"The feeling
remains... 
Even after 
the glitter fades"

Stevie Nicks

 

 

Part Three - The Great Champaign Hangover

http://www.firehauschampaign.com/

Another Reunion!

Great Site.....but who are all these senior citizens in the current photos? Old age comes on quickly, don't it! Just a quick note for the Cham'bana crowd. They're having a Red Herring reunion the weekend of April 11th '08 with a good number of the old folkies planning on being there including what looks like it will be a complete reunion of my old band The Ship. I hope to hell we still remember how to play......

Todd Bradshaw, The Ship

Bradshaw updates us on The Ship and "Where-Are-They-Now?"

Yes, it's fine to post my email. Most of us from The Ship haven't seen each other or communicated much in over 30 years, so if nothing else, this should be fun. Steve Cowan and Steve (now Albert) Melshenker are in California. Cowan works for a software company and Melshenker is in advertising. Mark Hamby lives in Seattle and is in the investment business. Rumor has it that he's become a pretty good sax player in addition to still playing piano, etc. Lead guitarist Steve Reinwand (aka "Rhino") changed his name to Billy Panda quite a while ago - I guess that means that he also changed his species..... He lives in Nashville and is a studio musician. He has a long string of album credits playing guitar and mandolin, including albums by many of the top country music stars. He also occasionally travels as part of Kim Carnes' band. Jim Barton is in Pennsylvania and runs a small studio doing voice-overs for TV and radio. Drummer Jeff James lives in Florida and doesn't have e-mail, so I haven't heard from him yet to see what he's been up to. Some of the guys have talked to him by phone to let him know what's going on. I've had a couple quick e-mail exchanges with bassist Rick Frank (who replaced me when I left) but so far it's just been trying to figure out which amps we want to use, so I don't yet know what he's been doing, or where. I'm in Madison, Wisconsin and make sails for boats for a living. I still play an hour or two per day, but only in my office when I'm supposed to be working. The only missing former Ship member is Bobby Carlin who played drums with us for a while and who passed away a few years ago (mentioned on your site).

The Ship

I guess the Red Herring still exists, though it's now a real vegetarian restaurant, rather than just selling soft drinks and bags of potato chips from a grungy kitchen like the old days. A while back they started having folk music again on certain nights of the week. I hope the new crowd doesn't freak out when throngs of senior-citizen-ex-hippies mob the place for the weekend. That's also Mom's Day weekend at the U of I, so campus should be crawling with old folks and we should blend right in. Maybe some of the moms will remember us.

Todd Bradshaw   addiction.sailmakers@charter.net

Chris Berbaum here: wanted to update my email, as my old Motorola email is no longer active. Motorola has moved almost all operations overseas, so after nearly 20 years of building cell phone systems out of Chicago, I have been outsourced :(

chrisberbaum@yahoo.com

I was sorry to see that Dan Birney (Head East) has passed away: If only the Internet had come into being sooner, so many of us would have been able to keep in touch.

I have reunited with several Decatur Comrades (see attached jpg): 
2 Dynaflos & A Duck :)

left-to-right: John Sauter (Polar Bear): electric bass violin (standup), slide bass, bass guitar. email: Reggiesblackdragon1@yahoo.com

Chris Berbaum (Cris B Critter): guitar, vocals, guitar teacher. email: chrisberbaum@yahoo.com

John Evans (Catfish): slide, acoustic, and electric guitar stylist, bass, vocals, songwriter, project producer, guitar tutor.

All are available in various configurations for music work projects :) See you at Huber's

Keep up the great page, and thanks!

At your service, Chris Berbaum

JIM BAKER EMERGES!

