My First Band

[Brian Rambo]

Wasn't Enzo Smith a member of the Dead End Kids ? Or was it "Minus One" ?? Steve "The Snake G." (Orpheus) has a music Jam every Saturday night at the wildlife center in Weymouth (behind Curtis Liqours). Maybe Enzo was a member of the "Nomads"....... Cyrus Zane

[Steve Angellis]

Enzo played with the Dead End Kids I played in the original incarnation of Cyrus Zain with my brother Dennis. Crazy Brian and Enzo are my best friends for years. Greatest guys ever!!

[steve Angellis]

I played guitar with Brian in the Conquered Grape too!! Many many years ago!!

[BBoysJic]

Backstreet Boys BSB are an American boy band. The band was founded on April 20, 1993 in Orlando, Florida, by Lou Pearlman. Now this is the most successful rock boy bad with more than 130 million records sold worldwide. The group was named after a flea market in Orlando, the "backstreet flea market". In 2019 BB has more than 50 concerts in the US with their DNA tour. Check concerts at <a href=https://backstreetboystourdates.com>Backstreet Boys tour Sacramento</a> page. Full list of tour dates & concerts!

[nkotbJic]

New Kids on the Block is my favourite band of 90s. NKOTB had so many hit songs! The ones I remember are 'Tonight', 'Baby, I Believe In You' and, of course their hit 'Step By Step'. These are real songs, not garbage like today! And it is awesome they have a tour in 2019! And I'm going to visit New Kids on the Block concert in 2019. The tour dates is here: <a href=https://newkidsontheblocktour2019.com>New Kids on the Block tour Montreal</a>. Check it out and maybe we can even visit one of the concerts together!

[CarrieJic]

Carrie Underwood is my favourite US singer. She is young, beautiful and charming female in her 30s. Her strong voice takes me away from all troubles of this planet so I start enjoy my life and listen songs created by her voice. Now the singer is on a Cry Pretty 360 Tour started in May of 2019. The concerts scheduled for this year, up to the last day of October. Tickets are available for all men and women with different income. If you love contry music, then you must visit at least one of her concert. All tour dates are available at the <a href=https://carrieunderwoodtour.com>Carrie Underwood tour Kansas City</a>. Visit the website and make yourself familiar with all Carrie Underwood concerts in 2019!

[HootieJic]

I like rock songs! I really do! And my favourite rock band is Hootie & Blowfish! All band members has came together to give more than 50 concerts for their fans in 2019! To know more about Hootie and The Blowfish in 2019 visit website <a href=https://hootietheblowfishtour.com>Hootie and the Blowfish tour Tulsa</a>. You won't miss concerts this year if you visit the link!

[CarrieJic]

Carrie Underwood is my favourite US singer. She is young, beautiful and charming woman in her 30s. Her strong voice takes me away from all issues of this world and I start enjoy my life and listen songs created by her voice. Now she is on a Cry Pretty 360 Tour started in May of 2019. The concerts scheduled for this year, up to the last day of October. Ticket prices are moderate and available for all men and women with different income. If you are a country music lover as me, then you must visit at least one of her concert. All tour dates are available at the <a href=https://carrieunderwoodconcerts.com>Carrie Underwood tour Edmonton</a>. Visit the website and make yourself familiar with all Carrie Underwood concerts in 2019!

[Chainneito]

I like EDM bands! I really do! And my favourite dance band is The Cheinsmokers! DJs Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart are about to give more than 50 concerts for their fans in 2019 and 2020! To know more about Chainsmokers band in 2019 and 2020 visit website <a href=https://chainsmokersconcerts.com>Chainsmokers tour Sacramento</a>. You aren't going to miss any performance in 2020 if you click on the link!

[Kevin M]

I remember the dead end kids well. I used to room with Glen, his cousin Walter, and Steven (butta) Gallagher in Mediterranean Woods, Weymouth back in the mid 70s. They had some great sons (Colors of the Wind, in the key of C (where Bobby played the flute, sax, guitar, harmonica, and piano all in the same song)). I've been looking for Glen or Bobby. I know Walter and Steve Gallagher both passed but totally lost touch with Glen and Bobby.

