A walk through my Montreal garage bands: the It Group, the Virgins, and Steve & the New Beats, 1964 -1967 by Gus Appignanesi
My name is Gus but went by the name George in garage band era. I started as a drummer playing in a number of garage bands in the east end of Montreal. Unfortunately, the people I met and played with was all with first names. We never thought that we would need last names or photos to find each other years later. We truly lived in the moment.
As a drummer I played in at least two bands; The Ancient and The Morticians. Please don’t laugh; bands had a variety of names. I played with a bass player called Perry and a guitarist singer by the name of Yehor. Downtown the street from us was a great garage band called Little Michael and the Archangels. Their drummer was Called Leddy and his younger brother was Michael. The last band, with the same line up, was called The It Group (managed my girlfriend at the time – Donna). At the same time bands that became more popular were sprouting all around us. There was; The Monks (later called the Exit 4), Bartholomew +3, The Haunted, The Rabble, J.B. and the Playboys and a number of great French bands (The Sinners, Les Classels, Les 409 to mention just a few).
In 1966, I bought and electric Fender Rhodes piano and started to play in bands that were actually getting real paying jobs. The Virgins was a really great rock and R&B band in which we had two drummers (Steve and Peter), guitarist (Dario), two lead singers (???) and me (aka George) playing piano with bass boost (similar to The Doors with no bass player). I then played with another dance R&B band that had changed their image from a rock band called Les Horribles to Steve and the New Beats. Steve was lead singer, Mario on bass, me (aka George) on piano, Serge on lead guitar and a drummer (???). We played every city and town throughout Quebec from 1966-1967.
Expo 1967 actually killed a lot of the local bands, since everyone was coming to Expo to hear a variety of international bands. I believe so called garage bands were coming to an end. Musicians and the equipment changed drastically over the years. People actually rented studios to practice in and recordings became more popular. Bands moved out of their local garages and moved into the larger arena of music. I miss those guys. Hopefully one of them may read this and contact me. Regardless, I hope this short history will be beneficial to anyone out there from that great era. Rock on!
Jim Motz had been the only one of the original Zoo lineup I had utterly lost touch with since about 1968, when he was sent to Vietnam, if I recall correctly. In the photo, that’s him in the red hat. I believe the band was called The Intruders, who were the Zoo’s main rivals in 1966. They were pretty good. That could be Perry Mackereth on the drums. The two guitarists I don’t really recognize. There were two named Tom Hallam and Ian Henderson, but they probably left Greece the previous year.
Heather writes to me that Jim Motz raised in Japan and Greece for most of his childhood. He continued in music for much of his life, and passed away in 2006.
The Kandells, or Kan Dells came from the small town of Sandstone, Minnesota, just off I-35 a little more over halfway between Minneapolis and Duluth. Members included:
Gene Best – lead guitar Bob VanDerSchaegen – rhythm guitar Pete VanDerSchaegen – bass Sam Burch – keyboards Jay Best – drums
Lost and Found #3 has photos and a long story on the Kan Dells. Many photos of the group are available on their website.
About 1959, Bob VanDerSchaegen started playing guitar with his school friend Jim Hagford in the Problems. That group changed into the Turbans, adding Sam Zabori on drums and Milf Johnson on bass. When Milf quit the band, Bob had his younger brother Pete VanDerSchaegen take over the bass. After the Turbans broke in 1962, Bob and Pete met up with Gene Best and his cousin Jay Best, and together they formed the Kan Dells, soon adding Sam Burch on keyboards.
The group started performing at local youth dances, gaining a manager in local English teacher Noble MacVey, who fronted money for new equipment for the group. Notable gigs included a Battle of the Bands in Duluth and a show at the federal prison in Sandstone.
In late 1964 they went to the basement studio of Ron Gjerde, owner of Agar Records in Minneapolis, who subsidized studio time for the band as they worked up their original songs, first “Cloudburst”, then “Cry Girl”. Their first record was released on the Boss label in January 1965, reaching #10 on KDWB.
