 The
years from 1966 through 1972 are considered by most to be the prime era
of the Detroit area's rock history and they're used here as a discretionary
guideline
rather
than a hard and fast rule so transitional or influential performers
and bands from the earlier sixties as well as those who might have gotten
a late start also get some mention in this section devoted to the musicians
of Detroit rock.
Profiles for many of these talents are constantly evolving as new data comes to light while others remain abbreviated as links to more comprehensive information elsewhere on the internet can be cited. Photos, record jacket scans and other visuals related to these artists appear as space permits and material becomes available. There is also no doubt that these listings overlook many other superb Motor City rock talent and groups of the era which, with your input, will find their way into this later. The listings and profiles contained herein are about as arbitrary as it gets, however. They are the groups and musicians of which a helpful collective of associate correspondents and I had some cognitive recollection, not a comprehensive list. So if you have information on an individual or group from those years that's been slighted, overlooked or omitted, please get in touch. While less-than-trustworthy memories may
have been the major guideline for inclusion, the following references have
been among the notable sources of edification, inspiration, clarification
and information found in this section:
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Shakin' Street: Ben Edmonds' authoritative essay on the history of Detroit Rock from Metro Times
The Original Michigan Rock History by Dick Rosemont appearing in 'Bomp' Magazine, Spring 1975
Vernon Joynson's masterwork on sixties garage/psych bands & records: Fuzz, Acid & Flowers
John Sinclair's essays on the music and socio-political upheaval of the era: Guitar Army
Detroiter Dave Marsh's first edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide
Terry Hounsome's database of rock musicians and recordings: Rock Base
The profiles appearing in the All Music Guide
Issue 6 of Jeff Jarema's tremendous DIY fanzine for sixties garage rock maniacs: Here 'Tis
contains THE comprehensive Rationals history!
The record collectors journals , DISCoveries & Goldmine
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Rock, London: Virgin Books, 1996
Paul Grushkin's beautiful rock 'n' roll poster history: The Art of Rock
. . . and, most importantly, the hundreds of individuals who've written and provided empirical data, recollections, history, background info, pictures, music, corrections/updates to the entries and especially differing opinions. Keep 'em coming! Credit for the contributions will be made as these listings are updated.
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According to one legend, singer Furnier
developed a belief he was the reincarnation of a 17th. century witch named
"Alice Cooper" after a Ouija board session and bestowed the name
on the group. Furnier has elsewhere suggest the name Alice was adopted
to throw his local draft board off balance but whatever the purpose, he
attached the name to his stage persona — an outrageous, androgynous
character he created to draw attention to the group who often deliberately
played badly and frequently insulted their audiences. And it worked! 
By 1969 they encountered kindred spirit Frank Zappa who signed them to
his new record label (Straight) and convinced them to move to California.
During the course of recording two albums for Zappa, ("Pretties for
You" and "Easy Action") Furnier's makeup and theatrics drifted
increasingly toward the bizarre while the band was honing it's rock 'n'
roll chops into a fine performing unit.
By 1970, Detroit's exploding music scene lured the band away from San Francisco and Straight Records and they laid claim to the Motor City as their new home. Inspired even further by a combination of the edgy music of the MC5 and stage antics of Iggy and the Stooges, Alice continued to expand and exploit his/their style of shock-rock into a theater-of-the-absurd stage show, replete with snakes, dolls, electric chairs and other macabre paraphernalia. This, combined with markedly improved playing and growing artistic credibility in the 1971 albums "Love It To Death" and "Killer" produced a growing national response to Alice's music, largely based on their top 20 single "I'm Eighteen", which illustrated how well Alice had absorbed the MC5 / Stooges influence.
By 1972 the band ditched their Detroit home and split for Connecticut, again enlisted noted producer Bob Ezrin in search of another hit record (which they got in "Billion Dollar Babies") and continued the ascent toward rock stardom. The link to the Motor City was never lost as the Alice band began to rely heavily on the Michigan-bred, twin guitar attack of Steve Hunter (ex-Detroit) and Dick Wagner (ex-Frost) in the studio and, eventually as part of the stage show.
With a little bit of digging, one can unearth most of the Alice Cooper story on the internet. For those so inclined, a good starting point is the "official" Alice Cooper web site which summarizes a long and convoluted musical career.
Although Detroit was only a relatively
short stop-over during the Alice Cooper odyssey, anybody who remembers
their startling local shows in the early seventies will attest Alice was
another key reason there was no such thing as musical boredom in Detroit.
"Had a chance to see All The Lonely People last Tuesday at Meadow Brook. It's safe to say that one more great band has come out of Detroit, except that I guess they really have not come out of the city yet. But they will. They have to. So do many other bands. They're just too good to fence into one area. Some say All The Lonely People is like Blood, Sweat & Tears but it just isn't so. The People's music is much more feeling and it is definitely more spontaneous. John Lennon, when asked what he thought of B,S & T said: "They are good but I don't like such disciplined music." He couldn't say that about All the Lonely People. He'd like them."
With
their genesis in The Lourds — a premier local group from the Northwest
suburbs — the Amboy Dukes were conceived by Nugent in while on a
short hiatus in Chicago but fulfilled when he returned to Detroit as Ted
grabbed some of the better players from other local bands and tirelessly
rehearsed them into an adroit performing unit, several notches above most
of their "garage" band contemporaries. The early Amboy Dukes built heavily
on two of their strongest assets: Nugent's furious playing and his collaborative
song writing with Steve Farmer.
Among the first rock groups of this era in the Motor City to land a record deal, their much awaited first album on Mainstream was dreadfully recorded (with all the studio defects that were typical of the times) and features perhaps one of the ugliest covers ever printed (see image). In spite of all that, their first effort contained some very promising original material and every note carried the ring of authentic Detroit energy.
After the first round of numerous personnel shakeups, their second album in 1968 (with the "smoking" record sleeve) delivered the goods. It contains the Dukes' significant hit record, "Journey to the Center of the Mind", a slew of terrific originals ("Surrender to Your Kings", "Dr. Slingshot", etc.) from the Nugent/ Farmer pen and a working definition of "acid" rock that would assure their place in history.
By then, having surpassed themselves twice, the Amboy Dukes might have easily ended up as a trivia question in the "what ever happened to. . . ?" psychedelic casualty category (think: Blues Magoos), except that Nugent's single-minded determination (and a revolving door through which came some of Michigan's best rock musicians) kept the band on the road and cranking out proto-metal albums well into the seventies — at which point Ted dropped the Amboy Duke tag in favor of his own name. As the group played musical chairs over those years, for good, bad or otherwise, what started out as the Amboy Dukes ended up little more than nameless accompanists for Nugent who, consistent with Detroit's high-energy sound, was once heralded by Cub Koda as:
"A powerful, high-decibel guitarist, Nugent's energy more than makes up for whatever subtleties he lacks.".Nuge has gone on to quite a lengthy and successful solo career built on his self described "gonzo" guitar playing along with a penchant for overt sexual reference in his song writing. And, he's certainly not shy about his sometimes controversial personal beliefs either. Those with the courage can click here for most everything Ted wants you to know about Detroit's own man of the loincloth. Check your hunting bows at the door.
For an insight or two into the World According to Nugent and some unusually candid recollections of the Dukes and the sixties Detroit scene in general, jump to Ted's interview with Allan Vorda from 1988 .
Of the many Dukes that passed through the
band, one noteworthy member was second guitarist and Nugent's song writing
partner Steve Farmer in the first incarnation of the band.
Farmer has also maintained an on-and-off solo career, including a guest
gig on a late 1990's recording
with the California based Acid/Goth band Babylonian
Tiles — an intriguing group who've continued to expand the darker
vocabulary of psychedelia and have built quite a following in the Detroit
area. Steve followed this with the release of his own new recording
—Journey
to the Darkside of the Mind - not long ago, backed by numerous veterans
of the Michigan music scene. Information about the record,
his current activities and an interview can all be found at
his
web site . Steve is currently a substitute teacher in the Redford
MI school district and according to reports, often brings his guitar to
class and sings for the students.
At some early stage in the evolution of Southeastern Michigan's music scene, The Apostles were known to be a pretty big draw around Ann Arbor. Another of Jeep Holland's A-Square talent roster, they played lots of gigs at the Fifth Dimension, more than a few times at the Grande and they even landed a warm-up slot when Jefferson Airplane played Ford Auditorium on their first visit to Motor Town in the summer of '67. Although most recollections from those days are full of holes and (probably chemical) haze, this writer vaguely remembers a pretty amusing "Gloria" parody as part of their standard set.ANDY SOLOMON - Keyboards, Vocals SLEEPY JACKSON - Bass LOUIS FRANKLIN - Drums
Solomon, of course, went on to greater fame as part of the Amboy Dukes. And, a recent e-mail provided a clue, a picture . . . and a what was once a warning.
"ya know, andy solomon played keys in the apostles, the bass player was called sleepy jackson and the drummer was a tall black guy, i might have their picture at home, and once when jackson left the band, i asked jeep holland about it and all he said was WE DON'T TALK ABOUT SLEEPY JACKSON."Well, maybe we will now.
And Scott Bailey, powerhouse drummer for the Up adds:
"The drummer for the Apostles was named Louis Franklin. He was a
friend and mentor to me before I joined the Up".
According to guitarist Dave Harrison from the early line-up of the band, the group that became Stuart Avery Assemblage evolved in late 1967:
". . . I recall it took a little while to arrive at the name. We took Stu's first name. The next step was to find a last name, which we borrowed from the Kinks’ drummer, Mick Avery. Finally, We wanted some synonym for “group", but something different. That's how we arrived at “Assemblage”. "
"Anyway, before I'd arrived, they played a bit with another drummer but I recall them saying that he'd get fed up and quit a lot; they had keyboardist (electric piano) Tim Lambert (a really funny guy, by the way — very sharp, dry wit) and bass player (a long time friend of mine, Mike Portney), although I don't know much about that incarnation before it was called the Stuart Avery Assemblage.Stuart himself remembers hanging a handle on the band just a little differently, but with pretty much the same results:"Mike introduced me to Stu, then shortly afterwards the prior drummer quit for good, and we found Jim Render (one of the nicest guys I've ever known) for drums. I played lead guitar at the time. As I recall, that lineup faded quickly; Mike quit and we decided to get a better lead guitarist, with myself on rhythm. I believe Jim Render hooked us up with Jim Borisen for bass. Render knew Borisen from Groves High School. Shortly afterwards we found Kingery – I think Borisen got him for us."
" . . . my middle name is Avery, and I have used [it] as my last name for 35 years. I do remember that we discussed if Avery was a good enough name for the Kinks it was good enough to use as a group type name (back then looking and sounding English was veeerrry important).".Together only three months, this version of the Avery Assemblage was propelled into the spotlight when they opened for The Yardbirds at Detroit's premier venue The Grande Ballroom in May of '68. Their high energy performance captured the attention of Yardbird legendary guitarist Jimmy Paige who invited the SAA back on stage to join the Yardbirds in a post show encore jam, making them the envy of some of their garage band contemporaries and providing the Avery Assemblage with a reputation that would help them to become one of Detroit's most often heard bands.
Influenced by groups like Jeff Beck, Small
Faces, Free, The Rascals and The Stones, The Avery Assemblege built heavily
on their assets by writing their own material that featured the rock and
soul vocal style of Avery and the edgy
high energy funk guitar strength of Kingery. Playing the Hideout club circuit
and other Midwest indoor and outdoor venues, the group quickly became a
top notch act with a large and devoted following. Considered a concert
powerhouse the group was a prominent regular attraction at The Grande sharing
the bill with The Grateful Dead, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Spooky Tooth,
Spirit and Ten Years After, to name a few. When the Eastown went
head to head with the Grande for an audience, they booked The Avery Assemblage
and Badfinger for a draw. Little wonder that a collection of handbills
and posters from the era leave a long trail of Avery Assemblage sightings.
The Stuart Avery Assemblage changed members in 1970 and resurfaced full
of Motown attitude as The Assemblage. With a new sound thanks in part to
the addition of keyboardist Robyn Robbins (who joined the band when original
keyboardist Lambert suffered debilitating injuries in a car accident)
the group signed in ' 71 with soul label Westbound Records.
"We were the labels only white act." recalls Avery. "George Clinton and The Parliament and Funkadelic were charting a new course with an eye on replacing Sly and The Family Stone as funk kings and the label allocated their energy to them with little time or promotional monies for us."
Still the release of The Assemblage Album offered a reworked cover of The Rolling Stones Satisfaction, which became a fast charted hit parking itself at number 15 in just two short weeks on power station CKLW. With the constant radio play of a hit single The Assemblage would have been voted most likely to succeed, but because of poor distribution outside the Midwest, the group was doomed to go the way of many of the areas best groups. By the middle of 1971 The Assemblage like the rest of the Motor City scene began to unravel. Frustration and weariness took its toll and despite the release of ShotGun, another high energy single, The Assemblage decided to call it quits, throwing in the towel with little fanfare.
After The Assemblage, Stuart went on to hook up briefly with Edgar Winter's White Trash group and then on to studio production work. Today, he's a successful marketing guru, speech maker and international author (Stuart Avery Gold) with several highly acclaimed books to his credit.
Keyboardist Robyn Robbins joined Bob Seger as one of the original Silver Bullet Band members. After his split from Seger, Robbins became a producer who owns and operates a successful recording studio in Ireland.
Paul Kingery also worked with Seger in the studio before splitting for L.A. and playing guitar for Rick Springfield. He's still rocking to this day as the long-time bassist of Three Dog Night.
John Orlich is an artist known for his unique glass drum creations, used by many a famous drummer. John has also written a memoir about SRC that was recently published -- check it out!
Eddie "Bongos" Brown and Jack Ashford have been remembered and recognized in the movie Standing In The Shadows of Motown.
To date, none of The Assemblage or early Stuart Avery material has been presented on any compilation (a shame). However part of a live performance as an opening act for Procol Harum has been captured on an underground CD and is circulated among today's garage and punk-funk fans.
Ultimately, Farlow broke up the band to take over for Little Walter in Sam Lay's blues group and the rest of Sunshine moved on to other endeavors. Welker and (later) Dickerson joined up with Chicago harmonica player Charlie Musslewhite's band and Hamilton was drafted by Mitch Ryder. In late 1969, Farlow and Dickerson were reunited when they began to collaborate with George Frane as Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen fell together in Ann Arbor. Everybody headed for the west coast not long afterwards, but not before Farlow's vocals and plaintive harmonica had been tattooed all over Motor City music history.
The Station ran a smash-and-grab path through the blues, boogie, and fifties-era rock then dumped it all out in a completely modern interpretation, reverent to the spirit of the originals but cranked through Marshall stacks set on '10' and powerful enough for the big stages of the era. Their sources and execution could have invited comparison to bands like J. Geils and Foghat as interpreters in the Chuck Berry/Bo Diddley tradition but one listen to their debut album in 1970 dispelled all such contrasts as evidenced by their afterburners-on rendition of "Road Runner" and by conjuring Link Wray's spirit with a wicked version of "Rumble". With their reputation growing as the hardest working stage show in Michigan, they gigged steadily around the Great Lakes for the next couple of years until they grabbed their moment in the national spotlight with the hit record "Smokin' in the Boys Room" in 1973.
What set Brownsville Station apart from the herd of Midwest boogie bands during the early seventies was their rompin', stompin' stage show. There was no way the band could have ever translated their live act to vinyl (although their records were still automatically in the 'must-play' stack at every party) — each performance was a loopy adventure, with Koda's kid-in-a-candy-store stage persona and between-songs patter providing both histrionics and history, peppered with an arch sense of humor that showed the band never took themselves so seriously they wouldn't just rock with the crowd. Everybody worked up a sweat, had a laugh, learned a little and nobody ever left a Station show feeling cheated. As an example, correspondent John Tress recalls the following:
"Once I saw Brownsville Station at a club just outside of Detroit. After a few tunes Cub announced, "I'm bringing out a special guest tonight". He left the stage only to re-enter it a few moments later with his shirt open to the waist stuffing a roll of toilet paper down in front of his pants with his band pumping out "I Want to be Your Dog". He did Iggy Stooge! It was hilarious and it was done for comedy - not to be a put down. Their shows were always rocking and uplifting."After six albums, ten years of constant touring and fostering that whole generation of 80's "hair" bands (who lifted their entire shtick from Cub and the boys), a weary Brownsville Station finally hit the end of the road in 1979. The whole story of the Station, about which Cub once said: "We never referred to ourselves as a 'rock group'; we were a Detroit rock'n'roll band, and damn proud of it." (including the quote) can be found in Cub's terrific liner notes to the essential 1993 CD, "Smokin' in the Boys Room — The Best of Brownsville Station" on Rhino Records.
For a comprehensive look at the band's career, player bios, recordings and other highlights, please check in at the Brownsville Station web site.
Following Brownsville Station, instead of taking a much deserved break, the prolific Mr. Koda just kicked it up another gear. He got hold of Detroit area bar-band Mugsy and transformed them into Cub Koda and the Points for a run of a couple years and one pink vinyl album. All the while he was writing his celebrated "Vinyl Junkie" column which began appearing in Goldmine Magazine (and later, Discoveries ) along with writing band profiles for the All Music Guide. Cub also kept on recording solo projects — something he started during the Station years (much of which appeared on record entitled "Welcome to My Job"). Along the way he did a short stint as a disk jockey and he continued to perform, leading Hound Dog Taylor's Houserockers well into the 80's.
