Librarian, musician and record collector Claus Rosenblad, who interviewed Bob Jabour of the Cavemen last month, returns with a detailed interview with Robert Specht, lead guitarist of the Remaining Few.

Robert Specht and Mike Jones wrote the incredible “Painted Air,” released on Askel Records AK-112 in October 1968. Sprecht also wrote the flip side, the lesser-known but still very worthy “In the Morning.” Askel Records released other legendary garage singles, most notably the Chevelle V “Come Back Bird” and the Outcasts “I’m in Pittsburgh (and it’s Raining).”

Where did you grow up?

My father’s work required us to move several times while I was growing up: I was born in Illinois in 1950 then moved to: Minnesota,  Oklahoma, Houston Texas, El Paso Texas, Dallas Texas then San Angelo Texas.

What was your musical background and did you play any kind of instruments as a child?

I began taking guitar lessons at the age of 13 or 14 while I lived in Dallas, but nothing before that.

How and why did you get involved in the music scene, and what was your first band?

I took guitar lessons in Dallas at the Fred McCord School of music in the 60’s when rock was really getting big. After a few months of lessons, my teacher told my father I was a “potential flamenco genius” and so I was largely schooled in that type of music, but I was always trying to pick up on rock. We moved to San Angelo in 1965 and I began taking classical guitar from a truly amazing musician named Frank Trevino. After taking from Frank for a while, I met a guy in school, Robert Glodt – a drummer, who convinced me to come by his house and hear the band he was in practice. That was my first “band” experience.

How and when did the Remaining Few get together?

When I went to listen to them (Glodt and his friends) they suggested that I go get my guitar and join in. It was a rag-tag event: the drummer had a bass, a tom-tom, a snare and one cymbal, the bass player (Chuck Brooks) played a regular guitar that had the speaker built in to the guitar, and the other guitar player (Mike Jones) had a dirt cheap guitar and a tiny, tiny amp. I had a Sears Silvertone guitar that had the amp and speaker built right in to the guitar case.Since I was the only one to have had any training, after about 5 minutes of playing they asked me to join them as the lead guitar player. We needed a name for the group and chose the name we had been given by parents and neighbors as they’d always yell at us “You boys turn that noise down!” – we became The Boys.

The bass player departed the group, the victim of a conspiracy by two unnamed members and was replaced by a really good bassist, J. Frost (Frosty) McKee, and we added a singer, Joel Mulkey, an acquaintance from school. At this point we became The Remaining Few.

Our drummer (Glodt) left for college and J. Frost suggested that we have Jim Yankovich sit in. He was awesome and became part of the group until he left for college and then Charles Usery became our drummer and Larry Logan became our organist.

Later things fell apart due to the draft, the war in Vietnam (Joel and Larry served in Vietnam and I ended up in ROTC), wives, and well, just life. At the end, Mike left to play for the Cavaliers, and with Larry in the Army, Joel, Frosty, Charlie and I played as a three piece with a singer for a while and then we disbanded. It has been reported at various websites that we moved to San Francisco, but that never happened.

What other big acts were your musical inspiration, (or genres) please name some of it?

Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds, Byrds, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Motown, Vanilla Fudge, and Cream were strong influences on us, later we became more heavy acid rock influenced with some blues thrown in.

What year did the Boys evolve into the Remaining Few? When are you born?

It was around late 1966 when we changed to the Remaining Few.

Who were the members and what they play?

The Remaining Few, V1:

Robert Glodt – drums
Mike Jones – rhythm guitar
Joel Mulkey – vocals
J. Frost McKee – bass
Robert Specht – lead guitar

The Remaining Few V2:

Jim Yankovich – drums
Mike Jones – rhythm guitar
Joel Mulkey – vocals
J. Frost McKee – bass
Robert Specht – lead guitar

The Remaining Few V3:

Charles Usery – drums
Mike Jones – rhythm guitar
Joel Mulkey – vocals
J. Frost McKee – bass
Larry Logan – organ
Robert Specht – lead guitar

The final version is the one that recorded “Painted Air” and “In the Morning”.

Where did the band practice take place?

Until Larry Logan joined as organist, we practiced in someone’s garage. But Larry’s dad owned a lumberyard and we practiced in the warehouse there.

Where did you play live, and what was your best gig (and your worse)?

We played at rental venues, where we rented a hall, advertised on local radio and hoped what people would come and pay to listen and dance to our music. We became the sort of “house band” at a local bar/night club called “The Thirteenth Hour” – where we played many Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. We also played at high school dances for many of the surrounding towns in west Texas (places like Big Lake, Sterling City and Iraan Texas). We didn’t play much in San Angelo schools as the record we produced got us banned from playing in San Angelo schools. Most of the time, when we played in the surrounding towns, the local rednecks would threaten to kick our butts because we were “long haired hippy freaks”. We had to load up fast after the gigs and get out of town to prevent getting beaten up.

Did you do any battle of the bands?

