Michael Cull has come out of retirement to present an online virtual reality organ concert on the Hammond A-100 and Roland Atelier AT-80R organs.
He is playing all the old favourites from his earlier professional playing days, plus a whole host of new material which he has been working on recently.
A personal message from Michael
Hi Folks. I was just sitting here thinking what to play next, and also how to go about designing this little website of mine. I suppose the best place to start is here, by writing this.
It's all very well sitting down and playing pieces of music but, when playing in public which is what I am doing here, it is better if the performer can communicate effectively with his or her audience. That is the difficult bit!
Anyone who has met me will already know that I do not do the big speech thingy with ease: In fact I hate it!
OK, so I waffle a lot most of the time. I am also a past master of my trademark "off-the-cuff" comments, innuendo's, quick repartée and warped sense of humour which often land me in trouble.
What I am trying to do here is serious stuff though, so I shall try to speak from the heart.
I was a working musician for most of my adult life, both in a professional and semi-professional role, until 1987 when I realised I needed an occupation which would provide me with a reasonable pension upon retirement. I have not performed in public since then.
Sadly it was this change of direction which was to be my downfall, as the pressures which came with the job eventually affected my health thus causing me to take early retirement sometime in 2001. Am I glad of that pension now, even though it is a reduced one!
While slowly recovering from my earlier health problems I have been able to learn a few new skills, particularly website creation and maintenance. I also repair computers for friends. My first principal love however is music making.
After some cajoling, mostly from friends I decided that while heaving a hefty organ around was totally out of the question, the internet would be a practical place for me to perform again: So here I am.
Trying to do a "one-to-one" with just a video camera for company is not easy after being used to working in front of a live audience. With a fag in one hand and a glass in the other, it's a wonder I ever managed to play the bleedin' organ!!!
What you will see and hear on my website is just me. There are no tricks or gimmicks involved: no backing tracks, pre-recorded sounds or anything else. It's just me, bum notes, warts and all.
I really hope you enjoy the all!
Cheers.
PS - I am putting together some DVD's in between playing and looking after this site. These will likely be available on Ebay, and will be of higher video quality than the reduced quality I have to use here. I will keep you posted.
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