Category Archives: Wisconsin

The Cannons “Day to Day” on Night Owl

from left: Peter Loeb, Jim Perkins, Mike Turk and Mike Keilhofer, with Lee Larsen kneeling in front.The Cannons came from Madison, Wisconsin, releasing singles in 1966 and 1967. Members were:

Lee Larsen – lead vocals
Mike Keilhofer – lead guitar
Peter Loeb – sax and rhythm guitar
Jim Perkins – bass
Mike Turk – drums

Gary E. Myers’ book Do You Hear That Beat has Jerry Cratzenberg on bass.

Their first single was “Sweet Georgia Brown” / “Lonesome” on Fan Jr. 5504, produced by Skip Nelson.

Cannons Night Owl 45 Day To DayIn January 1967 they made their masterpiece, “Day to Day”, backed with “‘Love,’ Little Girl”.

No writing credits are listed for either song on the Night Owl 45, or for “Lonesome” on the earlier Fan, Jr 45, but a Capital Times profile stated “‘Day to Day'” and “‘Love Girl'” … both songs were written by ‘The Cannons.'”

“Day to Day” was reissued on Highs in the Mid Sixties Vol. 15 retitled “Days Go By”, and wrongly listing the band’s origin as Milwaukee.

The Capital Times ran a profile of the group by Gary Rettgen on February 6, 1967:

‘The Cannons,’ Local Rock ‘n’ Roll Group, Discovered by Chicago Agency

A musical group of young Madison men has been “discovered” by Chicago’s Williard Alexander booking agency … but the “discoveries” already are well known to Madison rock ‘n’ roll fans.

The local Upstairs at the Gun Club, Cottage Grove Rd., bills them as “Madison’s Number One Band.” Recently the group were first place winners in the March of Dime benefit band contest at the Capitol Theatre.

Familiar, too, is the face of its long-haired, bearded leader, Peter Loeb, 21, who wields a “wicked” sax and wild second guitar … Peter will enter graduate school in social work after June graduation.

Mike Keilhofer, 20, on lead guitar is a student at the Wisconsin School of Electronics.

The bass player is 20-year-old Jim Perkins, who by day attends Madison Business College.

Mike Turk, 20, the drummer, is a U. of Wisconsin sophomore.

Singing with “The Cannons” is Lee Larsen, 19, a printer’s apprentice by day at Webcrafts. The only married man in the group, he has a daughter…

A young brother, Greg Loeb, 18, a U. of Wisconsin freshman, has formed a group of his own. Their name: “The Grapes of Wrath.”

The Tikis “We’re on the Move” on Sara and the Talismen on Rampro

The Tikis and the Talismen had bassist and song writer Bill Schereck in common. Both bands formed at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, first the Tikis in the spring of 1965, then the Talismen in the fall of 1966.

The Tikis included Hugh Pearl on lead guitar, Bill Schereck on bass, Dale Dechstein (or is it Dale Chiusano?) on rhythm guitar and Bob Brethorst on drums.

They cut their great “We’re on the Move” / “Rick-O-Shay” at Cuca in Sauk City in April, 1966, released on Sara J-6641.

Bill Schereck wrote “We’re on the Move” (misspelled Scherek on the label), and Hugh Pearl wrote the deft instrumental “Rick-O-Shay”. The Tikis toured in the summer of ’66 then broke up. Supposedly there’s an unreleased recording engineered by the Legends Sam McCue.

The Talismen (formerly the Tikis) at the Westside Business Man’s Association, Friday September 23, 1966

Talismen Rampro 45 Glitter and GoldBill Schereck formed the Talismen with Paul Beneke on guitar, John Javorsky on bass and Russ Loniello on drums.
They released their only record, “Glitter and Gold” / “She Belongs to Me” on Rampro Records R-115 in October 1966.

I believe this may be the first release on Ken Adamany’s Rampro label out of Janesville (and is possibly an extension of the numbering on his Feature Records). Dick Campbell produced the session and also played guitar. Russ joined group only a few days before making the record.

Schereck went on to booking, managing Axis (with members Ann Probert, Steve Paris, Gary Huebing, Don Davis and John Beth), writing the B-side of their single on Earth “I Can’t Wait”. Schereck would make a record as the Roadcrew on Mercury 73631 in 1975.

Sources: Gary E. Myers’ invaluable books Do You Hear That Beat and On That Wisconsin Beat.

