It all started at a dance back in '98...

Yep. At a dance. And it wasn't even mine! I was chaperoning my son's 8th grade dance one snowy winter's evening. I guess it's the parent in me, but I didn't like the techno-rubbish the DJ was playing...I subconsciously felt they should have been dancing to the music we listened to at that age. And what's with this DJ crap anyway? When I was in 8th grade, we had live music: bands ranging from our classmates (who were just learning how to play guitar) to upperclassmen (some of whom were quite good). The distance between my current town of Whitehall and hometown Mayfield Heights is only 150 miles, but the cultural changes that spanned the 30 years I was trying to bridge seemed to be light-years apart.

As I was driving him home, I said, half-jokingly, "Ya know what I'd like to do? Get some of the dads together and start an oldies band to bring into one of these dances." 

"No...dad...DON'T!!!"

Well, with a reaction like that, I knew I was on to something. If you read my Fender page, you know that playing in a band was an idea I kept the idea in the back of my head until I finally worked up enough of a head of steam to do something about it. And once again, the mid-life crisis comes into play: I had crossed that magic 5-0 line; I could now wear an oversize Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts, white belt, black socks & sandals, and wonder what's wrong with that? Therefore, I would have no problem getting on a stage with guys I didn't know from Adam and playing songs that their artists probably wish they could take back.

2003. I have a bass. I have an amp. I have no more inhibitions or self-respect. Perfect. I made some calls and posted some ads and got immediate results. I schlepped my equipment down plenty of basement stairs that winter and spring. I started and ended bands and joined and quit bands with amazing speed. I renewed old friendships and made many new friends. (And conversely, I met some folks I hope I never see again!)

2004. I finally found my niche: Saturday nights at the Dolphin Lounge, in Gahanna. The Peter Conrad Band hosted their open stage (see footnote), and I was a perfect fit. The guys were my age, played my music, and have been known to wear oversize Hawaiian shirts. Sometimes I filled in as the house bassist and other times I was just another pretty face on their sign-up list. I had fun either way and I got plenty of stage time. (Footnote: Peter pulled the plug on his open stage in September 2005, ending a run of about 9 years as host. I was honored to have been on stage with him as he played his last song, which coincidentally was the one he played first, all those years ago: The Rolling Stones' The Last Time.)

But open stages weren't all of it. I was co-founder of a one-shot deal called The Electric Shadows. We formed an oldies band to play the 2004 Double Venom Spring Fling, a Cobra rally in London, Ohio, on June 29. My contacts led me to two outstanding guitarists who had that date open; and Ira, the drummer for the Peter Conrad Band, agreed to play skins for us. We played on the steps of the Madison County Courthouse that Saturday afternoon, then were the first band to play the newly refurbished Bogey Inn in Dublin that eve. We got burned up in the sun and burned out from the grind, but it was great. I finally got to see that beautiful amp glisten in the sun, play some great music for an attentive audience, and most important, I broke through the 'bar band' barrier by playing two outdoor gigs. This was my Nirvana; to re-experience the joy I felt when I was 14 and I played at a beach party as one of my first paying jobs. (music links below).

Since then, I've continued to do open stages and earned a reputation as a "hired gun"...a guy you can call at the last minute to fill in for a bass player who couldn't make it to the gig that night. Looks like keeping the oldies music playing while you're deleting all that spam worked out. Where do I go from here? Here's my 'blue-sky' list:

* Tour with The Hellecasters, Tom Johnston and the Doobie Brothers, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.

* Be called up as Special Guest Bassist to perform "Paper Airplane" with Willy Porter.

* Get together with Brush High School's Joel B., Dennis V., Chas O., and Tony P. to play a dance at my alma mater, Mayfield High School. I played a couple of after-game dances at their high school and others in the Cleveland area but never my own. (Almost fulfilled: see below.)

* Jam with members of The Sunrays and The Surfaris so I can run with the best harmony-singin', tail-kickin' surf-rockers to ever grace a spring reverb.

* Form an honest-to-goodness surf band with Jeffrey Foskett to play beach parties, speedways, and baseball games.