In the 1990's, Cub delivered several acclaimed records: "Abba Dabba Dabba - A Bananza of Hits" on Schoolkids Records, wherein he laid waste to any notion about him being a roots purist, "The Joint was Rockin'" — a live set from 1983 with the Houserockers (on Deluge Records) and an acoustic disc of original compositions —"Box Lunch"— on J-Bird. He also produced the definitive compilation of his Del-Tino's recordings and still somehow managed to find time to write the very authoritative "Blues for Dummies" before health issues sidelined him for a while in 1999.
While he appeared to bounce back as strong as ever, opening for Frost at their 30 year reunion bash and putting his show back on the road one more time later that year, it wasn't to last. Not long after a VH-1 did a segment on Brownsville Station in the spring of 2000, Cub's career was cut tragically short when the kidney disease that had slowed him up earlier finally claimed his life in July of that year.
There are plenty of folks who'll tell you — Cub Koda spent his life living 36 hours to the day compared to everybody else's 24. And, despite everything he crammed into that remarkable existence, it was probably only a hint of what might have been.
For a moving look back at his life and times, please read Teisco Del Rey's remembrance of his friend and be sure to visit the Cub Koda web site
Rock on in eternity, Cub — you are greatly missed.
Energy? Cactus had it in spades, but, as their first album would attest, exuberance is no substitute for failing to introduce the band members to each other before recording -- which is just how it sounded on Cactus' 1970 debut. With Day's strained and shrieking vocals trying desperately to hold ground over the instrumental onslaught, McCarty's new-found enthusiasm for blistering Marshall-amped solos and the banzai rhythm attack of Bogert and Appice, the inaugural record chronicles a band which simply hadn't jelled. Better things followed, however; with two more albums, continually refining the basic formula put forth in the first. But, for all the sweat squeezed into those vinyl grooves, Cactus never did reach much of an audience.
After their third record, McCarty bailed, Day was released shortly aftewards and by mid 1971 it was a different band wearing the name. But the Motor City boys both survived the Cactus experience without too many, uh . . . thorns. Rusty Day went on to front the Ryder-less (but still potent) version of Detroit while Jim McCarty's incendiary guitar finally found its home when he landed in Detroit's more-than-legendary Rockets. Bogert and Appice shut Cactus down after a fourth album but they eventually succeeded in making the same over-the-top formula work by partnering up with Jeff Beck for the power-trio to end 'em all.
The first Cactus album also contains a sort of oblique reference to the local rock scene. The song "My Lady From South of Detroit"; a ballad written (mostly) by Day was rumored to be dedicated to Marcia Hutchinson, one of the darlings of the Grande Ballroom days and a genuinely lovely woman.
For a lot of folks, Cactus was a "love-'em-or-hate-'em" band. If you're in the love-'em camp, you'll probably applaud Scott Sutherland's inclusion of the first Cactus record in his list of Classic Rock Albums You Gotta Own and you'll certainly want to visit the Cactus web site, especially now that they're back together again.
If
Detroit actually needed an answer to Canned Heat and Bob "The Bear" Hite
(it didn't, but that's another matter), then one needs to look no further
than Catfish.
Unlike so many of the groups that tried to rise out of the Motor City music scene, Catfish's triumphant arrival in Detroit coincided with an explosive reputation and only the need to introduce, not prove, themselves in their hometown. You see, almost before anybody in Michigan had even heard of them, Catfish had pulled off a nearly impossible feat: Turning an audition night at the Fillmore East into a series of gigs all over the country and a record deal with Epic that produced a monster album.
Catfish was a terrific band, populated with unmistakably talented veteran players. Virtually the whole ensemble had done time in other Michigan groups of renown before coming together in this difficult-to-categorize combo. Hard-drumming Optner had been in The Thyme, Keyboard wizard Phillips had a short run with Frijid Pink, Cooke played bass in just about everybody's band at one time or another and Hodge's reputation as a powerhouse vocalist was cemented during his tenure with Wicked Religion and well established by the time the band formed around him.
Musically speaking, there wasn't much territory Catfish didn't cover — from full-strength guitar rock to Hooker-ish boogie to gospel-tinged R & B and even a bit of countrified americana, similar to the direction being followed by The Band, but Catfish laid it down with equal inventiveness, a harder rockin' stance and a much flashier stage show. Their debut album actually came pretty close to matching the intensity of their live act and that first album certainly demonstrates the rich diversity of their material. The record sleeve even features some interesting poetic narration by local music sage, Creem Magazine founder and veteran wordsmith Ice Alexander (Tony Reay) which added extra Detroit authenticity.
But,
while Catfish started out as a winning ensemble, it didn't take long for
a singularly distinct personality to emerge. Witnessing any of their
shows or purchasing the band's obligatory live album in 1971, it was abundantly
clear that singer Hodge was leading the group. So, any discussion
of Catfish the band ends up leading to Catfish the vocalist who, by that
point, had casually taken the band's moniker as his own nickname.
Bob Hodge has been described as everything
from a "jive white bluesman" to an "American folk blues hero" but one thing
is certain: The sight of the (once) mountainous Hodge prowling the stage
and the powerful timbre of his equally sizable voice was one of the great
and lasting images of Motor City rock from that era. Their heavy
touring schedule and uncertainty about the band's future finally separated
Catfish, with Hodge embarking on a brilliant, if erratic, performing and
recording career as a solo act. The others (Manko, Phillips and Cooke)
joined Mitch Ryder (and Johnny Bee) in the formative stages of Detroit
while Hodge recorded his first solo record — "Boogieman
Gonna Get Ya" — in 1972; the title track being
his infamous pean to recreational drug and alchohol use. He relocated to
the Washington D.C. area shortly thereafter.
But make no mistake; it was Cody and the Airmen who first charted the course — taking weed-smoking, beer-swilling, party band irreverence on a detour through western swing, traditional country, barroom boogie and early rock music until they came out the other side as . . . what? Cosmic truck drivers? Anyhow, until that book is written, you can find (some of?) the story at the Commander Cody web site and more information here on the band that was as much a social event as a musical group.
Group founder and bassist Florek has gone on to a notable acting and directing career with numerous television, movie and stage production roles to his credit. Presently he appears in Law and Order (as Captain Cragen) and Dann was a regular in the NBC series "L.A. Law" in the 1990's.
Managed by Don Mills (K.J. Knight's Dad), the group achieved considerable hometown noteriety and respect, a sizeable fan following and a steady series of gigs that kept them center stage from '64 through '69, including a tour of Viet Nam & Southeast Asia in 1969
In a summary of his career in The Gang (which can be found at My First Band), drummer Jim Butler recalled his early days trying to put a group together: "We also played at the Emerson ice cream social with an all-girl band called The Debutantes. I wonder whatever happened to them?"
Despite their popularity and even a solid Motown connection, the Debutantes were woefully under-recorded and have yet to benefit from the sixties-revival movement which unearthed so many obscure recordings and "lost" groups over the last few years, otherwise their tale would probably be much better known. But, the story of the Debutantes continues to come together in small and somewhat disjointed pieces, beginning with these great pictures (reduced in size for now) received from John Kozmo (of The Früt) on behalf of the band's founder -- singer/guitarist Jan McClellan.
A more significant re-telling of the Debutantes history can be found in a newspaper article about Jan's current role as a community activist. The story by Marshall Terrill was published in the November 10, 2006 issue of the Chandler (Arizona) Connection and you can read it by clicking here.
Stemming from publication of this article and the renewed interest in the band it has spurred globally, a Debutantes web site is in the works.
Further thanks to
Mike Boerman
&
Jody Ernest
for the newspaper
article
MIKE "CUB" KODA - Lead Guitar, Vocals RUSTY CREECH - Rhythm Guitar DOUG HANKES - Drums
Back about what seems like decades
ago (actually, it was decades ago!), some early Michigan music die-hard
fans were circulating a cassette containing a handful of tunes by an unknown
(to us, back then) Michigan-based band called The Del-Tino's (so
said the handwritten tape label). Almost primitive recordings, to
be sure, but absolutely charged with juvenile delinquent attitude and energy.
Among the cuts on that tape were two knock-out blues pieces: "I Got
My Mojo Workin'" and "Ramblin' On My Mind" that left us completely
blown away: "Who were these guys?".
Well, the provider of the tape could offer but one clue: A reasonable certainty that it was Cub Koda's vocals fronting his high-school years' combo. That explained a lot, and over the next few years, the story of this extraordinary band has continued to unfold, little by little. Rather than paraphrase and/or edit the saga, here's a thumbnail sketch of the career of the Del-Tino's thanks to Mr. Koda himself:
"We started in 1963, cut three 45s when I was 14, 16 & 17, respectively ('Go Go Go' b/w 'Ramrod' — Del-tino 100 — in 1963 / 'Nightlife' b/w 'Pa Pa Ooh Mow Mow'—Sonic 1451—in 1965 / 'I Got My Mojo Workin'' b/w 'Rambling On My Mind'—Del-tino 200—in 1966) and broke up right after graduating high school in 1966. Besides myself as lead singer & guitarist, the other two members were Doug Hankes on drums & Rusty Creech on rhythm guitar (no bass!). We did the record hop & teen dance circuit (Allie's Resort—where we did shows w/the Iguanas & Hesitations and backed up both Gino Washington & Nathaniel Mayer on different occasions—Wampler's Lake Pavilion, Devil's Lake Pavilion, Walled Lake Casino—where we were on the bill with a teenaged Ted Nugent and Mitch Ryder back in his Billy Lee & the Rivieras days and some teen dance barn in Ann Arbor (I can't remember the name of) where we also gigged w/The Rationals). Our heroes were Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Link Wray & Jerry Lee Lewis, but we really thought Mack Vickery w/Wild Bill Emerson & The Blue Denims & The Hesitations were the ultimate greasy R&R bands in our area. The blues aspect of what we did came from listening to WLAC out of Nashville late at nite and ordering 45's from Ernie's Record Mart, who advertised on disc jockey John R's radio show."
Fortunately, those who haven't yet experienced the rockin' grit of this
remarkable teen band won't have to scour the swap meets for non-existent
45's or try and chase down bootleg tapes to hear these tunes. In early
1998 Cub produced a new record entitled The Del Tino's meet The Hesitations—-
Go!
Go! Go! to Surfin' School!!!. Set up in a "battle-of-the-bands" format,
this disc includes virtually everything recorded by the Del Tino's and
a series of slightly more refined but still furiously hard rockin' cuts
from the Hesitations who were contemporaries of the DT's and much
admired by them. Available in both CD and vinyl LP versions
from Norton Records,
this is a gotta-have-it record and proof positive that even out
in the Michigan farmlands, greasy, unrepentant rock 'n' roll always ruled
the day.
p.s. A wordsmith of immense
talent,
nobody could write 'em like Cub, and whether or not you
have any desire to hear this music, his liner notes alone make the disc
more than worth the price!
Another in Detroit's legendary series of "ten-year-overnight-sensations",
Flaming Embers (as they were initially known) recorded one single on Fortune
label "You Can Count on Me" b/s "Gone Gone Gone" (Fortune
889). and they also backed Paul London On "Don't Believe Anybody".
These records caught the ear of noted Detroit record mogul Ed Wingate (Ric-Tic,
Golden World and other labels) who signed the band for a short period.
Their first single from this association "Hey Mama, Whatcha Got Good
for Daddy" (penned by George Clinton) was a minor hit but due to Wingate's
decision to sell the record company, they were free to entertain record
offers from several labels. In late 1968, the band signed with Eddie
Holland (of Holland - Dozier - Holland fame) for Hot Wax, dropped the "s"
from Ember(s) and recorded their first hit record "Mind, Body &
Soul", a period-perfect piece that sounded as though it might have
come straight outta Motown. The record confounded radio programmers and
picked up momentum on both pop and R&B charts, peaking at #1 in Detroit
in 1969 (of course) and a top-ten in most other major urban markets, ultimately
earning the band their first gold record.
Their follow-up records "I Am Not My Brothers Keeper" and "Westbound #9" again tapped their unique brand of blue-eyed soul, both hitting the R&B top 20 and getting them more national exposure, including appearances on American Bandstand in 1970. A final album in 1971 ("Sunshine") and single on Hot Wax (produced and written by Ronald Dunbar) "Stop the World (and Let Me Off)" ended up only a minor hit in Detroit and didn't catch on nationally at which point a weary Flaming Ember waved good-bye.
After a brief rest, Plunk and Ellis rebounded with a reformed group, Mind Body and Soul, in the spirit of Ember which recorded a never-released LP and the group continued playing throughout the Metro Detroit area up through the late seventies — far longer than many of the better known acts profiled here. A Greatest Hits package on CD was released in 1992.
Flaming Ember always proudly declared
themselves a Detroit band, comprised of players living in Detroit (within
its city limits, not out in the 'burbs or even some other county) and as
their assimilation of Motor City soul styles proved, many folks (of all
colors) remain convinced the Flaming Ember were anything but four white
guys.
Catch up with the band and hear their recordings by visiting the Flaming Embers website
Contributor Ken Gibbs offers the following recollection:
"Glenn Frey had 3 bands that I'm aware of before he split for California and Eagles fame. They were "The Four of Us", "The Subterraneans", and "The Mushrooms". The Mushrooms consisted of Frey doing vocals, Bill Barnes on lead guitar, Lenny Mintz on drums, and Doug Gunch on rhythm guitar. They showed up a couple times on [TV teen show host] Robin Seymour's Swinging Time. They would also play high school dances at Dondero and Kimball High. They did mostly cover tunes including a nice version of the Beau Brummels "Still In Love With You Baby". (1966-67)"To put things into perspective, the events unfolded something like this:
Reportedly, Glenn couldn't play a note on any sort of musical instrument at the time but he had a singing voice along with a bushel of desire and, undaunted, he formed his first notable band — The Hideouts (named after the dance club) with guitarists Barnes and Gunch and an unknown drummer in mid 1966. It wasn't long before they arrived at a name-change and became The Subteraneans, however. They played serviceable but largely undistinguished covers of the typical British invasion hits at weddings and school dances around town for a few months, including opening gigs at Hideout dances.
Influenced (at the time) by Roger Daltry, Glenn was pushing the band toward covering more materials by the Who, but when their drummer was unable to replicate Keith Moon's explosive percussion at the end of "My Generation", Glenn began searching for a stronger player. Enter Lenny Mintz. A drummer since age 8 or 9 at the encouragement of his dad, Lenny had been playing in some garage combos that hadn't amounted to anything and was looking for a real band opportunity. Following an introduction by mutual friends, Lenny's playing ability and strong, outgoing personality won him a spot in the group almost immediately. Continuing with the 'underground' theme, they chose the name Mushrooms to differentiate the new band from the old and began to add the tougher Who material that Glenn desired.
With
the increased strength of a solid drummer and a hotter repertoire (still
brit covers but a bit more Stones, Yardbirds and Who), the Mushrooms were
soon finding more work beyond the school dances and moved quickly into
the Hideoutin nearby Harper Woods. While working regularly at the club,
Glenn and the band were exposed to The Four Of Us —
Grosse
Pointe's leading folk-rockers — whose vocal abilities, seasoned
playing and harmony arrangements mightily impressed the Mushrooms and the
competition for bookings between the bands inspired Glenn and the Mushrooms
to higher levels of practice and tighter, more melodic playing.
Hideout owner/managers Dave Leone and Punch Andrews were beginning to record the better groups for their embryonic record label and had already waxed several cuts by The Four of Us: A solid, if unspectacular, cover of Bob Dylan's "Baby Blue" (which appears on the rare Hideout club sampler) and followed that with two more 45's: "You're Gonna be Mine" and a sparkling cover of the Byrds' "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better".
Although the Mushrooms had grafted on a keyboard player by this point (at Punch's urging), none of them were writing songs so Andrews began looking for "hit" material for the the band's first release. Punch soon connected them with another of the Hideout's emerging talents for a song to record which led to Glenn's brit-accented, adenoidal vocals finally appearing on the Mushroom's first (and only) 45 "Such a Lovely Child", written and co-produced by none other than a twenty year old Bob Seger. Frey would repay the favor by playing guitar and singing backup on the high-voltage title track to Seger's first album, "Ramblin', Gamblin' Man" a few years later.
With the record out, heavy promotion for their dates at the Hideout (and elsewhere) plus a few appearances on Robin Seymour's Swingin' Time afternoon TV show to their credit, some of the Mushrooms responded, as did many of the musicians at the time — by getting high . . . regularly. Frequent forays to Ann Arbor where a growing drug underground readily accepted them, and the band was almost on its way to becoming early dope casualties.
By that time, Frey had gained some skill as a (self-taught) guitarist and sensing the pending demise of the Mushrooms, Punch put Glen together with the still-going Four of Us for a short period at the urging of bassist Jeff Alborell, who coached Glenn on his vocals and six-string skills. In the wake of the Mushrooms collapse, the survivors — Doug Gunch and Lenny Mintz — joined up with Ken Bash and the remaining members of The Gang and kept that name going for a while.