The Aztecs “Just to Satisfy You” on Valkyrie

Aztecs Valkyrie 45 Just to Satisfy You
I have no info on the Aztecs who released the song “Just to Satisfy You” b/w a good version of “Midnight Hour” on Valkyrie 959C-6114 in 1967. C. Johnson is listed as the writer of the A-side, but I can find no publishing registration – because (as Mike points out in the comment below) it’s not their original song!

45cat has one lead – the RCA account connects to the Claremont label out of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Whether the band was from Wisconsin or Illinois is impossible to say at this point. This was pressed at RCA’s plant in Indianapolis.

Handbag “Kids on the Coast” / “Heartache” on Markus

Handbag Markus 45 Kids On The Coast

Handbag had one single of organ-based jazz-rock, “Kids on the Coast” / “Heartache” on Markus DM 3848 from 1972. I could not find any detailed info on the band on the net or my reference books, so I thought I’d post about this record here, even though it’s not ‘garage’ rock.

M. Larschied wrote “Kids on the Coast”, arranged by L. Byrne. I like the bluesy flip, “Heartache”, written by J. Krueger.

Mark McCaul owned the Markus label and McCaul Music publishing, based in or near Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Markus is best known now for releasing “Sorcerer” / “Four Sticks” by Junction, as well as singles by Bishop, Jaramago, Koke and Mike Tilden & Friends. Several of these labels list “Trademark DM Recording”.

Interestingly, the “tulip” symbol in the dead wax, and the 1/4″ indent by the center hole indicate the single was mastered and pressed by Wakefield Manufacturing in Phoenix, Arizona, as were other singles on the label, such as Bishop and Mike Tilden & Friends.

Any further info on Handbag or other groups from the Markus label would be appreciated.

Handbag Markus 45 Heartache

Shepherd from Eau Claire, on Tangent

a href=”https://garagehangover.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ShepherdTangent45AreWeAlone.jpg”>Shepherd Tangent 45 Are We AloneShepherd came from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and cut this one great hard-rock single, “Are We Alone” / “I Never Heard a Thing” around May of 1971.

Members were:

Mike Clifton – guitar, vocal
Jay Peterson – keyboards
Mark Lillis – bass
Jeff Hilgert – drums

Shepherd Tangent 45 I Never Heard a Thing“Are We Alone” is an original composed by the entire band. Mike Clifton wrote “I Never Heard a Thing”. Ten Platt Music BMI published both songs.

Produced by Scott Sound Studios for Tangent Records, and released on Tangent TT 106, a Division of Scott Productions, Inc., Eau Claire.
The Shepherd single was one of five or six singles on Tangent, including Cross Town Traffique, the Zig-Zags, Dallas Cord and the D.J.s.

According to an online source, Mike Clifton, Mark Lillis and Jeff Hilgert would go on to Dynamite Duck and Snowblind, among others. I don’t believe those bands recorded.

Mark Lillis and Jeff Hilgert had been in the Burlington Express (not the Topeka, KS group). Jay Peterson would be in Bacon Fat with Hilgert and Lillis, and Dynamite Duck.

Any more information or photos of the band would be appreciated.

The Nomads on Kelly DiCianni’s Kel label

Nomads article Oshkosh Daily Northwestern Mar 25 1966
Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, March 25, 1966
Nomads Kel 45 You Come Around

The Nomads came from Oshkosh, Wisconsin and cut only this one single, “You Come Around” / “Don’t Come Runnin to Me”.

This is the first release on Kelly DiCianni’s Kel label.

Released as Kel No. 1000, with “A Kelas Production” on the label. Kelly and Sally DiCianni wrote both songs.

An article in the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern from March 25, 1966 gives the background for the single:

“Don’t Come Running to Me” and “You Come Around” are the two songs written by Kelly and Sally DiCianni. Kelly supplies the music and his wife, the lyrics.

The 45 rpm single is the first production under the “Kel” label. It was recorded in Oshkosh following three weeks of rehearsal.

The Nomads are four Oshkosh men who have been performing for 3 1/2 years. Three are in college and one is now in the Marines. They have appeared throughout Wisconsin and in Illinois.

Members of the aggregation and their musical assignments included: Michael Yanke, piano; Larry Wolff, drums and vocal; and Jack and Joseph Litjens, the first of whom plays lead guitar while the second plays the bass.