We participated in the Tri-State Battle of the Bands (bands from Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma) and placed second (see the trophy in the photo I sent) and I seem to remember playing at the local coliseum that showcased many of our local bands, but I don’t remember any declared “winner”.

How did the record on Askel come to be made?

We wanted to record and Mike knew a guy who had turned his garage into a recording studio. We came up with several songs and recorded them. The two we chose to have put on 45’s were “Painted Air” and “In The Morning”. We took the tape to Ron Newdoll at Accurate Sound here in San Angelo (he produced the Cavaliers’ “Last Kiss”) and he produced the songs on his label.

Which studio did you record the songs in?

George Talley’s studio converted garage.

Any fun facts and stories from the making of the record?

There has been conjecture and argument at various websites about how I made the tones in “Painted Air”; what kind of guitar, what kind of amp – I guess so they could be duplicated. Many were convinced that I used a Fender Stratocaster and Fender something amp, but they are all wrong. I used, and still own, a 1967 Guild T-100D hollow body electric guitar,  and I used a Kustom amp.

I used no effects pedals; the only effects available on the amp were reverb and vibrato. The only effects pedals I ever owned were a Fuzz Face fuzz tone and  Maestro Wah Wah pedal. Today there is an amazing range of effects pedals and manipulations that can be done in recording studios, I can only imagine what we could have done with that technology.

How were the records received? Did they get any airplay, did you get any good/bad reviews?

We sent records all over. The local radio station said  “It looks like the Remaining Few have a national hit on their hands” and then, nothing. Not for years, until in the early 1980’s people started calling me and asking about the song, the record and if we’d sell an original 45 or authorize re-release. People from Great Britain, Germany, various parts of Europe even from Austin, Texas contacted me; I was kind of shocked.

I saw that original 45’s were being purchased for almost $6,000 by collectors. The songs had been picked up and published on a couple 33 1/3 LPs, one called High in the Mid Sixties, which I have a copy of. Requests and interest keep coming to this day. I even heard that “Painted Air” was played along with a video in Los Angeles at some rock hall of fame type museum. Over time the records have been duplicated and digitized without our permission and sold with no royalties ever being paid to us. You can even go to Amazon and buy the recordings for like 90 cents (American), but I do not receive royalties from those sales. The recording also appears with added videos on YouTube and, again, not a dime has ever been paid in royalties.

What is the story behind the legendary tormented song “Painted Air”?

It was originally just a part of a longer song called “Death Angel” – pretty dark stuff. When we were considering songs to record, I proposed it. But it was way too long so I chose the part that was made in to “Painted Air” and Mike Jones worked with me to create the arrangement.

What other groups in that area did you compete with? Or make friends with?

Bands like The Prophets, The Centrics, The Mystics, The Cavaliers, The Inmates and The Pagans. At that time here in San Angelo, EVERYONE was in a band and they were ALL better than everyone else. There were more bands in this little town than you could count. And you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting someone who played the guitar – all better than everyone else in the entire universe and very arrogant about it. It was dog-eat-dog and cut throat competition. None of the bands were friends with each other.

Do any other unreleased recordings exist, besides the 45s? Live recordings, demos or acetates?

There are tapes of all the songs we recorded in the process of making the record. No one knows the location of those tapes.

When and why did the band split up?

You grow up and realize you’re not going to hit it big. We had the draft, Vietnam, wives and kids; lives to prepare for. I guess our final split was in 1972.

What happened to you and the other band members after the band split up?

Our first bass player, Chuck Brooks was never heard from again after he left.

Robert Glodt attended Texas A&M University, served in the Army and became and entomologist in the Pan Handle of Texas.

Jim Yankovich attended technical school and went to on to work for various companies. We are still friends and keep in touch on a daily basis.

Larry Logan succumbed to cancer some years ago. It is my understanding that he longed for a band reunion up until the last.

Charlie Usery pursued various jobs and, as I was told, collapsed at his place of work and died of heart failure.

Mike Jones, who had been my close friend, who shared the loves of photography, hunting, fishing, camping, and music with me for more than 43 years, was also lost to cancer.

Frosty McKee did some amazing things like getting in the Guinness Book of Records for feats of memory, even appeared on national TV (Leeza Gibbons Show, I think) to demonstrate his amazing skills. He is still with us.

Joel Mulkey still lives here in San Angelo and we keep in touch and have even jammed together a few times. He pursued a career in the telecommunications industry working at the same company I piloted for.

As for me, I graduated from college and earned a commission as an officer in the United States Air Force and then flew professionally as a pilot for almost 30 years. I changed lanes and became an IT manager for some 15 years and retired from that industry in 2015. I currently write songs and perform in a local band called The Rivertown Blues and for the praise band at a local church.

Do you have any kind of band pictures, scrap book clips, or concert annoncements?

Attached are the only three pictures I have. These and other information can also be viewed at our website, theremainingfew.com. There may be other photos out there, but I don’t know where.

Interview by Claus Rosenblad.

Askel 45 release date from Teen Beat Mayhem.