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Il musicista Mitch Marcoulier ha iniziato con Michael Jackson
"Appena inziato e sono arrivato al top", dice. Marcoulier nato a Canaan, NH, non lontano da Dartmouth College dove i suoi genitori lavoravano. In quella zona è nato il Sistema Synclavier.
Il sintetizzatore e postazione di lavoro musicale è stato prodotto dalla New England Digital Corporation vicino a Norwich. Marcoulier iniziò a lavorare in questa azienda diventando un esperto nel proprio lavoro. Visto che Jackson utilizzava molto questo strumento volle assumere i migliori tecnici per la gestione e la manutenzione.
"Ero il numero uno al mondo in questo campo," dice Marcoulier.
Marcoulier rifiutò per quattro volte le offerte di lavoro con Jackson perché era un genitore single e non voleva esimerisi di questa responsabilità. Quando Jackson lo richiamò i suoi genitori si offrirono di prendersi cura di sua figlia, dicendo al figlio che non poteva permettersi di rifiutare una simile opportunità per la sua carriera.
Dal 1987 al 1989, Marcoulier ha girato il mondo con il 'Bad Tour'. Poi seguì con l'album e il tour 'Dangerous'. Ha anche fatto un tour con Janet Jackson il suo "Rhythm Nation". A questi si sono susseguite altre collaborazioni con famosi artisti ma l'ambizione di Marcoulier era quella di diventare un cantante e cantautore.
Oggi vive quel sogno a Bellville, lontano dalla scena musicale di Los Angeles (…)
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"Michael Jackson mi ha messo in affari a Los Angeles".
"Ho una certa reputazione nel mondo dell'audio di alta qualità. Nella Skywalker Sound, io sono quello che interpellano quando i tecnici non possono risolvere un problema."
Ha lavorato in film come la saga di "Star Trek", "Star Wars" episodi I-III, "Indiana Jones e l'ultima crociata", "X-Files", "Pirati dei Caraibi" I-III, “Lord of the Ring: Fellowship of the Ring” e, naturalmente, "Moonwalker".
[..]
Gli piace suonare la musica di coloro che lo hanno influenzato mentre cresceva musicalmente tra cui James Taylor, gli Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, e Sting.. “ma non eseguo le canzoni di Michael Jackson. La sua scomparsa ancora fa molto male. Michael era una brillante, brillante, brillante persona."
Prima di diventare padre, Jackson ha voluto parlargli privatamente per chiedergli una cosa. "Voleva parlare con me della paternità", ha detto.
Jackson è stato sempre afflitto dalla sua fama. Di solito usciva in pubblico sotto mentite spoglie... “Voleva essere normale, ma non ci è riuscito."
Sebbene Jackson era un perfezionista ossessionato con il più piccolo dettaglio, c'era anche un altro aspetto di lui: i suoi occhi spalancati e pieni di meraviglia.
"E' stato davvero divertente lavorare con lui perché aveva il cuore di un bambino. Vedeva cose che gli altri adulti non riuscivano a vedere."
www.sealynews.com/features/article_...1a4bcf887a.html
Local musician got a start with Michael Jackson
Mitch Marcoulier got a “Bad” start to his career and it took him around the world and propelled him to the top of his profession.
“I went right to the top at the very beginning,” he said.
That “Bad” start had to do with the 1987 album “Bad” by Michael Jackson. Marcoulier was born and raised in Canaan, N.H, not far from Dartmouth College where his parents were employed. It was also the place where the Synclavier System was developed.
The synthesizer and music workstation was manufactured by New England Digital Corporation nearby in Norwich, Vt. Marcoulier took a job at the company and became an expert on their inner workings. Because Jackson utilized the instruments so heavily he wanted to hire the best technicians to operate and maintain them.
“I was the number one guy in the world at it,” Marcoulier said.
Marcoulier turned down employment offers by Jackson four times because he was a single father and didn’t want to shirk that responsibility. When Jackson called again, Marcoulier’s parents stepped in to care for his daughter, telling their son that this was a career move he couldn’t afford to turn down.
From 1987-89, Marcoulier toured the world with Jackson in support of the “Bad” album. That was followed by the “Dangerous” album and tour. He also toured with Jackson’s sister, Janet Jackson, on her “Rhythm Nation” album. Other celebrities and tours would follow, but Marcoulier’s ambition was to be a singer/songwriter.