Ambitious? Yes. Unattainable? Well, look at what they said about someday walking on the moon...!

(all pictures are thumbnailed)

Here's the header poster for a web page I built for The Electric Shadows. I came up with the tagline, "The band that needs no warm-up time." If the truth be known, at least a couple of us needed shock treatments to get our pacemakers going before we could play! (music links below)		I had us pose next to one of the Cobras at the Bogey...for a publicity shot and because I liked the car.		There's always something happening at the Dolphin. This is a retirement party for "Bud" Wise, a sax player from Mansfield.
I'm keeping a close eye on Joel G.'s (aka "Jimmy Cash Money") chording to keep up with one of their famous 'mystery songs'.	One piece of unfinished business was that I never played for my classmates while in school. That was remedied in August 2005, when four of us formed a band for our 35th reunion and played the tunes we danced to as far back as junior high. (Since nobody's come up with a viable time machine, looks like I'll have to take a waiver on playing for them at the school.)	I had planned on confining myself to 4 strings but here I am, back playing my '71 Les Paul Deluxe goldtop. I really need more practice on this one!		The Spider's Web; 9/23/1967, at Cleveland's Villa De Borally party house. I don't know why we're wearing leis. The hyperactive guitarist in the middle is now an entertainer on cruise ships who goes by the name of Tony Petra. I'm playing a Sekova Beatle Bass knock-off.
Why are Trixie and her friends dancing? Because they're listening to Jeff's music files! You can, too! Just click on the song title -- and it's time to boogie!
A Dream of Possum Fat Mountain I wrote this when I was 17. It was recorded onto a garden-variety school A-V club Wollensak, mixed-down and overdubbed in a professional home studio (rare for the time), then pressed at the famous Cleveland Recording studios. The flip side was a group project with two friends from Beachwood -- you'll never find two more opposite individuals!		The Stripper I recorded this in the school bandroom with Dan G. and Stu R., playing rhythm and drums, respectively. I played lead on my trusty Hagstrom I. I borrowed my friend's bass to do the multi-pass. Having no plans to play out or take this group any further, the rhythm player came up with an appropriate artist name just for the label: Horsemeat & Gravy.		Homebound Flight A song I wrote & performed for a commercial for the Airliners International convention in Columbus, 2003. 2 lead, 2 rhythm, 1 bass track. (One excellent guitar player heard this and said, "For this, you got paid?!?!" Critics are everywhere!)
I was stationed at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in 1973. Through a long chain of events, four white rock musicians and four black acapella soul singers teamed up to form a knockout GI band called The Mean Machine Featuring The Soulful Gents. We played at the base airman, NCO, and officers clubs and at the adjacent US Army base, Camp Friendship. They were prepared to send us on tour throughout Southeast Asia but the oil crisis intervened and put the kibosh on that.		These two selections are from one of our first gigs: the Phoenix rock festival, April 7, 1973. (Quite progressive for a US Air Force base in the middle of the Vietnam war!) I had moved up to a Fender Jaguar by this time. Beauty is Only Skin Deep Don't Look Back
After I returned to the 'states, I was stationed in Gila Bend, Arizona, which is 80 miles SW of Phoenix (can't escape that name!). There wasn't a lot of music going down in Gila Bend but I managed to find places to play.		The local Rotarians would appoint one of their members to provide entertainment at their monthly meetings and I just happened to be friends with one of them so I had a ready-made venue. I bought a Les Paul from a guy at Luke Air Force Base and that became my workhorse.		Despite the cultural differences (Cleveland's a LONG way from Gila Bend!), I was well-received. I first heard this song in 1970 on WJCU-FM, the official station of John Carroll University, which played non-mainstream music at the time. I played it for several years before learning what it was called. I butchered it but still enjoyed playing it. Rockport Sunday
