April 4, 2009 A special announcement from Glen: Once upon a time I was asked by a pretty famous classic rock band to perform in place of an important member. I like playing music, and it’s most fun before large groups of people, so even though the band’s fans were somewhat disappointed to see some guy they had never heard of replacing one of their beloved musicians, I took the gig – for a short while anyway. Turns out I was only needed temporarily. The guy I was substituting for came back (which made all the girls happy). The band went on without their primary songwriter and lead vocalist – who decided to take legal action against them. One of the original members passed away. Sadly, changes take place. And then they called me again. Would I come play with them once more? I replied “I’d love to”. The band was once known as Electric Light Orchestra. Well, it’s a long story. In a nutshell, founder singer/songwriter Jeff Lynne disbanded the group – whose members decided to get back together WITHOUT him. They toured. He sued. They changed their name to The Orchestra. I filled in for bassist Kelly Groucutt breifly in the late 90’s when Kelly had a short-lived voice problem. I met him, liked him a lot, and thoroughly enjoyed the gigs. Great music, decent guys. Kelly got his wonderful voice back and I went off on my merry way. Sadly, Kelly suddenly and surprisingly passed away recently. The band was shocked and saddened, as was I. And after awhile, they called me, saying Kelly would’ve wanted the band to continue. And so I am now learning ELO music for an upcoming tour of the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe. I could never replace this one of a kind human being, but I could do my best to try to do justice to the music he helped create inspired by his sweet and fun loving spirit. I’m looking forward to working with other former ELO members Mik Kaminski and Louis Clark, along with Eric Troyer, Phil Bates and Gordon Townsend, performing the greatest hits of Electric Light Orchestra (and a special tribute to Kelly Groucutt for his 35 years of music). It will be an honor. Glen Burtnik