[murphybridget]

Jul 24, 2020 20:05:42 GMT -5 Kevin M said:

I remember the dead end kids well. I used to room with Glen, his cousin Walter, and Steven (butta) Gallagher in Mediterranean Woods, Weymouth back in the mid 70s. They had some great sons (Colors of the Wind, in the key of C (where Bobby played the flute, sax, guitar, harmonica, and piano all in the same song)). I've been looking for Glen or Bobby. I know Walter and Steve Gallagher both passed but totally lost touch with Glen and Bobby.

It sounds like you have some fond memories of those days! It must have been amazing to witness such musical talent firsthand. I'm sorry to hear about the loss of Walter and Steve Gallagher.

[murphybridget]

Apr 1, 2010 17:26:11 GMT -5 tim said:

Hey, this is a cool subject. My contribution is long, but I'm going farther than my "first band" Here's some of my band history:

In High School, we had sort of a band. and I mean sort of. We called ourselves "Indian Ridge" Bob Collins on Teisco guitar, Jan Collins (Bob's brother) played an old Conn drum set which consisted on a snare small crash and a high hat., and me on a Kingston "Beatle bass" and a 35 Watt Checkmate Amp (Which I still have both!) We tried to do some Steppenwolf and Guess Who but we butchered those songs in our own way. When I lived in Lincoln Ill, I had acquired a 68 Gibson EBO-L "Slot head" for $140.00 (My dad about died and killed me over that one) which for a college kid was big money then, but I had sharpened my skills and had learned to read upper bass clef and played bass at college with a men's choir and did some work in play productions, but not much. There was a guy at college who had just gotten out of the Navy and had the frets pulled on a '69 Jazz bass. and was quite a fretless and URB player. His name was Randy Evans and he had played in a US Navy Jazz Ensemble. He really taught me a lot about bass in general.

Then I ran into some guys from work who played and were looking for a bass player. I said "I play bass" and the next thing going was the Verl Prather Band which was a Country band consisting of Bass, drums, Lead guitar, rhythm guitar and occasionally Fender Rhodes keys. , and we played on weekends in various dives and some pretty cool parties. Well, that worked alright then Earl moved and we disbanded. In the mid- 70's I now had a great rig. a '73 Jazz bass, a Gallien -Krueger 250 watt tube amp, and a couple of Traynor GMT stacks. Then came an opportunity to play with a metal band called Pearl Buck. It was great. Now we did Steppenwolf, Mountain, The Guess Who, Bob Seger, GFR, and did it right! It was a cool gig.

Then rotten things happened in life. I lost my job, lost my wife (She was married two weeks after we divorced), I had to get some ready cash and had to sell my Gibson and my G-K and Traynor rig, but kept the J-bass. Then I moved back to Vincennes Indiana and went to work making wire for United Technologies, There I hung around in a few places and was on Vincennes University campus at a "Bring and play" gig. where people sat around , tossed down some and jammed. That's where I met a moppy haired VU student named John Mellencamp. Yep, THE John Mellencamp. We got to play some stuff really well just hanging out, and he said he wanted to go out on the road and asked me if I'd play bass in his band. I thought about it and declined because I had bills and child support to pay and knew that your typical on the road tour band usually starved to death or was in it just for party scene. So, knowing my financial situation, I declined, besides who wants to hear home grown material anyhow?

Shall I shoot myself now, or later?

Now several years later. I play bass at church, do a CW trio gig a few times a year with a Hot-Rod country picker, and play fretless in a jazz band consisting of old standards. We've done several wedding receptions and some dinner parties. Anyhow, that's as up to date as I can get.

What a fantastic journey! It sounds like you've had an incredible experience playing in various bands and genres over the years. From humble beginnings with "Indian Ridge" to rocking out with Pearl Buck, it's amazing how far you've come. Your dedication and growth as a musician are truly inspiring!

