We begin the month of June with an outreach program wherein we shall be getting to know the instruments near Ridgecrest, California. Our mission began with the first forray into the world of the Mighty TPO in Southern California, the First Annual Poor Man's Pipe Organ Convention of 2007, held at the Granada Theatre in Old Town Kern, Bakersfield. We continue our coverage of this historic event in this month's issue of the Gazette, along with a trip to the country to play a vintage analogue electronic theatre organ made by Gulbransen.

Also in the news, the Founding Father of Walnut Hill Productions, Fred Willis, had an accident in his home on May 4th, the day before the Convention. He fell while walking into the kitchen and the Bone Doctor had to call 911 for assistance. Fred was quickly taken by ambulance to the Ridgecrest Medical Center, a small but high-tech hospital serveing the Kern County area. He was admitted and diagnosed before we left for Bakersfield to attend the Convention.

My next door neighbor Ernest Todd and I went camping in the Kern River Valley from Sunday through Thursday as the month of June drew to a close. Stay tuned for pictures from our wonderful trip into the Sierra Nevada Range...

I have been very busy lately. I am getting dug in out here in the high desert, and I am discovering that I am a true desert rat. It was 106 degrees in the shade the other day and I was comfortable as I lounged out in the front yard in the gentle refreshing Sierra Nevada breeze, soaking up some rays. I love this place. Stark and alien, it is nonetheless quite beautiful, like nothing I have ever known before. And I am getting one heck of a tan.

Southern California is very well blessed with some lovely scenery and many super TPO's. I am currently scheduling dates with some of them. I have played Jim Spohn's lovely Robert Morton/WurliTzer of 24 ranks in Bakersfield. I am in line to play the 4/36 Mighty WurliTzer at the Plummer Memorial Auditorium on the campus of Fullerton Community College in Pasadena. There are a number of other fine instruments too numurous to mention that are also in my sights.

But the surprise of the year for me so far was when fellow Walnut Hill Wall Of Fame member and great friend Dan Rowland called from Akron, Ohio to invite me over for a two-week stay at his home during the last two weeks of August, 2007. While there, I am scheduled to play the 3/11 Mighty Kilgen at the Palace Theatre in Canton, a lovely 3/17 Mighty WurliTzer at the residence of Dorothy Steiner in Akron, possibly the Civic Theatre 3/19 Mighty WurliTzer, the Mighty custom Walker DTO at the residence of Doug Powers, and the Gray's Armory 3/15 Mighty WurliTzer.

I am also scheduled to take a tour of the Schantz Pipe Organ Company's factory and showroom. I intend to play any organ they will give me time on the bench while there. Plus, I get to play Dan Rowland's wonderful vintage Rodgers Olympic analogue electronic theatre organ and perhaps his freshly rebuilt Style 260 Mighty MidiTzer. Woot!

Walnut Hill is rapidly heading toward 53,000 visitors with the addition of this month's feature and lots of new pictures and free music downloads. We have 193 pages to date and more are soon to be added. Walnut Hill is rapidly growing beyond any of my wildest dreams, and I have all of you, my loyal patrons, to thank for that success. God bless and happy playing.

On Tuesday, June 12th, the Bone Doctor and Cyrus Roton ventured out into the Califortnia countryside to the community of Kennedy Meadows. There, they were scheduled to play a magnificent Gulbranson Rialto electronic analogue theatre organ belonging to Charles Fultz, one of Cy's long-time friends in the organ world.

Kennedy Meadows is a thriving community of beautiful farms located just beyond Pearsonville on California Highway 178, about an hour out of Ridgecrest. It sits at a lofty elevation of over 6,000 feet above sea level. The scenery on the way there was simply stunning, as evidenced by the picture above showing the dirt road leading up the mountain on the way to Charles' house.

Here, we see Charles Fultz and Cyrus Roton posing for the camera next to this magnificent instrument. Charles is very proud of his vintage organs, including the Hammond B3 with matching tone cabinet sitting behind the Gulbransen.

Here, we see the lovely Hammond B3. This organ has a percussion kit added but no Leslie speaker. But the D series tone cabinet provides that highly sought after sound that only a wel maintained B3 can make. Charlie has the best of both worlds, the jazz and the theatre sound! However, we did not record the Hammond on this trip. We plan to do that on another run later in the summer.

We got several recordings of the Mighty Gulbransen Rialto. It was a very impressive beast, indeed. With two outboard Lesie speakers, the sound was grand as it reverberated 'round the huge metal climate controlled equipment barn where it lives.