Kelly DiCianni is well-known as a piano instructor in the Neenah-Menasha area.

Nomads Kel 45 Don't Come Runnin to MeIn his essential reference, Do You Hear That Beat, Gary E. Myers states that Jack Litjens and Joe Litjens were indentical twins from Holland.

Gary also notes that Larry Wolfe would join the Friends, a long-lasting group who released “Jane” / “Can’t Make It Without You” on Night Owl in 1970. I’m not sure if Larry Wolfe was in the Friends at the time of that single.

Kel would release three singles by the Sunstone Lollypop, who included Kelly DiCianni’s two sons, Keith DiCianni and David DiCianni, plus drummer Steve Marks. The Sunstone Lollypop is a group I’d really like to interview for this site.

Today’s Tomorrow “Wanton Forest”

Today's Tomorrow Teen Town 45 Wanton ForestFrom La Crosse, Wisconsin, the Ladds had three singles on Transaction, Universal Audio and Teen Town between 1967 and 1969. In 1970, they changed their name to Today’s Tomorrow and had a minor hit with “Bring Back The Days” / “Witchi Tai To ” on Bang Records.

As the Silver Bullets they made an instrumental single for Teen Town, “The Lone Ranger” / “No Name Boogie”.

Members were:

Chuck Holzer – vocals
Ralph Russell – guitar
Alex Campbell – keyboards
Eric Melby – bass, also Randy Taylor, and Clare Troyanek (of the Unchained Mynds)
Mark Melby – drums

This is their next single, “Wanton Forest” / “You’ve Gone Away” as Today’s Tomorrow, on Teen Town TT-118, from about mid-1970. “Wanton Forest” is fine light psychedelia, and “You’ve Gone Away” is well-crafted and commercial. Alex Campbell wrote both songs, published by Jab Music BMI.

John Hall produced. Hall later started the Blue Ribbon label and released a great punk single, the Ones “Short Dress / Tight Rope ”

The July 11, 1970, La Crosse Tribune had a note about the recording of this single. I like how they call them “old hands” when most of the group were still teenagers:

Today's Tomorrow Teen Town 45 You've Gone Away

“Today’s Tomorrow,” who are old hands at making records and working in recording studios, seemed a little shook up as they entered the RCA Victor Studios in Chicago a couple of weeks ago to put their vocal tracks on their latest 45 single. Looking at the big-star albums hanging on the walls, one of the members of the group asked the recording engineer who had recorded in just the past couple of days. He replied in a very mild mood, The “Guess Who” were in the other day and cut their new single, “Hand Me Down World.” That was enough to give any young band the winks. The session pulled off great. It’s the best job of composing thus far for Alex Campbell. The two new sides are entitled, “You’ve Gone Away” and “Wanton Forest.” The tapes have already been sent in to the Bang record office in New York.

It didn’t get a release on Bang, but Cash Box listed “Wanton Forest” on the playlist of WOKY in Milwaukee on October 24, 1970.

Today’s Tomorrow would have one final single, a version of Paul McCartney’s “Smile Away” that I haven’t heard yet, backed with another Alex Campbell original, “Lifeless”, which has a ’70s funky hard-rock sound.

Alex Campbell had an early single with the Fax in August, 1966 when he was just 14, “Just Walking In The Rain” / “Not Too Long Ago” on Transaction 702, produced by Lindy Shannon.

If anyone has the picture sleeves for the Ladds first two singles, “Keep On Running” / “‘Wild Angels’ Theme” on Transaction or “I Found The Girl” / “Survival” on Universal Audio, please contact me. Also if anyone has photos of the band other than those on the Ladds picture sleeves, please write in.

Source: Do You Hear That Beat: Wisconsin Pop/Rock in the 50’s & 60’s by Gary E. Myers has extensive information that was vital to this post.

The Voyagers on Feature Records

“Voyagers Greet Nixon and Schadeberg”, from left: Jay Sieger, Lance Davenport and Marc Peterson. Photo courtesy of Eddy Hauser.

The Voyagers came from Racine, Wisconsin, cutting two 45s for the Feature Records label out of Janesville.

The band first recorded as a quintet with:

Mark Peterson – vocals
Jay Sieger – lead guitar
Ed Hauser – rhythm guitar
Lance Davenport – bass
Steve Porter – drums

Their first 45 was the excellent “Away” backed with “I’m So Lonely”, both songs written by Sieger and Davenport, from August 1966 on Feature Records 817R-111, an RCA custom press. Spad Music would publish all their original songs.