Alan Lawler was just in Las Vegas and told me about your website and I'm knocked over!. Wow, what memories it brings back. I was a roadie for the One Eyed Jacks, REO, Head East, and many other bands back then in Champaign. I used to live around the corner from your grandmother's house and I used to come over to hang out with the beautiful Dixie. Cooker and I once took a trip to New York in his big old black car to sell a trunkload of homegrown pot to a guy in Sheepshead Bay. The pot started sweating in the trunk and filled the whole car with a horrible smell. When we got there we laid the pot out all over the apartment to let it dry and the guys dog ate a bunch of it. We then wrapped it in sheets and put it in the dryer where it go too hot and filled the whole building with pot aroma. How we didn't get put in jail I will never know. In 1974 I was road manager for the jazz rock group Chase and Bobby Young was working for me when 4 of the guys in the band were killed in a plane crash. I headed off to L.A. to go to work for Irving Azoff as he was putting together a tour for JoJo Gun. Dixie was moving back to L.A. at the time and she offered to give me a ride in her maroon Corvette. Dixie, Zack, and I headed off and stopped in Las Vegas. I went to see this girl I knew who was living here and decided to stay in Vegas. Dixie and Zack headed off and that's the end of my little saga. Champaign, sex, drugs, and rock & roll! Wouldn't trade those times for all the money in the world. 

Jim Baker    Jim.Baker@palms.com

another note from Jim....

Long time, no see. The rumors of my demise in the desert are much ado about nothing. My 2 ex-wives might wish it were true though. You can check out my website to see that I've gotten old and fat but I'm still living the rock & roll life in the fast lane at the Palms in Las Vegas. Check out www.bakersbabes.com and click on the "Events" tab. I'm the balding guy with glasses wearing the tie and smoking jacket in the Playboy Mansion pictures and others. Wow, this whole thing is just freaking me out. It's so weird to see the pictures of you, Dixie, Cooker and all of the guys in the bands that I haven't thought about for years. Hope all of you are well. Jim

Saw the website and appreciate the memories from 1967-1969 of the unbelievable music.

Would you or anyone remember Third Bardo Church of the Unfulfilled with "Annie Hat" as lead singer? Their staged concerts were memorable for their intensity and ability to take us away to another level.

Thanks. Mike   goatmike@aol.com

Hello- I'm sorry, I'm not sure who I'm writing to, but, I've loved looking at your site. A friend had just forwarded it to me, and I've been on here for an hour or two now. I played drums in the All Star Frogs, circa 75'-76', replacing Bobby Bortz. I played on the first record, though I always felt like Bobby should have done it. (In a Modern Dummer interview few years back, Micheal McDonald spoke of playing with Bobby in 'The Blue', and what a great drummer he was). Gosh, so many memories.. After leaving the Frogs, I moved back to Indianapolis (where Duke now lives, too), and pretty much lost touch with Champaign. Occasionally, I heard from some of the Champaign musicians when they were in need of a drummer (Terry Murphy & George Fabor come to mind), but, it's so hard to pack up and relocate (again) sometimes. I would've loved to have played with those guys, though. I remember sometime after that hanging around Fred's Drums (Indianapolis), and someone from Blythm called there, trying to find a drummer for Slink Rand. Fred's was becoming known as a good referral source for drummers & other musicians. Fred asked me if I was interested, but I didn't think I'd be appropriate. But, I spoke to the Blythm rep and told him of a great local drummer, Chris Pyle, and told him I had Chris' number at home. After later passing Chris' number along, I never heard anymore about it, so I assumed it went by the wayside. But, I later learned Chris got the job with Slink Rand and moved to Champaign. There were a few more drummers here in town with a Blythm/Red Lion/ Champaign connection. Chris is also back here now, and aside from still being a great drummer, he's become quite a renowned artist. Duke is still active, of course, and his old Frog's keyboardist, Jimmy, is now back with him. During my tenure with the Frogs, we played quite often at Ruby Gulch, which i believe was ran or owned by Toni Kaputo? (hope I spelled that right!). There were always great Champaign musicians dropping by, or in the area, still. I knew of many of them after seeing them play at the Sherwood Club, here in Indianapolis. Bands from Champaign & St Louis played there frequently. I also remember Reo alumni would occasionally drop by to visit with Duke at Ruby Gulch. I can remember going by the Red Lion on one of our nights off, and peering through the crack by the outside door. This particular night, Cheap Trick was playing, but there was hardly anyone in there. Didn't matter to them, though, they still played like they were playing to a full house. If anyone's still in touch with Bobby Bortz, please tell him, 'hello'! 

