Categories: California, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Sidewalk, Wisconsin

The Portraits

December 7, 2009 Gary E. Myers 21 Comments

The Portraits, by Gary E. Myers

Milwaukee Roots

The Capitol, Liz, Nike, RCA, Sidewalk and Tri-Disc record labels all released singles by groups called the Portraits between 1959 and 1968; I was a member of the Portraits on Sidewalk.

The roots of the band began in January 1964 in Milwaukee, when rhythm guitarist Duane Smith put together a new lineup for his band, the Cashmeres: singer/guitarist Doug Weiss, bassist Tom Hahn, and myself on drums. The new Cashmeres landed their first gig backing Tommy Roe in the Skyroom at Monreal’s on 16th & National, and soon moved into the regular six-night-a-week gig there. Hahn and I had recorded for Tide Records in Los Angeles the previous summer (’63) while working with Milwaukee’s Darnells in Orange County. Around April 1964 Tide contacted Hahn about cutting two more sides for them. The Kingsmen had placed Tide’s copyright, “Mojo Workout” on their “Louie Louie” album, and Tide wanted to put out a single with one of their signed artists. We cut the song and a B-side at Dave Kennedy Studios (augmenting our session with three members of the Skunks) and changed our name to the Mojo Men to help promote the record.

Nothing happened with the record, but the Mojo Men worked steadily in and around Milwaukee, along with gigs in Grand Rapids and Detroit. We backed Johnny Tillotson and Chuck Berry, and worked opposite Jerry Lee Lewis. In summer 1965 Doug Weiss was hit with a 30-day jail term (driving with a suspended license, I believe), so the Mojo Men had to make a move. Guitarist John Rondell (Beilfuss) and bassist Phil Alagna were looking for work, having returned from a Southern California trip along with singer Billy Joe Burnette. (Rondell and Burnette had also worked with Milwaukee’s Legends on their 1964 Florida trip). Duane Smith and Tom Hahn had begun to be at odds, so the Mojo Men let Hahn go and added Rondell and Alagna, expanding to five pieces when Weiss was released,

Move to Los Angeles

In August 1965 the Mojo Men relocated to the L.A. area. On the drive out we heard “Off The Hook” by another Mojo Men, but it didn’t chart nationally so we paid little attention to it. By October, however, that same San Francisco band did chart with “Dance With Me”. We were not happy about that, but the record only reached #61, so we took no action – except that an agent booked us on a few of their gigs. (We later learned that the record got airplay in Milwaukee on our reputation). Doug Weiss adopted the stage name of Doug Masters and left to join a Las Vegas style review. The Mojo Men briefly replaced him with Billy Joe Burnette and then Tim Welch, but Paul Stefan (Stefaniak), an excellent singer and another old friend from Milwaukee (where he had regional hits with the Royal Lancers and the Apollos), was also in the area. He joined around March 1966.

During a steady gig at the Tip Top in Inglewood we backed the Coasters, Penguins, Rivingtons, Dick & Dee Dee, and Jerry Wallace. The schedule included Friday and Saturday after-hours sessions where many musicians and music-biz people hung out, and we were getting a good local reputation. One of the frequent sit-in’s (possibly Bobby Mason) was a Mike Curb protégé and he convinced Curb to come and see us. Curb liked what he heard and we signed a record deal with him and a management contract with Clancy Grass, who had an office in Curb’s suite and some sort of connection with him.

This was not the most opportune time for the band to head back to the Midwest, but Smith’s wife was pregnant and wanted to be near her family back home, so off we went. By the end of the summer everyone but Smith was itching to be back in California; the four of us decided to make the move while Smith stayed. Phil Alagna became the new leader mostly by default, being the only one interested in handling the business aspect.

Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs Tower soundtrack LP

Devil's Angels soundtrack LP Name Changes

The Mojo Men went back into Curb’s studio, and returned to a five-piece lineup with the addition of another old Milwaukee friend, B3 player Pat Short (Cibarrich). John Rondell had written “Runaround Girl” and we cut it with Paul Stefan’s lead vocal. We also recorded the vocal for “Hiding From Myself”, a filler song for the Dr. Goldfoot & the Girl Bombs soundtrack LP. By this time (fall 1967) the San Francisco Mojo Men had hit Billboard’s top 40 with “Sit Down I Think I Love You”; now we needed to change our name. Stefan wanted it to be “Paul & the (something)”, so at a meeting in Mike Curb’s office, we began tossing out names. We thought it would be good to have another “P” word, and it got down to Paul & the Pack. I didn’t like it, but I was the lone dissenting voice so it won.

I had been a subscriber to Billboard Magazine for several years and, within a day or two of the Curb meeting, I discovered that “I (Who Have Nothing)” by Terry Knight and the Pack was edging its way up the Hot 100. This was no good! After our gig that night I began looking in the dictionary under “P” for another name. When I got to “picture” I noticed the synonym “portrait” and thought, “That’s it!” I called a couple of the guys at 3 AM (having just gotten off the gig at 1:45) and they agreed that Paul & the Portraits would be a good name. The next day I called Curb’s office and he understood, but said he had already ordered 20,000 record labels showing Paul & the Pack. So, the Dr. Goldfoot LP bills the Portraits as Paul & the Pack, while the photo on the back cover shows us holding a picture frame to go with the name Portraits. Members depicted (L-R) are Phil Alagna, Gary Myers, Paul Stefan, John Rondell and Pat Short.

Then came another typical 60’s setback – Paul got drafted. We did a few gigs, and even another recording session, as a four-piece band, but we were lacking a strong lead singer, and then Pat Short also left. Clancy Grass had previously managed singer Jerry Tawney, who had come to L.A. from West Virginia and released a 1966 single on Liberty. Tawney had since gone back to WV, but Clancy convinced him to return to the coast to join our band. We re-recorded “Runaround Girl” with Jerry and we did the vocal for “Devil’s Angels” (as “Jerry & the Portraits”) over the same track used for Davie Allan’s instrumental version. We also cut a remake of “A Million To One” along with one of Jerry’s songs, “Let’s Tell The World”.

Recordings

The Portraits always used much vocal harmony, influenced by the Four Seasons, the Happenings, the Buckinghams, Jay & the Americans, and others. Most of the band’s sessions began with a basic track of bass, guitar and drums (Phil, John and me), and then instrumental overdubs: Phil on piano or organ, John with a second guitar part, and I sometimes added acoustic rhythm guitar. On one or two sessions I added vibes, and we used studio horn men on a few songs. The four of us would lay down our background vocal parts and then double them before putting Jerry’s lead on top. Once, when John was gone, we used our friend Larry Carlton, who went on to become one of the top studio guitarists in the business. Phil Alagna and I also played on two sessions for the Mystic Astrologic Crystal Band, another group managed by Clancy Grass. The Portraits recorded several unreleased songs and we sang on a Curb-produced commercial that was never used.