Both sides of the Boss 45 are excellent, but I’m most interested in their second single, “I Want You to Know”, which has a perfect garage sound but has remained a lesser-known song, at least compared to “Cry Girl”. Like the first the Kan Dells recorded this at Ron Gjerde’s studio.
The flip “Do You Know” is a moody sound. Both songs were originals by Van Der Schaegen – Best, publishing by Ringneck BMI and released on Bear 1971, in October 1965.
Unlike their first, this single was not a hit, possibly because the band refused to let Lou Reigert of KDWB take over management of the group. It’s become a rare 45, with white label promotional copies outnumbering the yellow label stock copies.
In the fall of ’66, Jay Best and Sam Burch left for college. The band found Wayne Cooper and occasionally Bill Sandwick to fill in on drums, but soon broke up, partly because Pete VanDerSchaegen had started commuting to school in Duluth. Gene Best joined a group called Hereafter.
Eight of their recordings went unreleased until a couple of 7″s in the 1990s and a full CD release done by the band in the early 2000s. These include the Gene Best original “Shake It Baby”, Pete VanderSchaegen’s “I’ve Met Death”, Sam Burch’s original “Lucky Day” and Bob VanDerSchaegen’s song “It Is to Laugh”. All of these and others are available for listen on their website and I recommend checking them out.
Other singles on Bear include the (Bear 1968), and the Castaways “I Feel Fine” / “Hit the Road” (Bear 2000).
Bear Records discography (any help with this would be appreciated):
Bear 1965 – Michael’s Mystics – “You Ran Away” / “Hi Bird” (April ’65 – Kaybank 5-5123, DR-6503-121A/B) Bear 1966 – Trashmen – Keep Your Hands Off My Baby” / “Lost Angel” (April ’65, Kaybank 5-5128) Bear 1967 – ? Bear 1968 – Countdowns “You Know I Do” (L. Barrett) / “Strange Are the Shadows” (C. Sleichter) (Aug. ’65, Kaybank 5-5552) Bear 1969 – Five Tymes – “Hold Me Now” / “Around And Around” (Aug. ’65, Kaybank 5-5609) Bear 1970 – The Four of Us – “Liza (Hear Me Call Your Name)” / “Hot Buttered Watermelon” (Sept. ’65, Kaybank 5-5673) Bear 1971 – Kandells – “I Want You to Know” / “Do You Know” (Oct. ’65, Kaybank 5-5847) Bear 1972 – Red Tuck – “Heart Of The U.S.A.” (Richard Cairo) /”Power Line Man” Bear 1973 – Joey Strobel And The Runaways – “What Good Is Love” / “Sax Shuffle” (Jan. ’66, RCA T4KM-4488) Bear 1974 – Coachmen – “Mr. Moon” / “Nothing At All” (Jan. ’66, Kaybank 5-5869 or RCA T4KM-1723,SK5M-2955) Bear 1975 – Marv Dennis IV – “The Hurt Will Go Away” / “Honeycomb” (RCA T4KM-4763/4) Bear 1976 – Coachmen – “I’m a King Bee” / “Linda Lou” (Aug. ’66, Kaybank 6-6757) Bear 1977 – Accents – “No One Heard You Cry” / “Your Time Has Come” (Oct. ’66, Kaybank 6-7015) Bear 1978 – Precious Few – “You Don’t Need Me” /”London Town” (Sept. ’66, Kaybank 6-7016)
The Epics came from Brookhaven High School in Columbus, Ohio. Warren Knox, Jim Miller and Michael Richards wrote the great A-side, “White Collar House” which refers to some kind of upscale nightspot, whether a dance club or bordello I can’t decide as the lyrics are vague. The band’s performance is a stand-out, and Musicol Recording Studio did a good job recording it.
Library of Congress records show copyright registered on May 1966 to Warren Knox, James Miller, and Mike Richards (Michael Kirk Richards). The band was a quintet but I don’t know who the other two members were.
Michael Richards wrote the gloomier b-side, “She Believe In Me”, and also arranged both sides. S. Graves produced the session.