The band met Richard Nixon at a political rally in October, 1966, and another photo from this event ran in Newsweek on October 10, 1966, with the caption “Nixon stumping Wisconsin: Always a gracious thank you for the band” (tip of the hat to Chas G.).

Voyagers Feature 45 I Want You Back

Voyagers appearing weekly at the Racine YMCA, with special shows by the Delights, Five Emprees, Crying Shames, and Buckinghams. Poster photo courtesy of Eddy Hauser.

By the time of their second single, in 1967, Marc Peterson and Ed Hauser had left, replaced by Joey Carrion (Tino Gonzales) on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. This lineup recorded two more originals, “Can’t Save This Heart” by Sieger / Davenport, and “I Want You Back” by Carrion. It was released as Feature Records F-101, and produced by RAM Prod. After the single, Jay Sieger left and was replaced on lead guitar by Bob Spock.

Steve Sperry in Chicago, 1966
Steve Sperry in Chicago, 1966
Voyagers photo, with Ed Hauser on Gibson Firebird (photo courtesy of Eddy Hauser)

Arthur Sullivan sent me Stephen Sperry’s photo and business card, and wrote to me with some information:

This group, The Voyagers was produced by Steve Sperry who operated Ram Productions during the 1960s. This group was probably managed for bookings by Ken Adamany who lived in Janesville during that time. Steve lived in Janesville WI and also managed Dick Campbell of Monroe WI for a while. I don’t know where it was recorded but it has a very good clean sound. There was Leaf Studio in Janesville or Cuca at Sauk City.

Stephen Sperry Ram Productions, Janesville
Stephen Sperry & Ram Productions card, Janesville

Steve Sperry had an early 45 on Cuca J-1008 “That Ain’t So” / “Our Summer Love” before starting Ram Productions artist management and the Rampro label.

Arthur Sullivan had his own release on Swan Records ‎S-4153 as Artie Sullivan with the Rhythm Beats ‎– “It’s Time” / “Suzanne”, and produced singles with vocalist Dick Campbell on Camsul Records out of Worcester, MA (The Wild Ones “Surfin’ Time Again” for example), and CineVista Records out of Monroe, Wisconsin, among many others.

Thank you to Eddy Hauser for some of the photos in this article.

Sources: Gary E. Myers Can You Hear That Beat and On That Wisconsin Beat, and 45 cat

Dee Robb and the Robbins (the Robbs)

Dee Robb and the Robbins Score 45 Say That ThingI picked up Dee Robb & the Robbins’ “Say That Thing” not realizing this was the Robbs in an earlier incarnation. This 1964 Score single is much different from the sound of their Mercury singles and LP from a couple years later.

Early versions of the group included:

Dee Robb (David Donaldson) – guitar & vocals
Joe Robb (George Donaldson) – saxophone, bass guitar & vocals
Bruce Robb (Robert Donaldson) – keyboards & vocals
Dick Gonia – rhythm guitar
Craig Krampf – drums

They released three singles before their stint with Mercury. First came Dee Robb’s “Bye Bye Baby” / “The Prom” on Argo 5439 from 1963. Later that year as Robby and the Robbins they cut “Surfer’s Life”, a song written by Dee Robb with the group’s manager, Con Merten, b/w “She Cried” on Todd 45-1089. “Say That Thing” seems to be from 1964, judging by the Score release number.

“Say That Thing” sounds much like “What’d I Say” and has great lead guitar in Lonnie Mack’s style. The flip is a rocked-up version of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”.

Lenny LaCour’s Score label also put out a couple singles by the Texas/Chicago band the Bossmen, plus Oscar Hamod and His Majestics’ cool “Come On Willie” / “Top Eliminator.”

Dee Robb and the Robbins Score 45 He's Got The Whole World In His Hands

Interview with Eric Olson of the Next Five

Next Five Promotional Photo
The Next Five promotional photo

Tyler Tincknell (TT) – Interviewer

Eric Olson (EO) – Participant, lead vocalist and songwriter for the Next Five.

TT: How did you first get involved in music? Was the Next Five your first band?