The Four Seasons had hit with their update of Cole Porter’s “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” in 1966, and Jerry came up with the idea of re-doing “Over The Rainbow” in a similar fashion. We incorporated a bit of the arrangement from the Demensions’ 1961 hit, but added much of our own, along with the switch to the up-tempo rock beat. I did the group arrangement and studio guitarist/arranger Don Peake wrote the charts for the “sweetening” – French horn, chimes and strings.

The record was released December 1967 and everyone involved was excited about it. However, we were not happy about coupling it with “Runaround Girl”; we felt that both songs were A-sides. This turned out to be a valid belief, as each side got airplay in different areas. One or the other charted in several cities, but neither charted nationally. There was also some talk that December was not a good time to release it. Airplay was more limited that month because of Christmas music, and perhaps by January some stations would have already put it aside. The Portraits did a Beverly Hills show with Mike Clifford, Ian Whitcomb, Boyce & Hart, and Don & Goodtimes, and appeared on TV8 Dancetime in San Diego, but little else developed. The band probably should have toured, especially to the cities where the record was played.

In early 1968 John Rondell left to join a San Diego band and Stan Ray (Hartford) replaced him. Around March I saw a trade ad for the Schaefer Talent Hunt, a large advertising promotion seeking new talent to record the Schaefer Beer jingle in New York. Without even mentioning it to the other members, I filled out the entry blank and sent it along with our two Sidewalk singles. To my great surprise, a few weeks later I received a telegram stating that we were one of the 10 winners. We were flown to New York and, because our selection was based on our “Over The Rainbow” vocals (they didn’t know that we were a self-contained band), studio musicians (including noted drummer Mel Lewis) cut the tracks, which were arranged by Peter Matz in the style of our “Over The Rainbow” version.

At A&R Studios in New York, from left: unidentified, arranger Peter Matz, Stan Ray, Jerry Tawney, Gary Myers and Phil Alagna.

Beyond the 60’s

For the remainder of 1968 into 1969 the Portraits had a six-nighter at the Water Wheel in West Covina with little or no involvement from Clancy. However, we were still under contract to him and, when he learned of our beer commercial, he wanted a cut. We disagreed, but at some point, Jerry went back to him for more recording sessions without telling the rest of the band; the esprit de corps was fading. John Rondell had rejoined the band, but in August 1969 he and I left to join Duane Smith (original Cashmere’s leader from 1964), who now had a Nevada-based show group, the Cee & Dee Review.

The Portraits continued with more changes under Phil Alagna (now going as Phil Anthony). In December 1972, after I had left Duane Smith and worked many other gigs back in SoCal, I rejoined. The band had just joined forces with Sanetti & Rueda, a Stockton-based music/comedy team. Over the next few years we worked Reno and Lake Tahoe several times, along with Las Vegas and many other showrooms in California, Oregon and Arizona. I was replaced in March 1975 when a drummer who had previously worked with two of the other members was looking for work.

I continued playing full time in and around the greater L.A./Orange County areas until March 1982, and then joined a “casual” band led by Stan Ray, the guitarist from the Portraits’ beer commercial period. Phil Alagna kept the Portraits going through many more personnel shifts until that summer, when he disbanded the group and joined Stan and me on the casuals. By summer 1983 I was also doing occasional gigs as a leader, for which I exhumed the Portraits name. One day that summer, as a surprise to Phil and Stan, I called Jerry Tawney to see if he could come to our gig. He made it down and the four of us got together for the first time in 15 years.

Epilogue

Duane Smith, always a hard-working businessman, quit performing in the 80’s and opened a studio rental business in Portland, OR. That venture grew into West Coast Event Productions with major clients and a second office in Las Vegas.

Doug Weiss (Masters) gigged for many years in the Twin Cities and then returned to Las Vegas, where he was the Bobby Hatfield part of a Righteous Brothers tribute act. He died October 2007 (b: 8/3/42; Milwaukee).

Tom Hahn (b: 1939; Tipton, IN) had left the music business by 1970 and settled in Michigan.

Phil Alagna (b: 1943; Milwaukee) worked in piano sales and later as a piano tuner, while continuing to gig part-time. He was still playing in 2009 as the Phil Anthony Band, mostly for senior dances and functions.

John Beilfuss (Rondell) (b: 1945; Milwaukee) returned to Wisconsin in the 70’s and continued playing until 1996. He subsequently began a wedding photography business in the Eau Claire area.

Billy Joe Burnette had releases on many labels from at least 1965-79. He scored a big success in 1976 as the co-writer of Red Sovine’s “Teddy Bear” during the CB radio boom.

Tim Welch (b. 7/41; Wichita, KS and was shot & killed in W. Hollywood in 2/72) had previous releases on Edit and Reprise and a later release on Attarack.

Paul Stefaniak (Stefan) (b: 1941; Milwaukee) had rejoined the Portraits after his military duty, but left the music business by the mid-70’s. He was last known to be living in the Yuma, AZ area.

Pat Cibarrich (Short) had relocated to Louisville, KY in the late 60’s and subsequently returned to Milwaukee, continuing to play music. He died January 1998.

Jerry Tawney connected with writer/producer Jerry Fuller in the 70’s and had several solo releases on Bell. One of his songs appeared on Al Wilson’s La La Peace Song LP, and he was also in Yellow Hand on Capitol. Tawney left the music business in 1982 and became a mortgage loan consultant for Countrywide.

Stan Ray became a successful attorney in Los Alamitos, CA, specializing in estate planning.

Gary Myers (b: 1942; Milwaukee): I worked for a large music store in Arcadia, CA from 1985-2006, while continuing to play a variety of gigs in the greater L.A./O.C. area, including occasional work with Phil Alagna. As of 2009 I had written and self-published four books (see here for more information); still playing, and as recently as January 2008, had used the name “The Portraits”.

Categories: Austin, Beacon, Texas

Oedipus and the Mothers

December 7, 2009 Chris Bishop 15 Comments

Oedipus and the Mothers made one fine record, “(I Remember) How It Used to Be”, with a great combination of distorted lead guitar and tremolo rhythm.

Andrew Brown did a long interview with rhythm guitarist Joe Blinderman in “Brown Paper Sack” back in ’97. The interview is a great read, and I recommend it if you can find a copy. The facts about the group are as follows:

The band formed at the University of Texas, Austin in 1965. Don Passman was lead guitarist, Joseph Blinderman rhythm guitarist, Scott Davis played sax, Bob Hunt bass and Stuart Glass was the drummer.

Oedipus and the Mothers featured two African-American vocalists: first Alvin Easter, then Reuben Halton who sings on the record.

An early mention of the band in Jim Langdon’s Nightbeat column from February 25, 1966 lists Robi Bendorf on drums and Alvin Easter on vocals. The band played for 200 people at the opening of Ray Vines’ Orange Bull Club and continued to play there into March, alternating with the Baby Cakes.

Bob Burns was their equipment manager.

