{"id":2940,"date":"2023-09-02T19:14:30","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T19:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=2940"},"modified":"2023-09-02T19:18:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T19:18:13","slug":"ftv-the-summer-of-1970","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=2940","title":{"rendered":"FTV: The Summer of 1970"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As my 70th birthday crept up on me in the fall of 2023, I started thinking about how time passes between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next.\u00a0 My 60 years spent as an student in public school (K-12), college (5 years including grad school) and teaching (43 years in the trenches) were bookended by the 5 years before I started school and the 5 years I have been retired. \u00a0 During all those school years, summers seemed to pass in an orderly fashion.\u00a0 June was spent winding down, everything was set on cruise-control during July, and then August would hit.\u00a0 August felt like a treadmill that kept increasing speed.\u00a0 Everything that I wanted to do before the start of the next school year seemed to be compressed into shorter and shorter segments of time.\u00a0 That old feeling still comes up in retirement, but if I take a deep breath and remember that \u2018retirement time\u2019 runs at a different pace,\u00a0 the feeling subsides. \u00a0 I don\u2019t need to get everything done;\u00a0 the fall months are wide open and there is always tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How does this relate to the Summer of \u201870?\u00a0 As I pondered the \u2018big 7-0\u2019, my mind went back to the summer of 1970;\u00a0 no matter how busy my summers were, that one was especially packed with activity.\u00a0 The previous summer had been consumed with Driver\u2019s Education and marching band.\u00a0 Those activities occupied June and August which left July relatively untouched.\u00a0 We were putting together my other band in 1969 (The Twig), but rehearsals were only held once a week as both Gene and Mike had summer jobs.\u00a0 We kept working on the band all through the 1969-70 school year, but we really picked up the pace as the summer of 1970 approached.\u00a0 Our goal was to be playing paying gigs by fall and we set our sights on the first post football game dance in early September.\u00a0 The Twig was our top priority going into summer but looking back now, it is a wonder I had time to eat and sleep for all the other stuff that got crammed into those brief three months.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It all started innocently enough.\u00a0 The weekend of high school graduation, my buddy Mitch had invited me to visit his sister\u2019s family in Hancock.\u00a0 I had to be back to play in the high school band for graduation on Sunday afternoon so we planned on getting back to Marquette in time for me to make that obligation.\u00a0 It was a busy weekend and started off the summer with a whirlwind of activity.\u00a0 Mitch\u2019s sister lined us up a double blind date with a couple of girls from her church.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t happen to mention the family of one of the girls was moving to a new house that weekend.\u00a0 We \u2018volunteered\u2019 to spend most of Saturday lugging their worldly goods from one house to a truck and then into the new house.\u00a0 They appreciated the help but by the time our \u2018date night\u2019 started, we were almost too pooped to go.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We settled on dinner and a movie.\u00a0 We got to the restaurant only to find the girl\u2019s were fasting, but they decided something light like a salad would be okay.\u00a0 <\/span>Ann of a Thousand Days<\/span><\/i> was playing at the Pic Theater in Hancock.\u00a0 After the show, we spent some time cruising the streets of Houghton and Hancock.\u00a0 One of the girls wanted to check out the teen dance being held at the old powerhouse on the Houghton side of the bridge but we were too tired.\u00a0 It turned out to be a good idea to not go;\u00a0 the girls later told Mitch there was a \u2018welcoming committee\u2019 of guys from their high school who wanted to \u2018meet\u2019 us out of towners.\u00a0 We started our Sunday morning with breakfast, a partial church service (their church held long Sunday School sessions\/services each week) before skedaddling back to Marquette so I could get to graduation.\u00a0 Little did I realize at the time that this three day blur of activity was just the start.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Our new band director, Bill Saari, had stepped in to finish my sophomore year when my first HS director (Mr. Patterson) passed away during the school year.\u00a0 With a full year of directing now under his belt (my junior year), Mr. Saari had procured new uniforms, sent us out selling candy (as a fundraiser), and laid out a master plan to have us debut the new duds with a series of events in the summer of 1970.\u00a0 He arranged for us to march in two parades during the Cherry Festival in Traverse City in July.\u00a0 To prepare us, we did several weeks of street marching in June and then we\u00a0 marched in the big Fourth of July parade in Marquette the week before we went to TC.\u00a0 Between marching band and Twig practices, June to mid-July was consumed with music, music, and more music.\u00a0 It was worth the effort and the HS band enjoyed all three parades we were in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Just after returning from Traverse City, my next door neighbor knocked on the door.\u00a0 He was a drum instructor for the Northern Michigan University music department and had obviously heard us rehearsing in our basement.\u00a0 He said, \u201cHey, would you be interested in a fill-in drummer gig?\u00a0 Some of my students have a band called the Larry Henry Trio and their drummer can\u2019t make it to their wedding reception gig next weekend.\u00a0 If you would be interested, they would like to come over and check you out.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cSure, I would be interested,\u201d and an hour later, Larry Henry and another fellow showed up.