FHRODO IS UP AND RUNNING

Some months ago, John Hampshire, a close friend of PBGB, rang to say that a friend of his (an expat and fellow friend of PBGB named Ted Howes) had loaned him a vintage Fender Rhodes piano so John’s daughter might have a keyboard to practice on.

John, along with his wife and daughter live in an apartment in Sydney, and space is at a premium. It wasn’t long before John was looking for a new home for the Fender.

John thought of The Shed. Good thinking John !  Bless you my son.

As an avid lover of 70s Jazz Rock Fusion, Pete reckons the Fender Rhodes is every bit as classic an instrument as they come............think Chick Corea, think Herbie Hancock, both of whom played Fender Rhodes.

So after John had received Ted’s blessing, Pete was in the ute on his way to Sydney, to collect he who has come to be known as Fhrodo !

When Fhrodo arrived in The Shed, it became apparent that whilst Fhrodo was in good condition, a bit of TLC would not go astray.

Pete asked PBGB Family Member Mark Bolsius ( look Mark up on ‘The Musicians’ Page of this blog site ) to come have a look and provide an appraisal. Mark kindly obliged and gave Pete a list of required parts.

Pete went looking and came across a guy in Melbourne named Simon Tregear. Simon is widely regarded amongst those in the know as the best person in Australia to have tend to your vintage keyboards (and amps).

Check Simon out at

http://www.fenderrhodes.com/v2/service/61/SOUL-AMP+ENGINEERING+MELBOURNE+VIC+AU+AUSTRALIA.html

So Pete rang Simon, and another unbelievable piece of PBGB serendipity unfolded.................

When Pete told Simon he lived at Pambula Beach, Simon said “Oh really ? Do you know Pol O’Shea and Ken Vatcher ?”

Honest truth folks, this was just a couple of  days after the September 2011 SuperSesh, at which both Ken and Pol  ( and Mark )  blazed away in The Shed.

Furthermore, Simon said he was coming up soon to see his mate Pol, and would drop in to have a look at Fhrodo.

Simon declared Fhrodo a fine specimen, who, with a tweak here and a poke there, would be a great example of a 1971 Fender Rhodes Stage 73 MK-1.

Simon took Fhrodo to Melbourne, poked and prodded, then brought him back.

All we needed was someone to play Fhrodo !

Enter Jem Savage.

As you will see in a later post, Jem played Fhrodo on our latest song ‘Big Car, No Shoes’.

We love the song. We love Fhrodo. We love what Jem played.

Thanks to Ted, John, Mark, Simon and Jem, we now have a classic instrument in near perfect order in The Shed.

Have a listen to 'Big Car, No Shoes' on the PBGB Juke Box, and stay tuned for more songs featuring Fhrodo.