Oedipus and the Mother-Lovers, San Antonio Light, March 1967

Oedipus and the Mothers traveled to Dallas to record the 45, probably at Sumet Sound Studio. Joe Blinderman wrote “(I Remember) How It Used to Be”. Don Passman wrote “Lonesome”, which is a very mellow song and nothing like the flip. There may be a few unreleased tracks still in existence.

Don chose the shocking band name. An announcement in the San Antonio Light lists them as the even more scandalous name, “Oedipus and the Mother-Lovers”! Joe recalled to Andrew Brown that it didn’t hurt their getting gigs, and their 45 even received some local airplay.

The band broke up in May of ’67 when Don Passman graduated and left for Harvard Law School.

An article in the Daily Texas for one of their last shows on May 13 at the Union Main Ballroom has some interesting information, but I don’t think they ever released a record named “I’m Gone”: that may be an error by the writer. I haven’t seen the Time article mentioned, but a national UPI item listed Oedipus and His Mothers along with other odd band names, like the Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Iron Butterfly, etc..

Oedipus and the Mothers appear very briefly at a frat party in the CBS special “If You’re Appalled at My Texas, I’m Bewildered by Your England” hosted by Dan Rather and David Dimbleby (called “Texas vs. England” in the news item at top). The English part of the special does have good footage of the Who, plus short interviews with Mary Quant, Margaret Forster, Jean Shrimpton and publisher Gareth Powell.

Bob Hunt wrote to me:

Alvin was our first singer; Ruben was the second. They both sounded a lot alike and had that high range. Needless to say, our set lists included a lot of James Brown, Sam & Dave, etc. material. We also covered the Stones, Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, etc. We were a rock & roll band with five UT students including a black vocalist and a Seminary student … me.
Baby Cakes and Oedipus and the Mothers at the Orange Bull, Austin Daily Texan, March 3, 1966
One more note on the recording of the Beacon material. I direct inputed to the board and I think now in retrospect that I may have overdriven the desk, but the engineer didn’t know that. He was impressed that I had a real Fender ’58 P-Bass with the sunburst and the gold anodized pick guard! Live, I played through a 60 watt Fender head into two Bassman cabs, each loaded with two 15″ JBL 140s. I could fill up a room and make your pant legs flap!
Bob Burns, the equipment guy actually built the sound system for us since there weren’t too many options out there at the time. We had a Bogen 100 watt, four channel amp and four mics which all plugged into two huge homebuilt speaker cabs containing four 12″s apiece. No monitors in that era! I don’t know what kept us from setting venues on fire with that set-up. Don occasionally played a Farfisa keyboard too.

If anyone has a photo of the group, please contact me

Scan courtesy of Mark Taylor. Thank you to Jonas Carlsson for pointing out the Austin Daily Texan article with the band photo.

Either Oedipus & the Mothers were known as far away as Hollywood, or there was a California group with that name, ’cause it’s the first example given of weird group names. Lubbock Avalanche Journal, January 10, 1967

Categories: British Columbia, Canada, Jerden, London Records, Mercury, Vancouver

The Chessmen (British Columbia)

December 1, 2009 Chris Bishop 6 Comments

Chessmen Mercury promo photo. From left: Bruce Peterson, Larry Borrisoff, Myles Kingan, Terry Jacks and Guy Sobell — From left: Bruce Peterson, Larry Borrisoff, Myles Kingan, Terry Jacks and Guy Sobell

Clockwise from left: Al Wiertz, Bill Lockie, Guy Sobell and Terry Jacks — Clockwise from top left: Al Wiertz, Guy Sobell, Terry Jacks and Bill Lockie.

The early roots of The Chessmen began in the late 1950’s with musical influences from the Swedish group The Spotnicks and the English group The Shadows. Guy Sobell was a guitarist in a Vancouver band, The Ken Clark Trio, and while in Europe, he had heard these groups and decided to form his own band when he returned to Canada.

At the same time, a 17 year old named Terry Jacks had put together a “surf” band”, The Sand Dwellers. The group never played live but recorded two unreleased songs including one original penned by Jacks and fellow member John Crowe called “Build Your Castle Higher”. It was later recorded and released by a California group Jerry Cole and The Spacemen with the title changed to “Midnight Surfer”. When the Sand Dwellers folded, some of the members re-formed as The Vancouver Playboys.

Jacks and Sobell were introduced by a mutual friend, Sam Bawlf, who later became the Environment Minister of British Columbia. (Sam,Terry, and Guy all happened to be going to the University of British Columbia at the same time). Guy and Terry teamed up with two other UBC students, Bill Lockie, a guitar player who was learning to play bass, and Erik Kalaidzis, a singer who played chess with Guy. Thus `The Chessmen’. They started out doing gigs at UBC fraternity houses for $40 a night without a drummer. Kalaidzis later left the group because his vocal style was more classical and not geared to what the group was doing at the time. So the band became an instrumental group.

The Chessmen played in the Okanagan (the interior part of British Columbia) in the winter of 1963 and stayed at some strange motels; namely the `Tell-a-Friend’ in Vernon, and ‘The Davy Crockett’ in Kamloops. Lockie recalls Jacks swimming in the motel pool at night while it was snowing and way below freezing. The next day, their newly found drummer, Tom Meikle didn’t show up and they had to play with no drums.

At a gig in Kelowna, Jacks met a guy named Craig McCaw who was played in a band called The Shadracks. He had come to The Chessmen concert with his friend John Tanner (who later went on to become a well known disc jockey in Vancouver). It was a fateful meeting as Craig would later play with Terry in The Poppy Family, an internationally acclaimed group.

Back in Vancouver, The Chessmen got a new drummer, Kenny Moore, who played with them on their first single, “Meadowlands” b/w “Mustang” and a third previously unreleased song called “When I’m Not There”. These were recorded at Robin Spurgin’s Vancouver Recording Studio in 1964.

Red Robinson, a highly acclaimed Vancouver disc jockey who had a lot of connections in the music business passed the tape on to Alice Koury, Vice President of London Records and in December 1964, London released The Chessmen’s first single, “Meadowlands” b/w “Mustang”. It did really well locally and Red Robinson who was undoubtedly instrumental in launching The Chessmen, was credited as the producer of the record. With Red’s help, the single was also released in the U.S. on Jerden Records out of Seattle, with the A-side listed as “Mr.Meadowlands” just to spice it up a bit.

With the success of their first single the band toured, playing roller rinks, high schools and dances across British Columbia throughout the spring of 1965. Terry recalls that because he wasn’t a great guitar player, the other band members were thinking about replacing him in the group. Then, he wrote a song called “The Way You Fell”. Because no one in the group could sing, Terry ended up singing the song and adding his own harmony to it. Up to that point the band had considered other possibilities for a lead singer including adding a female vocalist to their line up. They had tried out a girl named Bonnie Huber, who played some shows with them and even recorded some demos with the band. She was great but the band was too gross for a little girl.