It’s the only release I know of on the Dolphin label, which Buckeye Beat suggests was tied in with the Blue Dolphin Club for teens. There is a rare picture sleeve which I don’t own that shows the photo at the top, with a blank back.
The Barons were one of the early garage bands in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They released their single on a custom Fenton label, Jafes 985, in August 1965.
My copy is signed by Dick Gates, Dave Marquette and Brandon Scott. Dave Marquette wrote the A-side, “Try A Love With Me”. Dick Gates wrote the uptempo “Don’t Come Back No More”. Marquette and Gates seem to have been stage names for Dave Rutkowski and Dick Steimle.
Dick Gates (Dick Steimle) – guitar Dave Marquette (Dave Rutkowski) – vocals, guitar, keyboards Bill McNamara – bass Steve Carpenter (Mandrill Fern) – drums
Since that site doesn’t list Brandon Scott, I’m not sure if he was a drummer or bassist at the time of the single, or if he was even in the Barons.
The two sides of the single sound like they were recorded at different sessions, with the bass easy to hear on “Try a Love With Me” and fainter on the flip. Dick Steimle plays some fast and tricky guitar work with a dry tone on “Don’t Come Back No More”.
The record seems to have come early in their career, and they changed from a trio to quartet at some point. Their record label came from the nickname of their manager, Jim “Jafes” Kemp.
Dave Rutkowski would join the Pedestrians in 1967, in time to record their third Fenton single, “The Unpredictable Miss Kinsey” / ” You Aren’t Going To Say You Know”. Jim Kemp managed the Pedestrians as well as the Barons.
Dick Steimli would leave the Barons to join the Soulbenders, best known for their versions of “Hey Joe” and “Seven and Seven Is”.
There isn’t much information about the Facts of Life despite the group’s fine 45 single. The group came from Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, which lies just to the west of the Philadelphia city line. Members included Bruce Klauber, later a jazz drummer and professor, and Robert Yampolsky, who wrote both songs on their only single. I don’t know the other members’ names.
“I’ve Seen Darker Nights” begins with a blast of distorted guitar but otherwise is free of fuzz. The lyrics are heartfelt, the singing good, the arrangement has good hooks and momentum from the rhythm section. There’s a long solo on the organ and a brief guitar break.
The flipside, “All In Good Time” has a good ballad sound with a basic guitar solo. Robert Yampolsky copyrighted both songs in October, 1967, and the record came out as Frana Records 59-A/B. I don’t know of any other releases on the Frana label.
The Dickens at The Place, Pensacola, FL. From left: Jimmy Smith, Louie Boyleston, Skip (Seldon) Higgins, Ron Bowman and Rick Pierce
The Dickens came from Pensacola, Florida. The members of the band were:
Rick Pierce – keyboards & vocals Louie Boyleston – guitar Ron Bowman – rhythm guitar & lead vocals Jimmy Smith – bass, harmonica & lead vocals Skip Higgins – drums
A news clipping shows the band as a four piece formed at Pensacola High School before Rick Pierce joined. The article notes the band played dances at Pensacola teen clubs the Place and the Beacon Club, and that they won the St. Ann’s Annual Talent Context.
In September, 1967 they cut two good, quirky versions of Left Banke songs on Format Records F45-5004/5, “I’ve Got Something On My Mind” / “I Haven’t Got The Nerve”. The single was produced by Jerry Ray for Daddy Rabbit Prod.
Six months later they kept their Left Banke inspiration but Rick Pierce wrote two excellent original son gs, “One of a Kind Woman” and “Inside – Outside”.
Jerry Ray is again listed as producer, but Rick Pierce arranged them and the production is much better than the first single. The band sounds more mature, with better keyboard work and stronger vocals than the first release, and the horns fit in fine on “Inside-Outside”.
This single had release as Format F-45-5006/7 in March of ’68, with publishing by Tamrof Pub BMI.
