his
from the fender
tex
specials. If so what too? I don't want to buy something that isn't
what it's made out to be. Also if you could recommend only one good
versatile synth for pads strings etc... what would it be? And do
you use nuendo primarily or pro tools? |
No, he has the Tex specials in his, although he did try out various others. My favorite synth is still the Korg Trinity (or Triton). I use Nuendo with MK and Pro Tools at home and both are used in conjunction with Cubase SX3 |
| photo policy | Hello
doc, I’m gonna be at the show in Rotterdam,
but i have a question: is there any change there will be an official
statement about photography
at the gigs? It worked very well last time here in Rotterdam, usualy
cams are not alowed at gigs, but after a few mails, with a link to
the statement. They alowed it for the MK gigs. |
Yes, our policy is the same as for the last tour. The full statement is on the main 2006 tour diary page. |
| Tour lineup | Doc, I notice on your website pic the tour lineup
includes Matt Rollins and Danny C. Is Jim Cox still unable to travel
because of his ear
problems and what has happened with Chad Cromwell? Not that's there's
anything wrong with the lineup the way it is, just wondering! Have
a great tour, sorry your missing Vancouver on this trip. |
Yes, I'm afraid that Jim is still unable to fly due to his ongoing ear problem. It's great to have Matt and Danny in the band, permanently. Also Stuart Duncan is an exciting addition.
|
| Glenn seen onstage | Hello,
Dr. Fletch, I've got a question, somewhat silly, but it really
bothers me. While I was watching my On the Night DVD,
I noticed something very similar to a teddy bear on the stage, near
to MK, in the second half of the film. Do you remember something
about it? I think it was in the Netherlands, not in Nimes, but I'm
not sure. Thank you, |
That was no teddy bear, it was our beloved Glenn Saggers! |
|
set list - don't ask |
Hi
Doc, Please, can the Doc say something about the set list for the
up coming "An Evening Together" tour?????
Are there going to be DS songs in the set list???? Thanx Doc, |
In
a word - no. DS songs? maybe but I'm not gonna go there so please
don't ask. At the moment we're not sure what we'll do as we haven't
started rehearsing yet and even when we do, I won't be telling
so you'll just have to wait and see the show. Plus, If you're desperate,
the set lists are always posted on various fan sites. Cheers |
| wrong chord? | Doc,
tell me I am wrong here................At precisely 3 minutes and
13 seconds into "This Is Us" there appears
to be a very "wrong" piano chord. I'm no expert on such
things (piano's) . Are my ears very atuned to such things, or am
I an idiot? |
OK, you're wrong. It's just a little eccentricity from Jim Cox. |
| guitars | Hello
doc, First, I would like to say how great this new record is. The
Vocal parts are really beautifull. The synths
tracks are very well arranged
(as usual when you're playing on a record ;-)). I think it's not
really easy to include synths parts in such a counrty record. Many
country artist simply don't use keyboards... I have some questions
regarding the record and the forthcoming tour : -What electric
guitar did Mark use for the left rythm part of "this
is us" ? I'd say a '54 Telecaster or something like that. What
amp did he use for the lead parts of the Les Paul ? Soldanos, Komets
Marshalls ? (basically on this is us). It sounds a little "Soldanoesque" to
me on this track. -Did Jim Cox play all the Piano parts ? Did you
play some ? -Is suppose that MK used a Danelectro guitar for the slide
part of "Right
Now". Is it the same that he used for Donegan"s Gone ? |
I think it was a Strat on This is us. The Lead parts were probably done on the Soldano. Jim did play piano on the album. And yes, it was the Dan Electro. |
| New Wembley | Hi
Doc, I’ve managed to get a ticket to the
Wembley gig which will be my first at this venue. I have heard in
the past
that the acoustics
are not too great there. Why was this venue chosen for this tour?
Will this be the first time for you and Mark to play there since
the 85/86 tour with the Straits? Can’t wait for this unique
gig. |
It's the first time we've played there for quite a while. I did do a show there a while back with Jimmy Nail but can't remember the year. Apparently, Wembley Arena has benefited from the whole stadium rebuilding project in that it has been re-vamped. With better acoustics I hear. Looking forward to it! Do let me know how it sounds. |
| Toronto | Hello
Dr. Fletcher, Hope u are well!Greetings from Canada!, Toronto!!
Doc will u be keeping a lovely diary whilst,(
do u like that), on tour with MK and EH?
Loved it last time!!! Great photos and interesting tete a tete
spoken !! I live in the big smoke as we call it, Toronto!!! You
and MK played here last Summer at the Molson Amphitheatre!!! You
liked it, specifically the view of the lake. So u said in your
diary! I live by the lake and believe me it is great in the Summer!