Here, we see the left bolster of the console, featuring the Pedal and Accompaniment stops. Note the gray stop tongues which are tone modifiers that control the volume of the various divisions.

Here, we see the center bolster of the console containing the gray General stops for the Tremulants and Tone Modifiers that control the Solo Tibia volume.

Looking to the other end of the horseshoe, we see the right bolster of the console containing the Solo stops. Note the two light blue stop tongues that control the electronic Glock and the Clarinet, which is really a mixture derived from the Tibia at 8' with 2 2/3' and 1 3/5 pitches at a lower volume. Not pictured, but a part of the instrument nonetheless, is a real Glock that is brought on by a toe stud to the right of the swell shoe.

The Bone Doctor attempted some tunes he has not done before. Unfamiliar music on an unfamiliar organ leads to some shakey playing, but he felt good enough about the sound of the instrument and his performance to post the results below for your enjoyment.

1. Only A Rose (The Vagabond Suite)
   Playing time = 2:40, file size = 2.48MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
2. The Lonely Goat Herder (The Sound of Music)
   Playing time = 2:43, file size = 2.51MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
3. Sentimental Journey
   Playing time = 3:46, file size = 3.49MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
4. Satin Doll
   Playing time = 4:13, file size = 3.90MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
5. San Antonio Rose
   Playing time = 1:58, file size = 1.83MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.

Cyrus Roton enjoyed playing the Mighty Gulbransen Rialto analogue electronic theatre organ, and we captured his performance. We present the results below for your enjoyement. In the medley (track 4) are two songs, I Left My Heart In San Fransisco and a short exerpt from In The Mood.

1. Cuddle Up A Little Closer
   Playing time = 1:08, file size = 1.07MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
2. Song Of India
   Playing time = 2:08, file size = 1.99MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
3. I'll Never Smile Again
   Playing time = 1:32, files size = 1.44MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
4. I Left My Heart In San Fransisco
   Playing time = 1:38, file size = 1.52MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.

On Saturday, May 5th at 8AM, the doors of the Granada Theatre in Old Town Kern, Bakersfield opened to greet theatre organ enthusiasts to a first time annual event of historic perportions. Representing Walnut Hill was Cyrus Roton, the Bone Doctor, and Russ Ashworth.

Jim and Lucy Spohn welcomed over fourty TPO enthusiasts from around the country and beyond to come and share the fine 4/24 Mighty WurliTzer/Morton Theatre Pipe Organ as players and listeners.

We made many new friends, rekindled old friendships, and all in attendence during this historic gathering had an absolute boat load of fun. Lucy Spohn was most warm and gracious as she kept the delicious consessions coming and the happy smiles abounding. Her hamburgers rule, along with her kindness. And Jim backed her up all the way with his enthusiasm and generosity. We shall miss this lovely couple until the next time we stop in at the Granada, hopefully long before next year. Simply put, I love that place and the folks who own and run it. Sheer joy, it is.

The Poor Man's Pipe Organ Convention will run each year, so now is the time to mark your calender for a date with one of the TPO world's best kept secrets and loveliest of musical gems, the Mighty 4/24 WurliTzer/Morton Theatre Pipe Organ Jim Spohn built. Make plans to attend the Second Annual Poor Man's Pipe Organ Convention of 2008 today! We shall be seeing you at the Granada next year. If all goes as planned, this will become an event in Bakersfeield, California not to be missed, no matter how far one must go to get there.

The Walnut Hill Production Team attended and had the cameras and recorders rolling to document the event. Look for this instrument to be featured in August 2007. We made some recordings using the Samson Zoom H4 and took dozens of photos using two digital SLR cameras, our trusty Canon Power Shot S2-IS and the Kodak D70 belonging to Fred Willis. We were unable to get video, however, because the laptop was not available as a file repository. Some of these are posted below. There are more to follow. Stay tuned as we sort through this new material and post more here in the days ahead.

On May 5th and 6th of 2007, fellow Featured Artist Bone Doctor took the bench of this great instrument to play the following selections for you to enjoy.

1. My Father's World
   Playing time = 3:25, file size = 3.18MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
2. Never Grow Old
   Playing time = 2:53, file size = 2.67MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
3. Noodling on the way to the Steel Guitar Rag
   Playing time = 4:06, file size = 3.81MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
4. Norwegian Wood
   Playing time = 2:45, file size = 2.56MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
5. Wildwood Flower
   Playing time = :, file size = .MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
6. Just A Closer Walk With Thee
   Playing time = 3:25, file size = 3.17MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
7. Saint Louis Boogie
   Playing time = 3:01, file size = 2.80MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.

