One Band Member You Remember

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 20 Sep 2009 3:56 pm

Can you name ONE bandmember over the years you still remember.You may have hated him or LOVED him but you still think of him [or her] once in a while ? YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 20 Sep 2009 4:13 pm

When I was at the Hank Thompson School of Country Music at Claremore, Oklahoma, I played in a band called New Country. There was a young kid at the school named Joel Duvall, who could sing very well and played a Gibson Dove guitar. He played rhythm guitar in the band, and sang eight or ten tunes a night.
We called him Joel Skoal Duvall, because he was always dipping snuff when he wasn't playing. He was some relative of Merle Haggard's, and when the Hag did a show at the Tulsa State Fair, Merle invited Joel to come up on stage and sing a song along with the Strangers. I always wondered where he is today and what he is up to. Anybody know him? He was from Jenks, Oklahoma.
Larry J.

Ken Lang · Post by **Ken Lang** » 20 Sep 2009 5:20 pm

I remember a bunch and am in regular contact with several from the 60's upward. The ONE and I are putting our old trio back together in 2010 in NY for the summers. He coming from Florida and I from California. It should be large fun.

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 20 Sep 2009 7:23 pm

Don't know how many over the last fifty years I have worked with. A few were A %^$#@,tried to forget those. One I worked with over twenty five years ago pops in my mind once in a while.I mentioned him in the stories section.He was a native of NYC.When he retired from the army here at Fort Benning,He stayed and made his home here. His name is Johnny Wall.A great drummer,used a small kit and could out play these guys with a stage FULL of drums.What an unforgetable character,Alway a big smile,telling jokes,pulling practial jokes [mostly the piano player] Made a four hour gig seem like two.Johnny where ever you are buddy I enjoyed the times we spent together YOU BETCHA, DYK?BC.

Ray Montee (RIP) · Post by **Ray Montee (RIP)** » 20 Sep 2009 7:36 pm

When I was just a teen-ager, I had the opportunity to play with Arkie & His Jolly Cowboys band. All of his older musicians were mature, mostly fathers, and accomplished players.

One young guy that joined the band was Mike Quanstrum. He was just 16-17 and had somewhat of a rough family background, to hear him explain it. Unfortunately, Mike got into drugs and alcohol and died at age 44 in Longview, WA.

He played lead guitar and was able to hear a Jimmy Bryant tune just once and then play it note for note without any hesitation. We did all of the Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant instrumentals as they came out.

I miss him.......but he chose to go down that one-way road at an early age. So very sad.

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 20 Sep 2009 8:14 pm

Ray, that is sad. In my days have seen that happen TOO many times.Have know at least a half dozen over the years the youngest at 18, some in their 30's and 40's.Because of drugs and alcohol. And each one was VERY talented.Some could figure something out in FEW MINUTES that would take me hours of hard work.It's really sad.All of them would not except they had a problem. YOU BETCHA, DYK?BC.

Mark Treepaz · Post by **Mark Treepaz** » 21 Sep 2009 8:28 am

Ray Montee wrote:When I was just a teen-ager, I had the opportunity to play with Arkie & His Jolly Cowboys band.

Ray, that band name reminds me of a band that I played with for a couple of years (many, many years ago).. "Happy Richie & The Royalaires".

Joe Miraglia · Post by **Joe Miraglia** » 21 Sep 2009 10:50 am

Larry- Band called "NEW COUNTRY",

At one time did you play new country? Did people at that time say I don't like new country

Joe

Jim Lindsey (Louisiana) · Post by **Jim Lindsey (Louisiana)** » 21 Sep 2009 12:04 pm

Charles, there's so many band members that I remember, it would be hard to name them all. So, I'll pick one who really stands out in my memory.

It was back in 1977 not too long after I started playing steel guitar. I was in my third band, a group called The Barefoot Brothers, and we were a large group ... seven piece band. One of our two guitar players, Jason Foote, was a totally awesome musician. Great personality, very humble and gentle natured guy about 29 years old at the time and beyond belief with his guitar playing.

His family had a large farm and every year they threw a huge Bar-B-Que ... that year, Jason got our band to play for them. While in his home, we spied a framed diploma on the wall ... it turns out that Jason had four years of Juliard training under his belt. No wonder he was such an awesome player!

