RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M)

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Andy Culpepper

Posts: 3013
Joined: Mar. 30 2009
From: NY, USA

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to HolyEvil)

I have been in shock since I read this yesterday. Ron was really one of a kind. If that much humor, warmth and personality could come through on an internet forum I can only imagine what he must have been like to hang out with or have as a Dad.
He always kept the forum lively and fun. I remember when he was challenging everyone to try to play the tangos alzapua riff that cracked-out looking guy was playing the video. He was a great player too...
Ron, you will be missed.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 12:29:43

ricecrackerphoto

Posts: 265
Joined: Feb. 5 2006

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Escribano)

quote:

Beautiful, thanks Doug. Is this Ron playing or you playing one of his?

That is Ron playing. From what I remember him saying, he composed it after his mother had passed away.

Doug

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 12:32:16

Escribano

Posts: 6389
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to ricecrackerphoto)

quote:

That is Ron playing. From what I remember him saying, he composed it after his mother had passed away.

That's what I thought. I'll put it in a collection of memories for A.C.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 12:36:19

Escribano

Posts: 6389
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Escribano)

Ron also loved Radio Tarifa and here he is with Amir Haddad

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 12:41:08

mezzo

Posts: 1409
Joined: Feb. 18 2010
From: .fr

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to ricecrackerphoto)

quote:

That is Ron playing. From what I remember him saying, he composed it after his mother had passed away.

that seguiriya really sounds. OLE!!
1st time I heard it,thanks for posting.

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"The most important part of Flamenco is not in knowing how to interpret it. The higher art is in knowing how to listen." (Luis Agujetas)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 12:52:52

Don Dionisio

Posts: 360
Joined: Feb. 16 2011
From: Durham, NC

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

I love that siguiriya-it is so heartfelt and very flamenco.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 14:04:50

gj Michelob

Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Escribano)

Thank you, for posting a picture of Ron, Simon. I was about to ask for one, as I realized I did not know what he looked like.

I re-read some emails we exchanged over the years. I cannot share our (legally privileged) discussions on foro problems, but am still touched by his ever so wise and humane opinion.

I treasure –among many other messages- his encouragement when we organized the composition challenge. Admittedly the worst player in the wonderful group who contributed music for “foroflamenco” first CD, I ended up winning. A legitimately disappointed participant [cynically yet truthfully] complained at the time that the competition wasn’t more than a high-school popularity contest; and he was right, indeed, because all other songs were so much more competently composed, performed and recorded. But Ron always showed a kind and compassionate inclination; he appreciated my limits as musician but enjoyed my unrestrained, child-like enthusiasm when it came to our passion, music. These two messages meant so much to me, and are the sole and most beautiful prize I could have asked for winning that [popularity] contest. Thank you, again, Ron.

[After I first shared with him my composition, before it went public, on March 23, 2010, Ron M. Wrote:]
Hi gj,
I like it very much!
(although it is not strictly "solea" in the Flamenco sense...more of a classical composition in the style of the Spanish composers IMO)
I like the Moorish elements too, very effective.
An honest and completely Spanish sounding composition answering the question posed "How does Spain sound to you?"
I think you yould win this.
cheers, Ron

[After the CD Baby website, showed my music scoring the highest number of votes, on June 21, 2010, Ron M. Wrote:]
gj,
You didn't believe me when I said I think you could win this thing!
But there you go! Hey man.. I hope this has been done without exercising the influence you have as a New York lawyer...
Otherwise you're gonna be sweatin' when you appear before a Congessional Inquiry …LOL!!
Anyway...Well done gj !!!!
cheers, Ron

Regrettably, I do not believe in the afterlife, but I do believe that good people, like Ron, survive in the heart and thoughts of those they gracefully touched. The overwhelming reaction of the stunned and sincerely grieving members of this Foro shows how fondly we all thought of him. Each one has, I am sure, a post from Ron he or she cherishes, and that may even have affected his views on music and life. Ron’s greatest talent was his compassion, and that genuine side of his good heart earned him my love and that of the foro at large.

Dear AC, your father was a gentleman, and even though I did not even know what he looked like, when I spoke of him to my partners at the firm or to my friends and family, I always introduced his name with “my friend, Ron.

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gj Michelob

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 14:28:46

jshelton5040

Posts: 1500
Joined: Jan. 17 2005

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to acmitchell)

sad news. Please accept our condolences.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 14:42:43

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Escribano)

I just noticed the flag up in the left corner of the website. Very nice sentiment!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 15:15:12

TANúñez

Posts: 2559
Joined: Jul. 10 2003
From: TEXAS

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to TANúñez)

I woke up this morning hoping that Ron's passing was a dream. Disappointed to know that it was not. Instead of mourning Ron's passing, I will choose to celebrate his life! It's wonderful to read how many lives he touched and that is just here on the foro. I can only imagine the many more lives out there that he touched as well. Ron's spirit will remain here and I will take great comfort in that.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 15:21:28

hamia

Posts: 396
Joined: Jun. 25 2004

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to TANúñez)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TANúñez

I woke up this morning hoping that Ron's passing was a dream. Disappointed to know that it was not. Instead of mourning Ron's passing, I will choose to celebrate his life! It's wonderful to read how many lives he touched and that is just here on the foro. I can only imagine the many more lives out there that he touched as well. Ron's spirit will remain here and I will take great comfort in that.