But the newly re-vaped Four of Us didn't last appreciably longer. Following the addition of Frey, he and Alborell split to co-found the Heavy Metal Kids — Glen's final Detroit area band before finally succumbing to the lure of Sunset Boulevard. The Heavy Metal Kids consisted of Glenn on guitar and vocals, drummer Lance Dickerson from Billy C and the Sunshine (later of Commander Cody's band), Paul Kelcourse (now rumored to be a classical guitar teacher) on lead guitar and Steve Burrows (from the final-stage Mushrooms?) on keyboards. After some months of the usual teen-club gigs, with nothing of consequence appearing on the horizon for the new band, Frey became increasingly impatient to get out of Detroit and start over.
According to Ed Fleming, who resided in the Southfield house Frey and the 'Kids' occupied:
"Lance was a kick-ass drummer and he had made a trip to L.A.. Glenn subsequently went there at least one time on his own, becoming convinced that L.A. was mecca for any serious musician". Adding; "If there is anything you can say about Glenn during this period is that he was definitely serious about music".Ed also recalled their sojourn to the west coast:
"So it became "California or bust" time.[ I ] sold [my] cherry mustang for a van, Glenn sold his Chevy for gas and grits and Jeff [Alborell] was our reliable navigator. We hit highway 66 — man those beautiful purple mountains majesty!!, stopped and played a little keno in Reno, and before we knew it we were in Oakland, CA. spending a week with Larry Welker (who, at the time, was playing guitar for Charlie Musselwhite), soaking up a little of the Haight-Asbury groove."From there, Glenn and crew head down the California coast on a quest to track down a wayward Motor City girlfriend (Joanie from Oak Park?) in L.A. and through her sister, Frey makes a connection with J.D. Souther and . . . oh, everybody knows the rest.
Outside of the one Mushrooms 45, an enduring friendship with Bob Seger, his linkage to Dave Leone/Punch Andrews and the Hideout Clubs, there isn't much of a lasting legacy to Glenn's Detroit days but an oft-told story from back then (which has all the makings of urban folklore according to some sources close to Glenn today) about his driving talent keeps surfacing: It seems that, before deciding the West Coast was the place to be, Glenn was kicking around with The Rationals during a brief tour through the upper Midwest. That is, until he managed to destroy their tour van in a highway accident. An early taste of life in the fast lane?
And a final thought on Mr. Frey,
courtesy of L.A. LaLonde, webmistress of The Allnighter —
the intriguing Glenn Frey/Eagles site referenced by the link above:
Mushrooms Picture
© 1999
Lenny Mintz
used with permission
Despite the fact that The Frost
are frequently referred to as Dick Wagner's backing group, the powerful
music they made together demonstrated a considerable band dynamic and their
ensemble work stands up as well as any of the period and better than most.
Granted, it was Wagner who founded and guided the group, played
lead guitar and created / arranged of most of their material, they were
nonetheless an outstanding band in the truest sense — far more than
just a front-man and his faceless supporting players. If anything,
Frost stands as Michigan's real answer to San Francisco bands like
Moby Grape and Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Assembled with veteran musicians from the Flint/Saginaw area, Dick put together the Frost (originally to be called Dick Wagner & The Bossmen after his earlier, regionally successful, band) in late 1967 with Jack Smolinski handling the bass chores, (soon to be replaced by Gordy Garris) Riggs and Hartman completed the original lineup and in a remarkably short time they had amassed a sizable following in the mid-state area. With the Grande Ballroom in their sights and a growing reputation, it wasn't long before they began playing regularly around Detroit.
Hearlded for the strength of their live
stage act and a repertoire of guitar-dominated rockers, offers from several
record labels quickly appeared. After a serious courtship by Vanguard
Records, Frost signed with the label in late 1968 and released the first
of their three LP's, "Frost Music", in early 1969 
as
well as releasing a local hit 45 — "Mystery Man". They
followed that with another Detroit area radio hit: The title track
from their second album "Rock & Roll Music", a high-energy live
recording (from the Grande Ballroom) that almost did this anthem
justice. Their third album, which many consider their finest work, "Through
the Eyes of Love", didn't generate a hit and subsequently fared poorly,
even in the local markets, ultimately becoming the last LP to wear the
Frost name (other than a compilation of their first works entitled "Early
Frost").
They were arguably the tightest, most well rehearsed group of the period with a sound that was as consistent on-stage as it was on record, thanks to the exceptional talent in the band and Wagner's well-honed production skills. Their original songs were also finely crafted, often lyrically poignant fare with plenty of space for Wagner's scorching electric guitar excursions ("Who Are You?") or his dulcet acoustic work ("Linda") and the six-string interplay between Wagner and Hartman lent drama and dynamics to most of their creations.
Frost arrived on the Motor City scene as a top draw at the Grande and they worked steadily on the club circuit, outdoor concerts and were much in-demand throughout the region. Their concert appearances outside Detroit often drew rave reviews yet their records could scarcely be found, except locally. That Frost failed to sell many records nationally cannot be blamed on the band, the material . . . or their effort. Vanguard's inept distribution — choosing to treat the band as having only regional appeal — pretty much kept Frost largely unknown outside of the Great Lakes, Canada and a few other pockets in the country. Thanks to the 'word-of-mouth' buzz based on their live shows, their stature would grow as they began to tour nationally but, sadly, it wasn't long before the band chose to go their separate ways, splitting up in 1971, which, according to Dick (with tongue only partly in cheek):
"...was due to conflicting work ethics, fear of success, certain opportunities just over the horizon for me and the love of fly fishing.".Rod and reel aside, Wagner had first made a name in Michigan rock by leading The Bossmen who were a top attraction in the mid-state area in the early sixties with several local hit records (now available on the CD - The Complete Bossmen from Wagner Music Group). As the Bossmen's career came to a halt, Wagner's renown in the Flint-Saginaw-Bay City area music community was already legendary. He was not only a guitarist and performer of enviable skill but a writer and producer of numerous records. Among other bands, he was writing for and producing The Pack (Dick also had a large hand in helping the Pack's Mark Farner get Grand Funk Railroad out of the station).
Following Frost, Wagner reverted to a solo career (recording as Richard Wagner) for a while, producing several albums on his own. He also formed the power trio, Ursa Major with Detroit area (ex Gang and Amboy Duke) bassist Greg Arama — recording a single album that's a minor milestone in the fusion of melodic tunes with heavy guitar-driven rock. That record introduced Dick to Bob Ezrin and through their association, Dick's found many years of work as guitarist with both Lou Reed (starting with the Rock and Roll Animal period) and songwriter/guitarist/bandleader with Alice Cooper, bringing Wagner the most notability and a wall full of gold records while capping over twenty years of steady work as a session guitarist with artists as diverse as Peter Gabriel (on his first solo record), Etta James, Carmen McCrae and Hall & Oates.
As many know, Frost reunited for a new
release and well received summer tour in 2000 ("This Band Can Rock &
Roll Forever") and Dick continues to play shows with his current band wherever
the occasion calls. Wagner also formed a partnership with songwriter
Alan Gordon and manages a production suite at his studios in Arizona.
Dick's web site and MySpace page provides a complete bio of the incomparable
Mr. Wagner as well as information on more recent activities and new recordings.
Barry visits with master guitarist, songwriter and recording artist Richard Wagner. Wagner, the recipient of 5 platinum and 13 gold records has written and recorded songs for Alice Cooper, Air Supply, Lou Reed and The Frost to name just a few. Richard announces his plans for "Talent Quest '96"....a search for Michigan's best talent to record on his newly formed label and his Wagner Music Group.
These guys started off as Früt of the Loom and later shortened it to simply Früt. And, until the arrival of Commander Cody's ozone entourage, they werePANAMA RED - Lead Vocals CRUNCHY CHRYSTALS - Guitar JOHN KOZMO - Bass SNIDELY WHIPLASH - Drums THE FAMED WARBLES - Harmony Vocals
—- Mosely "The Punk"
—- Wildman Rapucci
—- Meadowlark Brenner
about as close to a true hippie band as could be found around Detroit
('tho Detroit's peculiar breed of hippies is another story altogether).
No gig was too big, too small or too weird for Früt – they were playing
so frequently that it was almost difficult to hear live rock music – a
Grande show, benefit concert or outdoor event – during '68-'69 without
encountering them.
And hearing them while stoned was arguably the best way to appreciate Früt. Borrowing from (one guesses) the Mothers of Invention, Grateful Dead, Bo Diddley and heaven knows who else in varying amounts, Früt could and would touch on every musical style from cracked country to outright psychedelia but as the years passed and personnel changed, it became clear their passion resided in skewed renderings of fifties-era rock and doo-wop ballads. Not as faithful an interpreter of the music as, say, Flash Cadillac or as tightly rehearsed as Sha Na Na, their approach was best described as, well . . . sloppy. Not that it mattered much, since their mission certainly didn't involve taking themselves terribly seriously anyway and Früt enjoyed the saving grace of doing it all with an acid twinkle in their eye.
There are those who will righteously insist – particularly early lead guitarist Erny ' Wildman' Calies – that Früt has taken a bad rap over the years; that their beginnings as proud, hard-rockin' blues and psychedelic radicals with the White Panthers have been overshadowed by the self-parodying oldies act Früt became in latter years following the departure of Erny and original bassist Ken "Big Mochie" Kraft. As Erny puts it: "[The] later musicians were actually roadies, old members who couldn't play, and groupies. Why do I sound pissed? I don't like being associated with what the band had become later (a Joke), and the truth needs to be known."
Despte their evolution from the revolution,
before they faded away in the early 70's, Früt did manage to get a
couple of LP's to market on Detroit's Westbound label; "Keep on Truckin'"
and "Spoiled Rotten" which are almost genre classics in the rock
revivalist mode. Where they came from and where they went still contains
a bit of mystery, but one memoir of the band and their venues arrived recently
which helps fill in a few holes in the story.
"The Früt's lead vocalist's name was/is actually Norm Lieberman. They had a couple of back-up vocalists also, but the only one I remember is John "The Punk" Moseley. Anyway, Norm started a club in Mt. Clemens sometime in 1970 called appropriately enough, The Früt Palace. The venue consisted of two adjoined geodesic domes, and was previously (mid-sixties?) used by CKLW under the name "The Dancing Domes". As Norm and the band lived on a farm nearby, it was just a hop and a skip over to the location of Hall road and Gratiot. Norm obviously had great musician connections in the area, so he managed to book the likes of The Amboy Dukes, Stooges, Frost and Alice Cooper into the Palace. Alice's first appearance consisted mostly of his current release, which was "Easy Action". The buzz was so great after that, that they were booked again in the Fall of '70, where Alice previewed his up and coming Album "Love It To Death" (he was doing the electric chair act). he acts were presented every Sunday night for almost a year (made it tough to get up for school on Mondays!)." "Fast forward to early '72. After the Palace had run its course, The Früt started a club in the old Colonial Hotel in Mt. Clemens, which was christened "The Früt Cellar". Norm booked mainly his band and newer local bands, with the occasional semi-national act. The one I remember best was Mitch Ryder & Detroit with Steve Hunter and Johnny Bee. They had just scored in the Fall of '71 with "Rock and Roll", so this was a killer show to see. The Colonial Hotel had bands for a couple of years. Both it and the domes are now torn down. The last I heard, Norm was living in California."
Other than one strong 45 ("Hijackin' Love") their recorded history remains tantilizingly un-released so far (although there is great hope that this music might yet make it to market in the future ) but if their recordings are a mystery, their live shows were something. Guardian Angel was serious about this and performed with an intensity on stage that was matched by the ambition in their music. This was edgy, pre-arena rock without the bombast — intricately arranged but with a ton of brute force and blistering vocals from Jacquez and Morgan, not to mention Jones' exquisite guitar work. From the audience perspective, it was obvious that Guardian Angel was abundantly talented but also, perhaps, lacking the subtlety and focus that only time brings to a band. One doubts they could have done it any other way but had they not tried to reach the sun so quickly, they might have become legend. Hopefully a release of their recordings will yet assist with that opportunity.
As it was, singer Morgan opted out of GA to attempt forming his own group and Trabandt took off for New York in pursuit of fame and fortune while Jones and Jacquez carried on under a new name and a revamped lineup as Lightnin'.
Maybe it's like real estate — location is everything. Because if not for that, it's hard to explain why Haymarket Riot isn't among the best-known groups profiled here. Laboring in virtual obscurity and struggling every step of the way to be noticed, this band worked harder than most to get beyond anonymity and almost managed it. Whether it was because there were already several groups sharing the Haymarket Riot name around the same time or, most likely, the fact that they emerged just outside of earshot from the Detroit clubs and music scene, it didn't matter. Either way, this band ends up in the "great unknowns" category every time, though their performances made instant fans everywhere they played, sharing stages with almost all the great Detroit/Ann Arbor groups of the era, including gigs at the Eastown.
A favorite act in their home town of Monroe, Haymarket Riot's career spanned a large chunk of the decade playing the roller rinks, school hops and the historically ignored venues that sprang up along the Michigan/Ohio border, including a pertty regular stint at The Club. Starting out as The Avengers, they began like hundreds of other garage combos — weaned on the inevitable British invasion cover tunes and rock standards of the middle sixties. But along they way they showed themselves to be accomplished musicians and gifted songwriters with more and more of their repertoire made up of original material in a high-energy mode. And the ' Riot was a many-faceted group — equally adept (if not better) at softer, more lyrical acoustic material. In fact, they closed out their career frequently playing "un-plugged" with wind instrument accompaniment.
The band managed to record an album in 1968 (produced by Tom Conner) and released from it a truly galvanizing (and very rare) single which explored both sides of the band. Featuring their nail-you-to-the-wall electric rave-up, "Leaving" and the good-timey, acoustic "Sunny Day Song", this 45 is well worth seeking out, if only to prove that without the fate of poor geography, Haymarket Riot should have stood among the Motor City's best.
After the band splintered in 1969, singer/songwriter/instrumentalist
Morales subsequently charted a solo musical career and has continued to
perform and record his original works, recently releasing his eighth album
since the Haymarket Riot days. For more information, visit
his web site
The preceding quote by the group bassist Marc Chover describes a less-than-well-known (obscure, actually) Detroit band yet whose credentials were among the most prestigious in town — a "supergroup" of sorts, made up of highly skilled, veteran musicians with differing backgrounds and tastes."The Horny Toads represented a major departure from what all of the other local bands were doing. At the time we called our sound New Wave."
Horny Toads were conceived in 1969 by well
respected performer Ted Lucas along with Chover who had just returned to
Michigan following the demise of Southbound Freeway. 
They
added Levine and then enticed Woodman and his wife, Susie Kane to Detroit
(from the Saginaw area where they ended up after Popcorn Blizzard/Floating
Circus called it quits) in early 1970.
With their music largely defying description — even on a Motor City basis, some simply categorized the group as a "musicians" band: Rock 'n' roll by intent but certainly unlike most anything else in town, with influences encompassing folk music to theater, middle eastern modal sounds and blues — all electrified, turned up loud and with more than a sprinkling of humor to tie it all together. Chover adds:
"Toads used incessant 1/8th note bass parts. Lightning fast solos (Ted had played violin, bazooki, & sitar (studied with Ravi Shankar)".There is some dispute as to how long the band lasted, but no one suggests they were around for very long. According to Susie Kane:
"The band played out for about a year, primarily at the Forest City Theater in the Unitarian Church near Wayne State. They never released product, but there were a slew of basement tapes."Chover adds several further recollections of their time:
"We disbanded after 2 years of rehearsals and 2 or 3 performances. At our first or second gig Big Brother, who had performed locally that night, dropped in to catch our last set. They were knocked out (figuratively). Jim Gurley of Big Brother is an ex-Detroiter and he, Ted and I had played together (not as a group) a number of times between 1960 and 1962 when he left for the west coast..""Ted was a great catalyst on the Detroit scene for more than 20 years and was (also) the instigator of the Southbound Freeway. In preparation for our album, which was never recorded, Ted commissioned Stanley Miller ("Mouse") to do the cover art. "Mouse" is best known for his work for the Grateful Dead. He's also a former Detroiter."
When
Horny Toads had run it's course, everybody continued on musically around
the community. Ted went right on being Ted Lucas and resumed his solo career
nearly without missing a beat while he formed several other bands. Julliard
graduate David Levine never really left his classical music background
behind and he continued to play Cello with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
while Chover, Woodman and Kaine ended up in an unlikely spot. As Marc tells
it:
"After the Toads disbanded I played bass with a number of local folksy entertainers. Put together a few pickup groups for specific gigs. When Phil Marcus Esser launched the Dinner Theater of Detroit, I was the bassist, Susie K. on keyboards, and Pete Woodman on drums."Marc presently resides in Riverside, California vicinity and several years ago he resumed playing guitar. In the spirit of Horny Toads, he assembled and recorded a new band (Sleazy Geezer) with a similar approach. He also developed Chover Pro Music Associates in the '90's and more recently, Marc opened The Stuffed Bagel restaurant in Ranch Cucumonga."The Toads had a reunion jam at Woodman's house in the early 90's. After not playing together for 18 years it only took an hour to get tight...and that, with new songs. What fun!"
Even in celebrity-laden L.A., It takes serious effort to reach the level of iconic status that Harry has achieved. For sheer hours spent at the beach, the head-wrapped guitarist/skater is by far the king. I mean, there are plenty of actors who’ve starred in major studio movies that will never get his kind of instant recognition. Harry’s more than just a familiar face – he’s an institution!.
Besides selling his own souvenir t-shirts and playing the occasional ‘real’ gig on the Sunset Strip, Harry recorded a hilarious album in 1995, dedicated to “…all of the people who gave me spare change, rides, food, showers . . . everything that kept me alive over the last 21 years at the beach."