As a former band member, he sticks out in my mind so well because he always seemed to know what I was thinking musically and what I was about to play on my steel and he always played exactly the right thing (be it chords or counterpoint licks) to support and compliment whatever I played. It was amazing ... if I was having a good night playing he made me sound great ... and, if I happened to be having a bad or difficult night, Jason's playing actually made me sound better and made up for any difficulties I might be having at the moment.

Last time I saw him was in 2002 when he visited me for a week and we did some jamming. Last I heard, he'd moved somewhere in Nevada, but wherever he's at, I'm sure he is entertaining someone with his excellent musicianship.

Luke Morell · Post by **Luke Morell** » 21 Sep 2009 1:35 pm

Back in the 80's I played bass for a guy named Buddy Hagen from Pana, Il.. Buddy was more than a singer, he was an entertainer. Buddy passed away 1992 from cancer, sure do miss him.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 21 Sep 2009 2:38 pm

Joe,
We played mostly clubs around Tulsa and southeast Kansas. The patrons were all young people for the most part, and they liked the music. I played with that band around 1974, 1975 and we played the country that was on KVOO radio, and some older country as well. Didn't have any complaints at the time...
Larry J.

Bob Blair · Post by **Bob Blair** » 21 Sep 2009 7:28 pm

Jason Wells, who played guitar and bass for the late Joe Sloan in Toronto in the early 80's, and who had a long history playing bars and lounges all around Ontario. Bass was provided via the "Wells Foot Bass" (designed by Jason and his brother and the prototype for the short-lived "GBX foot bass" if anyone remembers those....the other original "Wells" model was played by a one-man band that some of you Toronto folk will remember - a guy named A. Frank Willis I think the name was). Jason sat on a cheap swivel stool, surrounded by enormous piles of outdated gear (he also did the sound, such as it was). Looked like the communications officer in a B-52 behind all that junk. Played one of those hollow-bodied Les Pauls, while grinding out complicated bass lines with his feet. Good guitar player. He was a voracious reader, whose tastes tended toward oddball new age type writers, and he would discuss his latest readings in great detail in the breaks. On some occasions when a drummer was not affordable he operated a complicated drum machine from which he was able to extract an astonishing array of sounds (none of them particularly good, given the limitations of the equipment). One night there was a halloween party at the venerable Blue Goose Tavern in Mimico, and as the costumed contestants came up on stage to be judged based on applause volume Jason developed a little theme tune for each, which he remembered and kept repeating (playing guitar, bass and the egregious drum machine) each time the same contestant came up - when I asked him how he did that he said he used to work a lot of fashion shows! Joe Sloan was a good songwriter and quite a character in his own right, but when he called me up and hired me sight-unseen I had no idea what I was getting into - one look at Jason and all his oddball gear and I knew I had landed on another planet. Played some of the worst bars in Toronto with those guys, rarely achieving a good overall sound (though they had a great drummer that sometimes turned up) but enjoyed them very much. Joey was, in some ways, your typical hard-luck transplanted Cape Breton country singer, but Jason Wells completely defied categorization. What a guy.

Chet Wilcox · Post by **Chet Wilcox** » 22 Sep 2009 7:54 am

Duane Stephonic , was one of the best Pedal Steel Players I ever met,He is from West Branch , Ia. Great steel player from back in the early 70s.. I dont think he is a member, also Lee Wheeler was a very good friend and Builder. dont know what happened to him either.

Jack Dougherty · Post by **Jack Dougherty** » 22 Sep 2009 9:23 am

Yes I do..

But do they remember me?

(or want to)

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 22 Sep 2009 10:04 am

Back in the Seventies, I played in a band called Methyl Ethyl and The Keytones. MEK for short. Methyl Ethyl was well known actress Amy Madigan. What a personality! Every time I see one of her movies, I smile at the memories of all the bizarre fun we had in that band!

Mickey Adams · Post by **Mickey Adams** » 23 Sep 2009 8:49 am

PSG player, Charles Stevens, Marietta GA......I sure miss him...