I contacted Ron Bowman, the lead vocalist on these songs, who provided this info on the band, plus the photos and sound clips:
The Dickens began forming circa ’62-63. Pensacola, Florida, Gulf Breeze to be precise. Ron Bowman & Louie Boyleston swapped their baseball gloves for acoustic guitars & began playing folk music, until they heard the Beatles. With electric guitars in hand, Winston for Ron & Silvertone for Louie they began scratching up Beatles, Stones, & Hollie records to learn the chords & lyrics. Time for a bass player. We knew a guy who looked the part, but he was too much into surfing, but he auditioned singing “Mrs Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter”. We figured he could learn to play a 4 string instrument. Next a drummer. In West Pensacola we learned of Skip Higgens. He had a drum set. So voila, we had a band.
We’d play the run of the mill soul music all the other Pcola bands were playing, especially because people could dance to them, but our tastes were deep into the British Invasion, especially the vocals. I did most of it, but Jimmy & I were both the lead singers. We managed to get known, won a couple Battle of the Bands, then we heard about an amazing keyboardist (actually he played everything – from drums to pedal guitar) also from West Pensacola, Rick Pierce.
Once he joined the band, we really took off locally. Our early manager was a local disc Jockey, Daddy Rabbit Ray. We recorded our first session in Memphis where we recorded our first single “I’ve Got Something on My Mind” & “I Haven’t Got the Nerve” both Left Bank songs. We sold 90 copies in Albany, NY. We also recorded the first of Rick’s original songs “No One Seems to Know”, but that didn’t make vinyl. I think this was in ’66, I know we attended a Monkeys concert while in Memphis.
Q. What was the connection with Memphis?
Our manager knew of a studio. Why Memphis, beats me.
Q. Were you all fans of the Left Banke or was that mostly Rick’s influence?
Oh yes. They came to Pcola. We were deep into baroque music. Or ‘broke music’. All of us, not just Rick, but because of Rick’s fine piano/harpsichord musicianship, we were able to pull it off. Our main influence, besides the Beatles & Stones, were The Hollies. Damn those boys could sing harmony.
Because of this mild success, we rented out places in small southern towns like the Natl Guard Armory to make a decent wage for high school kids. In ’68 we recorded in New Orleans. All 3 songs were Pierce originals with Ron singing lead. A-Side “One of a Kind Woman”, B-Side “Inside Outside”, & the unreleased “I’ve Been Gone”. We sold far more of these singles & were listed on Billboard’s Hot 100 Charts with a bullet. Later we found out our manager had sent our tapes to MGM. They offered to fly us to LA to record an album & I guess groom us for a national audience. They offered Daddy Ray $40,000 as a finder’s fee. He thought “Gee if they’re that good, I’ll keep them on my label, FORMAT RECORDS. Just as well we didn’t know this at the time…
Q. Are the unreleased songs, “No One Seems to Know” and “I’ve Been Gone” still around?
I have two versions of the New Orleans session of “I’ve Been Gone”, one with & one without the lead. Jimmy Smith remixed this when he worked at Capitol Records. Another Rick Pierce original. Don’t think “No One Seems to Know” from Memphis survived.
About early ’69 we splintered off & Jimmy, Rick, & I formed a newer ‘Stoned Dickens’ foursome, John Russel played lead guitar, Rick moved to drums. Lots of Cream, Buffalo Springfield, Hendrix.
I did a short stint in the Phaetons as a bass player/ backup singer. Made a ton of money as Charlie Capri, our manager, kept us on the road. But that lasted less than the Stone Dickens, maybe 4 months.
With the narco cops following us around, Jimmy & Ron hightailed it to California. We formed a group called The Alleycats (several versions of members, one including Louie again).
Louie went on to open a mod clothing store, Oz Boutique. He was probably the best rhythm guitarist I’ve ever heard, although I do have one recording of my song “Real Fine Love” where he tears up the lead. He knew the chords to every rock & country song. Unfortunately he died of a heart attack about 2005 in his 50s.
Skip went to New Orleans & kicked around before winding up in Vienna, Austria, where he still lives. We are in touch.