Really cold in the winter So look forward to seeing u windsurfing
by and playing your gig here. So will the diary, if you choose to
accept this mission , will it
be on the MK site? Your site looks great and when is your Niagara
movie coming out? Ouch sorry if that hurt as I haven't seen any listings
for this film. Too busy to reply no worries and have a great tour!!! |
I guess I should compile a diary shouldn't I? It will be here on this site. Niagara Motel - I thought it had already been released. To be honest I don't know,. |
| fags | I've
noticed Mark's voice has improved a lot over the last couple of
years and it sounds really beautiful, especially
together with Emmylou's. Do you know if he takes any singing lessons?
I've been wondering for quite a while now...Unfortunately I was too
shy to ask Mark personally
during some Q&A at a promo date for "The Ragpicker's Dream" in
Munich some years ago |
No singing lessons, just no fags! That's basically what he attributes it to. They do blend well don't they. Looking forward to this tour. |
| 80's | Hi
Doc You talked of the synth sound in This is Us as „very 80’s“.
Well, the song doesn’t sound too much like an 80’s song
to me, fortunately ... My question is: What do you think of that
typical 80’s sound
now, looking back? Do you still like it, or do you think of it as
some strange episode in the history of pop music? |
It was a joke, although if you hear the sound on its own it IS very 80's. It reminds me of a synth sound Van Halen or Def Leppard would use. Still, it sounds good in the track so don't knock it! |
| nerves | Hi Doc, a simple one for your question section on
the web page. Do you or any other members of the band get nervous
before
a gig - if the
answer is yes - who?And if the answer is no for the current
line up who is the worst that you have come accross on your travels?You
being a doc and all,you could probably give him something for it
anyway. |
There are inevitable first night nerves all round but apart from that, no, I don't think anyone in the band really suffers in that department. |
| Norway TV band | 1. Do you know who is going to play with Mark and
Emm at the TV shows in Norway, Sweden and UK. If you know, could
you please tell us? 2. Could you tell us when the rehearsals start? And where? Will you post some pics when the time comes? |
Yep,
it's me, Danny C., Luke Brighty, Robbie Macintosh and Marcus Cliffe. Not
sure about pics...if I think of it. |
| toil | hello Doc, most artists when you listen to them talk
about songwriting tend to all say the best and most popular tunes
they craft are not the
ones toiled over for ages but the ones that seem to come together
really quickly.. has this been your experience over the years with
MK and DS? any examples? |
I suppose, that is true a lot of the time but I wouldn't say it's always the case. I know that Mark spent a long time writing what is regarded as one of his best songs, Romeo and Juliet. |
| inside ATRR | I
have two techie questions for you re. "All
The Roadrunning": 1.) What's the bass sound in the chorus of "This Is Us"? I can hear the low register of the Les Paul and Mr Worf's bass. Is there an additional synth sound underneath? 2.) As always I am fascinated by the sound of MK's voice. Of course the outboard gear is important, but what microphone is used for Mr Knopfler's vocals? And also this: Do you have any experience with the Apogee Mini-Me? I'm considering getting one of those for a mobile ProTools-setup, mainly to bypass the MBox A-D converters. Thank you for your help |
Yep,
there is indeed a synth which comes in for the chorus in
This is us... very 80's. At the moment we're quite partial to
using an exquisite old Telefunken 251 on Mark's vocal. I'm not
sure what was used
on
ATRR, could
have been the old favourite C12 (AKG). |
| Divatech | 1)
Do any of the guys have any Diva like tendencies regarding things
like dressing room arrangements, “unusual” demands
pre or post show, particular food and drink requests (apart from
the obligatory Vitamin G, obviously!) or obscure concert based rituals? 2) Any memorable tour practical jokes you could recollect? 3) Do you think technology has either helped or hindered artists in the last 10 years or so? There are some who embrace all aspects of technology such as digital recording – or do you think there is a place for this technology along side what people like MK do and get back to basics and more or less avoid modern technology when they record an album? |
A few things worthy of note.
Most of us have gone full circle in this regard; from dingy
pub gigs where a dressing room was only for the headline act
through
the full size snooker table syndrome in the Sydney entertainment
centre dressing room
(by
request) and back to the basic couch and table fare we seem happy
to use nowdays. Vitamin G was actually never officially on the rider.