Eric Olson in the early days of the Next Five when he still played guitar
Eric Olson in the early days of the Next Five when he still played guitar
EO: Music was always around me when I was growing up, my mother played the piano and when my parents had party’s they would all stand around the piano and sing, there was always a radio playing somewhere and music just sank into me as if it where a part of life. I always sang songs when I was a kid, changing lyrics intentionally or unintentionally, but saying to myself “well that fits too”. The first time I was with a band was in my garage with some kids from the neighborhood, by the time I was 13 I already knew I wanted to sing in band and hang out with the cool kids. I joined my first organized band when I turned 15, “The Variations” they were playing social centers and park pavilions for $20 a gig. The first gig I did was in early 1965 at View Street School social center on the lower south side of Milwaukee, I made $5 to play 2 sets. By the spring of ’66 I had a vision of what kind of band I wanted to be in. I started putting a band together and remembered a guitar player from Brookfield, Wisc. (Steve Thomas) who played in a band with a mutual friend and I got in touch with him and told him what I wanted to do. After our meeting he said “Ok, I listened to what you would like to do, now come and hear my 4 piece band that I already have, and we’re looking for a singer”. I did, and that was the beginning of the “Next Five”.

TT: Garage bands began popping up all over the country in the mid-1960s for various reasons. What motivated you to be a part of the Next Five?

EO: My motivation to join the 4 piece band Steve already had was we were on the same page as to what we wanted to do, there was absolutely no question in my mind that this was the band I was looking for and they felt the same way about me joining them. Of coarse I had to wrestle our drummer (Tom “Ashbolt” Stewart) out in Steve’s back yard to prove my worthiness. We were an extremely tight group of guy’s back in the early day’s, not just musically but we were all close friends instantly. I spent the summer of ’66 practically living at Steve’s in Brookfield because I was from the south side of Milwaukee and that was a little distance away. I’ve always believed because we were so young we developed and grew together as one, and that was the magic of the “Next Five”.

TT: Wisconsin is not the first state people looked to as a “hot-bed” for garage music, but it actually produced some noteworthy groups like the Blues Boys, the Delcords, and, of course, the Next Five. What was the music scene like and did any local bands influence the Next Five’s style?

EO: There were a lot of bands locally just on the south side of Milwaukee alone, before I was even in a band I saw the “Savoy’s”, “El Demerons”, “Road Runners” and the “Legends” who I never met or saw but they had an album out called “Run To The Movies” with songs like “Lariat” and “Say Mama”, they were the generation before me and pre- Beatles and had a big influence on me. The first live act I ever saw was not a rock band, it was Concertina Millie at Mitchell Park in the very early 60’s, the energy level of that act blew me away, I was probably 11 years old at the time. When I joined the “Next Five” the influences had changed due to the British invasion.

TT: Speaking of the British Invasion, which band would you say was the Next Five’s main influence?

EO: I don’t think there was any one British band that influenced us, everyone in the band had their own personal influences, we were always trying to stay current and looked for songs that fit the band and had lots of vocals. Everybody was influenced by the Stone’s and Beatles, but we would only do one song by any given artist at a time. In those day’s we only did two 45 minute shows at every gig, 12 songs a set, 24 songs a night, always new songs coming in and old songs going out, most songs would last a month or maybe two. There were some songs that were album cuts and we could hang on to those a little longer. The DJ’S at WOKY and WRIT would give us a heads up on what was coming out so we could get a jump on the new stuff.

Next Five appearing with Herman's Hermits and the Robbs, August 1, 1968
Next Five appearing with Herman’s Hermits and the Robbs, August 1, 1968

TT: What type of venues did the band perform at? What were some of the songs that would usually be featured?

EO: We played at high schools, proms, post proms, regular dances, colleges, teen centers, fairs and festivals, radio station events and a lot of CYO dances. Our manager Con Merten kept us booked solidly for three years straight. I remember going to children’s hospitals during Christmas to sing Christmas songs to kids. We did tv shows in Milwaukee, Chicago, Ohio. We did concerts with groups like the Rascals, Herman’s Hermits, shows with groups like Tommy James and the Shondells, the Royal Guardsmen, American Breed, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Moby Grape and many shows with Chicago bands like the New Colony Six, Shadows of Night and the Cryin’ Shames. In 1968 the first Milwaukee Summerfest was born and was produced by our manager (Con Merten) and Dee Robb from Wisconsin’s most successful rock band The Robbs, who Con also managed, that was a very memorable event. We would always do our own songs of coarse, but throughout the years we did songs like “Conquistador” Procol Harum, “Kids Are Alright” Who, “Hey Grandma” Moby Grape, “Rock and Roll Woman” Buffalo Springfield, “Black is Black” Los Bravos, “Saint Stephen” Grateful Dead, “Dear Mr. Fantasy” Kooper- Bloomfield and all the current hits at the time by groups like The Rascals, Hollies, Bee Gees, and even more poppy stuff by The Turtles and Lovin Spoonful.