\u00a0 Larry:\u00a0 \u201cCool kit – can you play a rock beat?\u201d\u00a0 Me:\u00a0 \u201cSure – boom, thumpa, boom, thumpa.\u201d\u00a0 Larry:\u00a0 \u201cHow about a funky beat? (I must have looked puzzled)\u00a0 You know, like <\/span>Respect <\/span><\/i>by Aretha Franklin.\u201d\u00a0 Having played the song with three NMU students from Detroit as their \u2018practice band drummer\u2019 when I was a HS freshman, that was a cinch.\u00a0 Larry:\u00a0 \u201cHow about a polka? (again I looked puzzled). Just go \u2018boom chuck boom chuck\u2019 with the bass drum and snare.\u00a0 Yeah, just like that.\u00a0 Add some ride cymbal – there you go – the perfect polka beat.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0That was my one and only successful audition to join a band.\u00a0 Larry said they didn\u2019t have time to rehearse their song list but I would catch on.\u00a0 \u201cMeet us at the Holiday Inn at 8 p.m. Saturday to set up;\u00a0 the gig is from 9 to 1 a.m.\u201d\u00a0 Playing a band job cold with musicians I had never played with probably should have made me at least a little nervous, but I had played with other musicians before.\u00a0 I was more excited than anything and it never occurred to me to ask what they were going to pay me.\u00a0 Larry was also happy to find out I was already a member of the American Federation of Musicians union.\u00a0 I was now lined up to play my first professional gig even if it wasn\u2019t with my own band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The first set at the Holiday Inn was more or less easy listening music as the dinner wrapped up and the dance floor was cleared.\u00a0 On our first break, I took a walk outside and realized I had left my mother\u2019s Chevy Caprice parked in one lane of the luggage drop off area under the front canopy after I unloaded my drums.\u00a0 Oops.\u00a0 I moved the car and never mentioned it to the band.\u00a0 The second set included more dance music and I passed my first \u2018polka test\u2019 test with flying colors.\u00a0 The guy playing bass was giving me the song titles and tempos while passing out pearls of wisdom like, \u201cYa can\u2019t play a wedding reception in the U.P. without tossing in a few polkas.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we finished what I considered a pretty funky version of the Blood, Sweat, and Tears classic <\/span>Spinning Wheel<\/span><\/i>, my cue guy said, \u201cHey, that was great.\u00a0 Have you played that before?\u00a0 No?\u00a0 I would never have been able to tell.\u201d\u00a0 I was having a grand old time and Larry must have been good with what I was doing.\u00a0 He only turned around once to ask, \u201cHow ya doing?\u201d\u00a0 When he paid me my $30 bucks at the end of the night, he said, \u201cHey, we will call you again sometime if we need you\u201d (he never did, but I was good with surviving my first paying gig).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Just when it looked like my condensed one week summer vacation at the end of July would happen, my phone rang again.\u00a0 \u201cKen?\u00a0 Hi, my name is Rex Bignal.\u00a0 Larry Henry gave me your number.\u00a0 I am playing at the Diamond Club every Friday and Saturday in August and my drummer just walked out on me.\u00a0 Larry said you would be able to handle the stuff I play.\u00a0 I would pay you $40 a weekend for four weekends.\u201d\u00a0 I had no idea what kind of music he played, but it was an offer I was not about to refuse.\u00a0 I got one hint when Rex asked, \u201cDo you know how to play with brushes (drum sticks made with multiple metal strands designed for easy listening music)?\u201d\u00a0 Once I confirmed that brushes were in my skill set, he told me to be at the Diamond Club at 8 p.m. Friday to set up and the gig would be 9 to 1 a.m.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I arrived at the club and met Rex;\u00a0 it turned out he played a Hammond B-3 organ but did not sing.\u00a0 He seemed a little surprised when he saw me and asked, \u201cHow old are you?\u201d\u00a0 When I told him I was almost 17 he said, \u201cLarry told me you were a senior . . . high school?\u00a0 If the club owner (pointing to the guy behind the bar) asks you how old you are, tell him 18 and for God\u2019s sake, do NOT order anything but Coke!\u201d\u00a0 Obviously he thought Larry had meant \u2018college senior\u2019.\u00a0 Rex played a lot of Lawrence Welk type music so it wasn\u2019t anything too complicated.\u00a0 The one drum solo I got was four bass drum beats during the middle of <\/span>Patricia, <\/span><\/i>but I have to say Rex could certainly make the B-3 sing.\u00a0 I can trace this month-long engagement as the source of my life long love of the Hammond B-3 sound.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rex only made two corrections in my performance during my month with him.\u00a0 First, he told me the owner asked him to tell me to not dress in black (my lounge act garb was all black under\u00a0 a maroon sport coat) \u2018because it is too depressing\u2019.\u00a0 Rex also suggested I should smile once in a while (the same thing my father said when the folks came out to hear us one evening).\u00a0 Rex had purchased a 24 inch Zildjian cymbal and stand for the drummer who walked out on him.\u00a0 When he offered them in lieu of one weekend\u2019s wages, I told him, \u201cYou know, this is worth twice what you are paying me per weekend,\u201d but he insisted it was fair enough for him.\u00a0 Today, this same cymbal retails for more than I paid for my entire Ludwig kit back in 1966.\u00a0 Every time I set it up, I still say, \u201cThank you, Rex.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0August was now consumed by Friday and Saturday performing with Rex and (depending on Gene and Mike\u2019s schedules) two or three afternoons of Twig rehearsals.\u00a0 Early in the summer, we played a free five song set at an outdoor gathering south of Marquette called Sundelstock – it was our first and only experience playing on a flatbed trailer out in a field.\u00a0 Somewhere in there, we got to play our first paying Twig gig for NMU\u2019s band camp.