{"id":424,"date":"2015-12-23T21:20:38","date_gmt":"2015-12-23T21:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=424"},"modified":"2019-05-02T00:28:47","modified_gmt":"2019-05-02T00:28:47","slug":"from-the-vaults-keyboard-players-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=424","title":{"rendered":"From the Vaults: Keyboard Players Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

I started on the topic of keyboard players a while back and began making a mental note of the ones who stood out in my mind. \u00a0Never try and make a mental list that encompasses nearly 50 years of concert and album memories. \u00a0I am probably going to have to get one of those \u2018on-board memory chips\u2019 to do this kind of mental gymnastics in the future. \u00a0Until that technology arrives, I decided to go old school and just make a list. \u00a0\u00a0It is more or less chronological (past to present) and it certainly won\u2019t contain all the great keyboard players in the world, but it will have some back stories included to put some context as to why they are on my list to begin with.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There was a period in the early 1970s when just about every rock band had a keyboard player. Before the sampling technology arrived that allowed keyboards to mimic just about any organ sound, they almost all played Hammond B-3s. \u00a0This was a big step up from the Farfisa compact organs that were in vogue during the 1960s. \u00a0Think <\/span>96 Tears <\/span><\/i>(? and the Mysterians) or any song done by the Sir Douglas Quintet featuring Augie Meyers (<\/span>Mendocino <\/span><\/i>or<\/span> She\u2019s About a Mover<\/span><\/i> are good examples) and you get the idea – the Farfisa had a kind of reedy \u2018deep deep deep deep\u2019 chirpy sound when compared to the Hammond B-3 that more or less roared. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0My first rock band experience with the Hammond sound goes back to the late 1960s and the second major touring act I ever saw: \u00a0\u00a0Mark Stein\u2019s excellent organ work with Vanilla Fudge. \u00a0It was held in the old double gym next to Hedgecock Fieldhouse (I never did learn why it wasn\u2019t in the Fieldhouse) and it was wall to wall people and hot (the band, the show and the atmosphere in the gym)! \u00a0Stein bolted from the stage about halfway through the set but was \u2018convinced\u2019 to finish the show despite the sauna-like conditions. \u00a0I may have been in awe of drummer Carmine Appice, but I also paid close attention to Stein. \u00a0Their version of <\/span>You Keep Me Hanging On<\/span><\/i> still sits on my list of \u201cTop Ten Best Rock Songs Ever\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I got a second, yet very different, dose of extraordinary Hammond playing from the three piece backing band for Little Anthony and the Imperials. \u00a0From orchestral sounding ballads to funk, this guy could do it all. \u00a0My apologies for not being able to find his name, but he was just terrific.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Kristine Perfect had recently joined Fleetwood Mac when I saw them on a twin bill with Savoy Brown. \u00a0She eventually became Kristine McVey and a pop song writing machine when the band morphed by adding Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to the mix. \u00a0With the guitar happy version of Fleetwood Mac, she really didn\u2019t stand out other than a short solo or two.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A couple of Ann Arbor bands that made their way through Marquette the early 1970s were organ \/ drum duos. \u00a0The first band was billed as The Whiz Kids and it took a little doing to find any information on them. \u00a0The Robots for Ronnie site did provide the following: \u00a0\u00a0\u201cThis Ann Arbor based duo\u2019s back story is a pretty mysterious one. \u00a0Based on what I could gather, the band was formed sometime in the late 60s by multi-instrumentalist Pat McCaffrey and percussionist Ken Michalik. \u00a0The band\u2019s sound was distinct in that no guitars or bassess were present. \u00a0McCaffrey often would play organ pedals and analog synths in their place. \u00a0By 1970, they were supporting the likes of Alice Cooper, Brownsville Station, Savage Grace, J, Geils Band, and Spirit in and around southeast Michigan\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0They played serviceable rock with some extended solos to go with their songs. \u00a0At one point McCaffrey got down on his hands and knees and played a solo on the bass pedals with his hands – that was something I haven\u2019t seen since. \u00a0The web reference I found mentioned McCaffrey continuing the band in a larger format up to the present while Michalik became a music teacher in the Ann Arbor area.