Probably just as well. |
| why not play forever? | Doc Do you know how the tour schedule is set? I know
you cannot play every city, every tour. Are the cities chosen based
on ticket sales,
CD sales, ease of travel? We are disappointed up in the Washington
area not to be able to see EH and MK this summer. |
Yes, the schedule is set in stone now. We'd love to play everywhere but, time is the big limiting factor. We are simply not available as a unit beyone the given dates. |
| Brothers production | Please would you give me some insight in to the technology
used during the production of Brothers In Arms. Tonally, it is a
very dynamic
and interesting album. The tones, harmonics and textures from the
synths and keyboards are particularly unique. Which synthesizer produced
the octave stabs on Money for Nothing? How is it programmed, and
is the same patch used to play the short
chords during the end of the choruses? What processors are used on
the piano sustained notes on 'So Far Away'? Did you create these
tones through experimentation in the studio, or did you have a fixed
idea
for the layering of the sounds on each
song. |
The Money stabs are from a Yamaha DX1 synth, very rare these days. The concept was something I stumbled on and the sound was programmed pretty much from scratch. The chords in the choruses are from Mark's old Synclavier FM synth, long since gone...again, an original patch. There is no piano in So far away, as I recall. That sound is a custom Roland guitar synth....again the Synclavier but controlled by a custom Pensa-Suhr guitar. There was a lot of experimentation going on in Montserrat as there is on the production of all albums. |
| routines | Hello Dr. Fletch! You know.. I'm really curious about
how you do now, I mean.. It's soon only a month before you start
your touring. How's all the routines, is there any at all? |
We won't rehearse until May. Apart from doing bits and pieces with Mark in the studio for the new album, I've been at home, windsurfing! |
| what where | Dear Doc This might only be interesting for die hard fans, but then again ... that’s what we are. So here’s a question concerning the “All the Roadrunning” album: As we hear, those songs were recorded over a long period of time. Do you remember which song was played during which session? | I have to be honest here, no, I don't remember. I do however remember working on a few of the tracks in London with Mark and Danny C. |
| existing | Hello
Doc! I hope you don't put me on a black list or something for asking
this question, because I know you are tired
of answering these kind
of questions, and I fully understand why. I have been a fan of
Mark's since the old days and have moved forward my self, and I
don't want Dire Straits back. But to put a stop to all the questions
about releasing old material that don't exist, and to please
the fans, couldn't it be an idea to release an Alchemy DVD of the
full concert - all the songs from the existing video/LP/CD and
then add the missing songs, Industrial disease, Love over gold,
Twisting by the pool and Portobello belle? I think that would do
it, both prevent further annoying questions of the topic and satisfy
the fans! |
I don't have a blacklist. I just ignore daft questions. yes, it could be an idea. |
| wind | Dear Doc, You get lots of questions re. MK, but I would like to ask you something about Guy. What is he going to do this year (except touring with MK + EH) and what are his plans for the future? Are there any dreams he wants to realize as a musician? What about a solo record, we all know he has a fab voice and can write great music? |
This year, Guy will be mostly in the studio with Mark apart of course for May and June when we'll be touring once again. That's about it really...of course whenever it's windy I'll be...well you know. |
| M&G | Hello Dr. Fletch, I can't believe its been a year
already since I last saw you guys in Mumbai. I am now studying in
The Netherlands
and have bought tickets for the MK/EH concert
at the Ahoy in Rotterdam. I would dearly love to meet the band and was wondering
how the meet and greet session works -- Are there going meet and greet sessions
on this
tour? What can I do to be one of the lucky ones ? |
At this early stage, I don't know if there will be any M&G's on this tour but the general rule was that only competition winners and personal guests were included. Stay tune to the site for more info. |
|
enough already |
Hi
Doc, we fans, and I guess I speak for all of us, are really waiting
for years to get a DVD with older live-material
of this great band (alchemy
on DVD ??!!!!). I really can´t understand that there is nothing
in your pipeline. There are so many fans who still love DS as you
can see at the concerts of MK around the world. So many other artist
who haven´t got a half of the fans DS have, sell DVD of their
earlier times and I guess they make profit with that. I think your
fans do really need some of that old stuff, espacially from the BIA-Tour,
where the band was so popular around the world and there were so
many concerts. I hope that thousands of fans will write you a mail
like this, so that it would brake your heart (and that of MK of course)
not to release one (or more) DVD with great live-material of DS.
A very sad fan from good old cologne in germany :-) |
I'm sorry mr. sad fan from good old Cologne, I/we just don't have a pipeline or a stash of unreleased footage from days gone by. I do understand the desire for such material having been a fan myself once...but it simply doesn't exist. Looking back into the past is simply not something Mark or I do and therefore this is something that is rarely discussed. Mark remains an incredibly prolific artist and fans will just have to live with the fact that he will continue to put out NEW material and tour it for as long as is physically possible. That is what we enjoy doing. I DON't hope that thousands of fans write to me asking the same old questions but as I have opened myself up on the internet like this I'm sure this will continue, and I will continue to give the same answer. |
| BIA | Hi Doc, I don’t want to come across as a nuisance
as I’ve asked
similar questions to this one before but could you please advise
once and for all. Seeing that it will be 20 years this year since
DS played their last gig of the 85/86 tour in Oz are there any likely
plans for concert footage from this tour to be made available for
DVD release? Do Mark and his management have the release rights to
these or the companies that filmed the concerts (e.g. Channel 5 (Oz)
and Channel 4 (UK)? It seems a shame that us fans haven’t got
an official concert to watch from such a great era of the band and
have to make do with various bootleg re-records – the vast
majority of which have either crap sound, picture or both. With numerous
other artists releasing some great archive concerts recently, don’t
you think it’s about time we had one of DS? I would only be
too glad to buy an official release to enjoy the great sound and
musicianship that was Dire Straits instead of s**t recordings – I’m
sure it would be a financially successful venture! Are there any
reasons why there hasn’t been a release? I read somewhere that
Mark wanted a recording of the Alchemy tour as he wanted to capture
the band at that time and as this era was very close to the BIA tour
was he satisfied that there wasn’t need for another recording? |
I don't think there IS any concert footage from this era, apart from the TV companies you mention. There is no particular desire to go dredging up old footage at this point, of that I'm certain. Sure, an anniversary concert DVD would be nice for the fans, but I don't think it's gonna happen.
