Bernie Prost, drummer for the British Columbia band 2 x 2, knocked me out when he sent me five unreleased songs the band cut in 1967. If a 45 had been released of Jim Davidson’s originals, “By and By” and “2 x 2 Theme” it would be a major collectible today, and justifiably famous – at least among fans of garage bands! They aren’t slouches with their cover songs, either, as they rip up the Monkees’ “Let’s Dance On” and one of the better versions of “Stepping Stone” I’ve heard. Here’s the story in Bernie’s own words:
“2 By 2”, formed in Kelowna in 1965 and disbanded in 1968. Our band formed because Jim and Barry were playing a lot of parties wanted to take their playing to the next level. So they started looking for a drummer and bass player. My sister, who was friends with them both, mentioned one day that I played the drums, I was 15 at the time and a few years younger but there weren’t too many drummers around. I had a friend, Mel, who played guitar and said he’d give the bass a shot so we had a couple of practice sessions late in the summer of 1965 and we hit it off. As it turned out Mel was an incredible bass player right from the start.
We needed a place to rehearse where we wouldn’t drive people crazy and luckily for us one of Barry’s neighbors owned a trucking company located in the industrial section of Kelowna. He offered to let us practice there in the evenings after the place was closed for business. The place was a warehouse where he garaged his trucks. It was pretty crowded with large trucks and tractor tires etc. Often we would set up our equipment on the flat bed of one of the trucks. In the summers we’d sometimes practice at my parent’s house in the garage. We’d leave the door open on purpose as quite a few girls lived & roamed in the neighborhood. So in that sense we really were a garage band.
We became a popular event in the dance halls of the Okanagan Valley. Our favourite place to play in Kelowna was The Aquatic, headquarters of the Kelowna Regatta. We also watched and were influenced by the bands that played at the Aquatic such as the Shadracks, Kount IV, Jimmy And The Rebounds, the Strange Movies, the Undertakers, and The Nocturnals to name a few. We also played The Okanakan Mission Hall which is still there. Much expanded, it features the same stage we perfomed on (http://www.okmissionhall.com/). The Aquatic burned to the ground in 1969, which was also the year of Altamont and Charles Manson which shook up the west coast scene, so it was a disquieting end to an era.
The Kount IV was another Kelowna band, one of the guitar players was Morris Bishop whom I went to school with. I’m not sure what happened to them. The Undertakers were from Kamloops, B.C. I remember them because they used a hearse to pack their gear in. We all thought that was pretty cool. I think they dressed in black suits. I’m good friends with Don Burnett, drummer of the Strange Movies… he was also the drummer for Jimmy and the Rebounds.
We played gigs at the Kelowna Regatta and the Penticton Peach Festival as well as other halls in Vernon, Kelowna, Peachland, Penticton and Kamloops. The best times were during the summers of 1966 and 1967, where we performed our own music at numerous events and private parties. In those days it was impossible to say no to girls and beer.
When we formed the band we were mostly influenced by the sounds of the British Invasion, of course, as they were the reason for the explosion of garage bands across North America, in the mid to late sixties. We were also influenced by the people who influenced the Brits: Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. We were known for a cover of Elvis’ ‘One Night With You’, with Barry on killer lead vocals, which would have made The King himself proud. Unfortunately we no longer have a recording of that track. Later on we became more influenced by other west coast bands such as Paul Revere and The Raiders; The Youngbloods and The Buckinghams.
The tracks we have included here were recorded in the sound studios of radio station CKOV in Kelowna, 1967. There are only 5 songs, 2 are original material written and sung by Jim Davidson, Barry Green on harmonies. The others are Grizzly Bear….Youngbloods, I’m Not Your Stepping Stone….Paul Revere and The Raiders and Let’s Dance On…The Monkees.
Jim Davidson was singing the lead vocal on most of it. Barry Green sang on Let’s Dance On and Steppin Stone, and on Grizzly Bear it was a team effort between Jim & Barry. Barry’s voice is the high one while Jim’s was a bit lower with that nice unique quality. Mel and I sang the odd back up harmonies.
The instrumental tracks were played live to the floor back to back in one take for each. We then actually ran into the sound booth to record the vocals. We had to do the whole thing in one hour as that was all we could afford, so there wasn’t much room for error.
The original tape is long gone. I salvaged what I could from a cassette tape and burned them onto a CD. We’re still looking for photographs and I’ll send them if I find any.
Later Jim started another garage rock band in Toronto, in 1977, called The Membrains playing a mixture of original tunes and covers of primarily sixties rock. Jim and I occasionally got together to do some recording at my place in Toronto. Mel started a group with his brothers in Kelowna that became quite popular and they are still playing today. As of this date the band members are alive & well, doing their own things. We keep in touch…. with great memories for sure.
The 2 x 2:
Barry Green – lead guitar
Jim Davidson – rhythm guitar
Mel Kunz – bass guitar
Bernie Prost – drums
The 2 x 2 – Two by Two Theme
The 2 x 2 – By and By
The 2 x 2 – Let’s Dance On
The 2 x 2 – I’m Not Your Stepping Stone
The 2 x 2 – Grizzly Bear
A special thanks to Bernie Prost for sharing the music and story of his band. If anyone reading this has a photo of the group please contact me.