TT: Talking with different artists, I find some tend to believe their greatest strength was found in their live performances. Would you say that was true about your band?

EO: Recording was always fun, but on live gigs you had an audience that fed you with energy. Kids would be jammed up in front of the stage and would rock out with the band and there is nothing that could compare to that. Doing TV shows was a sterile and technical environment where people just made sure your hair was in place, but by the end of a live gig your hair would be soaking wet and the sweat would be dripping down your face and you would be hyped up with adrenaline. I would have to agree with the other artists that there is nothing like live performances.

TT: I take it from the band’s discography, you were the main songwriter. What went into your composing process and was it a relatively easy task?

Next Five Destination 45 He Stole My Love
Eric Olson’s first released original, on Destination Records
EO: Our first recording was “Little Black Egg”, a friend of the band and local DJ Paul Christy from WOKY Milw. brought the song to one of our rehearsals and ask if we would consider recording it. It was first done by a Florida group called The Nightcrawlers in 1965 who had some success with it regionally in the south. Paul asked if we could write a B-side for it and we said sure, even though none of us had ever written a song before. I can’t remember if there were any other submissions by members of the band but we ended up doing a song I brought to rehearsal called “He Stole My Love”, I had the guitar line, chords, lyrics and melody and it was quite a dark song. I think I made up the story line from an old tv show or movie I saw. Being it was the first song I ever wrote I really just guessed at how to go about it. Paul said it was good enough for the B-side but suggested that the next time I write a song, I might want to think a little more commercial. “He Stole My Love” can be found on vinyl compilation albums Mindrocker Vol.3 1981 Germany, and Mindrocker The Complete Series Vol. 1-13 Anthology of 60 US Punk Garage Psych 1986 Germany, Wisconsin Rocks Volume 7, and numerous bootleg albums that come and go on the internet.

Next Five in WRIT's survey for March 11, 1968
Next Five in WRIT’s survey for March 11, 1968
The next song we recorded was “Mama Said”, a Shirelles song from 1961, Paul Christy wanted us to do “Romeo And Juliet” a song done by the Reflections in 1964. We decided on “Mama Said” because it felt right for us. Once again we needed a B-side and it wasn’t until the night before the recording session did I attempt to come up with something. This time I used a piano and immediately came up with the line for “Talk To Me Girl”, I found the chord structure, melody, and most of the lyrics, I finished the lyrics the next day driving to the session. After recording “Mama Said” we had 45 minutes to record “Talk To Me Girl”, nobody in the band had any idea of how the song went, but that was the magic of that song. I played the piano and Mark played the Hammond organ and everyone just played the first thing that came to their minds, there was no time to sit back and evaluate what we were doing, that was the fastest song recorded of any song I’ve written to date, and the spontaneity of it is why the song turned out the way it did. If we had time to try to make it better, it probably wouldn’t have sounded like that. Before we signed with Jubilee Records we recorded in different studios, and “What’s That Melody” a song I wrote and we recorded in Appleton Wisc. (I think) was used for the flip side of “Sunny Sunny Feeling” I don’t remember to much about that session but the song was never one of my favorites, “Sunny Sunny Feeling” was recorded in Chicago at Chess Studio’s. There was never one method to the way we did the original recordings, but if we had to pick one I’m sure it would be the way we did “Talk To Me Girl”.

TT: I noticed all of your songs were featured on the B-side. Was there a reason for this or was it a coincidence?