What would a walk along the strand at Venice Beach be without him?
Formed in 1966 and centered around their talented vocalist Stoney Mazar, the band started out performing soul covers of James Brown, Ray Charles and the like. Later, the band would hop on to the psychedelic bandwagon when that form became popular. Jagged Edge had a reputation for wild clothing and behavior as well as for Stoney's original songs such as "Delilah" & "Crystal Rain."
By 1968, the band was a prominent, indeed regular attraction at the Grande Ballroom where they could be seen opening up for The Who, Cream, Pink Floyd and others. They were also the opening act for the Doors at Cobo Hall in May of 1968.
Over time, Jagged Edge had accumulated
all the credentials: top-notch vocal and instrumental prowess forming an
original sound with energy and funk that became legendary — at least
locally. Everybody who witnessed an Edge show knew they could rip
it up on stage. The band had paid their dues and were rapidly approaching
the
status of headline act as well as attracting record company interest when
things began to go awry. A series of management misfortunes cost
them opportunities and although the band had begun recording what would
have been their first album, the master tapes were destroyed in a fire
at United Sound Studio in 1969, which seemed to sound the death knell for
the group.
While the details of their decline and demise are not terribly important, the members of the group proved resilient after Jagged Edge. Ira Pack took up the guitar spot in the group Howl the Good which released a fine, self-titled album with an odd cover on Rare Earth in the early seventies (overlooked but on the verge of becoming a collectable today) while Thompson went on to play with Edgar Winter. Stoney has continued to perform for the Detroit audiences over the years, currently fronting the popular Stoney Mazar and the Westsiders
But what if, after a thirty-plus year hiatus,
Jagged Edge decided to get back together and re-record some of the material
that would have comprised their album? Hmmm. Check
this out!
Further thanks to:
Al Nagel
for Westsiders pic and info
Also see
Dave
Les' Website
for reunion recording info
If there was but one band that developed, refined and codified Detroit's high-energy rock & roll "sound", it was none other than The MC5 (Motor City Five). So much has already been said (and written) about the Five that it would be darn near impossible to deduce any new insights at this point without writing a book — no, an encyclopedia — on their contributions to rock music. Suffice it to say they were influential — clearly one of the prime progenitors of both power-pop and the resulting punk movement which followed — as well as the best damn rock & roll band of the era from Michigan . . . or anywhere else! Often misunderstood and dismissed in their own time, The Five were, as John Sinclair simply stated in the liner notes to their first LP "...a whole thing.". They said it all, said it perfectly and left no room for argument.
If you're digging deeper, find everything Five under the sun at: The MC5 Gateway
And tho' you still won't have the visceral experience of having them blow out your brains on a hot summer night at the Grande . . . it'll get ya close.
Following the Rationals demise, he was instrumental in forming the ambitious but short-lived Guardian Angel before heading off on his first try at a solo career. Several years later, in what would become perhaps the most powerful and focused high-energy Michigan band of all time, Morgan, along with Gary Rasmussen of Up and Scott Asheton of the Stooges united with ex-MC5 guitarist Fred Smith in Sonic's Rendezvous Band.
Scott departed (and Smith broke up the band) but minus Sonic, this conglomeration re-united as the critically acclaimed Scott Morgan Band (adding Kathy Deschaine) and went on to record the much praised but unfortunately seldom heard "Rock Action" album which contains the incredible "Detroit"; a comprehensive tribute to five decades of the Motor City's musical artists. This same group later began performing as Scots Pirates and cut two albums on Schoolkids Records: Their self titled debut on that label and the even stronger follow-up, "Revolutionary Means".
Certainly among the definitive voices in Detroit rock music, Scott shows absolutely no sign of letting up. Besides his own bands, he's recorded with Wayne Kramer (and Deniz Tek) as part of Dodge Main which performed at the inaugural screening of the introductory trailer for the MC5 movie. Another project had Morgan and Rasmussen continuing their adventures together in, of all things, a cover band — Motor Jam — but these long-time partners have since embarked on separate endeavors.
In the summer of 1998, Scott released "Stick to Your Guns" from the "Revolutionary Means" album as a single on St. Thomas Records and just prior to the end of 1998 he appeared with the self-proclaimed 'world's loudest band', Guitar Army, a group which took it's name from the title of Scott's Rationals-period song. More of Scott's song writing has recently gained broader notice. Two of his compositions from the Rendezvous Band CD (which receivedCurrentmagazine's #1 Local Album of the Year award) were also named by Current on their Best Song of the Year list: "Gettin' There (is Half the Fun)" (2nd) and "Dangerous" (honorable mention).
Always there to help carry the Motor City rock torch, Scott put on a triumphant performance at Alvin's when the ailing Wayne Kramer had to cancel his January 1999 appearance. As always, Ken Gibbs was on the scene to catch the show and report:
His status as a legend around Detroit is planted in bedrock but Scott is no museum monument. Whether the big break that always eluded him shows up or not, he continues to make music that extends the legacy of high-energy Motor City rock 'n' roll. With the release of Medium Rare — a career-spanning collection of tracks that never graced Morgan's other recorded efforts — even those who belatedly discovered Scott via the canonization of Sonic's Rendezvous Band can now get a full perspective of his stupendous vocal (and songwriting) talents on this record."It was extremely cold [that] Thursday night but Scott heated up the inside of Alvins. The first band up was a bit punk and I believe the drummer was Ron Asheton's kid. [After that] we were entertained by a bit of Detroit surf music - interesting but wore a bit thin after a while. Then Scott came on and put on a great show. They played a wide range including a tune he recorded in Ca. with a European band that has been backing him (Hellacopter I think). They tossed in a little Sonic Rendezvous music and closed with Scott calling up a buddy to do the vocal for "Kick Out the Jams". In the tradition of the MC5 they left the stage with the guitar laying on the stage feeding back thru the amp. Alvins is a relatively small place and the volume was intense."
So, whether its fronting Powertrane, or his association with Deniz Tek and other young groups such as the Swedish band Hellacopters, his surfeit of talent never lets us forget there's a vitality in everything Scott does. And there's no looking back . . . except to define the future.
Check out the Scott Morgan Music website for more . . .
"Flint-Saginaw, the upper wastes of Northern Michigan may seem an unlikely hotbed for musical activity, but three notable acts emerged from this region—Terry Knight & The Pack, Dick Wagner's Frost and Question Mark (sic) & The Mysterians.Terry Knapp cum Terry Knight had been a disc jockey at CKLW (Windsor/Detroit) in the early '60's (he actually got away with such on-the-air shenanigans as playing the Rolling Stones "Little Red Rooster" repeatedly for an hour). By '65 he was ready to view things from the other side. The problem was, as a recording artist, he didn't possess a great deal of talent. Nevertheless, after assembling The Pack he scored locally with his cover of the Yardbirds' "Better Man Than I". After a couple of weak follow-ups, Knight & Company hit again with "A Change On the Way", an original tune in the "Shape of Things To Come" vein. Then came the melodramatic "I Who Have Nothing" which hit #46 nationally. Knight spent the better part of his recording career trying to sound like other artists, having little personality of his own, at least not on record. Terry & The Pack's recording career soon nosedived. But Terry got his revenge on the record buying public. After an unsuccessful stint at making solo records, he assembled ex-Pack members Mark Farner and Don Brewer and ex-Mysterian Mel Schacher and created a monster: Grand Funk Railroad. The rest, as they say, is history."
...from the liner notes of the incomparable bootleg compilation LP: "Michigan Brand Nuggets".
The story on Terry, The Pack, their
further adventures and legal entanglements can be found scattered amongst
the numerous Grand Funk related websites on the net.
As most probably know, Terry was murdered by his daughter's boyfriend in November of 2004
An accomplished solo performer before forming the band, Ruskin was the first casualty of the evolving group, leaving them after a bout with mononucleosis kept him subdued for a extended time. Passing Cluds viewed the world from the Grande stage a few times in the early days of the ballroom but like Southbound Freeway and a number of their contemporaries which departed the Motor City for the smog-laden promise of a recording career in Los Angeles, Ross, Meltzer, Fineman, and Freeman also made tracks for the west coast in early '68. Meltzer then left the group and was replaced by Stein, the only non-Detroiter in the band. Passing Clouds eventually got a release on an independent label but broke up shortly after that.
Lewis Ross and his wife Eleanor, now own/operate Revere Records/Life Dance Distribution in Portland OR.
Larry Larson is a working musician and visual artist in the Detroit area living in Warren, MI.
Joe Fineman is working in the film industry in Los Angeles - Executive with New Line Cinema (Austin Powers Movies).
Dick Meltzer works for a division of GM and lives in Southfield.
Keith Stein engineers and produces music in Vancouver BC.
Freeman is a booking agent in Durham N C.
Rick
Ruskin is a highly regarded fingerstyle guitarist and operator of Lion
Dog Music, a 32 track recording facility in the Seattle area.
While in their teens, Patti and Suzi (with
older sister Arlene) and a few friends put together the band with considerable
encouragement from papa Art Quatro (a jazz musician) and Dave Leone of
Hideout fame (where Suzi worked weekends as a counter clerk). Initially
seen as just a gimmick, they transcended that quickly enough with talent
and determination, becoming a top local draw during the teen club period.
They recorded a fine 45 for Hideout's fledgling recording operation: "Never
Thought You'd Leave Me" (b/w "What a Way to Die" - an ode to heavy
beer drinking!) which showed off their terrific Wurlitzer electric piano-based
"sound" and almost dented the local radio charts in 1966. They landed a
contract with Mercury Records for "Light of Love" in 1967 which
was a better recording technically but it missed the raw energy of the
Hideout platters and never got radio play. Shortly afterwards, keyboard
player Arlene
left the band to start a family (actress Sherilyn Fenn was the result)
and was replaced by yet another Quatro sister, Nancy.
Up through 1969, the Pleasure Seekers regularly worked the club circuit in and around Detroit, did some regional tours in the south and east coasts (and even managed to land with a USO entertainment package touring Southeast Asia during the height of the Viet Nam war) but in Motor Town they nearly got lost in the psychedelic stampede from the teen clubs to the Grande. For a time the Quatro sisters tried to re-invent themselves as Cradle with a decidedly harder-rocking edge that reflected Detroit in a new, heavier time along with Suzi's burgeoning passion with leatherwear. And Cradle could indeed rock out — they frequently opened shows at the Eastown and a few as the Grande neared its demise, but by the early '70's the Quatro sisters finally gave up on trying to crack the music business from Detroit.
Suzi took off for England at the urging of noted British producer Mickey Most (Jeff Beck and others) where, by 1973 she had charted several hit records (which were influential on forthcoming women's rock music). Patti headed west and spent a few years as guitarist in the California rock band Fanny; one of the first all-woman bands to be taken seriously for their music (although Patti's incredible legs had their own kind of fan club).
Besides the music, everybody knows about Suzi's acting career in the Happy Days sitcom, don't they? If not, there are a series of places starting with this Suzi Quatro site and a few others scattered here and there on the 'net which provide a wealth of details on her post-Detroit career.
These days, after many years of acting and musical theater, Suzi has resumed her rock 'n' roll career with recent tours of Europe and Australia and Patti is back at home in the Motor City fronting her own Patti Quatro Band. And, just in case the Pleasure Seekers hadn't given us enough Quatros, elsewhere in this section you'll find info on brother Michael, a noteworthy Detroit area concert producer/promoter, entrepreneur and musician in his own right.
Although it would seem obvious that the focal point of this band should be Meat Loaf, there was a great deal more to them than just an impassioned lead singer. Popcorn Blizzard was also among the pioneers of gender equity in a rock band, featuring a female instrumentalist in a lead role and the whole group cuts a pretty wide swath through Michigan rock history
There are now numerous accounts of how the band was founded — Rick Bozzo's is one — and while all of them disagree on certain points, they aren't necessarily contridictory. Anyhow, here's a synopsis . . . taken from from a Michigan perspective.
Pete Woodman heads to L.A. following the breakup of the Bossmen. Next, the Soutbound Freeway arrives, having exhausted the possibilites in New York and in need of a new drummer, they head across country to join forces with Woodman in LA. Once they arrive, it amounts to little more than a handful of auditions and minor club dates before SBF is out of gas as a band (May '68) and Pete is without a gig, back to answering ads and audition notices. Eventually he encounters Meat Loaf and young Bozzo in the throws of starting a band and the group takes its first breath as Meatloaf Soul.
Aday, (who'd arrived from Dallas already blessed with the nickname that prompted the title of that first band) has written a hilarious account of his first meeting with Woodman in his autobiography "To Hell and Back". After a very brief period of rehearsing, minor gigs, warm-up slots and other disappointments in L.A., they "appropriated" the name Popcorn Blizzard (from another struggling and even more obscure L.A. band, according to Susie) and relocate the whole group to (mid-state) Michigan where the climate for high-power rock and roll was more fertile (or at least less combative) and where Woodman and Kaine had roots and the music connections to get them going.
As a sidebar, prior to leaving L.A. Woodman introduced Blizzard guitarist Montoya to ? (Question Mark - a.k.a. Rudy Martinez) and a short time later Montoya departs to join The Mysterians, taking over lead spot when Bobby Balderrama quit the band. This left Popcorn Blizzard without a regular guitarist and over the next months, they worked with so many g-players that nobody can quite remember them all. In the end, the band decides to go on without one and from that point featured Kaine's keyboards as the lead instrument.
Between their time in L.A and the next couple of years around Michigan, the band got its footing as an opening act, warming the stage for such luminaries as the Kinks, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Big Brother and the Holding Company (with Janis Joplin) as well as all the local legends such as MC5, Amboy Dukes, Seger, et al. In one interview, Meat Loaf recalled: "We opened for every band you can name, with the exception of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Jefferson Airplane." Popcorn Blizzard could be found on the bill of several Grande Ballroom shows during 1968, including one with the Grateful Dead in December and during this period they also cut their one and only 45 on the Majenta label: "Once Upon A Time" b/w "Hello". Although the single went precisely nowhere — even on the local charts, it has become quite collectable in recent years as it represents the first waxing of Meat Loaf's distinctive vocals.
Never content to hang onto a handle, they again changed names, this time to Floating Circus. But even with the new moniker, it was a last-gasp measure — their end was already in sight and the band played their final gig in the winter of 1969. Pete and Susie (at that time Mrs. Woodman) hit the road for Detroit in April of '70 after being offered a job with Ted Lucas of Misty Wizard/Spike Drivers fame who was forming another band — the Horny Toads. The others returned to Los Angeles, with Meat Loaf this time(allegedly) working as a bodyguard for the unpredictable ? of Mysterians fame among other employment opportunities. Although they've never surfaced, it's widely known that the band left behind some Floating Circus recordings made in the same studio where The Mysterians recorded "96 Tears".
However improbably, Neither Bozzo or Meat Loaf's Detroit connections ended with termination of the band. Rick was called back to Michigan to join the final incarnation of Dick Wagner's Frost while Meat Loaf was parking cars for a living back in L.A util he gets a part in the touring company performing the musical "Hair" which eventually end up in . . . (gee, you guessed it) Detroit. Whilst back in the Motor City, Meat Loaf then encounters singer-actress Stoney Murphy who'd made quite a splash as the vocalist for Wilson Mower Pursuit and had also been in a local production of Hair. Meat left the cast to begin performing around town as a duo with Stoney and shortly thereafter, the two of them cut an album of blue-eyed soul tunes on Motown's Rare Earth label and promoted it by touring with Alice Cooper and Rare Earth. The album produced a minor hit song, "What You See Is What You Get" (number 11 on the national R & B charts) in 1971. Difficulties relating to artistic control surface with their Motown arrangement (what a shock, huh?) and before long they bail out on the record deal and each other. Stoney eventually joins Bob Seger's band as a backing singer and Meat Loaf heads back to the theater. A much more detailed account of this period and his partnership with Ms. Murphy can be found here
Of course, after all that, Meat Loaf couldn't quite leave the Motor City music life behind and in 1975, he was back again, recruited to guest on Ted Nugent's LP "Free For All" resulting in the track "I Love You So I Told You A Lie".
Inbetween the failure of Floating Circus
(or whatever you want to call the band) and the Horny Toads venture, Woodman
and Kaine did form one more group -- The
Grand Band -- before ultimately going on to further renown with
the Dinner Theater of Detroit (Phil Marcus Esser's production) and there's
a rumor Mr. Aday has apparently enjoyed some measure of success
in his recording and performing career . . . even if it wasn't in Detroit.
Be sure to check out the Popcorn Blizzard and Meatloaf Soul photos from Rick Bozzo's web site.
or
recording career. And it wouldn't be much of a stretch to put the Prime
Movers way up on that list. Just looking at who emerged from
this group, you'll find a world-renowned astrologer, software developer
and publishing entrepreneur (who was also once a hitchiking companion of
Bob Dylan), the world's foremost guitar "doctor", one larger-than-life
punk icon, a well respected avant-garde music artist and one semi-pivotal
figure in the MC5/White Panther saga. Not bad for an relatively unpretentious
Ann Arbor-based blues band..
The Prime Movers formed in the summer of 1965 and the original members were those noted above. This soon evolved somewhat, with Michael handling vocals and harmonica (occasional rhythm guitar), Dan on lead guitar, Robert Sheff on keyboards with Jack Dawson on bass and James Osterberg on drums, (later replaced by J.C. Crawford). This was the cast for Prime Movers at their peak and all of these folks have staked a claim of some kind in the music profession.