Rick went to Atlanta, got very in with the Atlanta sound. I saw him last playing a solo gig in Marietta, Ga. We are not in touch now, but I’m working on this.
Jimmy’s still in Sherman Oaks. He’s worked a lot in the movie industry & was working at Capitol Records where he had access to their mixing room. This is where our remastered New Orleans session came from.
I stayed based in LA for a total of 17 years. In ’79 I joined the first American band ever to play for Club Med, The Hollywood Party Boys. Mexico, Switzerland, Greece, & always Paris, per diem. When I returned to LA, instead of resuming my music career while working for every record company mail room, including Billboard, I went to LACC & became an Elec tech. Moved back to Pensacola area, where I still live. I’ve always continued to write & record music.
Arturo & Pat with the Stowaways, from left to right: Norma Longoria, James Buckley, Pat Buckley, Wendall Maloy, and Arturo Longoria
The Stowaways were:
Arturo Longoria – vocals Pat Buckley – vocals Norma Longoria – keyboards Romolo Montalvo – lead guitar James Buckley – rhythm guitar Wendall Maloy – drums
Wendall Maloy sent in the clipping above and wrote to me about the Stowaways:
This is the first “garage band” to play the Grapefruit Bowl in Sharyland, TX. The photo is from The McAllen Monitor and mentions our parking lot dances in front of Carl’s Minimax in Mission. The photo was taken before the Pharaoh record we cut where the name of the group was changed.
Mr. Longoria paid for the record. On the record, we were listed as Arturo and Pat with the Stowaways. I don’t have a copy of the record. The title might have been, “Turn Your Light On Me.” It got lots of air play on KRIO because we were local. Jimmy Nichols, owner of Pharaoh Records, never signed a group and paid for their recording. He always got paid for studio time and pressing, in other words … he never invested in an artist or group. Anyone could cut a record with Pharaoh if they had the money. If I remember, it was about $500 for 500 records turnkey.
That was our only record with Arturo and Pat. They later were backed by The Invaders. [Arturo & Pat with the Invaders – “Oh Yes Tonight” / “So Tenderly & Faithfully” on Pharaoh 134]
Romolo Montalvo was a great lead guitar player. I played with Romolo, Juan Guerrero (bass guitar) and Oscar Villareall (vocals) at the Grapefruit Bowl after Romolo and I left Arturo and Pat. I soon left the Valley to attend college in Victoria, TX.
Oscar got a record deal with Falcon Records and had a successful career. He was killed in an accident while touring and his records started selling like crazy. I know that Juan played with Oscar’s band. I lost touch with most everyone, except Juan. He played with several Tejano groups like Los Fabulosos Quatro and later had his own group Los Sheekanos. He is in the Tejano Music Hall of Fame.
The best group from the Valley was the Playboy’s of Edinburg. They had a top 40 hit with “Look At Me Girl.” The song was recorded at Pharaoh and later released on Columbia. Bobby Vee covered the song, had it out at the same time on Liberty Records and kind of screwed them out of having a bigger hit.
I got drafted in 1967 and while serving as NCOIC of the Radio-TV Section at the Ft Hood Information Office, got the Playboys assigned to me when they came for summer camp with the National Guard. We are still close today.
The Haustofs, Bobcat News, Nov. 23, 1966. from left: Doug Gahan, Gary Thorson, Steve Rollofs (kneeling), Pat Buckley, and Randy Clark with manager Delon Wright lying on the grass. Not pictured: Bob Doty, keyboards.
Gary Thorson sent in the news clippings and wrote to me about the Haustofs:
I grew up in Pharr, TX during the 60s and was a member of a garage band there known as “The Haustofs” (supposedly named after a German beer known for its strength). We never cut a record, but played all the popular venues (the Valley Bowl was one of our favorites), sock-hops and private parties. We even shared the stage with some of them, like the Headstones and the Playboys of Edinburg. The Souls‘ David Lott and I were good friends.
