I began playing music in public when I was still a kid. My next door neighbor, friend and drummer, Darin Bloomfield and I would sit in with my Aunt and Uncles country and western band on their breaks at various bars and VFWs on the weekends. We did it for the fun of it. The first time we actually made money was the Pilot Club in September 1972. We were 13. We split 15 bucks three ways.
Over the years, there were many gigs and many memories but the ones that meant the most to me were the two shows I played In High school at the Limestone Variety Show.
The first variety show was my Sophomore year In the Fall Of 1974. American Graffiti was a hit movie the year before and Happy Days was just beginning its hold on American TV audiences. It was a 50s revival. We had been playing Barbara Ann in our shows and Rock Around The Clock was re released on the radio due to the Happy Days phenomenon. We were playing that tune as well. The organizers of the variety show thought it would be a cool touch to combine our band and a trio of girls who sang My Boyfriends Back. It was a nice skit that played good against bad. Of course a Limestone Rocket was the boyfriend. Greg Prichard played the good boyfriend and Brad Johansson played the bad guy.
We started the show off with Rock Around The Clock and it came off both professional and exciting. The girl trio was next doing the My Boyfriends back skit and we would close the set with Barbara Ann. It was a packed auditorium and it felt like an Alan Freed Moondog Show. We really sounded good and looked the part. The crowd was our classmates and they never held back.
The last night of the show, just as we were finishing our last song, Mr Wassle came up next to me and said, play another!!! The curtain was closing and everyone including the band thought we were done. Just then, as the curtain was almost closed , I kicked off Johnny Be Goode just as loud as I could play!!!!!
The curtain quickly opened again and the kids spilled out of their seats and into the aisles.
It was the essential spirit of rock n roll and it was alive and well that night in Bartonville Ill.
After the show, I washed the grease out of my hair and fell asleep in my Orange Room with a smile on my face.
Pictures of my high school band and a few from the variety show 1974.
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