As founding member Michael Erlewine tells it:
And if that were the sole reason for including the band here it would be plenty, but the Prime Movers story has much more to it than simply the exploits of those who spent time in the group. Michael graciously provided a lengthy and extremely detailed history from the "inside" which amplifies the band's story a bit. Portions of Michael's recollections have been excerpted and included here:"Today, Dan Erlewine is a monthly columnist for Guitar Player magazine and perhaps the best-known guitar repairman in the world. James Osterberg became Iggy Pop and we all know about him. Robert Sheff became Blue "Gene" Tyranny, one of the best known avant-garde classical composers and performing artists in New York City. Jack Dawson became the bass player for the Siegal-Schwall Blues Band. Not sure where he is today. As for me, Michael Erlewine, I went on as a solo piano-bar act for a while, became a computer programmer (started my own software company) and eventually founded the award-winning All-Music Guide, the largest music data base in the world."
Obviously, there are two significant questions that Michael has fielded many times over the years:"In the beginning, we started out playing fraternity houses, like most bands at the time [around Ann Arbor] , but soon moved out of that, choosing to play the music we loved, which was blues and some gospel. We were known around Michigan for our version of the Swan Silvertone's (a gospel group) "Seek, Seek and Ye Shall Find". Robert Sheff loved soul music, so we did some of that. Daniel and I loved the blues, although we knew a lot of folk music. Jack Dawson liked classical music, among other kinds. Iggy was kind of young and was mostly listening to what we liked. What distinguished the Prime Movers from the frat bands is that we soon moved into the bars in Ann Arbor. Sure, we would take the odd frat job, but mostly we made our home in places like the Schwaben Inn, The Town Bar, and, eventually, Clint's Club - Ann Arbor's only black bar. We played Clint's Club for more than a year and a half. The bars allowed us to play things other than "Louie, Louie," to play blues and R&B."
"Aside from the frats and the teen circuit, we played at places like Mothers (in Ann Arbor), run by Pete Andrews. We would kind of be the house band, backing groups like the Contours, the Shang-ri-las, and others. We also played at places in Detroit like the Living End and clubs down on Plum Street."
"[Ann Arbor's] 5th Dimension was a largish club that hosted a variety of rock's touring acts, players like Jeff Beck. The Prime Movers also played there on occasion, but mostly served as the after-hours band. We would leave our job at Clint's Club around 2 AM and pack up and move our gear to the 5th Dimension, where we would play until near dawn. After that, out band usually would go up on South University to The Wheel restaurant, where we would eat heavily — meatloaf, mashed potatoes, milk, etc. After that, we would head back to the Prime Mover house (located at 114 N. Division. It is still there today, looking pretty much like it did then — we had the second and third floors.) to crash. The Fifth Dimension was later converted to the Odyssey Bar, where I played for a time as a single, with a piano. It was there that I met my wife Margaret. I married in the summer of 1971, and did not much playing after that date."
"Our interest in the blues found us going to Chicago a number of times and got to hear many of the great blues players live, people like Little Walter, Magic Sam, Big Walter Horton, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy and the Butterfield Blues Band. Thanks to Bob Koester of Dellmark Records, we really got to go into the clubs. But it was the Butterfield band that stopped us in our tracks. When we met those guys, we just flipped. This was the way we wanted to play. It was clear from listening to this group that the blues was anything but old-time music. Who said white boys couldn't play it? At least, that was how we felt. We would travel to wherever we could hear the Butterfield band play and heard many early versions of tunes like East/West, etc. Paul Butterfield was not easy to approach, but Mike Bloomfield and Mark Naftalin were friendly guys, who knew we worshipped them, and always behaved toward us with kindness."
"It was not long before our group soon became known as the Prime Movers Blues Band. We had a Dodge van, with 'The Prime Movers' on the side,and many thought we were a moving company. We had the words "Gonna ring a few bells in your ear" across the front, a line from "Ooh Pa Pah Do" by Jessie Hill.".
"Jeep Holland was our manager for awhile. Jeep liked us. He was handling the Rationals (a nicer group of guys you will never meet) and tried to mold us in a similar vein. It just did not work. First, he wanted us to have matching jackets, like the English groups had. Forget it. We played the teen hideouts for awhile, but it just was not us. All we cared about was playing black music, and most of all Chicago blues. We felt that Jeep was misguided, trying to make us be what we were not. Our entire group was VERY strong headed."
"When Iggy left, he was replaced by J.C. Crawford, "Jessie" as we called him. I have no idea what happened to J.C., some say he is dead, others that he is hiding out from the government. J.C. dropped out of Eastern [Michigan University] to join out band. A loveable soul, J.C. became a common sight as an announcer at venues like the Grande Ballroom."
"In the summer of 1967, the Prime Movers Blues Band packed up and drove across country to San Francisco, but had very little money and no place to stay. Our friend Mike Bloomfield, from the Butterfield band, managed to finagle our way into a spot at the Sausalito heliport, which is where we stayed and practiced. We made the odd dollar playing at a rib joint nearby and other jobs like that. We auditioned at the Matrix and had a big break when the Electric Flag could not show and Bloomfield asked us to open for them. We were opening for The Cream, followed by Gary Burton. Although we were scared to death, but it was great meeting all those guys."
Never achieving national fame or fortune, this was still a deserving band of more than minor importance, personnel notwithstanding. Indeed, the Prime Movers were a more mature unit than many of the emerging groups such as Seger's band, The Rationals, Amboy Dukes, etc. and they had an older (and quite large) fan following in the area. In the days just before the scene exploded, many of those fans had jumped head-first into the music and club experience around Ann Arbor would and would seek out the Prime Movers, wherever they happened to be playing that weekend. Before they quietly broke up in 1970, they were revered by many of the other up-and-coming musicians and their affinity for Chicago-style blues influenced more than a few of their local contemporaries to mix that element into their musical stew, not to mention pointing their fans toward buying their first Muddy Waters, Little Walter, James Cotton or Paul Butterfield record."Did the Prime Movers ever record? I got asked that a lot, but not lately. The answer is, we did, but nothing ever came of it. We just never got the sessions out. I am not sure why.".
"I often get asked what kind of a wild punk Iggy was back then. The truth is that Iggy was a nice, well-mannered guy, even quite bashful around the girls. He never went after them. They always had to come to him, which they, of course, did. He had long eyelashes, that he would bat at everyone. Iggy came to the Prime Movers from a frat band, called the Iguanas. We didn't care much for frat bands (we were snobbish) and we just called Jim Iguana for awhile. This was soon shortened to Iggy. The story that Jeep Holland named him 'Iggy' while working in Discount Records in Ann Arbor is apocryphal: Iggy's stint at Discount came later on, when he was scrounging around for work. We really didn't know Jeep Holland, when Iggy joined us. We all liked Iggy. He was serious about learning music. He worked hard to learn the double shuffle drum beat from Sam Lay. In the history of the Prime Movers, Iggy sang a song or two; things like Muddy waters' "I'm A Man". I did not see too much of him after he left our group. He went on a struggle of his own and did great things. ".
And if you don't know their story already, that last paragraph didn't help a bit. Maybe this Stooges summary will. Or, if not, try reading Lester Bangs maniacally funny (and dead-on, in retrospect) 1970 review of "Fun House" for either it's: 1) literary genius, 2) revealing insights or, 3) sheer audacity — you chose.
As befits such a cultural icon, there are an abundance of pages devoted to the illustrious Mr. Osterberg. One well worth visiting is Cathy Benson Burke's visually striking Iggy Pop site
And, yes, they're back . . .
At the tail-end of the sixties, having not achieved his youthful goals as a musician, Mike turned to the business of staging concerts and, inspired by Russ Gibb's success with the Grande Ballroom, became Detroit's biggest rock music promoter, booking a significant number of well-received shows around the city and throughout the state, even gaining a prominent "special thanks" on the MC5's "Kick Out the Jams" album in 1968. While the concerts he staged were still part of the light-show era, Mike was an early proponent and pioneer of the new closed-circuit video/video tape technology, anticipating the role video would play in live concerts more than a decade later.
Michael made a renewed committment to his
musical talents starting in the early seventies, embarking on what might
best be 
described
as a star-crossed performing and recording career, one which found him
running the musical gamut — from warm-up act for Detroit area favorites
KISS,
to big-label (Motown) album contracts, to playing for tips in bars —
over the next twenty years. Without a doubt, Michael was and is an
immensely talented multi-keyboard player/arranger and his compositional
skills are without dispute, but his recording career continually suffered
from what might be called stylistic schizophrenia. During his earlier
recording years, output veered sharply from full-tilt rockers with his
Jam
Band to Keith Emerson-like flirtations with classical excerpts in a
rock setting (such as "Rockmanninoff's Prelude in C Blunt Funk"
on his third album) to balladeering and back again, often on the same record.
Each of his seventies recordings has it's moments but without a singularly
distinct and defining style, Michael always struggled to find a faithful
fan following and the "big hit" that would have made him a household name,
although many of these recordings achieved their deserved critical praise.
Michael's musical renown in recent years comes from within the environmental
movement (Greenpeace and others) which embraced "Ocean Song" from
his album, "Vision".
In the late 1990's Quatro joined forces with former K-Mart Chairman Joe Antonini to finance a venture which is now known as Quatrophonic Music Corporation; a music & video production and talent management enterprise.
Of all the Michigan talent that flirted with stardom but never got invited to the party, there is probably no other band of the era so beloved and still so mourned as Ann Arbor's The Rationals. Certainly, here was a group that deserved fame and fortune but, incredibly, failed to get the notice and air-play that should have landed them among the best recording acts of all time. They were that good.
Blessed with a sterling vocalist, a brilliant guitarist who could more than hold his own as a singer, an inventive bass player and a propulsive drummer, The Rationals infused their stratified, garage-rock with rich vocalizing and harmonies, making local hit records out of a series of rhythm & blues nuggets such as "Leavin' Here", "Hold on Baby", and Otis Redding's "Respect" (their 45 pre-dating the Vagrants version and providing the inspiration for Aretha's) as well as an incredibly soulful take on Goffin-King's "I Need You" — which may be the finest version of that song ever waxed. The Rationals also had a fierce stage act that was the cornerstone of their fan following around Detroit and environs. One of the highlights of their live performances during the height of their popularity was a stunning soul-song medley built around Tony Clarke's "The Entertainer" that was truly a show-stopper, unleashing every element in their talent arsenal.
As local heroes, they are legend but The
Rationals never caught that big break which would have let them cash in
and grab the prominence of their contemporaries and friends like Bob
Seger (who contributed singing and arranging on some of their singles)
and the MC5. By most accounts, it appears that the same management
that helped lead them from their early Kinks/Beatles influenced stylings
("Little Girls Cry", "Feelin' Lost") toward the harder rhythm
and blues that became their trademark also, probably inadvertently, kept
them just shy of the payoff: Instead of freeing the band to work
with other producers, their manager Hugh "Jeep" Holland (A-Square Productions)
apparently couldn't let go when the recording opportunities came and squandered
several chances for the group to land a major label deal. 
By the time they did break away from Holland and finally got an album to market via Bob Crewe's small label (with the help of local DJ Robin Seymour who often featured The Rationals on his television show) the group's depth had increased considerably. Their musical vocabulary had become expansive, reaching well beyond the tightly-arranged singles toward a newer sound that built on ever-maturing vocal and instrumental strengths. And, despite a protean effort in extending their reach with superb original compositions like "Guitar Army", the Corell/Morgan vocal tour-de-force "Ha-Ha" and the blazing "Sunset" as well as a cover of "Handbags & Gladrags" that simply destroys Rod Stewart's rendition, the album went nowhere (only for lack of good promotion and distribution) and The Rationals fans began moving on. Without the success of the long-awaited record to finally catapult them into the national spotlight, the band threw in the towel and by mid 1970 they had also gone the way of so many of the area's best groups.
If
just barely missing the brass ring was their legacy, the other tragedy
has long been the lack of a coherent, properly produced modern day re-issue
of their recordings. Despite years of efforts by the band members
and others interested in seeing this music released again, nothing in the
way of an official (from master tapes) nature had materialized (although
bootleg CD's copped from old vinyl have filled some of the void).
Licensing has always been a roadblock, not to mention disorganization.
Their Cameo/Parkway releases remain captive to the rapacity of Allen Klein/ABKCO
(except for "Respect" which did show up on the recent C/P box set).
For many years, their electrifying early work on A² Records created
under the direction of Holland was mired in Jeep's copious but uncataloged
archives. Although Holland had quietly begun working with Ace/Big
Beat Records on a A-Square compilation / Rationals anthology in 1997,
his death in March of the next year only compounded the difficulties further
and it has taken another full decade to put such a package together.
Patient Rationals fans should be rewarded in late 2008 when Big
Beat releases a 2-CD set entitled "Think Rational" which is expected to
contain not only all of the Rats singles plus material from the fabled
"Fan Club" LP but a slew of never-released rarities in addition.
With the arrival of that compilation, everybody can (again) experience
the brilliance that was The Rationals.
There are several excellent sources for Rationals info to fill in the story:
Plus a final Rational thought:
In one of Nardwuar's oddball interviews from several years ago, Iggy Pop remembered his days as drummer for Ann Arbor's fabled Iguanas:
"Recently some Iguanas stuff has been re-released. Are you aware of that?"Iggy: "Vaguely."
"Have you got one?"Iggy: "I've ordered it."
"Who were the Iguanas' main rivals at that time? Who were you fighting against?"Iggy: "The Rationals were our main rivals."
The
Rondells
In
1963 the quintet’s sound varied a little as Ron went from his electrified
accordion to a Farfisia keyboard. Bill’s slide lead technique along
with Rick Richards’ bass underpinned a solid supportive rhythm section
from JC and Ron, while Jimmy Young’s crackling drums punctuated the mix,
making them the area’s top requested group for high school and fraternity
dances.
CKLW dubbed them the ‘Fabulous Rondells’ and billed them in a variety of venues from Ann Arbor A-Go-Go to Leamington and Kingsville Ontario. A local radio personality said that their performance was ‘electric’ after their music drew fans from the Cowsills’ palladium show to their stage at the State Fair like water flowing downstream.
Recording at Rainbow Recording Studio on the city’s west side, Ron wrote, produced and the Rondells recorded the Wayne State University 100th Anniversary song which was performed by them as the headline band at that event.
Original lineup included:
Out of the handful of groups formed around
Detroit in the early decade, Mitch and the Wheels (or Billy Lee & The
Rivieras, as they started out) were not only a standout stage act but probably
the only local band of their time to get beyond the "one-hit-wonder" syndrome
and gain national recognition. They did it on the strength of some excellently
chosen and performed material, created while their producer was actually
trying to break up the band. Immensely influential around town, It
was Ryder and gang that first nailed the formula for mixing up a high-octane
rock/soul hybrid which provided the basic ingredient for most of the energy-driven
Motor City music that followed. That Mitch 
and
the Wheels actually ended up in debt to their record company despite the
hit records speaks volumes about the greed and manipulation they suffered
during this era — a sad fact for many bands of the time. Although
Bob Crewe finally managed to separate Mitch from the Wheels (and attempted
to turn him into a Vegas-style pop crooner), nothing can diminish their
importance in the hierarchy of Detroit rock music.
With the Wheels having rolled away and his experience with Crew & Co. delivering only complete disillusionment with the music industry, Ryder sojurned to Memphis for some recording with Booker T and musicians from the Stax roster entitled "The Detroit-Memphis Experiment". Though quite brilliant in places, the album that resulted failed to catch fire on the charts and Mitch eventually headed home to Detroit and a reunion with Wheels drummer John Badanjek. They took another shot together and formed the sort-of supergroup Detroit. That band cranked out a monster record in 1971, updating the Wheels legacy by taking Lou Reed's "Rock and Roll" apart and turning it inside-out. In Mitch's hands, it ended up as both a powerhouse anthem to Motor City rock and a sly tribute to the local radio stations that launched his career. Mitch left the band not long afterwards but Detroit carried on with Rusty Day fronting the band through its waning days.
Weary of the whole scene, Ryder moved to Denver for a few years but was lured back to the Motor City to record the music he'd been writing in the mountains. He released two fine albums produced by Tom Conner — "How I Spent My Vacation" and "Naked But Not Dead" on his own Seeds and Stems label. Following those records, his solo career took some unexpected turns (a pairing with John Mellencamp, among other adventures) through the 80's and 90's but Mitch is still kickin' em out. He plays occasional tours throughout the Midwest (and periodically in Europe where his following is based on his solo work of more recent vintage). A far better show than almost any of the "revival circuit" acts, Ryder is just as vital as ever. As correspondent Sherry Ryan reports following a show at the Phoenix Center in Pontiac:
- "These guys were great and never got a real break. It was such a pleasure to see Mitch perform again, I felt like a teenager again. Here I am in the front row, middle aged (however I won't admit it) and watching a guy I idolized as a kid, perform some of the best rock and roll this planet will ever hear. It's just too bad that this late in life he can't pick up where he left off so many years ago. After all he did admit to having an AARP card. Hehehe!
- I say "Thanks Mitch for the memories"...maybe we'll all show up in our next life and appreciate it more then."