With Terry now in place as the band’s vocalist, “The Way You Fell” b/w “She Comes By Night” was recorded at Vancouver Recording Studio with their new drummer, Al Wiertz and released on London Records in April 1965. That single ended up being one of The Chessmen’s most successful records, peaking at #4 on the CFUN Top 50 in Vancouver.

1965 was turning out to be a busy year for the group.

Terry had gone to see Brenda Lee at The Cave Supper Club in Vancouver, wanting her to hear a song he’d written with the hope that she would record it. He ended up becoming good friends with Brenda and her manager, Dub Allbritten who was one of the biggest managers in Nashville. Besides Brenda, he had worked with Red Foley, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, and Roy Orbison just to name a few. He also had co-written Brenda’s huge hit “I’m Sorry”. Dub offered to manage The Chessmen and got them a recording contract in the U.S. with Mercury Records. They recorded four songs in Nashville with producer Jerry Kennedy who had produced Roger Miller, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Charlie Rich among many other famous artists.

It was an incredible step forward for the band. It was almost unheard of at the time for a little Canadian band with moderate success going to Nashville to record, and being signed to a major record label with one of the biggest managers and most prominent producers in Nashville.

In September 1965, The Chessmen made their way down to Nashville for a recording session via a Greyhound bus. New drummer Myles Kingan and electric accordion (Chordovox) player Bruce Peterson had since become members of the band.

Bruce Peterson was well known among the other band members for his dry sense of humour and the trip to Nashville was no exception. He had brought along a small box, wrapped up very carefully. As people walked by him on the bus they would ask him what was in the box. He told them that it was his pet aardvark. During the trip, when the bus entered a tunnel somewhere in Colorado, he stood up suddenly and announced loudly that his aardvark had escaped. Astonished passengers on the bus lifted up their feet as he pretended to search the bus for his fictional pet, which of course was never found.

Once in Nashville, the band was put up by the record company at a sleazy motel, where they all had to share a room. The walls in the room were full of holes and huge cockroaches had infested them; so the guys sprayed shaving cream into the holes to prevent the cockroaches from coming out. However, now it turned out even worse. These monster cockroaches would emerge from the walls, covered in shaving cream, and would run around the floor all night long! Guy’s memories in Nashville included buying Beatle boots and striped pants, and visiting Hank Snow’s guitar store.

Mercury had booked the group into Fred Fosters studio, where many famous hits had been recorded including all of Roy Orbison’s records. During the recording session, the group found it amusing that their producer Jerry Kennedy kept going to the vending machine, throughout the session, purchasing peanut butter filled Ritz crackers, which he seemed addicted to.

Following the session on September 16th and 17th, the band returned to a busy schedule in Vancouver. On September 24th they played the The Beach Boys show along with Charlie Rich and The Castaways at the PNE gardens. On November 5th they played with Buddy Knox, then toured the dance halls and high school circuit, and on November 28th ended up doing a show with Roy Orbison at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

The songs they had just recorded on their first trip to Nashville “Love Didn’t Die” b/w “You Lost Your Game” were released in December 1965 on Mercury Records. On December 29th the band played with Gary Lewis and The Playboys in Vancouver.

With new members Al Weirtz and Larry Borisoff.

On February 25th 1966, The Chessmen returned to Nashville for two sessions. This time the record company had booked them a flight to Nashville. Larry Borisoff, a new member on this trip, replaced Bill Lockie on bass guitar and also helped out on vocals.

While waiting for a connecting flight at the airport in Chicago, a drunken Jacks bet the guys he could get a bottle of rum from the bar without being seen. But the bartender spotted him as he swiped the bottle and he fled, running down the wrong way on the escalator to escape. In the parking lot he ditched the booze and jumped into a surprised girl’s car to hide. Although he wasn’t caught, the delay caused the band to miss their connecting flight to Nashville.

When they finally arrived, The Chessmen cut what was to be their last single “What’s Causing This Sensation” b/w “For Running Wild” which was released in April, 1966 on Mercury Records. Prior to the session Guy Sobell had shown up looking a bit pale, he had apparently been hit by a car outside the studio. Although shaken, he wasn’t seriously injured and proceeded to record his solo in “What’s Causing This Sensation”.

On the flight home from Nashville, drummer Miles Kingan passed out having had a bit too much to drink prior to leaving the airport. Terry and Guy remember pulling down his pants and putting his hand down his underwear, then calling the stewardess and complaining that Miles was acting in an obscene manner. The stewardess woke him up and told him to get his act together or she would have to report him to the pilot.

Upon their return, The Chessmen continued touring across British Columbia with their new drummer Duris Maxwell, their fifth and final drummer. Guy recalls the time when someone threw a beer bottle at Duris while the group was playing in Victoria. Duris stopped playing, walked up to the front where Jacks was singing and said “Whoever threw that bottle would you please come up to the stage”. Despite his polite request, he did not look like a guy you would want to mess with and no one responded.

The Chessmen’s final gig was in Ladner, British Columbia on July 15th 1966 where the band was paid $180 to play. Terry and Guy recall that there was a lot of drinking before the performance. Local mobile sound engineer Douglas Gyseman (aka Kurtis Vanel) recorded the last gig. (Two of these tracks plus a bonus track that he recorded appear on the Chessmen Collection CD).

The break-up of The Chessmen occurred after Guy’s father gave him a choice of either going to London University (because Guy was quite “a brilliant guy”) or getting out of the house and continuing music with Jacks. He chose University. Checkmate.

While in England, he met Jimi Hendrix who purchased his white Fender Stratocaster guitar for £80. When asked in a 1966 Chatelaine Magazine interview if success had changed The Chessmen in any way, Jacks replied, “No, we all still eat raw eggs for breakfast!”

A CD of British Columbia’s Chessmen re-mastered from the original master tapes under the supervision of Terry Jacks contains their eight rare single sides, plus bonus tracks of the group live at their last concert in 1966 and a previously unreleased demo of ‘You Lost Your Game’. Fans of tough garage sounds will dig the never-before-heard “No Blood in Bone”.

Categories: Australia, Go!!, Perth

The Clique

November 25, 2009 Chris Bishop 6 Comments

Clique Go 45 Stop Look and Listen The Clique came from Perth in the far west of Australia. Shortly after forming they won the western division of Hoadley’s Battle of the Sounds competition in 1966. Though they didn’t win the national final at Festival Hall in Melbourne, they did secure a contract with the Go!! label, and a slot on television’s Go!! Show, notable as Perth bands were usually signed to the Clarion label.

Members were:

Joe Orifici – vocals, keyboards
Lenny Hayworth – guitar
Mike Carr – guitar
John Tucak – bass
Ferdie Ferrante – drums

The band cut their only 45 at Bill Armstrong Sound Recording Studios in South Melbourne. Joe and John were just sixteen at the time, while the others were twenty or twenty-one. The single has two excellent originals, each written by one of their guitarists. Lenny Hayworth’s “Love Me Girl” was the A-side, a driving song with nice tremolo on the guitars and a shouted chorus.

