Mastermind , obscure find.

[Shadow]

With Mona Lisa and Codice, too!

I remember Mona Lisa coming out into the audience with wine and cheese.

[Proglodite]

I saw them one time at a local bar in Baltimore years back. I remember Bill's girlfriend punched out some guy who grabbed her ass.

Was this the ProgScape '96 pre-show? I was there and filmed them and remember something happened about halfway through their set and Bill was really pissed off. They cut their set short, but it was definitely the most blistering performance of the William Tell Overture I'd ever seen them do! --Peter

[Scrotum Scissor]

Even when I myself "found" them sometime in the 90s, I can not remember anyone within the ghastly realm of "prog" considering Mastermind obscure. That latter word has become prone to a use as dubiously relative as painful dildos.

I believe I kept Excelsior!, their (uhm…) "fusion" album.

[dropforge]

I remember Mona Lisa coming out into the audience with wine and cheese.

They started their "set" by entering the venue theater via the lobby, and made their way to the stage past the audience. The only act that weekend with their level of theatrics and humor. They were awesome.

[SteveSly]

Recommend the live album Prog, Fusion, Metal, Leather and Sweat! from the Nearfest iteration.

Agree, that is a really good one. Completely forgot about it.

[rickawakeman]

Hey Steve, if you need a copy, I see it's selling for the low low price of....

$1200!

I'll sell you mine for a mere $600.

Is this for real? Do people actually buy discs for over a grand?

[dropforge]

Hey Steve, if you need a copy, I see it's selling for the low low price of....

$1200!

I'll sell you mine for a mere $600.

Is this for real? Do people actually buy discs for over a grand?

If their last name's Gates or Stallone, maybe.

[Shadow]

Hey Steve, if you need a copy, I see it's selling for the low low price of....

$1200!

I'll sell you mine for a mere $600.

Is this for real? Do people actually buy discs for over a grand?

There was an Italian prog album that sold for about $2500 on ebay in the 2000's. I have some albums I bought in the 70's I could probably sell for over a grand.

[SteveSly]

Hey Steve, if you need a copy, I see it's selling for the low low price of....

$1200!

I'll sell you mine for a mere $600.

Is this for real? Do people actually buy discs for over a grand?

Wow! I have a copy, but had no clue it was worth that!

[moecurlythanu]

Is this for real? Do people actually buy discs for over a grand?

Not CDs. LPs, on the other hand...

https://blog.discogs.com/en/discogs-...d-report-2018/

https://blog.discogs.com/en/top-30-m...december-2018/

ebay has even higher, but I'm not going to try and track down a list.

[ytserush]

That was at the TLA on South Street I was there. Mastermind knocked my socks off, I had never heard of them and they are local to Philly. It was also the only time I saw Fish. What a great night. I think it was 1997, I had my 11 year old son with me and we had taken lawn chairs into the SRO show and sat in the back. We went to the lobby near the end of Mastermind and Fish was there doing Karate moves, WOW he is a big guy! My son said hello Mr Fish and the big man stopped and looked down and said,"Hello Little Man" It was an unforgettable night.

So was I. Great show too!

Have three or four Mastermind albums. One live one from Japan.

[ytserush]

Bill Berends married a Brazilian woman and moved there. He’s on Facebook. He posted a short clip of him playing Blue Wind with a bass player and drummer. I bought a Jack Bruce album from Bill with Jack’s autograph.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Guess I'm never seeing them live again.....

[ytserush]

Did mastermind play at the rock n roll cafe in the 90’s in nyc?

Pretty sure that was one of the times I saw them live.

[ytserush]

They might have - I don't remember. But I know they played some other clubs in NYC around then. One night there was a triple bill at some other club of Mastermind, Braindance, and Power Windows (the Rush tribute band). Awesome!!

Think I was there.

[PixelDelirium]

Oh, hey, I completely missed this thread! For some completely random reason I was wondering "what ever happened to Mastermind?". I saw them open for John Wetton at The Bottom Line in NYC in 1995. I lost track of them shortly after that but I discovered (and bought) their complete discography on Bandcamp. I thought I'd search here as well and was surprised to find this thread from just last month. It's nice to see I'm not the only one who remembers these guys.

[PixelDelirium]

There's a recent update here:

http://billberends.com/

March 20, 2019

Greetings from the southern hemisphere!

Sorry I haven't been keeping up here, but real life has kept me busy. A quick update to say I'm alive and well and currently residing in São Paulo, Brazil. Bet you didn't see that coming! Neither did I, but it's pretty OK so far and good to finally escape from New Jersey. Why Brazil? I married a Brazilian woman. Simple as that. Life is good.

To stay in touch, join me on Facebook and/or Instagram if you haven't already.

YEAH, THIS SITE SUCKS ON MOBILE. DEAL WITH IT.

Currently putting the finishing touches on a new acoustic work space. I brought tons of audio files, cassette dubs and vintage MASTERMIND live video with me to review that may yield some cool stuff, plus tons of new and not-so-new unreleased music in various stages of completion. Guitar chops are up and I'm out meeting new people to play with. Until it really comes together, a few odd gigs and concentrating on studio projects. That's it for now. Check back later this year for possibly some really interesting news. Thanks for checking up! -Bb

[Ozricale]

I'm a huge fan of Mastermind. Their final album was "Insomnia" with Tracy McShane on vocals. It's a slight departure from progressive to a more straightforward rock but still very good and well worth listening to. Bill's last release was a solo album titled "In My Dreams I Can Fly".

[spacefreak]

Not at all obscure in the 90s among prog circles. The first two, ELP influenced albums are the ones I kept.

[rcarlberg]

That latter word has become prone to a use as dubiously relative as painful dildos.

I think I have an album under that name....

[dropforge]

Not at all obscure in the 90s among prog circles. The first two, ELP influenced albums are the ones I kept.

"Into the Void" from III: Tragic Symphony is one of their best cuts.

[spacefreak]

"Into the Void" from III: Tragic Symphony is one of their best cuts.

For my taste on "III" & "IV" they went fully bombastic, then they switched to a more metal style that was not my cup of tea and I lost interest. However, "Excelsior!" was a return to form.