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The other keyboard\/drum duo was Teagarden and Van Winkle. \u00a0Again, they played solid music, but when I saw them, they came as a package deal with Bob Seger. \u00a0Seger started the show playing acoustic music with T&VW doing the second set as a duo. \u00a0The third set had Seger join them on electric guitar and they formed a rocking trio. \u00a0Teagarden went on to play drums with Seger\u2019s Silver Bullet Band. \u00a0As an interesting side note, Seger was writing much of the music that he would record \u00a0for his <\/span>Beautiful Loser <\/span><\/i>LP while touring with Teagarden and Van Winkle. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Turn the Page<\/span><\/i> was written about an incident in small town Wisconsin that very well may have happened around \u00a0the same time that their midwest touring brought them to Marquette.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Chicago\u2019s Robert Lamm proved to be a good keyboard player but the full horn section tended to play a lot of the stuff most bands would have the organist cover. \u00a0Seth Justman from J. Geils Band was a blur of motion and certainly one of the most animated keyboard players I have seen. \u00a0He and drummer Stephen Jo Bladd also stepped up to the front of the stage and traded drum licks on toms and timbales that was both well rehearsed and a lot of fun to watch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Michael Quatro (yes, brother of pre-Joan Jett era female rocker Suzie Quatro) was somewhere between \u2018different\u2019 and \u2018strange\u2019. \u00a0He could certainly play and sing. \u00a0He had a bank of amps and speakers behind him that made the Great Wall of China look tiny by comparison. \u00a0I wondered how many days it took the drummer to get his hearing back after a gig. \u00a0Perhaps it was the silver jumpsuit, cape and 1950s sci-fi movie \u2018man from Mars\u2019 collar he employed to give himself an aura of \u2018mystery\u2019 that made him seem a little surreal. \u00a0After a mind bending version of King Crimson\u2019s <\/span>Court of the Crimson King<\/span><\/i>, he blew up all that \u2018mystery\u2019 \u00a0by directing a mini-tantrum at his roady when one of the \u2018bricks\u2019 in the Great Wall of Amps started buzzing uncontrollably (something along the lines of, \u201cRussell, do you think you could PLEASE find the one that is making all that racket?\u201d)<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The late Alan Lanier from Blue Oyster Cult always added the right amount of keys to their arrangements. \u00a0In their live shows, he also proved to be a formidable guitarist in his own right.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The most recent keyboard wizard I have seen \u00a0live was Robert Manzitti from the Rusty Wright Band. \u00a0He had joined the band not too long before they appeared at the Ontonagon Theater in the spring of 2014 but he made a big impression. \u00a0He too, proved to be an animated player, but antics aside, he also played some terrific solos. \u00a0His call and answer solos with Rusty Wright sounded great and it looked like they were having a lot of fun bouncing things off of each other. \u00a0Unfortunately, Manzitti was no longer with the band on their next trip to town.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Before this article itself becomes as long as the Great Wall of China, I should add honorable mentions to some of the giants who pushed the bounds of rock music by adding the golden sounds of the Hammond Organ to the mix: \u00a0Mark Farner and Craig Frost (Grand Funk Railroad), Jon Lord (Deep Purple), Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake and Palmer), Rick Wakeman (Yes), Ken Hensley (Uriah Heep), Greg Allman (Allman Brothers), Rod Argent (Zombies, Argent), Brian Auger (Brian Auger\u2019s Oblivion Express), Felix Cavaliere (Rascals), Bruce McCabe (Lamont Cranston, Hoopsnakes, Johnny Lang), \u00a0and as of the last Porcupine Mountain Music Festival, Scottie Miller from the Scottie Miller Band out of Minneapolis. . . and the list could go on and on.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With the Doley brothers from Australia (Lachy and Clayton) now on our play list, I am getting a little antsy to hear some live Hammond B-3. \u00a0It would be great to have a chance to see the likes of them now that we have had a chance to hear some of their music. \u00a0If we can\u2019t find a way to see them here, I guess a little musical vacation to Australia wouldn\u2019t be totally out of the question!<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Video – That is ? and the Mysterians<\/em> doing the Farfisa organ sound on a rather strange video for\u00a096 Tears<\/em>