{"id":648,"date":"2016-06-07T02:46:04","date_gmt":"2016-06-07T02:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=648"},"modified":"2016-06-07T02:53:05","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T02:53:05","slug":"ftv-sundellstock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=648","title":{"rendered":"FTV: Sundellstock"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the wake of the first Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, anybody with a field, a long extension cord, and a flatbed truck trailer wanted to host an outdoor festival. \u00a0How do I know this with such certainty? \u00a0Because I played on a flatbed truck trailer in a field at a little location south of Marquette called Sundell, hence the name, Sundellstock. \u00a0When you are in the process of forming a band, any place you are asked to play gives you more exposure and confidence. \u00a0We were definitely in need of both at this point in time in our musical adventures.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We eventually called our band The Twig, but early in the summer of 1970, we didn\u2019t have a name or enough songs to play a typical two hour high school dance, let alone a four set bar gig. \u00a0Our working name was \u2018The Bight\u2019 (our little play on words for the ever popular retort of the time; \u00a0\u2018bite me\u2019). \u00a0We got tired of a) spelling it for people and b) explaining the joke. \u00a0None-the-less, Mike the bass player called one day and said \u201cI was asked if we wanted to play at an outdoor festival in Sundell on Saturday afternoon and I said \u2018yes\u2019. \u00a0They said they have a P.A., amps, and drums so all we have to do is bring our guitars.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0I do not remember if Gene and I were hesitant about playing in front of other bands, but Mike was insistent that we were going to do this. \u00a0He also insisted I bring my drums \u2018just in case\u2019. \u00a0\u00a0I am not sure they printed posters or fliers for this one off \u00a0kind of event, but if one exists, I truly would love to find it just to see the name \u2018The Bight\u2019 written down with other band names.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Over the course of that summer, we played in a couple of church basements, in a tent at the State Fair in Escanaba, and on the front steps of NMU\u2019s Forest Robert\u2019s Theater for a band camp dance. \u00a0Yes, I played at band camp and it was less of a dance than a \u2018stand around and watch the band play\u2019. \u00a0We had told the person who booked us that \u201cwe only have about 15 songs ready\u201d and she said \u201cthat is okay, just play them twice.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Maybe they had a curfew or something, but we finished our first set and announced, \u201cWe don\u2019t have any more songs\u201d and the unanimous cry was \u201cPlay them again!\u201d \u00a0so that is exactly what we did (even in the same running order)..<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So, let\u2019s get back to Sundellstock. \u00a0I did a little web surfing and came up with the following information about the rolling farm country that hosted the first local outdoor festival that I ever attended (I have played outdoors numerous times, but this is the only \u2018festival\u2019 type setting I have been involved in as a musician):<\/span><\/p>\n

Sundell<\/b> is an unincorporated community at <\/span>46\u00b020?50?N 87\u00b004?47?W<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0In 1908, <\/span>Dorsey<\/b> was a station on the <\/span>Munising, Marquette and Southeastern Railway<\/span><\/a>. The first postmaster, Selma Harsila, submitted her maiden name, Sundell (<\/span>Swedish<\/span><\/a>), as the name of the new post office.<\/span> \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0The office operated from August 31, 1922 until August 25, 1967.<\/span> \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Dorsey is approximately a half mile to the west at <\/span>46\u00b020?23?N 87\u00b005?04?W<\/span><\/a>.<\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0Just in case you may think I am making this up, you can check the coordinates yourself! \u00a0Incidentally, this would place Sundell just a little northwest of the location called Slapneck – a name made semi-famous by the Marquette band The French Church in their song <\/span>Slapneck <\/span><\/i>(backed with <\/span>Without Crying) <\/span><\/i>\u00a0recorded and released as a 45 RPM (<\/span>Slapneck<\/b> \u00a0<\/span><\/a>46\u00b020?34?N 86\u00b053?11?W<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we arrived, there was a two track<\/span> trail leading from a farm house across a shallow valley. \u00a0The hill on the other side of the valley had a flatbed trailer parked near the top and there was indeed a long extension cord running to the farmhouse nearby.. \u00a0I would be lying if I said I remembered who else was on the bill that day because there were musicians who formed and reformed bands in the Marquette area all the time. \u00a0I do know when we rolled up, Al Robertson met us at the top of the hill and said, \u201cGood, you are here, you are on first.\u201d \u00a0We knew Al because he played in a band called Fatty Arbuckle with our school mate Warren MacDonald. \u00a0Warren\u2019s family owned MacDonald\u2019s Music Store and had previously played drums in The French Church with his brother Gordon (bass), John Spratto (guitar) and Mike Cleary (vocals). \u00a0Gordon had joined another band when he was attending NMU (The Stan and Jeff Band) and Warren had hooked up with guitarist\/vocalist Robertson, and Army vet who was a bit older than we were.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We took the stage and as soon as we were introduced, Mike turned around and said \u201cWe have got to get a better name.\u201d \u00a0We launched into the first of our four allotted tunes. \u00a0Half way through the first song, the wind that was blowing in our faces caught the cymbals on Warren\u2019s set and they went crashing to the stage, leaving me with only the high-hat (which wouldn\u2019t blow away with my foot planted firmly on the pedal). \u00a0I was kind of glad my drums were still locked in my trunk as I am pretty sure my slightly cheap cymbals would have ended up bent at right angles had they crashed in the wind. \u00a0Warren tried standing them up as we played on and in desperation, ended up laying on top of the stands with his body wrapped around the front of the set like a large letter \u2018C \u2018. \u00a0He remained at his post for the rest of our set and every time I looked down at him, he had a big grin on his face so I figured we were doing fine. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We finished and came off stage to some back slaps and the sound of hammering (Warren was pounding nails into the stage and bending them around the legs of the cymbal stands to keep them from sailing away in the wind again). \u00a0We survived playing in front of a couple of hundred people that included a bunch of musicians and had held our own. \u00a0I don\u2019t know how long Sundellstock lasted because soon after we finished playing, \u00a0I had to depart for our high school band\u2019s end of the year picnic that had been scheduled for the same afternoon. \u00a0When I was asked why I was late, I casually mentioned that we had just done a set at \u2018Sundellstock\u2019, \u00a0which of course no one else had heard of. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The next band rehearsal began with Mike declaring \u201cwe aren\u2019t going to play out again until we have a better name than The Bight.\u201d \u00a0Gene came up with The Twig right off the bat and we agreed to sleep on it until the next time we practiced. \u00a0I kind of liked it and \u00a0we spent a little time discussing the merits of spelling it with one or two \u2018g\u2019s. \u00a0I reminded the guys how much we hated having to spell \u2018Bight\u2019 for people. \u00a0We decided to go with one \u2018g\u2019 and we went back to work. \u00a0We were going to need more than 15 songs when we started playing high school dances in September.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I won\u2019t make any comparisons to Woodstock because it would be like comparing a grain of sand to a sand dune. \u00a0I will, however, say that we gained a lot of confidence by participating in Sundellstock. \u00a0We also got invited to one of the informal jam sessions Al Robertson would host in his basement which was another ego boost: \u00a0\u201cAl invited us to come over and jam!\u201d \u00a0Until I started the research for this edition of FTV, I didn\u2019t remember that Sundell is located in Alger County. \u00a0That means our set at Sundellstock also qualifies as our first official \u2018road trip\u2019. \u00a0Too bad we didn\u2019t have time to find Slapneck while we were in the neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Piece Video – Okay – I won’t lie to you and tell you this is footage from Sundellstock . . . and I won’t tell you that I was at Woodstock – but I was 16 during the Summer of Love – does that count?