"The
feeling
remains...
Even after
the glitter fades"
Stevie Nicks
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Tom Marshall's letter:
Hi Nancy -Sure, I'll dig up some relic photos - I played lead guitar with River Eel in late '76 - Triple Play in '77, The Mood in '78 - with Screams for the latter few months of 79, then formed the Mystery Dots with Screams/Mood members - also had a "Scraves" gig for a brief period (members of Screams and The Rave) - then spent years in Nix86 haunting the Midwest's finest Gin Joints - also played for like a week with Terry Luttrell in some spin off band of his, I think he called it "Shooter" or something like that, I was never really a "member", just sitting in while he attempted to gather potential players. There was this flyer that he did with a photo of a dog and someone holding a gun to its head stating something like" if you don't come out to see (insert band name here), we're going to shoot this dog" -way to go Terry... That kinda sums up the history of that endeavor. Terry was the producer for the Screams album, I met him around '78, and remained on & off again friends around town. Really nice guy - I always thought he was capable of greater things than he got involved in after Starcastle. Speaking of which, around 1980, I dated Barb Tassler for a year or so - ah, the CU saga continues... then dated Debbie Stewart (Matt's sister) after that...So speaking of Faber's band, do you remember Tabor, the bassist? When I first met him I thought he was a homeless bum or something - looked (and smelled) like he bathed bi-annually and was boycotting razors - what a weird dude - but then again George was bringing live Boa Constrictors on stage ala Alice Cooper at that point...Hmmm, Aquanetta White, I think I remember her from the Red Lion dressing (boiler) room oddly enough - nothing trashy, but would she have been down there getting high at the Ramones show in '78 ? Although a foggy recollection (literally), that name sticks in my head - along with the Brown sisters, Yvonne & Elaine, make any sense? The power kept going out that night as I recall (not unusual for the Lion) and I remember being in that moldy pit of a basement with a bunch of other "privilaged locals" huffing the boo like Indian Cheifs with Joey as the band started tuning up. Gabba Gabba Hey...Now Cooker, well - I didn't know him, but I knew about those guys (The Groupies) - I knew Peppi & Mickey Marchello from my heydays in NYC. They were the founding members of "The Good Rats", arguably the worlds most famous band without a record deal. There is a strange vibe in NYC with cult bands, some enjoy huge local success, even sell fair amounts of private label albums nationally, or in the case of the Rats, go over huge in Japan - but somehow never got the big deal... I studied guitar with Elliot Randall (Can't Buy A Thrill - Reelin' In The Years Guitar Solo) around 1970, he took me to a Good Rats gig in Manhattan, and introduced me to the boys - after which I sat in, and returned to do the same at future shows. In the musical muddle of the just post Woodstock NYC scene, I certainly remember the buzz about The Groupies - another casualty of the era.By '73, I was at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and left the NY metropolis behind for greener pastures - in '76 I got my walking papers and headed to UI to study music on the "8 Year Plan" - student teaching and getting tuition wavers, whilst engaging in decidedly non-approved activities at night. It was a cool way to spend those years, although I can't believe that I got anything done with my repeated "leaves of absence" to play all around the Midwest. Somehow I exited with the obligatory handshake & wall hanging.Now do you remember Jeff Klaven? Drummer for George Faber & Strongold? He & I used to hang out, drink, jam etc for quite a while in the post Finchley era. He later joined "Krokus" and got paid large sums of money to sport spandex in 1980 - great guy & great musician. How bout Toby Myers, bassist from "Roadmaster" - another local boy made good with a hugely long stint with Mellencamp beginning in 1978 and still going today.Then there was Skater - Moe (Don) Moselle, Jeff Hall (brother of Bruce, later lineup of REO) and Larry Wiggins - around Champaign from about '74-'79.I still have a Red Lion Poster from 1978 when Cheap Trick played there, and probably some other stuff as well - I know a few years back while unpacking the contents of some old boxes, I found a complete Steak & Shake uniform - little hat, & apron - I remember going across the street with "Herbie" (Kevin Hisel) as he got the idea to wear it as a stage costume as the singer for "The Rave" in '79 - we both conned this waitress into giving us a couple, I however, never sported mine onstage... OK, I am absolutely rambling at this point, so I apologize. This is alot of fun, but I will cut it short for now. I will hunt up some funny old photos & flyers, and some audio too if you like, and I'll send it along to you as I compile it.Thanks for the pleasant diversion - I will certainly be back in touch again soon, thanks for writing back so quickly. Best to all on that end -