On the flip is the Mike Carr-penned “Stop, Look and Listen”, one of my very favorite songs from Australia in the ’60s. It was certainly catchy enough to be an A-side itself, with a loping rhythm and neat lyrics about how envious folks are of his girlfriend. I like how the backing vocalists shout “They stop” behind the guitar solo.

This was their only recording. They had the option of relocating to Melbourne or Sydney to promote the band through live shows, but they chose instead to return to Perth and break up for college and careers.

This Clique have no relation to the groups of the same name in the U.S. (who did “Superman” as well as a White Whale 45 I’ve seen mistakenly credited to the Australian group: “Soul Mates” / “I’ll Hold Out My Hand”) or the U.K. (“She Ain’t No Good” on Pye, etc).

Sources include: Kommotion!! #2 (thanks to Steve F. for locating that for me).

Clique Go 45 Love Me Girl

Categories: Athens, Ohio, Pla Me Records

The Oceans “She’s Gone” on Pla-Me Records

November 25, 2009 Chris Bishop 7 Comments

The Oceans on stage. Note the piano player and string quartet in the background ready to be next to perform!

The Oceans came from Athens, Ohio, releasing “She’s Gone” / “Abilene” on Pla Me Records in December 1966.

“She’s Gone” is a great, moody rock number with horns that actually help the arrangement. The singer snarls and yells out the lyrics, the guitar and rhythm is dense.

“She’s Gone” was written by the group. Publishing was by B-W Music, now Weldee Music in Wooster, OH.

The band must have used all their creative energy for “She’s Gone”, because the flip “Abilene” is a slow version of the 1963 country hit. Gary Rhamy produced both sides.

Richard Brown’s son Eric wrote to me with the photo above and some information on the band:

Mike Cunningham: vocals, also guitar and saxophone
Ed Lonas: guitar
Richard Brown: bass, also trumpet (on “She’s Gone”)
Jim Dean: drums
Oceans first, Cobras of Beverly second
They were from Athens, OH. The played mostly around the Athens & Belpre area in SE Ohio, from ’64 – ’67.
The picture is from a Battle of the Bands in either Charleston or Huntington, West Virginia. They won that competition, as noted in the newspaper clipping. Three of the four were students at Ohio University (in Athens), and Richard & Mike were childhood friends.

Thank you to Eric Brown for his help with this post.

Categories: Elektra Records, England, London

Eclection

November 25, 2009 Nick Warburton 3 Comments

Eclection Elektra LP front cover

Kerrilee Male (vocals)
Michael Rosen (guitar, vocals, trumpet)
Georg Hultgreen (guitar, vocals)
Trevor Lucas (bass, vocals)
Gerry Conway (drums)

1967

August Canadian singer/songwriter and guitarist Mike Rosen is living in London and meets Norwegian singer/songwriter and guitarist Georg Hultgreen (b. Prince Georg Johan Tchegodaieff, Trondheim, Norway) in a restaurant in Bayswater called Bangers, where he is playing Gordon Lightfoot songs on his 12-string guitar. Hultgreen is the son of Russian prince Pavel Tchegodaieff and Finnish sculptress Johanna Kajanus. They suggest forming a group and round up players from the folk-rock scene. Australian singer/guitarist Trevor Lucas (b. 25 December 1943, Melbourne, Australia; d. 4 February 1989) is recruited after the pair see him perform at the Cambridge Folk Festival and he recommends fellow Australian Kerrilee Male (Newsome) as a singer. Lucas has recorded several albums in Australia before moving the UK in 1965 while Male has previously been a member of Dave’s Place Group with Dave Guard from The Kingston Trio. The final piece in the jigsaw is English drummer Gerry Conway (b. 11 September 1947, King’s Lynn, Norfolk), who was previously a member of Alexis Korner’s backing group. Rosen’s friend, Joni Mitchell names the band, Eclection because in her words, they were such an eclectic bunch.
October (16) Band members, Trevor Lucas and Kerrilee Male appear at the Royal Festival Hall for a folk festival, which features a number of artists, including future Eclection singer Dorris Henderson.
December (1) Eclection appear at Middle Earth in London, opening for visiting US act, The Electric Prunes.

1968

April (30) Eclection appear on BBC Radio 1’s Top Gear performing Mark Time, In Her Mind, In The Early Days, Morning of Yesterday and Confusion, which is broadcast on 12 May.
June Eclection hold a press reception at London’s Revolution club.
(21) The group’s debut single, Rosen’s Nevertheless backed by the non-album single, Hultgreen’s Mark Time is released but does not chart. Around this time, Eclection appear at the Paradiso club in Amsterdam and appear on Dutch TV.
(28) Eclection perform seven songs from their forthcoming album on BBC 2’s Colour Me Pop, including In The Early Days, Morning of Yesterday, Nevertheless, Mark Time and Another Time, Another Place.
July (23) Eclection record a second John Peel session for BBC radio, recording Another Time, Another Place, Nevertheless, St Georg & The Dragon and Will You Be The Same? The show is broadcast on 28 July.
August (24) The band joins Ten Years After, Family, Peter Sarstedt, Fleetwood Mac, Stefan Grossman, Roy Harper, Fairport Convention and The Deviants for a show in Hyde Park, London.
(30) Eclection’s eponymous debut album, produced by Australian Ossie Byrne, is released in the UK to critical acclaim.
September (1) The group appears on John Peel’s Top Gear with Tim Hardin, Fairport Convention and Fleetwood Mac.
(4) The band makes its debut at the Marquee in London, supporting by Keef Hartley.
(11) The Eclection return the following week to the Marquee with Gordon Smith the opening act.
(15) The band plays at the Bird Cage, Harlow.
(25) They appear at Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, Middlesex with Village in support.
(29) The band performs at Fairfield Hall, Croydon, Surrey with Jethro Tull, David Ackles, The Alan Price Set, Spooky Tooth, The Nice and Julie Driscoll & The Brian Auger Trinity.
October (5) Eclection travel to Birmingham and appear at Mothers with Ron Greesin.
(11) The group’s second single, a cover of US folk-rock band, Kaleidoscope’s Please, which is another non-album track, is released but fails to chart. The group plays a show at the Factory in Birmingham.
(12) They appear at Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex with Proteus.
(16) The band is guest group on BBC 1’s Friday Play where they perform their latest single. American singer Dorris Henderson (b. 1933, Lakeland, Florida; d. 3 March 2005) replaces Kerrilee Male, who leaves after recording their second single. Male holidays in Rome, Italy while trying to decide on her future plans and eventually returns to Australia.
(23) Eclection play at the Marquee in London supported by Pegasus.
November Eclection’s latest single Please is re-released with Dorris Henderson’s lead vocal replacing Male’s.
(6) The band appears at the Marquee in London, supported by East of Eden.
(8) The group performs at the Student’s Union, Battersea, London.
(19) Eclection record a John Peel session with producer Bernie Andrews at the BBC’s Piccadilly Studio 1, which comprises Please and three new songs: If I Love Her, Days Left Behind and Time For Love. The session log lists Kerry Male as female singer rather than Dorris Henderson and the show is broadcast on 18 December.
December (1) The Beach Boys kick off a 10-day UK tour at the London Palladium with Eclection in support.
(8) As part of the tour, they appear at the Astoria, Finsbury Park, London.
(14) Eclection appear at Mothers in Birmingham with Ron Greesin.
(28) The band plays at Leyton Baths Hall, Leyton, Essex.