Sincerely, Gary Brewer (brewpost@webtv.net). 10/1/07.

Great site. It brings back a lot of memories and I've told several old friends about it.

I started at the U of I in the fall of '69 and graduated in the Spring of '73. I wasn't anybody important in that scene; just one of those guys who was usually around when a band was playing on or near campus.

The reason I am writing to you involves the Finchley Boys and Blues Weed flyer on page 2. I really liked that design and held on to a copy of the flyer for years. Unfortunately, in all the moves I've made since then, it has disappeared. Around '75 or '76, I made a bet with the woman I was dating at the time. I don't remember what the bet was about, but her price for losing was that she had to embroider that bird on my denim jacket. She wasn't too happy about it by the time she finished.

In 1980 I moved to New Orleans in a Camaro. Lots of things, including the jacket got left behind. After spending most of the next two decades in Louisiana and Texas, I moved back to the Midwest in 1999. One day I was at my brother's house and he brought the jacket out of a closet and gave it to me. He said it was too cool to throw away so he saved it for me. I no longer fit in it, but my wife wears it from time to time.

Sorry for the long story, but I thought you might enjoy the attached picture of the embroidered design.

Rick Knight    rpk19@aol.com

Embroidered flyer design

Bruce Baise here: What a great site. I was based in Charleston playing with a band called Cullpepper around 1972. It was me on bass, Brian Kesler on Drums, his brother Eddie on guitar, and Doug Updike on keyboards. We followed all of these people around as we were working through Doug Bauer at the time. All of those old posters bring back some great memories. We played Ted's Warehouse in Mattoon a lot. Ted took us under his wing so to speak and let us rehearse there during the day as well as playin the place about once a week. I remember Ted Bertuca as being a kind man who was very fair with us. We also played the Thunderbird quite a bit as well as the Lions in Bloomington and DeKalb. I'm still playing, living in New Berlin Ill. Another band that maybe some folks will remember is Eyes of Auriga from Litchfield with Paul Motika on guitar and Doug MacDougal,a fabulous keyboard man who is deceased. I think Mark Bono was on drums. They did a lot of King Crimson type originals and opened for Quicksilver in Springfield when they were here. Thanks for the memories and the great site! 
Bruce     brucebaise@yahoo.com

Love the site and it got me to looking up old friends on the net and even chatting with a few. I played the Red Lion with Craig Moore back in the late 70's and we opened up one show for the Boys. I grew up in Quincy and also played Positvely Front Street as well as the other hot spots around Illinois. I was playing a casino just last year in the UP and REO was playing there as well. Bruce Hall was staying in the room across from me and we ended up hanging out with the band and going backstage most nights. Brian Hit (the present drummer) was kind enough to land a Lugwig endorsement for our drummer and I got Kevin Cronin to call my wife back home in Omaha for a laugh. She loves their songs, but doesn't know who they really are...ah wasted youth! I was introduced to Slink Rand back then by Craig and got to know the musicians and differrent bands. Then the drinking laws changed and I moved to Kansas City to find other work in the music biz. Anyway... great site and I have ya book marked!

Kind regards, Charlie Glasgow

Quincy native

Re:  Appaloosa & Hound Dog Moses

I wonder if you know anyone who were in these bands in the early 70's; I have live tapes of them from 72 and have been trying to get information on members and where they might be today. 
The Appaloosa is from Ruby Gulch, and the Hound Dog was recorded at the Dream Museum. ('73 & '72 respectively).   I'm especially taken by Hound Dog Moses, and just can't believe no info is out there on the internet on them.