"Dangerous music at its best! The Detroit Wheels meant business. Rather than sneaking up on songs or couching their intentions in dime-store philosophizing, Mitch and gang attacked music with a ferocious, head-on frenzy that would put Iron Maiden to shame. And talk about yer white-boy soul! Go ahead, talk about it a minute. Done? Good. Now where were we? Oh yes. It's about time somebody treated these early rock & soul heroes with the respect they deserve. " —— Sundazed Records Catalog
"These guys were always dressed in white and their equipment was painted white too. Played at every outdoor festival I went to."The band was started in 1969 and its original members hailed from Westland and Livonia. In 1970 Brian & Bob were replaced by Jim Duffy on bass and vocals and Morris O'Shaunessey on drums. With this lineup, the group began the nightclub circuit and cut the first test recording "All Witches Burn". In 1971 Dennis and Mark left the group, Kurt Miller joined and Arlan was picked up as lead guitar. This is the group that most people remember as the definitive Salem Witchcraft, although numerous players spent time in the combo throughout it's more than 10 year career, with Duffy, O'Shaunessey and Viecelli continuing with the group until it's spell was broken in 1982.
Arlen recalls a few of their many shining
moments:
"During that time, we recorded five records, of which our biggest hit was "Sandman" (b/w "Keep On Rolling"). We also did two videos from a tv show that we appeared on and a live performance with Mitch Ryder at Harpo's on New Year's Eve".And original drummer "Tatoo" Bob Caunter adds yet another
"I can't think of the worst gig ,but I do remember the best one. It was at Ford Ice Rink in Livonia. We opened up for Frijid Pink. We played our long set and than Pink came on and were booed off the stage. People were yelling 'we want Salem'. Well, Pink walked off and we jammed the rest of the night. The guys in Pink were a great bunch, and I felt bad for them. I think that was the summer of 69.".Currently residing in Toledo, Caunter has continued to play and record over the years, switching from drums to guitar after an injury and has worked with some of the best talent in the area such as EJ Wells and the Haymakers .
Where are the others? Viecelli adds:
"Morris continues to perform live with his band called "Shindig." He also works with numerous other bands recording and videotaping sessions to be shown nationwide. You [find] the keyboard player, Kurt Miller, daily on 80% of all the local television and radio advertisements you hear. He is also the Music Director for his church. Jim Duffey does not do anything in the musical business any longer but he does sit in with local bands every now and then. I am not directly involved in the musical industry any more but I do stay in close contact with some of my close friends who are very involved with all the national acts that pass through our city. We all see each other frequently and reminisce about all the great times and "road stories." Our time together was some of the best years of our lives!"A group who's hallmarks were solid musicianship, driving energy, adventuresome songwriting and a top-notch stage show, Salem Witchcraft came closer than many to catching the infamous brass ring but still came up empty in the long run. According to the amount of correspondence received by this web site, they are also well remembered and much missed by plenty of their old fans for one simple reason. As early member Marc Derrick summed up perfectly:
"From the beginning to the end the music was always "kick ass" rock.".
Singer/Guitarist Viecelli
has a web site with additional background on his early groups, his career
with Salem and later endeavors. You can also hear samples and some
astonishing vocals from his Christmas CD - Holy Kinght . Give him
a visit at Arlen Rocks!
Confidential to Mark Derrick: Bob Caunter's trying to find you. Drop a line with your current e-mail.
Named by WABX radio personality, Jerry Lubin, after visiting their rehearsals (he was also their early manager), Savage Grace more than lived up to their name. With a repertoire of original material that demonstrated ambitious songcraft, exemplary musicianship and their startling use of dynamics — from silence to thunder — they performed with the energy only a Detroit band could muster, putting them head and shoulders above so many of the one-dimensional bands that had appeared around the same time .
As the seventies arrived, they quickly
ascended through the tribes and almost overnight, Savage Grace became one
the hottest acts in the area with a series of Grande and Eastown shows
to
their credit along with opening slots for touring acts at the major arenas
and a prominent spot at the infamous Goose Lake Pop Festival. The
band had a raging stage show which provided equal exposure of Seanor's
classical/jazz influenced keyboards, Jacquez' often dazzling vocals, Zack's
intricate drumming and Koss' intense guitar work. Their signature
tune and show-closer was a spine-tingling version of "All Along the
Watchtower" on which Koss' unique guitar tone and fretboard wizardry
was perfectly matched with Jacquez' chilling proto-metal vocal exhortations.
The genesis of Savage Grace began with
Ron Koss, Larry Zack, John Seanor, Dennis Kovarik and Gary Prague in The
Group which later became a trio — Scarlet Letter — following
the departure of Prague and Kovarik (Kovarik went on to play bass for Catfish
Hodge after he left Detroit). They hooked up with Jacquez in Ann Arbor
through one of their equipment handlers, Ric Marr. At the time, Al was
attending the U of M and had been in several Ann Arbor-based bands such
as Dunning Maze and Fifth Dimension club favorites The
Hideaways with guitarist Jeff Jones (who forms an integral part
of the Savage Grace saga) that were handled by Jeep Holland and Peter Andrews
from A-Square Productions. 
After adding Jacquez (who switched to bass from guitar upon joining), the band embarked on a grueling schedule of 3 months of 6 day a week rehearsals (in the living room of the Seanor house . . . because John's grand piano wouldn't fit anywhere else), during which the foundation of many of their songs was laid and their distinctive sound evolved. Thanks to Lubin's involvement and promotion, these sessions helped put the "word" on the street about this riveting new band and began to draw interest from the record companies. Jeff Jones soon came aboard as a mixer, PA designer and builder and eventual Road Manager After a short period of bar and club gigging, they signed with Warner/Reprise and went on to record two fine albums (with Jones minding the sound board as well). The records showcased their talent well but some have suggested their often-heard demo tape containing much of the first album's material has a "heavier" sound was, perhaps, superior to the Reprise LP's.
Despite having signed with one of the premier record labels, the band never got the kind of promotional "push" that could have broken them nationally and owing to a history of often contentious personality clashes within the group, they split up shortly after their second album in late 1971. Following their breakup, Jacquez and Jeff Jones joined forces with Scott Morgan and Terry Trabandt (of the Rationals) to create Guardian Angel while Seanor and Koss kept on going as a duo, recording another Reprise album in the process.
Like many of their Motor City contemporaries of a quarter century ago, Savage Grace was poised to slip into the historical void despite fine records on a major label along with a killer live show. Luckily, they've avoided the abyss. In late 1997 the band re-formed with an altered lineup (Jacquez and Koss along with new members Mark Gougeon and Bill Gordon) but it was Jones who cemented their return by delivering a complete digital re-mastering of their two Reprise albums (plus "Ivy", one of several rare cuts which never ended up on an album) for "The Complete Savage Grace" from Amazing Music (33 & 1/3 Records) — a fitting "welcome back" for the band that proved having chops and playing kick-ass rock in Detroit weren't mutually exclusive qualities.
As the new Millennium unfolds, little has
come to light on activities including Seanor or Zack but Jacquez now leads
one of the brightest and tightest blues bands in the midwest -- Measured
Chaos -- with Gordon and Mitch Ryder alumnus Gougeon. Al has
also continuted to perform with the revamped Savage Grace 2k4 (which has
recently included local legend Suzie Woodman/Kaine) but sadly, no longer
with guitarist extraordinare Koss who passed away in October 2004.
Photo: Savage Grace 1970
courtesy Tom Waldecker Archives
Starting out with a tambourine, a beat-up Farfisia organ (apparently a
Gibson Firebird, too) and an irrepressible grin, Bob drifted in and out
of a few local groups (Doug Brown & The Omens, Town Criers) in the
early years, eventually linking up with Ed "Punch" Andrews (of Hideout
Club fame) who became his manager and producer. Questions remain
about Punch's role in Bob's career but you can't get one without the other
and certainly Andrews was instrumental in helping Seger forge his own musical
identity and getting his recording career launched.
There were a couple of earlier records but it was "East Side Story", a fiery, fuzz-laden, mini-epic about a tragic young love that delivered the first clue Bob would be a singing and songwriting force. Already gaining notoriety around Southeastern Michigan by performing seemingly everywhere at once — high-school dances, recreation centers and on the teen club circuit, it was that song and Bob's searing follow-up records "Persecution Smith", "Vagrant Winter" plus the regional hit "Heavy Music" which boosted his standings locally to that of a featured act and slowly began to extend his reputation outside of Michigan. Although none of those records hit nationally, they are far more raw, tougher and harder rockin' than most of his later work, entirely typical of the incredible energy Seger projected.
Regarded by most as the strongest singer
around the area (at least on a par with Mitch Ryder), it was on-stage that
things tended to unravel. Bob was pushing the boundaries at every turn
but his band 
often
showed signs that they couldn't keep pace (a problem that would plague
Seger for much of his early career). By late 1967 his original record label,
Cameo/Parkway had gone broke just as "Heavy Music" was released
(which ultimately prevented it from becoming a national hit) and a shakeup
was in order. Bob Seger and The Last Heard became the
Bob
Seger System, upon signing a Capitol contract in 1968 which produced
his best recording . . . ever. That record stands (along with the MC5's
first album) among the era's most significant evidence that Detroit's music
could be much more than the Motown sound — just listen to "Ramblin',
Gamblin' Man" or "2+2=?" from that first album.
From this point, the story of Seger's ups and downs as an entertainer/songwriter/celebrity are pretty well documented. That he was easily the most popular Michigan act of the late sixties might be disputable but certainly not unfounded. What remains true is that he was adored by his fans and commanded great respect among his musical peers, that he was incredibly hard-working and that his musical output from the era reflects the best amalgam of both energy and songwriting to emerge from the scene. A great talent then . . . and now.
Their performing repertoire consisted of mainly Top Forty hits by the Beatles, Stones and Beach Boys - capitalizing on their excellent harmonies. Their 15 minutes of fame came when they opened up for The Dave Clark Five at Ford Auditorium. They also opened for Sam the Sham and The Pharaohs, and appeared on Robin Seymour's Swinging Time on quite a few occasions. Another distinction in their career came when "We Gotta Go" knocked out Louie Louie's 40+ day winning streak on Keener's 1+3 nightly competition for that days favorite song.
Where are they now ?
Ron - a computer consultant in Charleston,
NC
Stu - a computer professor in upstate
NY
Marty - a recording engineer in Nashville
- moved to CA in recent years
Mark - a high school teacher in Southfield
As most know, Fieger went on to form
The
Knack in the mid 70's. For a bit more background on Sky, see
the
All
Music Guide profile on Doug.
“An idea conceived in December 1965 and born NOW – a Rock Reformation. The Southbound Freeway is the prophetic voice. They put back the guts and color that folk, blues and gospel had decreed to be rock n’ roll. All this while maintaining the creative legacy upheld by Dylan and the Beatles. A Monumental Undertaking.
Thus, strategic personnel shifts, late basement rehearsals hours of breathless panic, new amplifiers, words of encouragement, sheaves of new songs, brave vocal and instrumental shifts, bold test flights, painful one-point crashes, strategic head-bashing, tactful and tactless words and then – with a poit, a shudder and a squish, the Southbound Freeway exploded on the scene; full-grown, armor-clad they emerged screaming from the forehead of the Great Spirit of Coincidence.
The significance of the Southbound Freeway is that they incorporate so many varied influences, from classical to psychedelia and the result is a haunting, entrancing, vibrant and exciting sound – so unique that the hippies can classify it only as “bagless-bag”. Creativity plus! The sound revolves around the use of three-finger, folk-style lead picking, melodic percussion patters, and solid rock quality. The Freeway is on the move – an ingenious juxtaposition of folk, gospel, blues, rock and zaap-zowie – blam . . . instant Freeway.
But the Southbound Freeway is more than just a group of accomplished musicians. They’re folky, funky and they’re happening – ask the new youth of the Rock Generation”
Springing from the same influences
and the coffee-house circuit that produced the Spike Drivers, the Southbound
Freeway would be Detroit's other folk rock saga.
Founded by Marc Chover, who was already a well-respected performer/guitarist (in the style of Reverend Gary Davis), he had been playing since his pre-teen years and taught guitar at Joe Fava's studio. In the very early 1960's Marc became acquainted with the Somberg brothers who had a trio known as the Highlighters (as Marc said: "maybe beacuse Lenny was 6' 7" tall?"). All became friends and were active on the Detroit folk scene. In addition to teaching, Chover worked with Dennis Coffee on studio sessions between solo perfomances in the clubs. This led to an offer by Gordon Lightfoot — the legendary Canadian singer/songwriter — to join his backing band for a tour which Marc turned down. Instead, Marc and Lenny Somberg (roomates at the time) started Southbound Freeway . . . at the urging of Ted Lucas. As Marc puts it:
Together with studio musician John Morier, drummer Moller and the Somberg Brothers, the band is born. But, this lineup doesn't quite stick and almost immediately Morier departs. He is replaced by Larry Miller — another Detroit folk performer (with a soon-to-be-realized future in broadcasting) and SBF is finally off and running although Miller only lasts a matter of months before following his calling in radio leads him to San Francisco. They continue minus the third guitar and cut their first record — "Crazy Shadows" / "Revelations" on the Swan label."We started the SBF because of a comment made by Ted Lucas regarding how much fun he was having in the Spike Drivers. Ted was a great catalyst on the Detroit scene for more than 20 years and was the instigator of the Southbound Freeway."
By the fall of '66, the group had gained a fan following and regular playing dates around town. In a November 1966 article in the Fifth Estate, writer/editor Franklin Bach (yep, the same [Frank] Bach who'd eventually become lead vocalist for Up) had this to say about Southbound Freeway:
"I remember that there was a time not too long ago when . . . there was very little of anything attracting customers to hear live music (in Detroit) . . . There was very little competition, creativity or excitement . . . a vicious circle.
Witing in the Detroit Free Press of December 9, 1966 Loraine Alterman added:That circle has been joyously busted wide open . . .The Freeway are something else. These cats are able to project a sound on their own, a personality through their quips, their stage presence, and especailly their music . . . This is rock at its best, an art form unleashed and unafraid, put together by some of the most creative people walking around town today. The music fills the air, creates a vibrating atmosphere of sound, flows through ears into brains as visual things flow through eyes. It's easy to lose yourself completely."
Since this was the time that the word 'psychedelic' had been stretched, pulled, punched and bent to fit anything going on in rock music, the band — who'd already been called "The"The guys don't put any label on their brand of music since they learn and get ideas by all kinds of music from 16th centruy lute pieces to the blues. Some of it can be called psychedelic".
first psychedelic group to have fun with itself" — came up with
a satirical response to the overly repeated use of the word to describe
everything . . . including a special kind of auto dealer. "Psychedelic
Used Car Lot Blues" was the band's next 45, produced and recorded by
Fred Saxon for Ralph Terrana's Tera Shirma label. The record was
a minor home-town hit, recalls Chover: "On the charts in Detroit
for about a month. Made it to #108 in Billboard. [We] Appeared on Swingin'
Time 2 or 3 times a week." Unfortunately, a minor chart
sensation was all it was destined to be, despite the initial momentum of
having Robin Seymour pronounce it a "Hit" and having SBF featured on his
TV show. It seems that, among other issues, Tera Shirma had failed
to coordinate enough pressings for the release and copies were unable to
reach most record stores until the initial radio play fervor was already
past.
Missing out on a record break signaled another round of personnel shifts and the band decided to seek its fortune in New York next, managing to secure gigs at some of the better known spots such as Cafe A-Go-Go, Night Owl (where the Blues Magoos and Lovin' Spoonful got started) and lesser venues in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Unfortunately, most of what was going to emerge from the early Atlantic Coast folk-rock scene at the time had already happened (Jim Kweskin Jug Band, The Cyrcle, etc.) and to make matters worse, drummer Weijecha also departs.
Looking for one more grab at the brass ring, the band tries the left coast next. Again, Marc Chover remembers in his ususal stream-of-consciousness manner: "Band moves to L.A. Pete Wooman joins group. Band breaks up. Woodman meets Meat Loaf and forms "Meatloaf Soul / Popcorn Blizzard". The Somberg brothers stay on in Southern California but Chover doesn't, returning to Detroit in 1969 to start the Horny Toads with Ted Lucas.
Here's a brief update on the various
SBF band members.
TED
LUCAS - Guitar, Vocals, SongsThe Spike Drivers got their start in the coffeehouse/clubs like the Chessmate, Raven and Living End that originated earlier but co-existed with the teen hangouts. The band included the popular Ted Lucas, who had been one of the stalwarts of the folk-music scene around Detroit for years although it was Keelan who sang lead on much of their material, with the Browns doing vocals on most others. They were heavily rooted in folk, blues and classical music in contrast to many of the other Michigan bands at the time and, as one point of comparison put it, their sound was more evocative of the emerging West-Coast styles than it was full of Motor City roar.