1969

January (23) Eclection play at the Speakeasy in London.
(25) The group performs at Lanchester Arts Festival in Coventry with Family.
(28) The band is supported by Milkwood at Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead.
February (7) Eclection play at Mothers in Birmingham.
(28) The band appears at the Fishmonger’s Arms, Wood Green.
April (6) After Eclection shares the bill with Fairport Convention at Mothers in Birmingham, Mike Rosen leaves. The remaining members recruit top jazz guitarist Gary Boyle (b. 24 November 1941, Patna, Behar, India) from The Brian Auger Trinity and vibes player John “Poli” Palmer (b. 25 May 1943, Evesham, Worcestershire), formely a member of Blossom Toes.
(21) Eclection’s new line up records another BBC John Peel session with producer Bernie Andrews at the Playhouse Theatre. The session comprises a cover of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now, three new numbers written by Hultgreen: Earth, Restitution and Put On Your Face and the uncredited Charity. The show is broadcast on 27 April.
(23) The revised line up appears at the Pavilion in Hemel Hempstead.
(25) The group returns to Birmingham to play a show at Mothers.
(26) Eclection perform at Portsmouth College of Education with Harmony Grass.
May (11) Eclection play at Mothers in Birmingham with Fairport Convention.
(14) The band appears at East Ham Town Hall with The Gods.
(20) The group plays at the Speakeasy in London.
(29) Sharing the bill with Yes, King Crimson, Bridget St John and Principal Edwards, Eclection appear at the Van Dyke Club in Plymouth, Devon. When Julie Driscoll leaves his band, Brian Auger contacts Gary Boyle and asks him to rejoin. The guitarist leaves just before a prestigious show at the Albert Hall the following week.
June (5) Stripped down to a quintet, Eclection appear at the Albert Hall supporting American singer/songwriter Richie Havens. A third single, Rosen’s Confusion, taken from the band’s album is set for release and then delayed.
July (6) Eclection play at Mothers in Birmingham with Fairport Convention.
(7) The band returns to the Marquee in London supported by Grail.
(21) The group plays another show at the Marquee, once again supported by Grail.
(25) Eclection join Roy Harper and The Liverpool Scene for a show at the Lyceum on the Strand in London.
(26) The band appears alongside Family at the Dunstable Civic Hall.
August (3) The group plays at the Country Club in Belsize Park, London.
(4) The band performs at the Marquee in London, supported by Cressida.
(17) They play at the Nottingham Boat Club.
(24) Eclection appear at the Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London with Quintessence, Stray and Mariupilami.
(25) The group performs another show at the Marquee in London.
(29-31) Eclection appear at the Isle of Wight Festival, which features The Pretty Things, Mighty Baby, Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Nice, Gypsy, Blonde on Blonde, Blodwyn Pig, Edgar Broughton Band, Aynsley Dunbar, Marsha Hunt and White Trash, Family, Free, The Who, Fat Matress, Joe Cocker, The Moody Blues, The Liverpool Scene, Third Ear Band, Indo Jazz Fusions, Gary Farr, Tom Paxton, Pentangle, Julie Felix, Richie Havens, The Band and Bob Dylan. Soon after their appearance, Hultgreen leaves the band. He subsequently adopts his mother’s maiden name Kajanus and forms the group, Sailor, which scores with a UK #2 hit with A Glass of Champagne in 1975 and a UK #7 hit with Girls, Girls, Girls in 1977, both penned by Kajanus.
September After getting married and visiting his wife’s parents in New York, sailing on the QE2, former member Mike Rosen returns to the UK and joins James Litherland’s Brotherhood, which later changes name to Mogul Thrash.
(6) Eclection make an appearance at the Dunstable Music Festival in Queensbury Hall, Dunstable, Bedfordshire with Fleetwood Mac, Junior Eyes and Eire Apparent.
(12) The band plays at the Fishmongers Arms, Wood Green, London.
(17) Eclection appear at the Railway Hotel, Bishop Stortford.
(20) They play at Dudley Town Hall, Dudley.
(23) The group performs at the Speakeasy in London.
(26) Travelling to Birmingham, they appear at Mothers.
(27) Eclection play at Philippa Fawcett College, Streatham, London.
(28) The group performs at Redcar Coatham Hotel with The Third Ear Band.
(29) The band makes its final Marquee appearance supported by Gypsy.
October (3) The group joins Blodwyn Pig and Aynsley Dunbar for a show at University College, London.
(4) Eclection play at St Mary’s College, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham.
(16) They appear at Green’s Playhouse, Glasgow with Fleetwood Mac and The Sleaz Band.
(25) The band plays Barking College in Dagenham, Essex.
November (2) Eclection appear at the Country Club, Belsize Park, London.
(8) The group performs at Essex University in Colchester with East of Eden also on the bill.
(9) Eclection play at the Wake Arms in Loughton.
(21) The band appears at King’s College on the Strand with Shape of The Rain.
(23) They are due to appear at the Nottingham Boat Club but the show is cancelled and Clouds take their place.
(29) Eclection, The John Dummer Blues Group and Gracious appear at Chelsea College, London.
December (5) The group plays one of its final shows at Goldsmith’s College in New Cross, London with Tech-Neek and The Night People. Palmer leaves to join Family while Lucas and Conway form Fotheringay with Lucas’s girlfriend, Sandy Denny from Fairport Convention. Henderson returns to a solo career but later revives the band’s name with new players.

Sources:

Down at the Boat: The bands that played at the Nottingham Boat Club by Keith and Juliet Atkinson and Tony James.
London Live by Tony Bacon, Balafron Press, 1999.
Mothers 1968-1971 by Kevin Duffy, Birmingham City Council, 1997.
Peel Sessions by Ken Gardner, BBC Books, 2007.
Revelation, Elektra Records’ newsletter
Strange Brew – Eric Clapton & The British Blues Boom 1965-1970, by Christopher Hjort, Jawbone Press, 2007
Time Out magazine, 1968-1969
Richie Unterberger’s liner notes to Eclection CD re-issue on Collector’s Choice Music
Valentine, 2 November 1968

Thank you to Georg Kajanus and Gary Boyle for their input in this article.