Next Five Canadian issue of "Talk to Me Girl" on Wand
Canadian issue of “Talk to Me Girl” on Wand
EO: Every time I’ve written a song I’ve tried to write an A-side, that wasn’t easy back then when you consider the competition of the day. I do remember when Paul Christy got the first DJ copies of “Mama Said” and “Talk To Me Girl”, he invited us over to his house to hear them. He first played “Mama Said” and it was pretty much how we remembered it because we had rehearsed it before we recorded it, and we played it live on the gigs after that. Nobody knew how “Talk To Me Girl” was going to sound because we had forgotten how it even went, we never did it after we recorded it. After he played it he said “this is pretty close to an A-side” and one night while doing a late show he called me and said he was going to play it on the radio even though he wasn’t suppose to because of the stations policy of just playing the top 40 hits. He played it at about 1:00 am in the morning and it sounded even better on the radio. That was probably the closest I got to an A-side in those day’s.

TT: How would you describe the Next Five’s sound? How would you say the group’s sound matured over time?

EO: Like most teenage bands back then we did cover material in the beginning, and we did that better than most bands because that’s what got us off the ground and got our manager (Con Merten) and our producer (Paul Christy) interested in us. We not only developed musically but also our presentation matured very quickly because of constant live performances. But for me anyway, the essence of the “Next Five” came out on the recording of “Talk To Me Girl”, that was the real us, un-scrutinized, spontaneous, and no input from outside sources.

TT: I noticed you shared the bill with some very successful acts. What was your most memorable gig?

EO: I would have to say that very early on everyone in the band liked the Rascals, their still one of my favorite 60’s groups. So when Con Merten (our manager) informed us we would be opening up for them at the Milwaukee Auditorium along with the Robb’s who were also managed by Con, that was a big step forward for us. I can remember standing just feet away from drummer Dino Danelli while he was doing the show, the guy was incredible, the whole band was incredible. That has always stuck in my mind as one of the most memorable gigs we did with a major act.

TT: Although you hinted at it, could you elaborate further on how the Next Five secured a record deal?

EO: Our first record deal was with Destination USA Records out of Chicago, that was for “Little Black Egg” and “He Stole My Love”. They always wanted to meet someone in the band to make sure there was a band and not just a recording. I remember driving to Chicago with Paul Christy to have lunch with Bobby Monaco who worked with a lot of Chicago bands at that time and later discovered Rufus with Chaka Khan. Ironically, ten years later in the late 70’s I ran into him at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood where he was the guest speaker at the song writers showcase I was attending, we spoke for a few minutes and I never saw him after that. Just before we signed our second deal with Wand Records out of New York for “Mama Said” and “Talk To Me Girl” they send a representative to Milwaukee to meet the whole band, unfortunately I cannot remember his name. We went downtown to a hotel where he was staying and actually had to sing for him in his room. We just brought a guitar and did the vocals for “Mama Said”, afterword he was convinced we were a band and we got the deal. Our third record deal was with Jubilee Records also out of New York for “Sunny Sunny Feeling” and “What’s That Melody” [released as by the Toy Factory], the representative was Steve Wax who was the national promotion rep. for Jubilee. We never did meet with him because he already knew we were an established band. However, I did talk to him many times on the phone regarding release date and distribution. As far as making the deals, the band never had much input, Paul took care of all the deal making that went on with all three of the record company’s we were signed to. Paul always seemed to do one shot deals in case one of the songs were to really take off, then he would be able to make a new and better deal. Back then all this information was hush, hush, we weren’t suppose to talk about any of this stuff, being all this happened a half century ago I think it’s ok now to discuss it.

TT: Were the band’s vocal harmonies well-rehearsed? I was intrigued with how well they flow with the lead vocals on “Little Black Egg”.

EO: Most of the time we would just have a guitar or use the organ and sing at rehearsals, it went without saying that everyone would know their musical parts. We were a vocal band on most of the material, some of the songs had maybe just a few other vocal parts, but if the vocals were tight the band was tight. After awhile, everyone seemed to know what part they would be singing.

TT: The Wand single sounds much more classical than most garage bands of the day. Did the Left Banke influence the band at all or was “Talk to Me Girl” a part of the Next Five’s own experimentation?

EO: The Left Banke was an excellent band, great harmonies, but we weren’t thinking of any other bands when we recorded “Talk To Me Girl”. Basically we weren’t thinking much of anything other than getting the song recorded in that 45 minutes left in the session. But again, that was the magic of that song, no time to think, just do. Spontaneity was the trick, I learned whatever you come up with first, it’s usually the best thing. Since then, I’ve found that you can try to keep finding different parts for a song and you end up going back to your first thought.