Two fine musicians, Dean Cook and Greg Rister, blew our socks off as they played the huge instrument in concert and silent movies with masterful skill. Several other enthusiastic folks took a go at the old gal, including her builder, Jim Spohn, who plays quite well indeed. First up is some material from Dean Cook's Sunday show, played with great registration and a firey style.

1. Puttin' On The Ritz
   Playing time = 2:36, file size = 2.42MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
2. Moonlight Serenade
   Playing time = 4:13, file size = 3.91MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
3. Marche`De Zacatecas
   Playing time = 4:32, file size = 4.19MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
4. Bridge Over The River Kwai
   Playing time = 4:10, file size = 3.86MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
5. Besame Mucho
   Playing time = 3:12, file size = 2.96MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
6. Sabre Dance
   Playing time = 2:40, file size = 2.48MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.

Greg Rister wowed us next with some very smooth renditions of difinative theatre organ music, played in a style that is easy to listen to and well registered on the horseshoe.

1. Speak Easy
   Playing time = 3:01, file size = 2.80MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.
2. If I Loved You
   Playing time = 3:59, file size = 3.69MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.

Jim Spohn enetertained us with some silent movies and a few selections he arranged for silent movie accompaniment. We present exerpts from those performances below for your enjoyment. Jim played well and really knew his way around the console, as to be expected since he built the organ!

1. Amos & Andy Medley
   Playing time = 5:52, file size = 5.42MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.

There were other artists who took the bench and entertained us. It is not yet known who did the track below, and so the file name will have to be changed when the information becomes available. There was a lot going on that day! We were in a whirlwind just trying to keep up. There will be more selections added as they are processed. Stay tuned for those...

1. Unforgettable Medley
   Playing time = 9:49, files size = 9.05MB, bit rate = 128KB/sec.

On the 4th of May, Walnut Hill Founding Father Fred Willis fell and could not get up. There was no way that Doc could get him to his feet, and after seeing te color of his skin, called 911. The city responded with paramedics and an ambulance. They began immediate medical treatment even before leaving for the hospital. Fred was admitted as soon as they arrived at the Center early that evening.

Surgery was performed in the morning of the following day, on a Saturday. Due to irreversable infection and complications caused by advancing diabetes, the toe was amputated. There are other complications the doctors must evaluate, monitor and treat before Fred can come home, but Todd took Fred the "Easy" button Fred keeps near his residence workstation to remind him to pray with us for the miracle of healing and a safe return home.

Fred was excited to hear the news surrounding the Convention and he was glad to see Todd and Doc safely home. We were relived and glad to see Fred alive and reasonably well, on his way to a speedy recovery in the capable hands of the good people at the Ridgecrest Medical Hospital.

Fred was relocated from Ridgecrest Medical Hospital to the Desert Knoll Convalescent Hospital in Victorville, California. The doctors expected him to stay there for at least four and a half weeks. Depending on a number of factors, his stay could be much longer. We will keep you informed as we learn more about his condition in the days ahead.

On Thursday, May 17th of 2007, Cyrus Roton and the Bone Doctor ventured down to Victorville to see Fred at the Desrt Knoll Convalescent Hospital. He was of good cheer but still woozy from the infection. The nurse changed the bandages on his toe while we were there and the would is healing, but it is mending slowly due to his diabetes. Fred's recovery time is now estimated to be around four to six weeks. His brother Paul will be flying down from Washington State in two weeks to held get Fred's house ready for his return sometime between June and July if all goes well.

On May 29th, Fred was relocated from the Desert Knoll facility to the Dersert Valley Memorial Hospital for a second surgery evaluation. Breathing treatments were started to eliminate the fluid collecting on his lungs. The staph infection has proved hard to eradicate, being a very antibiotic resistant strain of bacteria.

On June 1st, Fred returned to the Desert Knoll facility when it was leaned that a second surgery was not needed. He was in Room 57.

On June 10th, Earnest Todd, Cyrus Roton and the Bone Doctor once again ventured down to Victorville to see Fred. He was looking much better and of good cheer, but there remained a severe rattling cough which had us concerned that something might be amiss.

At 5:30 in the morning of June 14th, Fred was readmitted to the Desert Valley Memorial Hospital because of difficulty breathing. The treatments he was receiving for this were not effective. It was learned that he had a condition known as post-operative phnuemonia. Treatment was begun to clear it up. He is in Room 205 on the second floor.