[murphybridget]

Apr 2, 2010 21:29:51 GMT -5 teafran said:

Ah - well, I was only in one - "The Knightmen". We started off in late '62 as an instrumental band formed entirely by accident as one of my football teammates, Wayne "Sticks" Breden, had a drum set and was pretty good at them. I had my Dad's old Gibson Jumbo which had been modified with a acoustic pickup and an old tube amp - I want to say it was an Ampeg. As it happened, there was a talent show and Wayne wanted to show off so we did the prototypical Sandy Nelson's "Let There Be Drums" (circa 1961) - loud, but it sounded pretty good - just the two of us whacking away. We actually placed second in the talent contest which was a surprise.

Subsequent to that, another one of our teammates approached us - played bass and wanted to play with us, so that was the core group - me, Wayne and Rick "The Stork" Giles. Wayne's sister was dating a guy in Lynn - Johnny "Ant Man" Florio who had some experience playing in a band - eventually he joined up playing rythym and by the end of that school year "The Knightmen" were official. Mostly instrumentals as none of us could really sing lead, but we could sing backup really well - in fact, we did a lot of acapella singing just for amusement in the backstage of the Marblehead High School auditorium. By the end of that summer, everybody had been together for a while and we had a stock set, but we needed a singer. At that point one of the major talents of the Drama Club heard us singing in the basement, came down and started singing with us - we had our lead singer - Larry Slack.

The Beatles came along and the next thing you know, we won a couple of "Battle of The Bands", got a manager, matching suits and somehow our manager whose name escapes me at the moment, talked the owner of Howard Music into letting us purchase Fender gear at cost - Jaguar Bass, two Telecasters, a Bassmaster, two Bandmasters and a Gibson amp we used for vocals.

Our Dad's used to alternate taking us to gigs before we got our driver's licenses - we used to play the weekend teen dances at the Boston Yacht Club, Corinthian, Lynn Jewish Commuity Center, Salem State, Gordon College, private parties - can't remember them all.

We did well for a high school band. We had some competition - Bobby (Hutchins) and The Diamonds who were all friends of ours. One of my best memories was a Battle in which Bobby and his group and the five of us tied even steven thus we had a play off which was judged a tie so Bobby and his group and us played a set together - Bobby and I swapped off on lead, Larry and Bobby's singer (who I can't remember the name of - he was from Swampscott) swapped singing lead and it brought the house down - there were a good 350 people in the place (it was up on Route 1 in Saugus - can't remember the name).

It stayed that way until my Senior year of high school when we added a keyboard player Judy Small. Immediately, it became Judy and The Knightmen - she was really good singer too so Larry and Judy swapped off lead. Good times.

Didn't play much after that. I tried playing in a country/western band (it was still country/western back in those days) after I returned from SEA - the guy who was the lead singer was a great slide steel player and had a pretty good voice, but he had this fixation with George Jones and used to mimic Jone's locked jaw singing style - I hated it to tell the truth so that didn't last long. I did play a lot when I worked for Texaco in New Orleans - one of my Technician's brother had a recording studio and was a session player. I used to go with him to a club off Bourgon Street which that had an open mike night and jam with other guitar players - mostly blues stuff. Got to play with Fats Domino one night - he wandered in on open mike night, sat down and just started playing with us - that was pretty cool.

Oh well, I've killed enough electrons.

Playing with Fats Domino must have been incredible. I can understand the frustration with the George Jones mimicry—everyone has their own style and preferences.

[murphybridget]

Apr 3, 2010 1:14:36 GMT -5 Blues Dues said:

All these famous musicians ... makes me feel humbled.

No question about it. For those of us "Vintage" types, the Beatles had a major influence or motivation to grab a guitar and learn to hum and strum. It wasn't George, Paul, Ringo or John.
It was all the girls' reaction to them.

RCE

Absolutely, I can relate to that! The Beatles really did inspire so many of us to pick up an instrument. And yes, the reaction from the fans was a huge motivator!