Sid Brown, one of the founding (and enduring) members, irreverently tells the story on the beginnings of the group:
"The Spike Drivers were named by Marycarol in SF in 1964 and we formed up with another couple Joel and Jill Myerson. The name has two meanings: The overt one is that Ted and I spent an evening with Mississippi John Hurt where we joined him in a 30-minute version of the John Henry ballad he titled "Spikedriver Blues". But one evening in SF — without the illustrious megalomanical Lukas on the scene — Joel and his brother Billy came over in a smack haze with a new song. After hearing this paranoid ditty, Marycarol suggested they form a band called "spikedrivers".According to Larry Miller — one time member of the Southbound Freeway (and arguably the auteur of "underground radio" whem he took his eclectic Detroit radio show to KMPX in San Francisco during 1966):"So the SDs could have been the first folk rock band in SF, but as usual Teddy was late. After all, his nickname was Lead Tukas. We got tired of waiting for him, went back to Detroit while waiting to emmigrate to Australia. Ted came back to Detroit and he, Marycarol, Keelan and I formed the SDs. One thing I can say for him is "when it came to humility, he was tops." Only Teddy could have the chutzpah to walk into the Roostertail and bullshit them into giving us the best paying and most prestigious gig in town. So it became "The Spike Drivers - direct from San Francisco!" I joked to Teddy at that time, "we're starting at the top and working our way down". Yes, we were the prequel to Spinal Tap. . . ".
"The Spike Drivers were everybody's favorite psychedelic folk-rock group and inspired the rest of us on the folk scene to go electric. The guys were long-haired and bearded, and they liked to wear matching paisley shirts. They were threatened with violence from time to time for their hippy look."For a short time, the Spike Drivers looked to be on the edge of breaking out of the Detroit area when they recorded "High Time" — on the Om label in 1966. It was picked up for national distribution by Warner/Reprise who backed it with "Baby Won't You Let Me Tell You How I Lost My Mind" later that year. That record enjoyed some regional success in the East and pockets of the Midwest but was ultimately a no-show on the national charts and following another Reprise 45 which endured the same fate, the original incarnation of the Spike Drivers soon went their separate ways."The first recording session they did, either late '65 or very early '66, was 2 songs: "Can't Stand the Pain" and "I'm So Glad". (These songs were more or less co-authored by Lucas, Keelan and Sid Brown.) I don't think they ever managed to get that first session released on record, but I could be wrong. They also went to Chicago and cut another session, recording Lucas' legendary original "Often I Wonder" b/w ???. This did get pressed and released locally, but not much airplay. They also cut some sessions in NY for WB, but I'm not sure what songs they did, although I think a single was released.- it may have been a remake of "I'm so glad " and "Can't stand the pain"."
Lucas returned to his former career as an acoustic solo performer, intermittently performing with Richard Keelan in the folk-duo Misty Wizard and eventually formed another rock band — the Horny Toads — in early 1970 while Brown continued on with the Spike Drivers. As Sid puts it:
"In 1967 after Lucas surreptiously made a deal with out manager Leonard Stogel to get rid of Marycarol, Larry Cruse and me, we reformed the SD's with Marshall Rubinoff (lead singer/rhythm guitar), and Ron Cobb (bass/keyboards). It was this group that did gigs at the Grandee and the Megalopolitan Peace Pipe Powwow with J. Sinclair. Marshall died in a motorcycle accident in SF in '68(?)".Another of Detroit's demi-legends, the Spike Drivers managed to capture a mood, a moment, and produced a distinctly Detroit-style take on the folk-to-rock movement. And fortunately, the recorded history of the group survived quite nicely, thanks to Sid (and an avid collector in Switzerland). Here's a review of the recently released (european, vinyl) album:
THE SPIKE-DRIVERS – Folk-rocking psychedelic innovation from the Motor CitySid and Marycarol Brown ultimately settled in Berkley in 1968 where they continued to make music and pursue all manner of interesting cultural activities and the list of Sid's credits is almost too long to mention: Teaching at the Ali Akbar College of Music, mingling with the icons of sixties counter-culture, forming the Peace Bread & Land Band which released three albums. The prolific Mr. Brown recorded a couple more records on his own as well as video-music productions. And before his untimely passing in June 2005, Sid was also involved with psychological counseling because, as he said: " . . .mostly I just do Hilarity Theraplay empowering co-creativity 'cuz "hilarity brings clarity".
in the mid 60's (RD; 2002)With such a descriptive title, perfectly capturing the general mood of this
Detroit band, this collection almost needs no review at all. You’ll be
assured to this fact as soon as you hear the opening lines of their ’66
debut single’s b-side (the longest single track at the time?) “Often I
wonder” or (apropriately titled) “Strange mysterious times”, both with a
doze of (U.S.)”Kaleidoscopic” darkness combined with eastern influenced
folk-psych. Even when they get a bit more conventional musically, like in
the ‘Spoonfulish “Baby won’t you let me tell you how I lost my mind” or the
Hendrix-gone-folky “Blue low Sunday”, the lyrical concept is still a bit
moody. Though they’ve never reached the commercial hights proportional to
their possibilities, the one that should’ve taken them to the toppermost of
the poppermost is their super-jangly a-side of their debut called “High
time”, and besides all of these, there’s also an unexpected goofy,
Bonzo-Doggish take on the Californian saga, “Baby can I wear your clothes”.
The Spike-Drivers’ second edition was a bit “wilder and freer” though not
necessarily “stranger and funnier” as band member Sid Brown puts it in the
liner notes. “Portland town” continues the eerie folk-psych sound of the
early singles in a kinda Slick-y, way with an addition of almost classical
string arrangement, to be followed with a coupla classic psych tracks, with
an omnipresent middle eight fuzzed-out rave-up, like in “Everybody’s got
that feeling”, the spiritual “I know” or “Time will never die”, and you’ll
even find a bit of a honky tonk finger pickin’ in “Grocery store”. The third
segment of the CD is made of two folk-rockin’ ’65 demos, “Can’t stand the
pain” and the Holly-ish “I’m so glad”.
Another funny description of the ‘Drivers recorded output comes from
another Sid Brown quote : “pharmacoexistental explorations of love”,
unfortunately leading them to “suck-cess”, which really isn’t where they
belong.
Goran Obradovic / POPISM radio show, Yugoslavia
Indeed it did, Sid, Thanks for the
brilliance, the music . . . and the laughs.
Aaron Booker
for the Spike Drivers Photo
Marc Chover
for initial background
Sid Brown
for his humorous,
pull-no-punches
recollections
and
Larry Miller
additional band
and recording
information
Swapping a couple of names (Intrigues, Excells) before becoming Springwell, this wasn't a band that anyone would ever mistake for say, The Stooges. They played a rockin', musically tight mix of a lighter, more vocal oriented style which was just becoming popular at the time -- a repertoire full of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Beatles, Zombies and Hollies tunes to which they added even more intricate arrangements, as well as performing a handful of originals. All the players could sing and their harmonizing was second to none.
The band underwent one personnel shake up just as they were signing with Parrot for their record deal. Drummer Bowman departed (but not by choice, as some stories have it) and in the re-grouping, Springwell also added a (unknown) keyboard player.
Guitarist / singer Reuhl went on to a career in education, becoming a physics teacher at N. Farmington HS but also continued to write and produce music as a solo artist. According to reports, he has independently released several albums.
The band formed in Ann Arbor in late 1968 and lasted until early 1970. A youthful (17 year old) Roger founded the group and played bass while his younger brothers Ben and Larry contributed angular, distorted guitar and weirdly off-kilter drumming respectively, with Ben also handling vocals. Kirchen, brother of famed guitarist Billy Kirchen, added skronky horn blasts and collectively, the band seemed to be approaching some unknown musical gestalt -- perhaps Skip Spence meeting Jeff Beck at Frank Zappa's house? The result was spread out over two independently recorded albums that were finally released in the late 1990's
Following college at Cal Arts, Roger began achieving fame when he moved to Boston and put together Mission of Burma -- a seminal 80's band which mixed punk sensibility and intensity with modern compositional modes.
Taken from a Roger Miller interview by Chunklet Magazine:
"We played about 15 shows in a year and a half. Most of them were parties, and we actually played a few shows. We did a show with Carnal Kitchen which was the saxophone player that played on LA Blues. And then we played a couple of shows at the Big Steel Ballroom which [is where] I saw the MC5. But, we never really garnered a lot of attention. We didn’t have that kind of super raw energy, like the MC5 or the Stooges. We were a little bit more English, more Syd Barrett-oriented. More intellectual or something. It wasn’t easily apparent that we belonged anywhere".
was among the most musically industrious, challenging and prolific of all
the local groups.
Led by the brothers Quackenbush, SRC got its start when their band The Fugitives grabbed vocalist Richardson from another up-and-coming group of the time — The Chosen Few— and affected a name change to bring them up-to-date as the Scot Richard Case.
Deeply influenced by groups like Pretty Things, The Move, The Nice, Procol Harum and even early Cream, SRC nimbly managed to distill a Detroit-style interpretation of the British progressive movement within their own compositions. As Scot Richard Case, they recorded three sides for for Jeep Holland's A², label before brevity led to the SRC acronym. Their local hit record for A-Squared was a cover of Cream's version of "I'm So Glad"( b/w "Who Is That Girl"). Following a rather acrimonious parting with Holland, the third cut — "Get The Picture" — was eventually released on the back side of a Rationals 45 under the name "The Old Exciting Scot Richard Case".
During their time as the 'Case, their stage
show could also be something of a visual extravaganza. Amid the Carnaby
Street-style threads worn by the rest of the group, was the famous (or,
perhaps infamous) "electric" suit that singer 
Richardson donned periodically, containing hundreds of miniature lights
that pulsed with the music — pretty novel for the time. Their huge
popularity on the club circuit, challenging music, intensity on stage and
a local hit record nurtured a sizeable and devoted fan following around
the area. But like so many other locally renowned bands of the era,
SRC never quite escaped Detroit's chrome-toothed bite on its talent.
They made three uneven but quite interesting albums for Capitol Records that mixed Richardson's wistful (if wavering) vocals, dominant organ arrangements, psychedelic playfulness and copious amounts of of Gary Q's legendary guitar growl, managing an almost-hit 45 with "Black Sheep" from the first album (cover image at left). Considering how dilligently SRC tried to expand on the foundation of their British influences, it isn't too surprising they ended up becoming almost better known for their records in Europe than anywhere in the US, except Michigan. Although the group continued to enjoy something of a cult following among the paisley-clad, the albums were never what anyone could call big sellers, leading Capitol to drop the band by 1971.
At that stage, they were heavily involved with a state-of-the-art recording facility at their country home (Morgan Sound Theater) but the band couldn't help but recognize the passing of an era and in response, SRC gave it one more go with a stripped-down, harder-rocking stance under a new name, new management and a new record label. As Blue Scepter, they delivered a strong first recording (a 45) with "Out In The Night" and "Gypsy Eyes" in 1972 but alas, that record flopped and as SRC closed up shop, one of the true instigators of the Detroit rock scene was consigned to memory.
The Blue Scepter recordings survived and ended up on an SRC record, appropriately entitled "Lost Masters", released on One-Way Records in 1993. More song-oriented, tougher and energy driven than their earlier work, it is a timeless rock record and exists as the unfortunate epitaph for a band that always tried to stay a step ahead.
For a distinctly personal viewpoint on the importance of SRC, check out (Assemblage drummer) John Orlich's recent book.
Epilogue. Contributor Ken Gibbsadded this footnote to the SRC saga:
"Scot Richardson moved to California a few years ago and hooked up with Ray Manzarek [of the Doors] for a release entitled "Revelation Blues". Great CD!".Gary Quackenbush and brother Glenn along with Steve Lyman, Ray Goodman and others from the band have turned up on stage at several events over the last couple of years (most notably the Knights of the Grande benefits) -- for details on these 'reunion' shows and a whole lot more, visit the one and only SRC site on the web.
Marcus Terry, Stix and Stoned's original drummer, headed south to an interest in Florida. He was replaced by Jimmy Hunter (who's gone on to an illustrious career as a studio/session/touring drummer). John Coury, their bass/keyboard player stayed on for awhile (John was also in Sky with Doug Feiger and later went on to write "End of the Innocence" with Don Henley) with new drummer Hunter in place, but eventually followed other callings.
Lewis put togehter a new ensemble, continuing on in the old format of including many personal touches and humor to the show, under the name of Bobby Lewis and the Cracker Jack Band. Lewis is something of a Detroit legend and owing to his musical abilities and length of time in the business, and it appears that anybody who's anybody knows Bobby. One night at the Moustache, Jose Fleciano stopped in and did a couple songs with him, as had Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton on other occasions.
Their gig at Your Moustache ended when the bar was sold several years back but Lewis (and a revamped version of the band) has continued to play out around the metro Detroit area, albeit sporadically, over the years.
The above lineup info appears on their 2nd LP entitled "Benediction" (R538L ) on Rare Earth Records in 1972 which was produced by Andrew Loog Oldham (of Rolling Stones fame).
Their 1st LP, "Sunday Funnies" (RS526) was also on the Rare Earth label. It's unusual cover features what, at first glance, appears to be rendered as a "comic" strip, but upon closer inspection, each of the panels depicts an enigmatic and sullen scene in the grim manner of Hieronymus Bosch, captioned by a song title. The scenes are from a painting by Flemish artist "Bruegel the Elder", aka Pieter Bruegle, called "The Triumph of Death."
Before those two records, however, Sunday Funnies were another of the many struggling club-bands that were trying to get a toe-hold in the area. They were "discovered" by Larry Feldman (Russ Gibb's partner in the Grande Ballroom) who was managing the Rationals career at the time (post-Jeep). Larry found the group playing the Rathskeller (an A² bar) and brought the Rationals in to hear the band and offer their opinions. Enthusiasm by the Rationals prompted Larry to sign Sunday Funnies and the two groups performed on the same bill many times. According to Rationals drummer Bill Figg: "The band had a great g-player named Danny Raines at that time. He later started his own band.".
Raines gravitated to the bass and (along with Tom Neme of Seger's "Noah" album fame) was one of the founding members and vocalist of Boones Farm (which later became Moonstone) — a well-known cover-tune act that worked the bar circuit around Detroit far into the seventies. He later produced Contemporary Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman.
Richard Kosinski has also had an extended
career in popular music, most notably a three-album stint with the under-appreciated
band Wah Koo in the seventies and much studio/session work with
a variety of R & B and Jazz greats.
Because of one shining example of the sixties Michigan garage/punk genre.
Their recordings of "Funny Things Floating" b/w "Eight
Day Blues" appeared on the early eighties compilation LP Michigan
Mixture, Vol. 1 and show up again on the recently released CD Michigan
Mayhem. According to Fuzz, Acid and
Flowers:
"The second of these is very garagey with some good guitar work in places",That seminal record was the product of a self-financed effort by the band which included studio time and a stack of pressings for a few hundred bucks. It was recorded in early 1967 (while they were still in high school) as a demo disk in a local 2-track studio, cut "live" with no overdubs or sweetening other than a bit of reverb on the microphones. It was their only recorded output and while many copies of the record were given away at their live shows at the area high schools and dance clubs, most of the records were destroyed by 'sailing' them — Frisbee style — off a hillside (by the band) making the existent copies of the 45 incredibly rare.
Subsequent to the recording, Sweet Cherry drastically revamped their sound, re-emerging as a strictly instrumental unit — playing all original compositions and extended jams with Carli on saxophone instead of vocals. Abandoning the constraints of playing the usual cover tunes, their long improvisations demonstrated their prowess as musicians and the band got kudos for their originality but it turned out to be their double-edged sword. In skipping the familiar repertoire, live playing opportunities became almost impossible to find and without regular gigs, they never developed the significant fan following that might have pushed them into the upper echelon of Michigan bands. Within a year Sweet Cherry was no more than a memory . . . but for that primal recording.
For those Detroiters who remember Robin Seymour's Swingin' Time TV music show of the era, bandmember Carli and his girlfriend Mary were often among the dancing regulars.
Thyme's sound might have had parallels with groups such as early Guess Who -- Lots of silky electric guitar (punctuated with fuzzy solos) and perhaps even with the Byrds for jangly 12-string work, deftly executed vocals and sweet harmonies but they approached things on their own terms, choosing exquisite and obscure material to cover in addition to their few originals. Regarded as a highly professional (albeit not terribly exciting) stage presence, they were regulars at Ann Arbor's Fifth Dimension club and Thyme was frequently booked as an opening act at Grande Ballroom shows, including setting the stage for Janis and Big Brother in October of 1968.
On that particular evening, Thyme received a standing ovation for their set-closer, a stellar cover of the Moody Blues' "Nights In White Satin" which may have caused another little bit of trepidation for Joplin and Company, who were already somewhat leery of being overshadowed by Michigan's local talent.
"I heard later that night that Janis was not pleased to follow us after that" recalls vocalist Underwood. "Don't know if that's true or not but it makes for a good story".Another deserving group who (for reasons similar to those of the Rationals) also failed to land a deal with a major label, Thyme did record some very tasty 45's on the A² label (some of which were picked up by Bang records), including the Neil Diamond penned "Love to Love" — their first release, the rare and intriguingly psychedelic "Somehow" with it's standout guitar solos and an absolutely splendid cover of the
Zombies
"Time of the Season" which became a minor local hit after
Underwood took over the lead vocals.
While Vandenberg and Optner had checked
out at various points (Optner to join Bob Hodge in the Catfish band), Thyme
called it a day when their chief instrumentalist,
Ralph
Cole, left the group in 1969 to take up the guitar spot in Canadian
Skip Prokop's new project; the plodding, horn-driven Lighthouse,
later bringing bassist Wilmot along (after Al left SRC) for an album or
two. Ralph's estimable guitar work can be heard throughout the catalog
of Lighthouse recordings but (outside of Canada, anyway) his most remembered
work was the opening guitar riff (plus a snarling Dick Wagner-style solo)
on "One Fine Morning"
— Lighthouse's 1971 hit record.