Our band was primarily know as being from Mission, TX because that’s where our lead singer Pat Buckley (of the former Arturo and Pat hit record), our drummer, Doug Gahan, and our keyboard player, Bob Doty were from. Stephen Roelofs our bass player, Delon Wright our manager, and myself were all from Pharr, TX and Randy Clark our lead player was from Edinburg, TX.
Pat Buckley has released a single with another Mission student, Arturo Longoria as Arturo & Pat with the Invaders on the Pharaoh label, “Oh Yes Tonight” / “So Tenderly & Faithfully”.
The Bobcat News profiled the band on November 23, 1966, saying the band “was assembled by Doug Gahan, a senior at Mission High.”
An article in the Mission Eagle has many interesting quotes, such as Dough Gahan saying he was “‘an ardent admirer of Bill Reed,’ who plays drums in the Kavaliers.” Another is “As far as the other groups that the Haustofs admire are concerned, the Headstones are their favorite Valley group. They like the Kinks best of world-famous groups, although they also like the Beau Brummels and the Yardbirds.” It also mentions that Randy Clark of Edinburg High School had played rhythm guitar in the Tempests.
Gary Thorson adds the status of the individual band members as of today is:
Pat Buckley – Retired and living in southern Colorado Stephen Roelofs- School teacher living in the Dallas, TX area Bob Doty – Works for a large tool company living in Arkansas Gary Thorson – President of a computer consulting firm living in Fairhope, Al. Randy Clark – still pursuing his musical career in San Antonio, TX Doug Gahan – unknown
The Savage Generation came from Westchester, NY. Members were Roger Alther of Tuckahoe, Ronnie Fruscianti of New Rochelle, Tom Scarcello and Ray De Angelis of Scarsdale, and Paul Montclare of Eastchester.
They had one single on Senate Record Corp 2113 from October 1968, both sides original songs by band members. Ray De Angelis wrote the A-side, “You’re Not Going to Change My World”, which is heavy on the phasing and has great rhythm section. I haven’t heard the flip, “Mr. Sun”, written by Tom Scarcello and Ron Frusciante.
Both songs published by Pocket Full of Tunes, Inc / Egavas Music BMI, produced by Wes Farrell, and distributed by ABC Records, NY.
Savage Generation Fan Club cardThe Herald Statesman profiled the Savage Generation on March 23, 1968 for a gig the following Saturday at Westchester County Center. Besides giving the names of the group, it mentions their manager, Frank Garofaola of New Rochelle, and Brother Darby Ruane of Iona College who help the band get high profile live shows. It also says the group evolved out of a duo, The Hangmen, and a trio, The Savages.
The article has many interesting quotes from the band’s members, and also lists two songs that weren’t released, “A Dream Walks Amongst Us” written by Paul Montclare, and “Birth of a Savage”.
“Taken in Bermuda on Spring Break we played the Buccaneer Club” – Tommy
We wrote a song called “Birth of a Savage.” I would come on stage wearing a priest’s white robe with a long afro and beard and would light myself on fire with lighter fluid and the stage as well. We would sing our song, and then as things were burning, I would pick up a large empty shell that looked like a mini bomb, and I would scream, “Peace, peace, or destruction!” and then fling it out into the audience … We went on and recorded an album at the first 24-track studio owned by Jimmy [sic] Hendrix in New York City.
I think it’s likely the group did record more than just the single, but nothing else has been released to my knowledge. After writing this article, Tommy contacted me and sent the photos seen here.
A belated thank you to transoniq for finding this article, and special thanks to Tommy Scarcello for the photos of the group and fan club card.
The Savage Generation, profiled in the Herald Statesman, March 23, 1968
This site is a work in progress on 1960s garage rock bands. All entries can be updated, corrected and expanded. If you have information on a band featured here, please let me know and I will update the site and credit you accordingly.
I am dedicated to making this site a center for research about '60s music scenes. Please consider donating archival materials such as photos, records, news clippings, scrapbooks or other material from the '60s. Please contact me at rchrisbishop@gmail.com if you can loan or donate original materials