|
| tour q's | Do you know wich band members are on this tour ? Is Albert Lee also coming ? Does Emmylou bring some band members ? Are you planning to publish some photos of the rehersals on your website ? |
Yes I know the band line up. It's essentially the same as the last MK band with the adddition of Stuart Duncan from Nashville. No Albert Lee. I'm sure I'll rustle up a diary page on this website once again so stay in touch. |
| unique | Dear
Doc, some people think that the word "unique" in
MKNews announcement " Each unique concert will be a special
evening of duet performances featuring songs from their forth-coming
album as well as some tunes from their individual repertoires." means
every show will have a unique (or at least slightly different) setlist.
Is it the right impression? Thanks a lot. Fan |
Now we've been through all this before, haven't we.
I think you'll find that most people are quite happy to wait until
the night to see what songs are played. I think in this context, the word unique describes the actual event rather than the setlist. |
| pass | Will
be the MK & EH shows be available for download
via passalong? |
At the moment I have no idea. |
| tour questions | -
is there any plan to record/film show from the forthcoming tour? - will Mark perform one song written for next solo album? - are there possibilities for extra european gig? This time the tour is so short. - how long will you rehearse before getting on the road? |
At the moment we haven't discussed the possibility of recording..don't hold your hopes up. We won't be doing any NEW material, too early for that. The tour is short simply because we don't have any more time available due to prior commitments. Rehearsals will be quite short I guess. |
| alone | Dear Doc., Is there going to be any shows of MK alone? |
eventually |
| line-up | Hi Doc, Is there any info about the band line-up for the coming tour with MK and EH? | Lots of questions on this..we're hoping the line-up will be identical to that of the last tour with one addition (tba), and Emmy of course. |
| ? |
dear doc. |
I'm back |
| Tabs | Hi
Guy. I'm sure you will have heard about the recent threats by the
MPA to take leagal action on the distribution of guitar tabs on
the
internet and, if I'm not mistaken, lyrics as well. While I confess
to not actually knowing much of what else is going on or really
the logistics of such a threat (legally and from the point of view
of the music industry) I have to say that I think this is a pretty
bad situation! Guitar tabs on the internet are a vital learning
resource for anyone learning guitar and often advantageous to tab
books because they are usually an interpretation of a song by an
average joe guitar player. This means that tabs can be written
in a simpler form or can be broken down and explained etc. Tab
books are often overly complex in their format. What do you, the
band and other people in the music industry think of this news?
Sounds to me something which is coming from the suits. Any thoughts on the situation or a possible outcome? I'd be interested to hear what you think. |
No,
I hadn't heard about that. Although I'm not entirely sure who
the MPA are. could be the I'm guessing publishers! Obviously a brain wave from someone who has absolutely NO idea what gtr tabs are! for god's sake - Tabs are the least of the industrys' copyright concerns. ....can't
see it happening personally. |
| DVD? | Hi Guy, if the management doesn't get things straight concerning a Live DVD, fans obviously do. There is a DVD from the Bercy show exchanged between fans, which was shot with 5 cameras, combined with a pretty good audience recording. Everything perfectly (professionally) mixed together - with a very nice animated menue. Is it an organisational problem to shoot a show? Doesn't the management see an economic value of releasing a live DVD? Or is it MK who wants to wait for the perfect show? There should be something done, otherwise I see fans releasing the DVDs MK should have done (and now doesn't need anymore) Cheers |
I'm with you on that and I sympathise. I've seen the Paris DVD, and a few others and they're pretty respectable. I believe the plan was always to keep the live recordings specifically for the passalong releases and therefore there will not be an official DVD release of the Shangri-La tour. Ultimately it's entirely up to Mark: in my opinion, the tour was one of the best too, but that's the way it is. Don't worry though, there's plenty of exciting stuff in the MK pipeline.... |
| recording acoustics | Hi
Dr. Fletch: I’m currently doing some classical guitar recording at home,
using a bridge pickup via my pc soundboard and using an effects
processor (Line 6 POD
XT). Unsurprisingly, all the clicks and rattles seems difficult to avoid… how
do you in your records or in MK’s records manage to record acoustic instruments?