\u00a0 We set up on the steps of the Forest Roberts Theater and serenaded the neighborhoods surrounding the campus with our hour and a half worth of songs.\u00a0 When we ran out, the kids begged us to play them over again (which we did).\u00a0 I can\u2019t say why our encore set was requested.\u00a0 Either we were that good or (more likely) they had a curfew they wanted to extend.\u00a0 Carol, the activities director that hired us said, \u201cThanks, the kids had a great time!\u201d\u00a0 We were happy with how it went but it was just the kick in the pants we needed to learn more new songs – fast.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Believe it or not, we also found time to squeeze in two sets in a tent on the U.P. State Fairgrounds during the Fair\u2019s annual August run.\u00a0 We did our set twice there, also, but separated by a couple of hours so we had some time to wander the midway.\u00a0 Some local kids asked us why we weren\u2019t playing any Grand Funk Railroad songs and we had to admit it was because we didn\u2019t know who they were.\u00a0 They were insistent;\u00a0 how could we not know the best band ever?\u00a0 The next week we had their debut album (<\/span>On Time<\/span><\/i>) from which we worked up <\/span>Heartbreaker <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Into the Sun.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 As soon as their second LP came out (<\/span>Grand Funk)<\/span><\/i> we added <\/span>Inside Looking Out<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 The album <\/span>Closer to Home <\/span><\/i>track <\/span>I\u2019m Your Captain (Closer to Home)<\/span><\/i> appeared on our set list soon after that.\u00a0 The fair gig was timely in that talking to those kids added five songs to our set and all of them became instant calling cards for the band, especially at frat gigs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If it sounds like the pace of activity for August of 1970 was picking up, that might be an understatement.\u00a0 Our band director, the previously mentioned Bill Saari (who got his start as a music teacher in the Mass City school in the early 1960s) had bigger plans for his band that fall.\u00a0 Having seen high school bands perform drum and bugle corps style routines at the Cherry Festival, Mr. S declared our fall football shows were going to be bigger and better than ever before.\u00a0 I do not know if he choreographed the patterns we used or if they were purchased from elsewhere.\u00a0 All I remember was the first walk through we did looked a little like a Keystone Cops movie.\u00a0 I do not know how the other instrument sections managed to remember when to stop, turn, step off and so on, but I ended up telling the drum line, \u201cWe don\u2019t have music to write cues on so we are going to have to memorize where all this happens in the music.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We began practicing four days a week during August and from chaos, we managed to put on a show that took the band from one end zone to the other.\u00a0 While we played, we did patterns I had only ever seen during drum corps shows.\u00a0 The only memorable mistake happened to part of the trombone line.\u00a0 Watching it on video later, we gave them no quarter when the entire line turned the wrong way and marched completely out of the camera\u2019s view\u2026.only to come hustling back a few seconds later to catch up.\u00a0 I had to hand it to Bill.\u00a0 When he first showed us his master plan, I was one of the voices that said, \u201cWhat?\u00a0 How in the heck are we going to do that?\u201d\u00a0 In the end, we performed this entire show twice during the football season and it was one of the best routines I can remember from four years of high school marching band.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the time school started, The Twig was ready.\u00a0 The first school dance would end up being\u00a0 the 16th public performance I did during the summer of 1970 (all of them required a lot of\u00a0 rehearsal time).\u00a0 With all this activity, time didn\u2019t seem to fly by like it did during so many other summers.\u00a0 When the high school band was dismissed after the football game\u2019s third quarter break, we normally would dash into the band room to change our of our uniforms into our civies so we could watch the rest of the game.\u00a0 For the first home game in the summer of \u201870, I found myself hustling off to the gym to set up my drums so we could do a quick sound check before our first high school dance.\u00a0 Even though we found out our new PA system wasn\u2019t up to the job in a big hall, we had a great first gig.\u00a0 The next week, it was almost a relief to just be going to classes (with band in the daily schedule) and rehearsing with The Twig a couple afternoons a week.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I am not sure I would like to tackle that kind of schedule again at the age of 70, but in 1970, a much younger me would not have traded all this hustle and bustle for all the tea in China.\u00a0 Brian Adams can have the <\/span>Summer of \u201869<\/span><\/i>, my really great year came the summer after that.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Proof that I wasn’t actually being critical of Brian Adams – I love the track meet beginning – you would think simply performing would be exercise enough!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As my 70th birthday crept up on me in the fall of 2023, I started thinking about how time passes between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next.\u00a0 My 60 years spent as an student in public school (K-12), college (5 years including grad school) and teaching (43 years in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,11,8,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-education","category-from-the-vaults","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2940"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2943,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2940\/revisions\/2943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}