I would particularly like to acknowledge Mike Capewell’s exhaustive site for material:
www.marmalade-skies.co.uk/

The Family Bandstand also provided useful dates:
www.familybandstand.com

I have tried to ensure the accuracy of this article but I appreciate that there are likely to be errors and omissions. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone who can provide any additions or corrections. Email: Warchive@aol.com

Categories: Press

Interview on KVRX tonight

November 18, 2009 Chris Bishop Leave a comment

I’ll be on the University of Texas, Austin radio station KVRX tonight, Wednesday Nov. 18, doing a phone interview on Michael Sedillo’s show Strictly Business. He’ll be asking me about Garage Hangover and some of the bands I’ve featured.

The show goes from 9-10 PM Central Standard Time (10-11 PM in New York), and I should be on twenty or thirty minutes into the show.

To listen go to http://kvrx.org/listenlive

Categories: Lansing, Lee, Michigan, Midland

The Satisfactions

November 17, 2009 Chris Bishop 20 Comments

Great 45 with two originals by the Satisfactions on the Lee label from Lansing, Michigan. Production is a little murky and heavy on the echo but the performances are fantastic.

Don’t know much about the band except a Midland, Michigan origin, northwest of Saginaw. The RCA custom pressing code on the label TK4M-3735/6 indicates this was a 1966 release.

“Only Once” was written by Lashier and has a drum intro that picks up speed, a cool sounding nasal vocal and good rough guitar solo. “Never Be Happy” is the other side of the coin, a steady folk-rock ballad written by Weers and Hunter. Interesting how the rhythm changes up for the solo.

This is the same Lee label out of Don Lee Studios that the Marauders from Saginaw used for their June ’65 single, “Lovin” / “Nightmare”. That group paid $245 for one hour of session time and 1,000 45s, it’s likely the Satisfactions worked a similar deal.

Sources include: Article on the Marauders in Kicks #5.

Categories: Boss Sound, Stevens Point, Wisconsin

The Orbits “Fuzzy” on Big Sound, “Don’t” on Boss Sound”

November 15, 2009 Chris Bishop 15 Comments

The Orbits were from Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Early lineups of the group included:

Ron Hanson – lead vocals and rhythm guitar, 12-string guitar
Mike Daily (Daley?) – lead vocals
Ron Glodowski – vocals and lead guitar
Don Scholtz (Schultz?) – vocals and bass
Bob Scholtz (Schultz?) – vocals and drums

Ron Hanson’s first band was Ronny & the Bonnevilles, soon followed by Ronnie and the Rock-n-Bops with Glen Schulfer and Jerry Starr; I don’t believe either group recorded. The Rock’n’Bops became Wanda Jackson’s touring band for a tour.

The Orbits’ first single is a remake of the Zombies “Make Me Feel Good” [sic] backed with Ron Glodowski’s original “Fuzzy”, released on Big Sound label out of Wausau. Big Sound had other great releases by the Benders, the Spacemen, the Corals and the Rejects.

Orbits Ecco Enterprises Photo — Orbits promotional photo for Ecco Enterprises

The Orbits toured extensively and even performed at the Hollywood Bowl in 1966. That touring helps explain why this group from central Wisconsin listed El Monte, California on the labels of their second single on the Boss Sound label, a Cuca custom pressing.

“Don’t” has all the elements of a good pop song. The song was written by Lena Davis and, as far as I can tell, originally done by UK act Joe Brown and the Bruvvers in June of 1964. That Piccadilly 45 didn’t receive a U.S. release to my knowledge, so the Orbits more likely heard it on the Roemans’ first 45 on ABC-Paramount from 1965, even though that wasn’t a hit. As it turns out, Ron met the Roemens when he sold them some VOX equipment, he befriended the band and probably heard “Don’t” at that time.

The flip is a slow take on the Searchers’ “Goodbye My Love”.

This 45 received a mention as a ‘Former Instant Pick’ on the local charts of WSPT in April of 1967.

The band recorded these songs at Cuca in Sauk City, Wisconsin, indicated by the J-6744 catalog number on the label. This band is not the Orbits from Portage, WI who had an earlier 45 on Cuca, “Orbit Rock” / “Slow Burn”.

The Orbits continued into the 1970s and had a few reunions. The lineup changed over the years with Hanson the only constant, and included Ed Niespodziani, Bob Wray on bass, Myrna Raatz (of the Furys) on vocals, Joe Cory on keyboards, Glen Schulfer on lead guitar, Steve Berendt, Ron Pitt and Dave Trickle on bass, Lyle Vickerman on lead guitar and Rick Martin and Jim Sether on drums. (Any clarification on when these people were in the group would be appreciated, some were in reunion bands as recent as 2001.)

In 1970 the group signed to Shelby Singleton’s SSS International label and released their third single, an original by Hanson and Schulfer, “House Without a Roof” b/w “Good Natured Emma”.

With an equipment sponsorship, the group changed its name to the Kansas Road Band, self-releasing the excellent Schulfer original “Back Again” b/w “Something About You” in a mid-western rock style. Ron and his group eventually became part of the Grassroots along with founding member Rob Grill and Dennis Provisor.

Orbits Photo Ron Hanson — Ron Hanson of the Orbits

A mural of Ron Hanson’s early band “The Rock N Bops” can be seen in downtown Stevens Point with other noted local lore.

I’m sorry to report that Ron Hanson died on March 20, 2019.

Thank you to Beth Miratsky for the photos, news clippings and information on the Orbits.

Sources include: On That Wisconsin Beat by Gary E. Myers.

Orbits 1970's Photo 1 — Orbits in the 1970s, Ron Hanson on the right.

Categories: Audio Recording (Cleveland), Belding, Grand Rapids, Kustom, Michigan

Don and the Wanderers

November 9, 2009 Chris Bishop 23 Comments

The Wanderers of Grand Rapids, MI photo — The Wanderers, 1968, left to right: Bob Thompson, Mike Bresnahan, Don Thompson, Jack Petersen, Dave O’Brian

1964, from left: Robert Thompson, Tom Devers and Don Thompson

Don and the Wanderers were from Belding, Michigan, about 30 miles east northeast of Grand Rapids. Brothers Don Thompson and Robert Thompson founded the Flying Mustangs in 1963, with Don on guitar and his brother Robert on bass. They changed their name to Don and the Wanderers in 1964.For the next seven years the band would practice in the Thompson house. Their father Russ Thompson became their manager once they started taking paying jobs.

The band’s first drummers were Steve Whitford then Tom Devers. In 1965 the band added Jayne Traynor on vocals, and a rhythm guitar player. The following year Janet Sinclair became the drummer. In 1967, Jayne left the band and Dave O’Brien joined on keyboards. At this time Robert Thompson moved to rhythm guitar and Michael Bresnahan joined on bass. Bresnahan had been taking lessons from Robert, and his first group was Davy James and the In Men from Grattan.