Are the clicks and rattles edited prior to recording? Or do you use some kind
of magic wizardly (apart from the best guitar playing skills I’ve heard
in my life) to get the top best quality sound prior to mixing it? I would be very much appreciated if you could give me some feedback about this. Keep up the openness of information in your website. |
You would be well advised to use a microphone (it
doesn't have to be expensive, I use a JoeMeek47 - cheap as chips)
and explore the variations with the mic. positioning. You will find
the sound much 'fuller' and also I think you'll be less bothered
by the noises. I VERY rarely use a pickup on an acoustic, unless it's a particular thin sound I'm after. There's no getting away from the fact that there's an art to playing a clean acoustic pass. |
| correction | Hi Doc, I just had to write you when I read a question
on your ask dr.fletch section, The question was; 1.Did Dire Straits ever record Private Dancer? If so, how did it sound compared to Tina Tuners version and any chance it will ever surface? You replied with " No. DS Never did" which isn't exactly right. Although the song was never published as a Dire Straits song, it was actually recorded by the band and Mark sang the lead vocal and had fun when he sang "and the men are all the same" with a gay accent!!! (ask Mark who'll confirm this!) Marks vocal was replaced by Tina Turners on the final record, as was Marks guitar solo replaced by Jeff Becks. Hal Lindes who was only in the band a short while also appeared on the recording. So,technically speaking it was recorded by DS (John Illsley,Alan Clark,Terry Williams,Hal Lindes and MK) and was then handed over to Tina. |
I stand corrected. Obviously your memory is better than mine. |
| DP debate | Can you throw any light on the Darling Pretty debate
(Mark's finest song). Is it a different take on the new compo?? |
So I've heard...I really don't know anything about this release as I'm working on other things at the moment. |
| meaning | Hi
Doc, Just wondering about "Stand up Guy." The
song just keeps growing on me. I was wondering if you have had any
discussions with MK about the meaning of the song. Maybe I'm reading
too much into it, but it almost seems like an anti-war song. Any
comments? |
You must read into it what you will. |
| Crowfly | Hi
Doc. Who had taken the decision of make MK tour songs available
ONLY at Crowfly???. It is the management, WB, MK
himself???. I don`t think this bad decision come from you Guy!!!.
When I had opened their site the first time,, I was VERY FRUSTRATING
cause it open only with Window XP???.So, I ask to one of my girlfriends
to check it out for me. She said the price of each song is around
$15-$20.00 Can found. What is that???.Does we have to be millionaire
to download MK live songs now???. And Yes, as you surely guess, I`M
A MAC USER and I want to kept things like that. It will be more simple
to release a live CD of this tour so anybody can buy -it and enjoy
one complete show. Does WB sleep on the switch???. |
I believe the whole thing stems from a deal initiated by Chuck and the management. In theory, I think the idea was great. Until of course the whole sticking point with Apple. I'm told it's very difficult for third party software companies to deal with our Californian chums. Your views are shared by many, including myself. BTW the whole concert costs $15-$20 not EACH song. I couldn't possibly comment on WB. |
| fave loads | Dr. Fletch – if you’ve
had the chance to listen back to the downloads available on PassAlong,
I was wondering
if you could make any personal recommendations as to which concert
would be your top favorite? I’d download them all if I could,
but at £10 a pop I think I’ll just stick to the UK RAH
and one other… I think I’ll have done my bit for you
guys by then. Could you give me a hint as to which other concert
I should download? |
out of the available downloads (I hooked up one of my PC's and checked out the Crowfly site), from memories of the show itself, I'd go for RAH, Lyon, Stra, Boston, Nashville and Salt Lake city. |
| download or not download? | I've
tried and I tried to download some concerts from your shangri-la
tour from passalong, but never had success with it.
