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| Ed Alstrom, Yankee Stadium Organist by Ed Alstrom, courtesy of Alan Ashton |
"My dad was an organist (plumber for a living, but played the organ recreationally, and constantly);
knew a million songs by ear, never read music. Learned stuff by hearing it once, better ears than any
musician I've ever seen.
"He had a lot of old organ records, so I grew up listening to Lenny Dee, Jesse Crawford, Don Baker,
etc., and I grew up playing organ myself, since we didn't get a piano until I was 13. We had a
Hammond M-3 when I was little (I was playing it before I could reach the pedals), then my Dad got a
Conn Theater organ, then later a B-3.
knew a million songs by ear, never read music. Learned stuff by hearing it once, better ears than any
musician I've ever seen.
"He had a lot of old organ records, so I grew up listening to Lenny Dee, Jesse Crawford, Don Baker,
etc., and I grew up playing organ myself, since we didn't get a piano until I was 13. We had a
Hammond M-3 when I was little (I was playing it before I could reach the pedals), then my Dad got a
Conn Theater organ, then later a B-3.
"I went to my first Yankee game in
1967, which I believe was Layton's
first year. I had been to a couple of
Met games prior to that and heard
Jane Jarvis, who knocked me out
too. I instantly was a big fan of not
only baseball, but the organ at a
baseball game. I always thought, "I
wanna do THAT", but never
dreamed there would actually be
the chance to do it at Yankee
Stadium.
"I had contacted the Mets once
when I thought there was an
opening there for organist in the
late 70's, but was sent back a form
letter stating that they were not
looking for a 'mascot' at the present
time (!).
"I did meet Mr. Layton briefly about
7-8 years ago, after smooth-talking
my way into the press box
somehow. He was gracious and
showed me the rig, which was then
a Hammond Colonnade they
purchased in 1985, plus a Korg
Poly-61, a Kawai Portable keyboard,
an old Roland TR-707 drum machine,
and a Kat synthesizer (Crumar's
answer to the Mini-Moog).
1967, which I believe was Layton's
first year. I had been to a couple of
Met games prior to that and heard
Jane Jarvis, who knocked me out
too. I instantly was a big fan of not
only baseball, but the organ at a
baseball game. I always thought, "I
wanna do THAT", but never
dreamed there would actually be
the chance to do it at Yankee
Stadium.
"I had contacted the Mets once
when I thought there was an
opening there for organist in the
late 70's, but was sent back a form
letter stating that they were not
looking for a 'mascot' at the present
time (!).
"I did meet Mr. Layton briefly about
7-8 years ago, after smooth-talking
my way into the press box
somehow. He was gracious and
showed me the rig, which was then
a Hammond Colonnade they
purchased in 1985, plus a Korg
Poly-61, a Kawai Portable keyboard,
an old Roland TR-707 drum machine,
and a Kat synthesizer (Crumar's
answer to the Mini-Moog).
| Photo Courtesy www.organfax.co.uk, Alan Ashton & Ed Alstrom |
"In March of this year (2004), I obviously knew Mr. Layton was retiring, so I took a chance and just
called them up and asked them if they were looking for a replacement. To my surprise, I got through
to the right people and they said, "Sure, come in and let's hear you play". I went out to the Stadium
and positioned myself at the mighty Colonnade, with Mr. Layton standing in the doorway
'requesting' tunes: "OK, play me a little 'NY, NY'..... play me 'Happy Birthday'.... how about some
'National Anthem'.... Canadian National Anthem'.... 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame'.... I played about
30-45 seconds of each, and that was the audition; the whole thing was about 5 minutes.
"They reacted favorably and told me they would contact me. About 2 weeks later, I was called and
told that they needed someone to do Saturdays and Sundays, since Paul Cartier had already been
contracted for the weekdays, but had weekend commitments that precluded him from playing at
the Stadium. I, of course accepted, and here we are!
called them up and asked them if they were looking for a replacement. To my surprise, I got through
to the right people and they said, "Sure, come in and let's hear you play". I went out to the Stadium
and positioned myself at the mighty Colonnade, with Mr. Layton standing in the doorway
'requesting' tunes: "OK, play me a little 'NY, NY'..... play me 'Happy Birthday'.... how about some
'National Anthem'.... Canadian National Anthem'.... 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame'.... I played about
30-45 seconds of each, and that was the audition; the whole thing was about 5 minutes.
"They reacted favorably and told me they would contact me. About 2 weeks later, I was called and
told that they needed someone to do Saturdays and Sundays, since Paul Cartier had already been
contracted for the weekdays, but had weekend commitments that precluded him from playing at
the Stadium. I, of course accepted, and here we are!
"The rig now: the Colonnade is still there, of course. It's one of Hammond's passes at a theater
organ; has cheesy rhythms, auto-chords, lots of bells and whistles, alternate sounds, banjos,
zithers, vibes, and a 'Symphonic Strings' section that sounds exactly like an old Farfisa. In the end, it
does have drawbars, and that's what matters most.
"Paul and I exorcised most of the old gear (Poly-61, Kawai, and TR-707). However, we left the Kat
there as a shrine, since it was too difficult to remove (it's bolted to some scaffolding on the wall).
We both own a Yamaha Tyros, so we decided that I would bring mine in and put it on top of the
organ.
"We run a line directly out of the Colonnade to their main mixer. The line out of the organ bypasses
the built-in Leslie (which has its own separate amp and speaker system in the Colonnade), so we
don't have the use of a Leslie when we're playing. We monitor thru headphones directly off the
organ itself, which also bypasses the Leslie. The Tyros is connected by a line in to the organ.
"I don't know the exact specs of the sound system. Layton used to say it was '50,000 watts' and it
probably is something like that. We are mostly heard through a massive column of speakers in centre
field, and there are speakers throughout and outside the stadium. When we release a chord, there
is about a 6/10 second delay, which is fun to catch the end of as the sound rolls around the place!"
Special thanks to Alan Ashton at www.organfax.co.uk and of course Ed Alstrom.
organ; has cheesy rhythms, auto-chords, lots of bells and whistles, alternate sounds, banjos,
zithers, vibes, and a 'Symphonic Strings' section that sounds exactly like an old Farfisa. In the end, it
does have drawbars, and that's what matters most.
"Paul and I exorcised most of the old gear (Poly-61, Kawai, and TR-707). However, we left the Kat
there as a shrine, since it was too difficult to remove (it's bolted to some scaffolding on the wall).
We both own a Yamaha Tyros, so we decided that I would bring mine in and put it on top of the
organ.
"We run a line directly out of the Colonnade to their main mixer. The line out of the organ bypasses
the built-in Leslie (which has its own separate amp and speaker system in the Colonnade), so we
don't have the use of a Leslie when we're playing. We monitor thru headphones directly off the
organ itself, which also bypasses the Leslie. The Tyros is connected by a line in to the organ.
"I don't know the exact specs of the sound system. Layton used to say it was '50,000 watts' and it
probably is something like that. We are mostly heard through a massive column of speakers in centre
field, and there are speakers throughout and outside the stadium. When we release a chord, there
is about a 6/10 second delay, which is fun to catch the end of as the sound rolls around the place!"
Special thanks to Alan Ashton at www.organfax.co.uk and of course Ed Alstrom.
| Photo Courtesy www.organfax.co.uk, Alan Ashton & Ed Alstrom |