Thanks-Randy    KillMkLuv@aol.com

I'm David Adams from the rock band SCREAMS from Champaign. It's likely that a fair number of the visitors to the 'Champaign' section of your site would be interested to know that I've posted LIVE VIDEO from one of our Van Halen tour shows on my site. We're mentioned a little over half way down on your Champaign page, just below the photo of Jeff Ross that I sent (how FITTING ) . The video can be found here: adamscustomslideshows.com/screams_record.htm 
Thanks in advance for posting this. David

I recall the first time I saw REO. Duke Tomato was the guitarist and the remaining players the originals. In addition they had a sax and trumpet. They started the night with a song called Sinnin' For You that Rastus from Wisconsin had recorded and did a long version of Time Has Come Today by the Chambers Brothers. I can see it like it happed yesterday. As I recall Richrath (sp?) one weekend appeared with his band Buckwheat at a teen center in Charleston Ill. (Nowhere-still standing but is a college bar) and I saw REO a week later and Richrath was their new guitar player. What an amazing band at the time. -- Joe Stewart

I found your site years ago when I was looking for Bob Nutt. I've checked back over the years and was thrilled to see so many updates. Here is my own, small contribution.

I had the great good fortune to work as a waitress at Chances R in Champaign from shortly after it opened until I graduated from college in 1970. I heard all of the great bands and made some unforgettable friends. Are you out there, Terry Murphy, Gregg Philbin, Nancy Moak?

Not everyone remembers that Three Dog Night actually played there not long before they hit it big. There were also a lot of Chicago bands who did gigs there, including The Circus (Danny, their drummer, are you out there???) and Four Days and a Night, who get a mention elsewhere on your site. I remember when REO had a horn section (Hello, Marty Shephard!) and when The One Eyed Jacks fired Bud Carr. What a time we had. Blythm Ltd. was flying high and it seemed like there would be no end to it. The 'R' was packing them in every weekend. For some reason that I could never fathom, the back pit on the ground floor always had the heaviest drinkers and the best tippers. Go figure.

I wish that I had more pictures, but have included the two that I have. The first is of a One Eyed Jacks button, circa about 1967 that I've carried around with me through countless moves for over 30 years. The second is from 1969 or so, and is of myself and Bob Nutt in the Small Room at Chances R.

I can't tell you how much I enjoy your site. It brings back such great memories. Nancy Claar Flom nflom1@gmail.com

     
Bob Nutt and Nancy Flom

Nancy adds in another email:

I'm in Petaluma, California now. I just love your site and visit it often. I knew so many of those people from back in the day. Marty Shepherd and I have been reminiscing about the old REO days. I am not sure that he really remembers me, but he is polite enough not to admit it! It's been like a never ending game of 'whatever happened to?' and you actually have some of the answers! I am even vaguely familiar with the street in Urbana that you talk about leaving. I wish I had made the Red Lion reunion. We used to go there for happy hour every night, hanging out with the Leather Shop crowd mostly. What a time!

I wish that I had more pictures. I had one of the Klansmen with Frank Pytko on drums (I had such a crush on him!) and Joe Tomato from Garcia's Pizza (I remember that they called him "Mojo" back then.) but I just can't find it. If it ever turns up, I will for sure send it your way.

Here is a picture of Ra the way we all like to remember him, courtesy of Mark Johnson.

Scottie Stephen (The Leather Shop) died in April of 2001. 

There was a memorial/party at the Esquire Lounge on April 14th, 2001. Here are some pictures from that, along with an old picture of Scott, circa around 1969. They aren't the greatest quality, but I did what I could. The gentleman by the budding tree is, of course, Rasta James Wilson. Jim Cole, Guy Maynard and Gerry Ferrell performed. Sorry, I can't tell who that is on drums. 

      

Best wishes to you!  Another Nancy