I live in Italy and, as far as I know, there's no chance to get a
copy of a live concert of yours. When you register, their site still
ask where you came from, and offer only a selection of states inside
American federation. This despite your claim of October, 7th, where you say downloads are now available all over europe. |
mmm, I'm looking into this. As a Mac user, I have no way of knowing what's available here (in the UK). I merely posted the information I was given by Crowfly. **having looked further, I see they are indeed NOT available yet but I'm assured that it is imminent |
| reference | Dear Dr. Fletch, 1) I recently upgraded my DS collection
to the re-masters done a few years back by Bob Ludwig. Who chose
Bob Ludwig (a great choice
by the way)? Was it WB or MK? 2) Are you pleased with the end result of the re-mastered titles? 3) Why weren't On the Night and Alchemy re-mastered in the U.S.? 4) Why was RPD not mastered as an HDCD as GH, STP and Shangri-La were? 5) All of MK/DS are what I consider reference quality recordings; do you have any favorite reference quality recordings? |
Bob
Ludwig has always been well respected by Mark. Having not heard
most of the remasters I can't really comment but I have no doubts
they were worth doing. As far as OTN and Alchemy are concerned,
I'm not really sure why they weren't remastered and
RPD not being remastered as an HDCD???...I have no idea. |
| crypto-lyrics | Hello, sometimes MK lyrics are very cryptic (everybody
pays) or have special historical contents (5.15 am-last verse f.e.). Does MK assume that the band members draw their own conclusions or is he explaining his sources like books, places, history etc before you all start to create your contribution to the song? Is it important to understand MKs intentions completely to work out the music or is it just his part to "do the words?" |
I don't find his lyrics particularly cryptic and generally we understand what he's on about. If not, one of us will ask for clarification during or before the recording process. It's important to understand what the song is about before we record it but there are often lyrics which require the listener to interpret his/her own way. That's Mark's intention. |
| no live DVD | Guy,I
followed daily your tour diary(great, thank you) to find out any
possible comment on video(DVD) recording
of
the tour. no way. MK have thousand of people (all potential buyers)
who probably couldn't attend the gig asking for a dvd but he couldn't
care less.(by the way we are still waiting
Madrid) painful. I'm not enough smart to understand the choice but i
can
imagine he has(hopefully)
good reasons and of course it’s not my business. my question for you is;for
all of us who don't care to download the concerts but likes for different reasons
(egs.quality of the sound) the old good cd is
any chance to have a live recording from the tour(at least)? I would like with
your help to have the chance to express to MK my disappoint on how he takes care
of his fans requests. MK is the greatest and most original
guitarist,great song writer, but with fans….. |
I understand your point entirely and cannot disagree. I would have loved for there to be a LIVE DVD of the tour, especially as pretty much all of the shows were recorded. I thought that the band was exciting and for there to be some tangible record of the tour would have been a good thing. But apparently it doesn't fit in with upcoming releases and a long term 'plan' which MK and PC have and which I cannot comment upon. Personally,
I think it's a wasted opportunity especially as sadly the download
thing quite literally ended
up being
a bit of a non-starter for all outside the US and/or who use
Apple computers.
|
| arrange | Dear
Doc, Who decides on the new arrangements for some songs to keep
them fresh tour after tour? Is it MK or the band
collectively
bouncing ideas
around? Who decides if they work or not. Also, The same question
applies DURING a tour; eg. Heavy Fuel from 91/92 went through some
changes start to finish of the tour. How come? Aren't these things
decided in rehearsal?? |
There are no set rules here..if someone has an idea about an arrangement, we'll all listen and develop it if it's good. |
| way back when | Here's
a quite simple question : How did you learn to play keyboards ?
I mean, did you start playing piano like most
people ? Did you learn first the great ones like Schumann, Mozart
aso ? Did you start with another instrument ? Did you practice a
lot during your childhood ? |
well here's the truth...I never really learned to play. The fact is I started playing bass guitar and lead vocals in a band but at some point, they talked me in to getting a synth. Then the guitarist's brother took over the role of bassist ('cos he had a Rickenbacker bass and an Ampeg) so I became a keyboard player. Not that I minded, I loved it. Pretty soon I had a rig and the rest is history. |
| roadies | The "roadies", your team
of dedicated lifters and shifters - do they spend their lives moving
speakers, lights
and equipment around for other top named artists or are they the
MK lifters and shifters and only come out of the woodwork for the
next MK tour? |
Firstly,
let's differentiate between roadies and lifters/shifters/humpers.
Our road crew are a dedicated team of guys whom each have specific
jobs to do... ie. Laurence looks after the keys, Glenn looks after
MK's guitars and amps, Adrian looks after the stage mics, monitors
etc. They supervise a local crew who do all the hard lifting and
humping from truck to stage. Each venue supplies a local crew and
indeed in some towns, the union insists upon this and as some of
you will have noticed, they don't allow our guys to touch the cases
at all! (thankfully, this is only the case in the US) Our crew
do indeed work with other artists when we are not on the road.
a lot
of them
work
with
EC. Did
anyone watch the TV series 'roadies' on one of the UK cable channels,
in particular
the episode featuring the Motorhead crew! it was hilarious. |
| end of tour | Once the last venue is played, what do you guys do
to close the tour, any end of tour rituals or is each tour different? |
Each tour is different but there are no rituals as such. it is a very weird feeling coming off stage for the last time in a tour. |
| all the road running | Now that the tour is over I am waiting for the best of album to be released. :) Can you tell a little about the song called 'All the Road Running' ? I never heard of it before. | I've had a lot of questions about this track. It was recorded during the Emmylou Harris sessions. |
| post tour-diary q's | Are
you amazed at the volume of email you received from Fans? Approximately
how many emails did you respond to on a
daily basis? How much time per day did you spend updating the diary
and answering emails? Tour diaries were still a new concept during
the STP tour, so comparing the STP tour diary to the S-L tour diary,
how did the percentage
of response change? Double? Triple? Last question- What are you working
on now? |
I'm more amazed by the number of hits the diary attained at it's peak (3.4 million per month). I was getting between 20 and 50 e-mails per day depending on what was going on at the time and I would spend about half an hour per day responding. I would say the response was about double that of the STP tour diary. Right
now I'm just finishing off mixing the Junior Eurovision 2005
songs and then I plan to have a few
weeks off. This years show airs at 6:30pm on the 3rd Sept on ITV2.