I moved to Columbus after leaving the Air Force (and Gila Bend). I drifted around from group to group for a few years before finding a steady gig. (Not that I was trying that hard!) Thanks to a 3-way trade with some friends, I ended up with a Fender Jazz Bass and from there on out had no trouble finding gigs. However, the musicians I jammed with were still at my level of the food chain: a cut above plankton.		That changed in 1978. I met up with a couple of music teachers and other accomplished musicians. After the usual sifting of the wheat and chaff, I ended up with Al D. and Aggie K.. I forget the drummer's name; he was the first (and only) drummer of Chinese ancestry I ever worked with, and was quite good.		Of all the groups I've been in, I believe this unnamed collaboration had the greatest potential. I also miss Al and Aggie the most. Here is some noodling around from a practice on a pleasant spring day. I apologize in advance for the extremely poor quality. Year of the Cat At Seventeen Crazy Love Anticipation Cryin' In The Night Just the Way You Are Alison (My Aim Is True) Run From Love (original) . .
Original songs aren't my strong suit. My exact opposite on this coin was Richard Winner, a keyboard player who lived to write. He teamed up with Jim B. (who didn't play an instrument that I was aware of) and churned out some pretty good stuff. They brought me in to help make it a more commercially viable sound. We came close but no cigar. To remain a working musician, Richard resigned himself to playing in a "copy band" while keeping his dream alive. Unfortunately, he passed away in pursuit of that dream.		Columbus rock station WLVQ-FM began a hometown album project in the 70s. We took a couple of Richard's best songs and did the basement tape thing but didn't make it, for obvious reasons: poor track synchronization, bad recording techniques, and my own shortcomings while trying to give 110% on lead, bass, and rhythm guitars.		Richard shared vocal duties with Alice O. of Connecticut.  2000 Miles Jim wrote this one: Beware of the Girl (With the Flowers in Her Hair)
After making an idiot out of myself by trying to shine on 4-, 6-, and 12-strings with Richard, I opted to concentrate on bass while still expanding my musical horizons. In the early 80s, I met Joe M., a popular black gospel singer-songwriter who also played a pretty mean piano. My experiences in racially-mixed groups were not always positive and I had reservations; but this time, things went well.		Joe was commissioned to compose, record, and perform a single song about children for a local arts festival. After a couple of weeks of fragmented practices, all of us got together in a studio on a Sunday morning, laid down our tracks, were herded out and a children's chorus brought in to finish it out. We re-formed that evening to play at the festival.		I thought I had the finished product but I can't find it. The best I could come up with is this unmixed recording. Come On, Children
By the late 1970s, I was playing in VFW clubs and bars on a regular basis with mainstream bar bands. There were so many watering holes I can't remember all of them. One that did stick out is the Dolphin Lounge. I played there before Nancy converted it to (mostly) open stage nights.		I learned that playing at the Dolphin is a rite of passage for Columbus musicians. So it was only fitting that this is where I made my return back into the business. I have fun here, and that's why I picked up a guitar in the first place, way back in 1964.		I was subbing with the Peter Conrad Band the night these songs were recorded. (July 31, 2004) Walk -- Don't Run Up On The Roof I Feel Good
OK. Last, and probably least, we have The Electric Shadows. This is no reflection on the excellent musicians but rather a case study in why you need to come up with a game plan and stick to it. We had a core song list but too much of our practice time was spent trying to put together tunes we hadn't planned on or prepared in advance.		Our practice time was limited so we tried to compensate for the short song list by adding and extending solos, etc. In the process, we dropped the ball on chord changes and the like. Thanks to the caliber of the guitar players and drummer, we were able to pull it off. (We seemed to do better on the songs we didn't practice!) But kids, don't try this at home!		Click on the link to see the .wmv file. They aren't very big. No Particular Place To Go Little Black Egg Rebel Rouser

To see what started this mess, click HERE.

To see where it ended up, click HERE.

To see the story on the amp, click HERE.

To see the story on the bass, click HERE.

This is Zape, the webmaster. He wants you to visit my friends, New York State's The Outpatients, by clicking on their name. They're a great bunch of guys who put the fun back in music. And while you're at it, stop by The Fender Discussion Page to talk with others about the line of electric instruments that made today's music what it is.