Ken Elliott

Ken Elliott has made use of numerals in two different band names, Second Hand and Seventh Wave. Although these groups and his busy activity as a session player since the '70s have not resulted in fame on a massive level, there are many fans of electronic keyboards and prog rock who think Elliott was first, not second or seventh, in presenting many concepts that eventually became quite mundane. Seventh Wave, for example, were very early in the game in terms of synthesizer and drum duos, with albums first plopped out by the Gull label in 1974 and 1975. Throughout his career this keyboardist has also been of great interest to other artists as a collaborator, from several ambitious Jonesy projects in the '70s to 45 Dip's nostalgic use of Elliott and fellow '70s fusion fiend Brian Auger on the Acid Lounge album in 2000. Second Hand was formed in the late '60s with percussionist Kieran O'Connor, also Elliott's partner in the later group. This was progressive rock before the term had even been invented, blending somewhat fumbling psychedelic and garage mannerisms with pretentious touches of classical. The pair also released one single as Fungus in 1973, an artifact that is unfortunately much harder to get than athlete's foot in a locker room. Elliott's vocalizing has not earned the same respect from critics as his keyboard work. When hired at a session, leaders may make many demands of him in terms of providing keyboard sounds but do not ask him to sing. A credit for playing only the cowbell on a record by another progressive band of the '70s, Aorta, may well be a mistake. © Eugene Chadbourne /TiVo