It is still not known how long he will have to remain at Desert Valley Memorial. We will let everyone know as soon as we find out. Fred is remaining of good cheer throughout all of this ordeal. Thank you for keeping him in your prayers. God is listening. We are expecting a miracle.

• Richard Mogridge - The Control Room
  All about recording the King of Instruments
• Tom Hoehn - Console Up!
  How to play the Mighty Theatre Pipe Organ
• Per Olof Schultz - Skandia WurliTzer
  The last WurliTzer Theatre Pipe Organ in Sweden
• Russ Ashworth - Mighty MidiTzer
  Playing the Theatre Organ virtualy every day!
• Jim Reid - Hauptwerk
  Martyn Dyde's highly accurate virtual organ from Crumhorn Labs

Here in the city of Ridgecrest, California folks love organs of all kinds. Many have electronic organs in their homes. There are enough of these in the area that a club has been formed for the local enthusiasts to get together and enjoy great music and fellowship while gathered around the organ to play.

The Ridgecrest Organ Club meets twice a month on every other Tuesday. The meetings are held at a different member's home each time, by whomever chooses to host the meeting for any particular Tuesday. The first Club Meeting in June was held on the 29th at the residence of Elenoir Winnemore in Ridgecrest.

Recordings of the artists performing at the meeting were made and pictures were taken. Stay tuned as we post this new content in the days ahead.

Although we have settled in at the new location, Walnut Hill Productions is still in somewhat of a bind from a business perspective. Household and personal expenses are taking a hefty slice out of the money Doc gets, as he is disabled and on a fixed and limited income. Replacing his personal property and the musical equipment lost after the relocation, along with aquiring a new residence, will be very expensive.

Most of the company's original equipment was left in Tennessee due to the high cost of shipping. These items must eventually be replaced. Below is a partial listing of the items we need for the studio in order to get back to the recording sessions Doc would like to complete, including albums from the Sub Urban Cowboys and Doc at the Mighty MidiTzer.

We do not have current pricing or availability of this equipment, but it is conservatively estimated that we will need to raise over 4,000 dollars to eventually aquire everything on the list above. But there is also the need to find a permanent home for Walnut Hill Productions that can not only be a residence for the Bone Doctor but also a place of business for this fledgeling company from the Green Hills of East Tennessee, now relocated to the wonderful city of Ridgecrest in Sunny Southern California.

When we finally take custody and stewardship of a permanent residence big enough for an electronic three manual theatre organ, we will be looking for a vintage Conn 650 analogue electronic theatre organ (with a MIDI kit and digital reverb professionally installed) so that we can use this superb organ to drive the various VTPO's on the scene today while still retaining its original sound and feel, only better. We will also equip the instrument with a digital piano and other virtual voice modules including drums and ethnic instruments, etc..

Our end goal is to construct a portable four manual console for the Walnut Hill 4/36 Mighty WurliTzer Virtual Theatre Pipe Organ, to be powered by jOrgan running a custom organ disposition and soundfont set supplied by Richard "Kent" Allman of Allman Music in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Though an Empire style WurliTzer console would be ideal, the actual VTPO prototype console would be a four manual stack sitting on a foldable pedestal.

The music rack would be a touch sensative LCD monitor for stop control, manuscript, etc.. The manuals would each have ten settable pistons and ten factory preset pistons. The Pedal would have suitable bass. The pedestal would also have the five shoes, four piano pedals and several toe studs mounted on the crossmember above the bass pedals.

Doc and Tom Hoehn have created a Pay Pal account for easily and securely receiving contributions from all who want to see this relocation take place, which will allow Walnut Hill to make major strides forward for the King of Instruments.

Below is a listing of those who have genorously contributed funds to date:

Name Tom Hoehn Gareth Howells James Reid Cyrus Roton William Spalding Larry Chamberlin Kent Allman Fred Willis Joseph Loewy Ronald Shreve Dan Rowland Eleanor Winnemore Earl Hurty Edward Burnett

Amount $ 50.00 $ 50.00 $200.00 $500.00 $100.00 $100.00 $100.00 $200.00 $ 50.00 $ 25.00 $ 50.00 $100.00 $ 35.00 $ 50.00

Method PayPal PayPal PayPal Check PayPal Check PayPal PayPal PayPal PayPal PayPal Check Check PayPal

These most kind and generous folks have earned memberships in the Walnut Hill Organ Club and will be notified of their membership status when the club goes official. We have decided to push forward with the organization while awaiting an ATOS charter. Club members will receive printed certificates and membership cards, plus access to the WHOC online community via direct email notifications. This is just a small token of appreciation for all who are making the Walnut Hill website possible and freely available for the world to enjoy.