Today he is living that dream in Bellville, far detached from the Los Angeles music scene and this time starting at the bottom and working his way up.
“I would never be able to get away from being this tech guy if I stayed there (in Los Angeles),” he said.
Marcoulier performs live music throughout the area in west Houston and Katy. He often performs with his older brother, Michael, who used to have a large following all around Houston.
“I’ve played to 40,000 people since I’ve lived here,” he said. “That’s a lot of gigs.”
He can frequently been seen at the Silver Saddle in Bellville or the No Label Brewery in Katy.
“I’m booked every weekend and sometimes during the week,” he said.
Quite often the Marcoulier brothers will be joined by their mother, Sue.
“Playing music with our mom, it’s pretty cool,” Mitch Marcoulier said.
In the time since the “Bad” old days, Marcoulier’s father has passed away, his mother moved to Bellville, he married Julie and they adopted a son, Matthew, who is 12 years old. His daughter Liz is grown and lives in Los Angeles. He and Julie moved to Bellville in 2011 to be near his mother and to raise their son in the country.
In addition to writing and performing music, Marcoulier teaches music lessons and still fields emergency calls from Hollywood for his technical skills. Most of all, he said he enjoys being a dad and playing his guitar.
“Texas is very unique. There are live venues everywhere,” he said.
Even though he is making a new start here, Marcoulier enjoys sharing stories of his glory days on the world’s biggest stages.
“Michael Jackson put me in business in Los Angeles,” he said.
His reputation as a technician and sound engineer spread fast and between tours he worked doing post-production work on television shows, movies, commercials and records.
“I had a reputation for super high-end audio,” he said.
That had him in high demand with the best in the business.
“At Skywalker Sound, I was their go-to guy when their techs couldn’t fix a problem,” he said.
Because of that work, he worked on some of the biggest shows of the 1990s and early 2000s. Among those are all of the “Star Trek” shows from “The Next Generation” through “Enterprise”, “Star Wars” episodes I-III, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, “The X-Files”, the first three “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, “Lord of the Ring: Fellowship of the Ring”, and, of course, Michael Jackson’s “Moonwalker.”
While that work is uncredited, he does have one movie credit. He wrote and performed “Moneyman” for the movie “Boiling Point” in 1993 with Wesley Snipes and Dennis Hopper.
“I wrote the basic take on the back of the script,” he said.
He did the work on the side while under contract with Michael Jackson.
“They loved it and used the song over the end credits of the movie,” he said.
A blues version of the music also plays over one scene in the film.
During his days as a technician, Marcoulier learned how to barter his services for equipment and also built relationships with everyone he could from celebrities to other techs and people who worked behind the scenes like he did.
“We had a clique of musicians and techs who worked together,” he said.
He also amassed a large collection of Synclaviers and other equipment and remains one of the most sought-after technicians and parts suppliers in the business.
“I’d buy broken stuff and scavenge for whatever parts,” he said.
Thanks to modern technology, he is still able to do sound work and troubleshooting for friends in California without leaving his home in Texas. Still, he would much rather focus on the future than work on the past.
“I wanted to come to Texas to do music, sing, play and record,” he said.
He said he couldn’t pick a better place to be at this point in his 54 years of life.
“For the kind of music I do, this is where I need to be,” he said.
He hasn’t recorded any of his own music since moving to Bellville and he has enjoyed singing covers with a mix of original work for live audiences.
“People like to hear what they know. Music takes you back in time,” he said.
He likes to play music by those who influenced him while he was growing up. That includes James Taylor, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, and Sting.
“I don’t do Michael Jackson songs,” he said.
Jackson’s death five years ago still hits him hard. Marcoulier fondly recalls his time with the King of Pop.
“Michael was a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant person,” he said.
Long before Jackson became a father, he pulled Marcoulier aside in private to question him.
“He wanted to talk to me about being a dad,” he said.
He said Jackson was always plagued by his fame. He frequently went out in public in disguise.
“He wanted to be normal but he couldn’t,” he said.
Although Jackson was a perfectionist who was anal about even the smallest details, he had another side that was wide-eyed and full of wonder.
“He was really fun to work for because he had a child’s heart,” Marcoulier said. “He would see things that other adults would never see.”
Edited by ArcoIris - 19/6/2017, 02:04
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