Their only 45 was recorded at Audio Studios downstairs from the WKYC station in Cleveland in Spring 1968, and released with an orange Kustom label.

Producer Dick Wagner had them cut his original song “On the Road” for the A-side, a song he had done with the Bossmen the year previously with little chart success. This version has a progressive style for early 1968, with elements of the heavier sounds that were coming over the next few years.

For the flip they cut a mid-tempo pop number, “Sleepin’ in the Sun”. If it’s a Dick Wagner song, it’s not included in his BMI listing. The transfer featured here has better sound than the 45, and is also about twelve seconds longer, as the 45 fades earlier. They pressed 500 copies, selling more than 400 of them.

The band continued until 1972, playing many of the same clubs as Ted Nugent, Bob Segar, and The Frost.

The Wanderers color photo 1966 — L-R: Bob Thompson, Jayne Traynor, Don Thompson, John Goodsell and Ted Trudell on drums.

Don Thompson told me more about the Wanderers:

I started playing guitar in August of ’63 at age 10. Been doing it ever since. The band started out with my brother on bass and me on lead guitar and we just added members as we went along. Starting with the Ventures and grew into top 40 and then to heavy metal if you could call it back then. Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, The Doors, SRC, Amboy Dukes towards the end.
1966: Jim Wilson on rhythm guitar, Jayne Traynor, Don Thompson, Bob Thompson and Janet Sinclair on drums.
Left to right: Jayne Traynor, Don Thompson, Bob Thompson, Tim Harris on keyboards, and Janet Sinclair.
As a quartet: Don Thompson, Steve Connor on bass, Bob Thompson now on rhythm guitar, and Janet Sinclair.
Late 1967, with new members Michael Bresnahan and Dave O’Brien
My father managed the band, built our band trailers, drove us to gigs, handled everything about the band. He had a gift of listening to a song on the radio, and could predict what song was going to be a hit. He’d buy the 45 record, and made sure we had our parts down and ready for each practice, and by the time the song hit #1 we already had it in our song list. I remember dad as one who took a chance on a 10 year old kid wanting to play guitar. He didn’t know if I had any talent or if I would stick with it, but he bought the best guitar to make sure I had a chance to learn on.
He made sure we worked, got paid for what we did, and we used that money to invest in better equipment. He taught us to do our best. Dad was not just our manager, but wore many hats, driving sometimes for hours in snow storms to get us to gigs and then hours to get us home. All the old band members I keep in contact with, say he was their friend. Not many teenagers would say that about most adults.
In West Michigan in the ’66 to ’69 era there were The Quests, Lynn & the Invaders, and the Soul Benders that recorded 45’s. Another great band was the Rainmakers out of Traverse City. It was very competitive back then.
We were a working band, most years we would have at least 45 to 50 weeks booked somewhere. Back then, every high school sponsored after-game dances. There were teen clubs all over Michigan to play. We played all over Michigan, from the west shores, South Haven to Traverse City, Rose City, West Branch, Bad Axe, Lansing, Detroit, just about any town that had a teen center, we’ve played it.
In 1966 there was a huge teen center in Grand Rapids called “The Place”. We won some of their Battle Of The Bands and we opened for the Music Explosion at The Place. I think that was sometime in ’67.
In August 1969 we were the opening act for Alice Cooper, in Hastings, MI. The name of the club was The Cobra. We had a wall of Kustom 3×15 cabinets and PA. Alice and the band got there, and realized the club didn’t provide a PA for them to use. The club was set up with a stage at each end of the main room. We did our first set, and wheeled our PA to their stage for their first show. The management had sold tickets for two shows, so they cleared the building and we did our second show for the late crowd, and wheeled our PA back for their second show.
I remember was Alice was in a really good mood and started swinging his (our) mic and the connector came loose and Alice launched our mic across the room and it hit the wall. Needless to say it didn’t work after that.
We met Dick Wagner through our booking agent. It was really important at that time to do a record for local radio play, so we met Dick, and he sold us the two songs we did, and he produced them. “On the Road” was side one and “Sleeping in the Sun” was the flip side. I was 15 at the time, it was huge to actually be making a record.
We recorded the songs in Cleveland and at the time of the recording Janet Sinclair was our drummer. The lead guitar intro on “On the Road” was done using a Fender Telecaster, a Mosrite Fuzzrite and recorded at half speed and played back full speed to get that octave up. I guess it was not cutting edge for the time but was effective.
We recorded on half inch tape and then transferred to 1/4 inch tape. The studio didn’t transfer just the masters but transferred all the takes so when the record company got the tape, they had no idea which was the master and didn’t bother to call us to see which take was the master, so we ended up with 500 45 RPM records with volume drops and gains. The MP3’s I sent were the masters and my brother had them done just last year from the original tape.
The record did get some local airplay, as did most of the local bands, [though] not as much as the Grand Rapids bands. At least we had the experience of recording and being part of that era. That was our only recording, we never did try it again.
As the photos show there have been lots of members over the years, I guess you have to make changes when they want something different. Some stayed for a few years, some made it less than a year. I’ve have the pleasure of working with lots of talented people through the years, yet marked with a lot of tragedy. The keyboard player and his brother were killed in a car accident in 1971, our main bass player’s brother joined the band on guitar in 1970 and was killed years later in a crane accident. Jayne was killed in a car accident in 84, so I guess I’m the lucky one.
Janet left the band a month after the recording and we replaced her with Jack Petersen. Jack and I are still working together playing music 40 years later. The Wanderers photo and 45 record are displayed in our Belding Museum. Never thought I’d be displayed in a museum while I was still alive!
One of my last bands was called exit 69 and I had a female singer onboard on that project. We worked for seven years and she and her family just moved to Texas. There are six tunes on the site that we recorded in the bass player’s spare bedroom, one person at a time is all that would fit, but I think it turned out a good demo.
My newest project is called LoRyder, we concentrate on all the one hit wonders of the 60’s and some Beatles. It’s funny how we can play songs 40+ years old and people in their mid 20’s will be singing right along with the band.
As far as what we are doing today, Bob now works for Negri Bossi Injection Molding Machines in Michigan and surrounding states. Don is an Independent agent for Aflac and holds a patent and manufactures the Tremorbender B String Bender for electric guitars – www.tremorbender.com. Janet is married, lives in Florida and still drums, and has several grandchildren who are musicians. Mike is in Everett, Washington and is an electrician. Jack is now semi retired.
Don Thompson, November 2009

Don & the Wanderers, February, 1968, just before recording the 45 — February, 1968, just before recording the 45

WKYC in Cleveland, home of Audio Studios

Audio Recording, unidentified engineer and Dick Wagner

In the studio with Dick Wagner, second from right in back. Janet holds lyrics to one of the songs.

In 2007 Don and the Wanderers featured in a local Daily News article.Thanks to Mike Markesich for the 45 scans, and special thanks to Don Thompson for sharing his photos and band history.

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