Quite right. Though the forum will seem a barer place from now on. After the upheaval in Ron's life recently I remember him saying that he would go to Spain to get more involved in flamenco. I was looking forward to his posts on this. Sadly not to be.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 15:28:48

Ricardo

Posts: 13944
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Escribano)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Escribano

quote:

If I'm not mistaken, Ron enjoyed a lot Paco Pena's music...

Yes, and one of his most enduring memories was meeting Paco Peña at his flat in London for a chat.

Yeah, he always brought up his meeting with Paco. I also remember he often mentioned his first profound flamenco listening experience was Terrermoto w Manuel Morao.

Here is an old post from FT where he talks about what got him back into flamenco guitar again and sums up his general philosophy IMO.

http://www.flamenco-teacher.com/forum?do=archive&page=art&dispt=20109&disp=20137

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 16:16:36

Kalo

Posts: 400
Joined: Jan. 25 2011

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

I am fairly new to the forum, and, I've have been reading some of Ron's posts/response to others!

As, I was reading some of what he wrote, he sounded like a wonderful person!

Please accept my condolences to you and your family.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 16:17:33

Stu

Posts: 2128
Joined: Jan. 30 2007
From: London (the South of it), England

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to hamia)

This doesn't get any easier and with all these tributes flooding in and old members coming out of the woodwork, you can see what your father meant to this foro and all its members.

I'd just like to share a funny story which I think I may have kept to myself until now due to feeling embarrassed.

For some reason I don't watch too many vids on here and that Bulerias cripes video that a couple of people posted, was one of the first I'd seen with Ron playing. I dont think I bothered reading too many of the comments or missed some but I always just thought that was Rons natural hair do!

You know when you are conversing with someone on here you often create a mental picture of them based on their avatar or just their personality if no avatar exists.

I always picture Ron with that long black mane, until one day I heard someone reference that video and the Tomatito wig he wore in it! I suddenly felt a bit silly!

I guess that's testament to his toque that he could pull that hair do off!!!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 16:19:20

aleksi

Posts: 528
Joined: Nov. 10 2008
From: Helsinki, Finland

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Oh no, this is so sad. Its almost impossible to think Rons dead. When I think of foro, Hes post with the special type of humor often pops to my mind.
Rest in Peace Ron and my sincere condolences to the whole family.

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 16:33:30

kudo

Posts: 2064
Joined: Sep. 3 2009

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

Here is an old post from FT where he talks about what got him back into flamenco guitar again and sums up his general philosophy IMO.

http://www.flamenco-teacher.com/forum?do=archive&page=art&dispt=20109&disp=20137

WOW!! VERY PRECIOUS WORDS!! almost 10 years ago! I do share the exact same philosophy with him, thank you so much for sharing this ricardo! I had never been on to that FT site before

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 16:36:09

edguerin

Posts: 1582
Joined: Dec. 24 2007
From: Siegburg, Alemania

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Such sad news!
Ron and I exchanged a couple of PMs when he wasn't quite up to par a while ago, and even then his humour'd come through...

Mi pésame AC

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El aficionado solitario
Alemania

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 17:10:58

Escribano

Posts: 6389
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to kudo)

quote:

WOW!! VERY PRECIOUS WORDS!! almost 10 years ago! I do share the exact same philosophy with him, thank you so much for sharing this ricardo! I had never been on to that FT site before

Yep, that's where we met and where this forum was born. Ron came very close to "getting it" in his playing. I knew it when he heard it and knew he could do it in his own way. He was a big fan of "digging in the thumb".

He cheered us all up on a rainy day in Stonehaven, looking out over the North Sea as he worked and listened to the radio or a flamenco internet station. This is where he lived all that time and from where he was being "El Pastor".

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 17:13:46

Grisha

Posts: 1263
Joined: Mar. 17 2005

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

I still can't believe the news... I loved Ron's personality and always looked for his posts. I will miss his "cheers, Ron" signature.

I remember he said that "Jucal" by Gerardo Nunez was one of his favorite bulerias of all time, and I have decided that it will be the next piece I learn. I will do it in his honor.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 18:23:25

srshea

Posts: 833
Joined: Oct. 29 2006
From: Olympia, WA in the Great Pacific Northwest

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Escribano)

I love the idea of consolidating Ron’s posts into one area, or making them otherwise easily accessible. (In addition to those couple of youtube videos he also uploaded a few videos straight to the Foro that are somewhere back in the archives, “Ron’s Lazy Flamenco Series”.) It’d be a nice tribute, but would also be very practically useful for future members.

