{"id":1089,"date":"2017-10-11T19:06:24","date_gmt":"2017-10-11T19:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=1089"},"modified":"2017-10-24T17:41:23","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T17:41:23","slug":"ftv-frat-parties-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=1089","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Frat Parties Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There are many categories of band gigs: \u00a0teen dances, wedding receptions, private parties, and bar gigs make up the normal mix for most bands. \u00a0To my personal list, I could add playing in a tent at the U.P. State Fair and gigs in churches (both in the basement and the sanctuary). \u00a0Again, bands from just about any locale could make the same claim. \u00a0Living in a college town, however, adds one more item to the list of gig categories: \u00a0the frat party. \u00a0If the term \u2018frat party\u2019 transports one back to the toga party portrayed in the movie <\/span>Animal House<\/span><\/i>, I can only remind readers that \u201cit was a movie about a fraternity and it was made a up frat party with a made up band.\u201d \u00a0A real frat party couldn\u2019t be that wild, could it?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In my high school and college gigging days, I played frat parties with all three of the bands I was in from 1970 through 1977. \u00a0The first one was with The Twig and we got picked up to play for a TKE party (commonly referred to as \u2018The Teeks\u2019) at the old Cliffs Ridge ski chalet. \u00a0The current Marquette Mountain Ski Chalet bears little resemblance to the building that we played in then. \u00a0The room was pretty much an open space surrounded by large windows. \u00a0It was wall to wall picnic tables and people with a dance area in the middle of the room that was also wall to wall with people dancing. \u00a0There wasn\u2019t a stage so we were just kind of stuck along one wall between the picnic tables. \u00a0We had heard stories about the \u2018wild and crazy\u2019 TKE parties, so we were, at best, a little apprehensive for our first frat gig. \u00a0We were all of 17 and 18 years old surrounded by red clad college men who could have tied us in a knot and tossed us out the window if they had a mind to. \u00a0If there was a frat dedicated to football players, this might have been it because there were a lot of very large guys in TKE red. \u00a0If I hadn\u2019t known who we had been booked to play for, I would have bet it was a sorority party because the man to woman ratio was about 1 to 3 with two out of every three of the females in TKE red shirts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Things started out with a bang. \u00a0We started out with some fast dance numbers and the floor filled up instantly and stayed that way for the whole first set. \u00a0This was the first and only time I can remember being booed when we announced that we would be taking a fifteen minute break. \u00a0They wanted music, but frankly, we needed a break because we didn\u2019t play any slow songs at all in the first set. \u00a0We had a little discussion during our break and decided that if we didn\u2019t throw in some slow songs, we would keel from exhaustion. \u00a0Did I mention the number of bodies in motion turned the whole place into one giant rocking sauna (sans real hot rocks) by the end of the first set? \u00a0To say we were sweating is a gross understatement. \u00a0The towel I normally kept draped over my mic stand could have been wrung out by the time we finally took our break.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0During our well deserved second break, we were sitting minding our own business on one of the picnic table benches when three girls sporting TKE logo shirts approached. \u00a0It turned out they were the girlfriends of the committee that had hired us and they came bearing our check. \u00a0They had some song requests to go along with the gig pay. \u00a0We were surprised when the three \u2018older women\u2019 hopped onto each of our laps, draped an arm around our necks and purred, \u201cPlease?\u201d to underscore their song requests. \u00a0We weren\u2019t exactly trolling for dates. \u00a0We were there to play a gig and not get killed by the guys who hired us. \u00a0In the end, we decided it was more of a stunt orchestrated to see if they could get the band a little flustered, but the fear of \u2018death by boyfriend\u2019 was enough to get us back to playing music and fast. \u00a0Out of the frats we played gigs for, I can only remember the TKE group by name because we played for them a couple of times. \u00a0The other groups we played for were all fun, but the TKE reputation for hard partying was as close as I ever got to an <\/span>Animal House<\/span><\/i> gig and as such, they were a hard bunch to forget.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The last frat party The Twig played for was near the end of the spring semester. \u00a0They held it at the more formal Northwoods Supper Club and it was advertised as some sort of \u2018Ball\u2019. \u00a0They guy that hired us asked if we could play \u2018dinner music\u2019 for the first set and we thought, \u201cOh boy, what have we gotten ourselves into?