Category Archives: Newark

The Glass Menagerie

Glass Menagerie of Newark, Ohio photo

Glass Menagerie Magnetic Studios 45 Delta Lady

I was a drummer for one of those bands way back when. Newark, Ohio was our Liverpool. We had The Sticks and Stones for many years – they had their own bus and competed in the national battle of the bands a couple times and I think got a recording deal. Then there was The Lyte Brigade who also had a bus, AND Mel Royster who was a great singer. They put out a record, I think it was called “Showtime”.

Then there was my band – Glass Menagerie that was together till ’70. The members were Steve Risbon (lead), Steve Hideg (bass), Bob Reynard (guitar) and Fred Schonberg (drums).

We were on Jerry Razors’ “Dance Party” and recorded a cover of “Delta Lady” by Joe Cocker which got some airplay. We didn’t have a bus and rented a U haul every weekend. We opened at “Someplace Else” in Mt Vernon I think it was, for the “Ohio Express” after they came back from England and didn’t want to be bubblegum anymore. We also did the Holiday Swim Club, and played from Norwalk to Cadiz and south to West Virginia – with a lot of gigs in Zanesville, not bad when you’re 15.

The photos were taken fall of ’70 with two of the members who were on the record. We all came from garage band roots and the band had been together since 1967.

Fred Schonberg

Glass Menagerie photo

The Fabulous Pendletons

 The Fabulous Pendletons photo
The Fabulous Pendletons

Len More sent in this bio and photos of the Fabulous Pendletons, from Newark, Ohio, just east of Columbus. Len wrote to me “They never recorded. Terry Worth left the group in 1966. I grew up in Newark also but never saw them. I did frequent a dance club called “Alcatraz” in Newark and the “Pirates Cove” in Granville. I also had a friend Jim Proshek that was in a band called The Cytes from Johnstown and Alexandria.”

The bio reads as follows:

The group formed in Newark, Ohio in 1964 and played until the summer of 1967.

The original lineup was John Butts (lead guitar), John Proudley (drums), Terry Worth (rhythm guitar), Dave Pound (vocals) and Dave Morris (vocals). Worth and Morris left the group to seek other fame and fortune. Jerry Miller joined and added the bass guitar to the sound and Jeff Robb from nearby Granville, OH took over on rhythm guitar.

The group played at various scenes around central Ohio including the Newark Armory, Battle of the Bands at Vets Memorial in Columbus, the Holiday Swim Club as well as the college dance circuit. The jocks from WCOL in Columbus were helpful in furthering their career, especially Mike Adams. The group played cover songs of the day but no original compositions.

They played with Ohio acts such as the Rebounds, the Dantes and Sir Timothy and the Royals. They also played at the same venues with national acts such as the Standells, Terry Knight and the Pack, the Left Banke, The Supremes, Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, and the Four Tops.

Fabulous Pendletons circa 1966, photo: John Butts, Dave Pound, Jerry Miller, Jeff Robb and John Proudley
The Fabulous Pendletons circa 1966, clockwise from left: John Butts, Dave Pound, Jerry Miller, Jeff Robb and John Proudley
“Terry Worth left the group in 1966 shortly before this picture was taken.” – Len More
 The Fabulous Pendletons
The Fabulous Pendletons
The Fabulous Pendletons with the Vogues
The Fabulous Pendletons with the Vogues

The Children of Darkness

True garage fans braved the cold snap to hear an insane night of music in Williamsburg last Friday.

Dinos of WHRB Boston (listen to his show every Tuesday evening 10-midnight [EST] at www.whrb.org) played a box full of 45s including many U.S. obscuros and Greek groups like the Charms and Zoo. Marty Violence treated us to Virginia 45s and LP cuts you just never hear – a track from Skip and the Creations album on Justice among them.

The Children of Darkness were an obscure band until recently, when I learned the band was from from Newark, Ohio. “She’s Mine” was written by John Hull. The flip is “Sugar Shack”. The Royce label is from the little town of Oblong in southeastern Illinois, near the Indiana border. This seems to be the only release on it.

Anyone have a photo of the group?