Funds received to date: $1,610.00

There are other pledges pending. Anyone can contribute as much or as little as they see fit by clicking the "Make a Donation" button above. You can also send checks via standard mail to the following address, should you choose to not use the Pay Pal account. Please make checks payable to Richard Mogridge, with the words "Relocation Fund" in the memo line. The address is:

If you have questions about the relocation fund, you can call the Bone Doctor at the Walnut Hill Office of Operations to learn more.

That telephone number is 1-727-230-2610.

All contributors will get recognized at the site should they choose, or they can remain anonymous, simply by letting the Bone Doctor know their preferences via email.

This is a major move forward for Walnut Hill Productions, one of the fastest growing TPO sites on the internet. Become a part of history by making your donation today. Please help us to continue the work we are doing as we continue to grow, adding new features and more services such as broadcasting audio and video for all to enjoy. You'll be glad you did.

We are thanking you in advance for your generosity and support in this grand endevour.

God bless, and happy playing.

The Bone Doctor
Member ATOS/President WHOC
House Organist and Webmaster
Walnut Hill Productions

"It's all about the King of Instruments!"

The figures below represent the approximate daily hit count for the site since going online on April 2nd of 2004. Counter checks begin around ten in the morning and end around ten in the evening. Currently, that total stands at over 52,970 happy campers in the Land of the King!

06/01/2007 - 51,857 06/02/2007 - 51,894 06/03/2007 - 51,936 06/04/2007 - 51,979 06/05/2007 - 52,024 06/06/2007 - 52,051 06/07/2007 - 52,081 06/08/2007 - 52,133 06/09/2007 - 52,151 06/10/2007 - 52,171

06/11/2007 - 52,220 06/12/2007 - 52,275 06/13/2007 - 52,319 06/14/2007 - 52,344 06/15/2007 - 52,375 06/16/2007 - 52,405 06/17/2007 - 52,441 06/18/2007 - 52,484 06/19/2007 - 52,532 06/20/2007 - 52,571

06/21/2007 - 52,620 06/22/2007 - 52,668 06/23/2007 - 52,693 06/24/2007 - 52,703 06/25/2007 - 52,771 06/26/2007 - 52,825 06/27/2007 - 52,880 06/28/2007 - 52,907 06/29/2007 - 52,908 06/30/2007 - 52,974

ADVERTISEMENTS

Below are to be found links to the folks who sponsor this site and also those who freely promote the King of Instruments, the Mighty Theatre Pipe Organ. To find out how you can get an ad placed here, see the contact information for the Walnut Hill Office of Operations shown above.

Richard "Kent" Allman at the console of his Symphonic IV Virtual Pipe Organ for jOrgan.

Mighty MidiTzer Style 216 Version 0.8 Now Available!

Download MidiTzer Version 0.84 Did you ever imagine you could put a Theatre Pipe Organ inside your computer? Well, now you can, with the Mighty MidiTzer by Jim Henry and Crew Glazjev. Best of all, it is absolutely free! Just click the picture to the left to get started on your way to playing the Style 216 2/10 Mighty WurliTzer Theatre Pipe Organ virtually every day! Listen to the Mighty MidiTzer! Below are some cuts from various Featured Artists here at Walnut Hill that will give you an idea of what the Mighty MidiTzer sounds like. The Bone Doctor - Higher Ground Tom Hoehn - Crazy Gerhard Kletchowitz - Little Orphan Annie Frank Vanaman - The One I Love

Pinellas Park Mighty WurliTzer

The stop sweep of the 2/9 Mighty WurliTzer Theatre Pipe Organ installed at the Pinellas Park Auditorium in Pinellas Park, Florida.

The 2/9 Mighty WurliTzer Style 140B Theatre Pipe Organ Opus 1968, installed at Pinellas Park Auditorium in Pinellas Park, Florida is featured on the October 2005 Featured Organ of the Month page. It is the first small instrument to get a feature at Walnut Hill, and rightly so because it is not far from Tom Hoehn's residence, the first location for the Walnut Hill Productions Office of Operations during our year-long stay in Clearwater. This organ, under the care of the Central Florida Theatre Organ Society, is in the process of being restored and we need your help. If you would like to contribute funds or volunteer man hours to see this task come to completion, call the Walnut Hill Office of Operations at 1-727-230-2610 Monday through Friday from 10AM to 6PM EDT. We would be very glad to talk with you and tell you how to get involved in returning this great instrument to her former glory.