Shorty Smith · Post by **Shorty Smith** » 23 Sep 2009 4:33 pm

Charlie, a musician we lost a few years ago was Ron Wilson, I wonderful person and a great singer of traditional country music who got killed by accident on Christmas Eve. We played country music together for many years. I really miss Ron, I'm sure he is playing music in heaven with, Charles Bailey, Willie Guy, Bill Conners, Hugh Smith, Lee Beamon, Shorty Petie and many more who played music together in the past here I Columbus and Phenix City, Shorty

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 23 Sep 2009 8:13 pm

Yes Shorty Ron [he and I were in-laws] was a good one.As you know we all called him [hoe handle]He got killed on that tractor on Christmas Eve.Remember my daughter called me right after it happened,WHAT A SHOCK. Remember it was a few days after all of us played that benefit for Shorty Pettis. Ron sang the LAST song at the benefit that night.I to had worked with all those guys you mentioned over the years. Come see us Shorty. YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 23 Sep 2009 9:01 pm

I remember a drummer who played so loud I needed 100 watt half stack to keep up to him. And he played so hard he left a pile of sawdust under his snare drum.

Rick Campbell · Post by **Rick Campbell** » 23 Sep 2009 10:10 pm

Bill Monroe and Jimmy Martin were pretty good bandmates for me, but wouldn't want them in the same band.

Seriously, David West, super banjo picker, and largest Martin guitar dealer in the world. Absolutely, no pressure, play what you want, any way you want. Just one rule, no rehearsals, he says he "don't want to hear it twice".

Bill Myrick · Post by **Bill Myrick** » 24 Sep 2009 2:31 am

Mark Thornton, a 14 year old boy that played one summer in our band "The Country Playboys" in south central Iowa in the early "80s". He was a totally accomplished lead guitar at that early age. Any style and knew when to be there and not. Very gifted. Always wonder what became of him.

Scott Henderson · Post by **Scott Henderson** » 24 Sep 2009 6:37 am

My most memorable band member was a keyboard player named Rick Decoster. He taught me about letting music have it's own path. He also taught me so much about life. I only worked with him a very short year.
Rick passed away at age 46 of prostate cancer. Rick rode to gigs with me the last few times he played with us. His words made me laugh, made me cry, and made me think about a lot of things I needed to take care of. About a month before he passed we all lunch. He was done playing because of the pain but he didn't want to let us down by quitting and we wouldn't fire him. So we just said good by and talked about all the fun we had. I saw Rick a few more times but at the end he didn't want any contact with us. He wanted to be remembered the way he was. He was a great musician and a great friend. I still miss him.

Gordon Borland · Post by **Gordon Borland** » 24 Sep 2009 8:20 pm

Tim Gillis.
Tim and I went to high school together and formed a country band for a talent contest. Tim was in a band after high school and let me take his place in a working band when he left to join the Navy. He settled in New Jersey and made a name for himself in county music with his band.
http://www.timgillisband.com/
Tim made his dream come true. A great guy.

Skip Edwards · Post by **Skip Edwards** » 24 Sep 2009 9:44 pm

Gene Hoover
In the early '70's I played with a country band here in LA. We played around town some and did a few month long gigs in Reno, Vegas, Colorado and a few other places.
I was in my early 20's and full of beans, and I was lucky enough to meet and play with a fine guitar player named Gene Hoover. He was the old man of the group at the advanced age of 39(!). Seems so funny now...39 being regarded as old.
Anyway, he was the older influence that some of us were lucky enough to have been exposed to...he was a mentor to me. He taught me taste, restraint and class on the bandstand...how to listen to the other players and hear the changes...almost before they happen.
A fine well-rounded picker, he had toured with Lynn Anderson, and since he had played a little steel previously, he could imitate a steel better than anybody I'd heard before or since....and I'm no fan of guitarists doing steel imitations. But he had it down, and I'm not just talking about the corny beginner's licks that most guys seem to be content with...on a Jazzmaster with that Fender floating trem bar.

To bring this little tale to an end, I recently reconnected with him a few months ago, after 34 years. I had never told him before how he had influenced me back in the day, and I was glad to have had the chance to finally say thanks.

Here's to ya, Gene.

Mike Archer · Post by **Mike Archer** » 25 Sep 2009 1:11 am

yeap there are many I remmber and love and respect

but one that stands out is Dave Friday from
johnson city TN I played steel for dave
about 5 years from 1987 till 1992
he drank a lot but boy could he sing!!!!!!! and could work a room like no other
and funny as all getout I miss him

he passed about 2 years ago or so
he left a lot of friends here on earth
heres to you Dave!! Mike

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