It's a real shame it has to be called Eurovision because
the kids (under 16) have
to both compose and perform live their songs so there is a genuine
display of 'real' talent...unlike most artists involved in the
senior Eurovision song contest! |
| sounds | Hi, Doc, I have a Tribute Band to Dire
Straits & MK
here in Udine (Italy) and the most difficult we had has been to re-produce
the same effects,
the same sounds of Mr. Guy Fletcher gear. Is there some posibility
of finding somewhere in his web site the effects & type of sounds
he's using during this tour, song by song, of the Shangri-La Tour
set list? |
Unless you want to replicate Guy's rig exactly, I would suggest you use your own sounds. I'm sure you're more than capable. Besides, most of the sounds Guy uses are modifications of patches in the synths and also a few unique samples coming out of an E4 and an Akai S1100. One tip...they are often simpler than you think. Don't be deceived by multi layered sounds in modern keyboards..simplification is the key. |
| Euro downloads- setlists | Hi Doc, Any news on us poor europeans (legally) being
able to dowload anytime soon? you know how fanatic these diehards
are, if it takes
too long, most of them will just copy from somewhere else. once
again though: great tour! but any idea, why there was so little
(compared to former tours) change in the setlist? |
I'm afraid I have NO news on this. I was told (when we were still on tour) it would be up and running soon but there are obviously complications and now the tour is over I am kind of out of the loop. I'll make another track from the NYC show available soon to those who have registered to my site as a 'small' compensation. We didn't change the setlist much on this tour simply because we were enjoying it so much. |
| 75,000 tunnels |
1
Is there any special reason for MK is not playing "tunnel
of love"? |
1.
no, not really. |
| writing credit | I have
a question for you that's been on my mind nearly as long as I can
remember listening to Mark and Dire Straits. How is it that in
nearly
30 years of making music, Mark has always claimed writing credits
on every single song on every single DS/MK studio album? I know
he's a terrific songwriter, but it seems somewhat odd that he never
shared songwriting credits with any of his band members - you in
particular. The keyboard parts on some songs, i.e. "Walk of
Life", "Industrial
Disease", "Cannibals", strike me as something a keyboard
player would write. Is there some sort of "musician's code" that
says whoever comes up with the song originally gets all the writing
credits, regardless of band contributions?:) |
It's simple, If you write the SONG, you get the credit. A keyboard part or riff isn't generally recognized as contributing to the song (otherwise I'd have earned a packet from MTV) although in some 'bands' the writing credit is shared. The difference really is that Mark doesn't present a song for recording until it's written in his mind therefore why should he share the credit. There are dubious ares where in the past, various band members have contributed to the way a song is recorded, even adding intro's etc. but Mark has always considered himself to be a songwriter first and foremost so it stands to reason he'd feel protective about his work in that way. |
| adulate? | Your
last posting said that this was your favorite tour. Since you were
part of the Dire Straits tour where you played to HUGE crowds,
I found this interesting. The vision of Beatles-like adulation
and packed stadiums seems like the pinnacle of any musician's career.
Why do you suppose you picked this tour as your favorite? Don't you
miss the 40,000 person stadiums? |
No, I don't miss the 40,000 stadiums...but I kinda miss the 75,000+....this tour was fave because of the personnel, both band and crew. What a great bunch of chaps! ...what I said is true, it's all in the diary. |
|
MANY |
Any plans for recording DVD during this tour ??? I
am just wondering, because there has been a lot of talk about
this being the best solo tour ever, and the biggest, it would
be a shame if there was no official record of the event, like
a live D.V.D. i'm sure you get asked this a lot, but would
you be able to make an official statement on your website as
to weather or not there will be anything like a live D.V.D. |
At the moment, there are NO plans to release a DVD of the tour, even though nearly all of the shows have been recorded. It seems it was always the intent to make these available online. |
| EP | Last
week I had a chance to pick up the new EP entitled "One Take
Radio Sessions" here in the States. I was just wondering why
you are not credited in the "Musicians" section. Under "Keys",
only Jim Cox and Matt Rollings are stated. You did participate
in the making of the EP, right? |
Yes, I've had quite a few e-mails about this. I was busy working on a movie at the time and couldn't get over to the states. |
| tempo | Just
how do you get the exact same tempo for each song every night?