As much as Ron spent a lot of time on the Foro as a one-man peanut gallery, cracking jokes off to the side, or just generally hanging out, shooting the off-topic breeze and delighting in his interaction with the diverse cast of characters that have come and gone here over the years, he was also really good at discussing and explaining basic, practical flamenco stuff in a very clear, easily understandable way.

There are a number of epic-length threads from some years ago (a monster “bulerias in twos” thread springs to mind) that go on for pages and pages of people arguing confusing, opposing positions (or actually saying the same basic things in stubbornly different language), and Ron was typically very good at stepping into those threads, cutting through the fog of all those competing voices, and clearly and concisely explaining what the hell it was everyone was talking about. For me his posts in those threads were instrumental in making plain sense of a lot of essential flamenco concepts, and I realize now that I don’t know that I ever properly thanked him for that…

There’s a lot of stuff that many of us needlessly whip ourselves into a cloud of confusion over, “How to I tap my foot to this? How to I count that?? Does it start on 12 or 1???” and Ron’s posts on those sorts of subjects were often a head-clearing slap in the face and a good reminder of how simple and straight forward a lot of this stuff can be if we would just cool it and stop over-thinking things.

To anyone out there, now and in the future, who might be struggling with some of the basic nuts and bolts concepts at the heart of flamenco playing, paying special attention to Ron’s thoughts and advice on those topics would be a smart move. Ron was never anything but humble about his own abilities and his own knowledge, but the dude knew his stuff, and he knew how to share what he knew.

I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night a lot lately and having a quick “What’s going on?? Oh, everything’s alright, life’s not so bad, the house isn’t on fire, you can go back to sleep” moment. Woke up last night had a brief moment of calm then and realized “Oh yeah, Ron’s gone,” and never really made it back to sleep.

Rest in peace, Ron. Flights of angels...

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 18:48:53

Doitsujin

Posts: 5078
Joined: Apr. 10 2005

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Ok after the shock..I also want to write some lines.

Ron was pure awesomeness. He had a great sense of humor, always stayed cool when others went nuts and I really don´t know how often he gave me good advice via personal message when I got myself into trouble..over and over and over and ovvver.. He is like a best friend and a father to me. Because we could joke with each other without getting pissed and because his advice helped me out so often. Without doubt the most valuable person to me here in the foro. I will miss him very very much. Since we are all into flamenco music and it is common to dedicate something to a person who is important to us, I will like Grisha play something personal and also dedicate it to Ron.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 18:55:30

Escribano

Posts: 6389
Joined: Jul. 6 2003
From: England, living in Italy

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Doitsujin)

Whatever you want to do for Ron, would be great. I will start another thread on this matter, for his funeral and beyond.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 18:58:39

gbv1158

Posts: 410
Joined: May 29 2009
From: Italy

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to acmitchell)

I'm very sorry, my sincer condolences to you and your family.

giambattista

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 18:59:37

suniram

Posts: 50
Joined: May 18 2010
From: Germany/Spain

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

I am very sorry to hear this sad news. My very best wishes for his family and his friends.

Marinus

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 21:19:43

gounaro

Posts: 875
Joined: Sep. 28 2008
From: Athens, Hellas

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to acmitchell)

R.I.P Ron...

Big loss for all of us!

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Spyros

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 21:23:33

rodrigovalt

Posts: 296
Joined: May 1 2011

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

Rest in peace Ron. My condolences to the family

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Rodrigo

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 23:07:03

Sean

Posts: 672
Joined: Jan. 20 2011
From: Canada

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to Andy Culpepper)

I'll miss his posts

A very kind, intelligent man and funny as hell.

"cheers"

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 28 2012 23:46:19

Dave K

Posts: 155
Joined: Mar. 29 2006

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to acmitchell)

I'm very sorry for your loss A.C. Your father was revered amongst us "Foros". I personally, like many others, will never forget him. His sense of humor was unmatched and his common sense that he imparted to the forum has helped us all. It is not possible to replace him on this forum. His passing is a terrible loss, I am so sorry for you. Know that your father was admired by folks the world over. - Not many people fall in to that catigory. Bless you.
Sincerely,
Dave

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Avise La Fin

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2012 2:23:21

richard

Posts: 25
Joined: Jul. 27 2005

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to acmitchell)

Thanks Ron.

Richard

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2012 2:27:44

malakka

Posts: 170
Joined: Jan. 14 2009

RE: R.I.P Ron Mitchell (Ron.M) (in reply to acmitchell)

My deepest condolences to the Mitchell family. I remember Ron form the Flamenco Teacher forum and later on this forum. He along with Simon are the heart and soul of this forum. I am truly in shock. I have not seen many posts recently from Ron - I remember him saying that he was dealing with some tough stuff. I always admired his responses to folks - whether encouraging, asking very poignent questions, posting his recordings (the famous Cipres video comes to mind as well as the Lazy palo videos) or taking the piss out of someone. I will always remember him.

R.I.P. Ron!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Aug. 29 2012 4:48:33