"Van
Winkle" KNAPE - Organ / Pedals, Vocals
Toss
one honkin' Hammond organ into the blender with a drum kit, add two laid-back
country boys who knew how to extract every bit of music in those instruments,
crank it up and you've got another of those "only-in-the-sixties" recipies.
If Teegarden & Van Winkle had shown up a few years earlier or later,
they might have been cranking out 'lounge' music in hotel bars but thanks
to a one-in-a-million chance encounter with a Detroit labor/political organizer
named Jim Cassily, they got dragged from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Detroit and
hung around for four sweet records, a multitude of great stage shows, the
birth of bib-overalls as hip and a whole lot more fun than any organ+drums
duo should have ever delivered.
Skip and David truly had a special skill for assimilating the complete history of rock 'n' roll — from fifties R&B through the Beatles, blues, country music . . . you name it. Their originals reflected this but when they grabbed ahold of some obsure tune, they could generally make their version the definitive interpretation. T & VW didn't just have a knack for covering songs, they owned them, as surely as if the writer had intended it for organ and drums.
Among their adventures while calling Detroit home was a left-field hit record in "God, Love and Rock 'n' Roll" and the formation of a relationship with Bob Seger who performed with them (and/or them with him, depending on your perspective) for a long run of shows in the early seventies. That story and everything else you should know about David and Skip appeared in John Wolley's insightful article in the January 1998 issue of DISCoveries Magazine.
Guitarist Bill Long from the Tidal Waves went on to form another local group — Ellie Pop, about which little is known although they did get a record deal with Mainstream and one album. After some work with Dick Wagner, Jon Wearing took up residence with Frijid Pink in their final stages (for the Earth Omen album until they dissolved) and then put together a fine R&B-style group -- Deluxe -- which found some success touring as a opening-act band in the mid '70's
Cream / Mountain tradition and full of Detroit energy and attitude
(even when everybody else was starting to tone-down). Targal had the vocal
chords for serious rock singing and Drew Abbot's supercharged guitar work
ranked with the best in the city. The band also had a reputation
as the 'hosts with the most' for the legendary parties at their farm.
Nearly lost in the fading shadows of that era, they should have amounted
to much more than a sidebar in the career of Abbott, longtime lead guitarist
in Seger's Silver Bullet Band, but a bad record deal sealed their fate.
Like Frost, they also were heavily courted by and signed with Vanguard Records resulting in Third Power's very fine LP, "Believe" from 1970. Despite production and support by the legendary Sam Charters, Vanguard's utter lack of comprehension of the work (they didn't really know what to do with the band and dropped them after hearing the recording), poor distribution and non-existent promotion erased any chance the record had to stand on its considerable merit. The album sold scads of copies around town but flopped everywhere else, although it became a minor collectable overseas by the late 1980's and was subsequently bootlegged in Europe (now available in CD format).
While Abbot was serving in the Silver Bullet
ranks, Jem Targal eventually recorded a solo album, "Lucky Guy",
several years after the demise of the band and has become quite renowned
as an artist
over the years. A bit more of the Third Power story along with a
bio of Targal can be found here.
You decide. There's a ton of evidence on (and the whole Up story in the liner notes to) "Killer Up" (on CD & 10" LP) available from Alive/Total Energy Records: The 90's home of Detroit's high-energy musical heritage.
Further information on both Brat and Uprising
is anticipated shortly.
While many Detroit bands from the era had fleeting brushes with fame (and a few more waved as it passed them by), one can only conclude it was White Mud who deliberately sideswiped it in a Saint Clair Shores parking lot and then got out and kicked its puny ass!
Read
on . . .
The first iteration of WMP was a take-no-prisoners, Birmingham/Bloomfield area combo, veteran of the Grande Ballroom stage, headliner on the club circuit and outdoor festivals throughout the area, which mined the rich vein of electrified blues/boogie being popularized by the Yardbirds, Paul Butterfield, Canned Heat and other practicioners of the genre.
The other Wilson Mower Pursuit was a unique sounding quintet with a formidable range of material, built around a powerful female vocalist, deft original songwriting and mythic/metaphysical themes. This Pursuit was concocted in late 1968 by the manager of the original group as a sure-bet, can’t-miss, next-big-thing in Detroit rock, which maybe they should have become, but as history sadly notes, never did.
Like the Stooges, SRC, Third Power and the MC5, all the players in WMP shared a residence-cum-rehearsal studio. Interestingly, all were trained musicians — unusual for that period of time in Detroit, which was as much about energy as it was skill. Koschtial was a proficient multi-instrumentalist and Korinek gave lessons on guitar and banjo while also teaching music theory. Founding member and bassist Burwell reflected on the high level of talent in his band's guitar players:
Having a guitarist who could master licks of the great blues artists did not necessarily mean Wilson Mower Pursuit was ready to stand toe-to-toe with their heroes, howerver. Burwell recalls such an incident as the band began getting better slots at Detroit's permier concert hall:"George came from a strong musical background. His father was an accomplished musician and co-writer for the Johnny Carson show. Paul was what you would call a 'natural born musician', as he had the gift of 'perfect pitch'. Paul heard notes like most people see color, so for him, to master the likes of Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield and B.B. King was only a matter of time and practice"
That little embarrassment was shrugged off and throughout the next year, the Pursuit scaled the ladder toward the peak of the local scene, making the rounds of all the major venues locally. Playing the small clubs with Seger and the Amoby Dukes, outdoor events such as the Sunday concerts at Gallup Park in Ann Arbor with the MC5. At the Grande, they opened for The Byrds, Moby Grape, Procol Harum, Love and others. Burwell recalls how their own legion of fans began to swell during this period:"As fate would have it, [a couple of] the gigs we played at the Grande Ballroom, were headlined by Albert King and B.B. King. You can imagine our shock when we learned we were going to open for the greatest blues guitarists in the world! Needless to say, we were excited. The thing that is most vivid about the B.B. King concert, is that we finished our set with '"Rock Me Baby'" ala Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart. And what do you suppose B.B. opened his set with? His version of the same song. George just looked at me and said, "Do you see a crack we can fall into?".
A personnel shift occured when Franco left to play in the more-successful Ormandy. To fill the void, they recruitedNear the end of our tenure, we had a solid wall of fans leaning against the stage doing the "Fried Hockey Boogie" as that became our closing number. In fact, on one of those nights that we shared the stage with Ted Nugent and the Amboy Dukes, right after their release of "Journey to the Center of the Mind", Ted hauled us back up on stage, and we all played 'the boogie', until they pulled the plug on us. And in the end, it seems that what we became best known for was some primitive ditty off a Canned Heat album. But that was what being part of our crowd was all about. As George so eloquently put it with a bottle of Ripple held high, "Boogie till the break of day".
Jim
Butler, the drummer from Dave's old group The Gang, who's style
drew directly from Keith Moon of the Who. With the performing
lineup again stabilized, things looked promising for WMP to break out of
the Detroit scene, if only they could get a shot with the right recording
contract. Though the blues remained their passion, songwriting efforts
were beginning to emerge that pointed in a different direction. "Freedom
Machine", an original by Koschtial had overtones of what came to
be known as Heavy Metal and other compositions such as "She Makes
Me Happy" and Burwell's "Lights" had great commercial
potential while one of their best-remembered songs was a novelty tune —
"Noah's
Nark Ark", a song that had more in common with Southbound
Freeway's "Psychedelic Used Car Lot Blues" than anything by
John Lee Hooker. Although they hadn't lost focus, the desire to obtain
a record deal was forcing them to broaden their horizons somewhat beyond
the blues. According to Burwell, not everybody was sold on the new
materials:
"There were others which some in the group decided were 'too commercial'. That attitude cost us an audition with Capitol Records."
In what should have become the happy ending of the WMP story, something bizarre happened at this juncture and it all turned out just a little different."But, the Pursuit was supposed to be about blues and the psychedelic sound. So we stuck to our guns and decided to hold out for Electra or the like. Eventually, we were noticed by a man who was managing the Grande for a while. His name was Tom Wright, and he had been the manager and photographer for the Who. He listened to us play one night at the Grande, and came out to our house to talk to us. Within two weeks he had gone to New York and gathered the paperwork to sign us to Track Records.
While Wright (an art-school chum
of Pete Townsend who some say was also responsible for getting the Who
to play the U.S. premerier performance of "Tommy" at the
Grande Ballroom) was off getting their contract arranged, the group went
through an alarming metamorphosis, the likes of which was unprecedented
in Motor City rock music . . . or anywhere.
A few weeks earlier, drummer Jim Butler had left for another opportunity and a new drummer was located by their manager Dick Sloss (their former equipment handler). At the same time, Sloss also found himself facing a dilemma: Unexpectedly, he encountered an opportunity to recruit up-and-coming vocalist Stoney Murphy from her bar-band and couldn't let the chance escape. He added her to the group, immediately displacing O'Brien. Stoney brought her own bass player which forced Burwell out and guitarist/singer Kroinek made a hasty exit when he saw the direction the band was taking.
End of Wilson Mower Pursuit? Hardly. The WMP story continued but, because this chapter closed so bizrrely and abruptly all those years ago, Robert wanted to be sure the people involved in that phase of their success were properly acknowledged:
"It is worth mentioning that we could not have done it without the support of many people. Dick Sloss took over for Ray Skop as manager. Ray's dream was to have another Beatles, which The Shaggs eventually tried to provide for him. And Dick was always above and beyond the call of duty. He was always there for us and at times, literally took a bruising at the hands of some drunken jerks at a VFW hall in western Michigan.
"Then there were our great and loyal friends who tirelessly trucked around our equipment and made sure it all sounded right. Jim Toth, Maxie, A.J. Lateral, Tom McAlpine, Jaimie Lemone and 'The Grape', who was our original roadie. And thanks to Jeep Holland and Russ Gibb, without whom all of this would not have been possible."
Robert (rburwell@connext.net) would
love hearing from any other members of the original band if you're out
there somewhere .
— In Memory of: George Korinek, Tom McAlpine & Dick Sloss —
|
"I met Paul Koschtial; we became best friends and started writing songs together. Their manager, Dick Sloss, who had started an underground news paper called Diva, would do a light show for the Pursuit and I'd help out with that. In spite of a decent following at their gigs, they started changing band members. The drummer, Jim, was the first to quit and was replaced by Steve Boughton from the east side of Detroit. Dave was then replaced by female singer Sheryl "Stoney" Murphy. They brought in Jo Bedo on bass and I took over rhythm guitar. We had 3 days to get ready for our first gigs at the Crow's Nest East and the Hideout. Man, Jo and I were nervous but we pulled it off and had a good time.,"With such a drastic lineup change, the bluesy musical footsteps of the earlier band weren't about to be followed and the original materials soon became predominant, arranged to take advantage of Stoney's robust singing skills as well as the additional vocal possibilities that Stahl and Bedo offered. Rick remembers how the the evolving band began to find its own unique direction based on a mutual interest in the occult among bandmates.
| "Wilson Mower
Pursuit had a reputation of being a group of Rock 'n' Roll metaphysical
seekers and spiritualists. This was, in fact, true and we were known for
holding seances and consulting the Ouija board in our dressing rooms at
our shows. We had our astrological signs done up in satin and hung them
over our amps like the MC5 hung the American flag over theirs (see publicity
photo). I guess some people may have thought we were a bit spooky, but
we thought it was a lot of fun and I wrote several of our songs about this
subject matter. Some of our popular originals were "Solar Boat Ride",
"Whisper Her Name" and Wheatgerm's "Freedom Machine".
"We did a lot of clubs and high schools and we did a good job at a big show at Cobo Hall and got a great push from that. The very best place to play was, of course, the Grande Ballroom. That's where all the true Hippy magic took place and we played there many times. After that we did all the great Pop Festivals around the state, like Flint Community College, Saugatuk, The First Detroit Rock 'n' Roll Revival and Olympia. The only one we missed was Goose Lake. Those gigs were the most fun." |
 |
"Seger's manager, Punch Andrews, did a little recording with us but nothing was ever finished or put out, just a demo tape."
"After a nice long run with the Pursuit, Wheatgerm and I left and were replaced by Skip Julius (from the Red,White and Blues Band) on piano and a guy named Joe (I think) on lead guitar. This lineup didn't last too long and the band decided to call it quits. Wheaty and I were asked back for one more big going away gig and that was that."
With the last incarnation of Wilson
Mower Pursuit now relegated to history, Stoney moved on to acting, a brief
recording/performing career teamed with Meat Loaf and then into
a backing singer spot with Bob Seger, John Hiatt and others before joining
Little
Feat several years ago. Wheatgerm Koschital relocated to California
and Steve Bougton reportedly went to work for Chrysler. Jo Bedo was
said to be involved with writing and publishing books on the metaphysical
and Songwriter/Guitarist Stahl joined Pendragon, another local band
and worked around town for a couple years before returning to his folk
roots as a solo performer. Rick relocated to Colorado in the early
eighties where he then turned to visual art along with music and hese days
he operates Astral Turf Productions, which manages his musical endeavors
(a CD of his songs is forthcoming) and a thriving graphic arts business
creating CD covers and promotional work (posters) for other performers.
To
much of the world, Detroit's music from the sixties was largely defined
by the sounds of Motown Records and it would be ludicrous to deny Motown's
influence on the rock music produced in and around the city back then.
Yet, outside of a passing nod or two, the Motor City's rock revolution
barely left a mark over at Hitsville USA. Very few performers could
operate comfortably in both worlds but Lyman Woodard (as well as Dennis
Coffee) falls into the limited number that managed a certain degree of
cross-over between the two.
Already veterans of Detroit's jazz lounges by the time Russ Gibb swung open the Grande's doors in late '66, Woodard's trio also became fairly regular performers — even headliners (see postcard) — at the ballroom in those early days, thanks to John Sinclair's influence. Woodard himself was a figure in the Detroit Artists Workshop from the beginning.
In the midst of the fuzz-toned, guitar-driven sonic assaults that emanated from the Grande's stage, Woodard and his trio (and ensemble -- occasionally a larger variation of the group with horns) gave the crowd tight, jazz-tinged R&B, blues and instrumental flights in the Jimmy Smith/Jack McDuff vein with energy and verve, making them unlikely (but not unthinkable) favorites.
Woodard and Coffee also got their bid to be a part of Motown history. Lyman landed the enviable position of musical director for Martha and the Vandellas in the early 1970's and he's also led numerous groups while recording several albums over the years. In fact, a version of the Lyman Woodard Trio continues to perform around Detroit to this day.
Guitarist Coffee also achieved considerable success in the recording industry over the years, both as a session guitarist and producer at Motown and on numerous independent recordings. His resume includes the national hit record "Scorpio" in the mid 1970's.
were
another Motor City music story of semi-epic proportions. In addition to
having the historic distinction of being in the opening weekend lineup
at the Grande Ballroom, the band scored over the airwaves with a cool version
of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" that became a regional
hit (and it still sounds fresh even today; check it out on Rhino's
Nuggets
CD set) — a result of their winning the Michigan version of the
Vox Battle of the Bands contest, held at Artist's Music Center in Dearborn
in 1966. Even then, a Woolies live set sounded like the history of
rock 'n' roll, quoted directly from all the best of the Sun & Chess
records. If there were such a thing as the archetype for the midwestern
bar-band that sweated out set after set of rousing, rocking blues, there's
little doubt the Woolies could have been among the models.
Possessing a strong instrumentalist in their leader and harp/keyboard player Bob Baldori, the Woolies frequently provided the instrumental backing for their heroes (Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters) when they were touring in the area. In fact, their relationships with these blues/rock pioneers provided a thirty-year career for "Boogie" Bob and the band.
Original vocalist Stormy Rice departed early on ('68 or thereabouts) for a solo career which never quite materialized while the nucleus of the band (Bob, Jeff & Bee) kept on with the Baldoris handling most of the vocals thereafter. In replacing Rice, they added multi-instrumentalist Groendal, about whom Bob had these words:
"Zocko was an incredible musician. He could play every instrument in the band as well or better than the rest of us. Except maybe harp. He usually played bass and guitar, and sang backup."For a good representation of a Woolies stage show with this lineup, their album "Live at Lizards" from a 1973 club date catches the band at a peak with some seriously hot rockin' tunes, particularly the "Berry Medley" and "Bye Bye Boogie".
During their Midwest heyday, the Woolies had one of the larger (and hugely loyal) fan followings in the region, released three albums and nearly a dozen 45's, most on their own Spirit label and they toured relentlessly — on their own and as backing musicians. Although they started out in Dearborn, the Woolies ended up calling East Lansing their home as the years passed.
Still playin' dates with the band as well as backing Chuck Berry and others, Baldori remains visible and quite active in the music business — producing records, playing keyboards in the group, touring and handling business affairs for other entertainers through his legal practice. Visit Bob's web site for a wealth of details on his many talents and some great pictures of Boog and the band over the years.
While "living legends" is surely an over-used
phrase, in this case it's actually deserved. Because, unlike many
of the so-called revival circuit acts for whom creaking stiffly has replaced
rockin', Bob and the Woolies just keep on doing what they've always done:
Layin' down boogie as good as it gets.
Latest Revisions: August 2008
Last REAL Update: March 2007
Next anticipated update: October
2008
Steve
Boughton, a heavy stolid (sic) driving drummer who brought a new life and
steadiness to the group. Only "Wheatgerm" the colorful blazing lead guitarist
was left from the original Pursuit.