\u201d \u00a0After playing thirty minutes of the most lightweight stuff we had, the formality wore off and though they were nicely dressed for the occasion, they began to shake it up in a manner more befitting a frat party than a ball. \u00a0They had a turkey buffet for dinner and at one point, a frat boy in a loosened tie sans his jacket wandered by the stage front with a humongous turkey leg in his hand. \u00a0He stopped in front of guitar player Gene, smiled, and then shoved the whole thing in his face. \u00a0Gene simply took a big, ripping bite out of the leg, thus giving the drumstick toting guy the idea that we all needed to share in this impromptu meal. \u00a0All I could think of as he leaned over my bass drum was, \u201cDon\u2019t get grease on my drums.\u201d \u00a0It is very difficult to sing with a mouth full of turkey and after wiping the grease off my face, \u00a0my ever present mic stand towel smelled of Thanksgiving for the rest of the night!<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We had other memorable frat gigs at the Oddfellows Hall which was located on the second floor of the building that still stands on the southeast corner of Bluff and Third Streets in Marquette. \u00a0It had a rickety steel staircase along the east side of the building that we had to lug our stuff up in single file formation. \u00a0I hated the thought of \u2018death by staircase\u2019 even more than the thought of \u2018death by boyfriend\u2019. \u00a0It was another small room, but there was a little stand in the middle of one wall that normally was occupied by an elaborate wooden throne. \u00a0They would move the throne out of the room but the platform was nailed to the floor and it was just big enough to fit my drum kit on. \u00a0This was another sweat box kind of gig but for some reason, the sound in this little room was terrific. \u00a0I am not sure what was downstairs in this building, but I was sure we would find out one day because when the whole dance floor was rocking, the floor also jumped up and down. \u00a0I can\u2019t imagine there was any plaster left on the downstairs ceiling after one of these parties! \u00a0We also liked the OFH because Gene\u2019s guitar pickups would pick up the local radio station between songs. \u00a0On cold winter nights, they frat boys open the windows to cool the room down. \u00a0They also put bottles out on the window ledge to get them chilled. \u00a0It is a wonder that no one was killed on the sidewalk below because I am sure that more than one bottle got knocked off the window over the course of the night. \u00a0We were underaged but figured a nip or two would help us cool down while getting packed up after the gig.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I am reminded of another memorable Twig frat party gig every time I drive place the US 41 Steakhouse west of Ishpeming. \u00a0This one stands out because it was the first time I can remember driving in an absolute white out. \u00a0I was driving my dad\u2019s truck full of our equipment and it was more the \u2018fear of death by father if I put his truck in the sticks\u2019 that had me nervous. \u00a0When you can only drive 25 miles an hour on the highway, I am not sure how far in the sticks I could have gone, but it was a white knuckle drive just the same. \u00a0The weather wasn\u2019t bad when we left Marquette, but as we climbed past Negaunee and on through Ishpeming, I got a preview of what it is like in Rockland or Mass City. \u00a0\u00a0When the air coming across Lake Superior picks up a bunch of moisture and dumps copious amounts of snow in the higher elevations away from the lake, those of us living on the lake shore do not get our fair share of the lake effect snow. \u00a0We were the only vehicle on the road so besides breaking trail, we couldn\u2019t see anything besides the occasional street light. \u00a0When we pulled into the club, the owner assured us that the party was still on. \u00a0They came, \u00a0had dinner, and danced the night away. \u00a0By the time we did the load out, the sky was clear as a bell and the roads were well plowed. \u00a0The other lesson I learned here was the old U.P. adage, \u201cDon\u2019t worry about the weather because it will change six ways to Sunday before the gig is done.\u201d \u00a0I managed to remember this during my two years driving up the hill to K.I.Sawyer Air Force base for our many NCO and Officer\u2019s club gigs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Time to crank up <\/span>Louie Louie <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Shout<\/span><\/i> so our WOAS-FM listeners can share in the frat party fun. \u00a0In Part II, we will discuss two of the stranger frat gigs that were booked for Knockdown and Sledgehammer. \u00a0In the meantime, dig out your toga and watch <\/span>Animal House<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece video – I name checked\u00a0Louie Louie<\/em>, so here you go!