Does each band member have a metronome or "click" in
their in-ears? At one point I thought Danny was the "tempo
man", but Mark starts off a few songs, so how do you guys
do it? Thanks! |
Some of the songs are counted in by Danny and he uses a click track to get an accurate tempo, but some are started by other members of the band and they do vary slightly. No big deal though. |
| Trawl | Did you also record some shows from the first part of the tour, I mean with 'Trawlerman Song' included, one of my favorites ? | We
did record the earlier shows but it was decided that the band had
evolved musically and performance-wise, so I don't think the earlier
shows will see the light of day. However, maybe there's a case
for a live version of Trawlerman's song someday?? |
| Radio City | Do
you know what is happening with the Radio City concert. I see there
are a couple of tracks being offered by Crowfly for free, but is
the full concert going to be offered up sometime either as
a free download (as originally thought), or as one of the priced
downloads? |
I'm not sure what will be the fate of these recordings...stay tuned. Maybe they'll become available for free. |
| power | How
do you handle the different power supplies for the equipment? North
America is 110V and Europe is 220V. Some places have 50 cycle power
and some are 60 cycle. Does this affect the equipment? |
Good question. At the beginning of the tour we purchased a 'Firman' power conditioning unit which outputs 'clean' voltage wherever we are. (except certain parts of Spain!!!!!) |
| ears | Can you give us some more detail of the in-ear system? What system are you using? Are the ear pieces noise canceling like Shure's E3, or are they something else? Does Kerry use a frequency distributor, or does he rely on frequency agility built in to each transceiver? How does he prevent interference from wireless mics and local frequencies etc.? Is there a backup in case of wireless dropout, such as a floor wedge? | Good questions. I'll do a full In ear report in the diary soon but to answer some of this. The in ears are not noise-cancelling but they do shut out a lot of external sound. Each band member is on a different freq. and we DO get interference from various sources such as transmitter masts. In these cases Kerry will adjust frequencies or move the transmitters slightly nearer. |
| let's rehearse | Hi Doc, For a big tour like Shangri'La you did some rehearsals sessions in London. I was wondering, as an amateur musician I am -where the rehearsals are done to make something that can be called "music"-, what is the purpose of this rehearsals?. I mean: It's a kind of: "let's make this stuff sound"... or, "how do we want this stuff to sound". I suppose is the second as your band is amazing!!! (Madrid show was great!). |
As you will see from the first entry in my diary listed as 'rehearsals'.....we did rehearse. It would be a bit daft not to, don't you think. How would we know what we were doing? Although in actual fact, we probably could do a show with only a discussion beforehand. As you say, the band is good. |
| cheers | Hello Doc! Been following your great tour reports. Been a DS fan since ’79, and I must say I find this report exciting. You do a great job with the contact with fans around the globe. The way you share your web and attention with the others in the band shows that there is a reason why you,ve been MK’s favourite sideman for so many years. | thanks |
| PA | Doc, I'm in the business and I'm wondering and I really don't know if you use the same speakers in every venue, but if you do, what is your brand or your PREFERRED speaker/amp brand name. Are they self powered systems or un-powered speaker cabinet line arrays? | We take our own PA wherever we go. In the US we are using a slightly different system. It's a JBL line-array. The reasoning for this is weight. In some venues we are restricted as to how much weight we can hang. |
| New Strings? | Hello Doc! During the tour, does every guitar get new strings before every show? | Not every guitar, but some do. |
| Bazouki | Was at the superb Belfast show and noticed that Richard was playing the bouzouki which reminded me that Donal Lunny played it on the Golden Heart album any connection? and also being a man of many talents can you play it ? and what new sound does it offer ?. anyway thanks for a really memorable night in Belfast we all appreciated you coming here and giving us a night to remember till next time cheers Peter | I guess there is a connection. It offers quite a unique, folky sound that nothing else really supplies. |
| Roxy | Has Guy been invited to join the upcoming Roxy Music reunion? I
saw Brian Ferry play in Hong Kong last year when Phil M joined him
on stage for a few numbers. They looked like they were really enjoying
each other. Tell us a bit about Guy’s amateur meteorology? |
No, I haven't been asked, infact I haven't seen Brian in years. The meteorology thing is based on my windsurfing passion. Obviously I check the weather regularly in the hope wind is in the forecast. Also when I'm in the States, the Weather Channel is the only thing I think is worth watching. |
| record company influence | Record
companies have a great deal of say in what is and what isn't released
by artists. Just wondering if they have the same influences over
a tour? Or in this instance, does someone like MK decide what is
played and where without interference/input of the record company? Also, do the band's families come to the gigs or have they seen it all before? |
They
have no say at all in what we do on the road. Families come to the odd place but generally no. It's not a holiday, and it's a lot of travelling...otherwise we'd be doing 20 nights in Hawaii. |