TT: You mentioned “Talk to Me Girl” is the best representation of the group’s sound. Where you guys given more studio freedom, and, if so, why was this the case?

EO: Back in the 60’s most producers didn’t really care what went on the B-side, the money was on the A-side. Being every Vinyl 45 had to have a B-side, most bands were just asked to put something together. Even on vinyl albums where there were usually 12 songs there was a lot of filler stuff, one or two songs would get featured and the rest barely got noticed. There were some exceptions to that rule on singles and albums, but not many. The B-sides were a place the bands could express themselves without much scrutiny from the record company or the producer, the only thing you needed to watch out for is that it was socially acceptable and none offensive.

TT: For all three singles, the Next Five also had three different record labels. Did this affect the group in any way or was that just a part of the business to you?

EO: All the record deals were pretty much just part of the business for us, we left everything up to Paul Christy and we trusted his decisions. Of coarse every band wanted to be signed to a major national label but that didn’t always happen. We were happy to be signed with Destination USA records out of Chicago for our first deal, it was a strong regional label that kick started many bands from the Midwest. From that, Paul was able to put together deals with Wand and Jubilee Records out of New York where at that time the music industry was centered.

TT: Did the records sell well? Which single was the most commercially successful?

EO: We were getting a good amount of airplay in Milwaukee from WOKY and WRIT and knew we were also getting it from smaller stations around the Midwest, and we found them on Jukeboxes. I don’t know exactly how many records were sold, we were never given that information. I did get royalties for writing the B-sides very early on, however I never received any for the “Mindrocker or the Pebbles albums. I would have to say “Mama Said” was our most successful record at the time. but it was the compilation albums that introduced “Talk To Me Girl” and “He Stole My Love” back in the 80’s.

Next Five Stereo Sonic Recording demo Not Fade Away
Next Five Stereo Sonic Recording demo Not Fade Away
TT: Did the band record any songs which have not been released?

EO: Yes, I have 3 acetates of 2 songs I wrote and our version of “Not Fade Away” . I haven’t heard those for a number of years now but I remember the quality was pretty bad, it was almost 50 years ago those acetates were made.

TT: Did the band have a chance to perform while in New York or in any other state for that matter?

EO: The whole band went down to Virginia to play some gigs because Paul our producer had moved down there, while Con our manager decided to move to New York to open an office with Denny Randell who was a song writer, producer and had co-written some of the early Four Seasons hits. I went to New York in Jan. ’69 to meet with them, the bottom line was the band would have to move to New York. While contemplating weather to relocate or not, Con and Denny had a falling out and Con moved to Los Angeles.

TT: Is it possible that the unreleased songs will be avaliable either online or on a compilation album?

EO: Probably not, the quality of those acetates are pretty bad and there’s not much that could be done to make them any better. Having said that, I just realized I was never in possession of the 8 track master tapes that were left at these studio’s, and neither was Paul Christy. I remember sometime in ’68 Paul Christy called us and asked if we would go to Chicago and record at a new studio that just went 8 track and they needed a band to get the bugs out of their new system, I didn’t have anything new written so we decided to record our version of “Not Fade Away” a song written by Buddy Holly. All I can remember is a guy named Cody who was the engineer and we talked on the phone and set up the time for the session. Ok, I just googled Stereo-Sonic Recording Corp. Cody and found out his name was Ed Cody, and there were some things about him. Numero Group profile – tribunedigital-chicagotribune If the 8 track master of “Not Fade Away” still exists it would now be with the Numero Group according to this 2 page article from the Chicago Tribune 2013, or in a storage locker. Apparently Cody kept acetates and master tapes of his sessions at Stereo-Sonic, ours would have been one of the first on their new 8 track machine. Wow, I never knew any of this or even thought of trying to find out until you asked me. I can’t remember where we recorded the other 2 songs I wrote “People” and “Sunday Dreamin” which are on the other acetate that has no label, I do know it was in Jan. or Feb. of ’69 and also done in Chicago. Earlier this year I talked to a record collector in Milw. who say’s he has an identical acetate of “People” and “Sunday Dreamin” which baffles me because I can remember there was only one made the day of our session. If either of those 8 track masters could be retrieved, then they could be digitized and made to sound like they could never have sounded back then.

TT: So was the falling out what lead to the Next Five’s disbandment? Did the band try to go on without them?

EO: Well the band lasted for 3+ years which was actually a pretty good amount of time for young teenage bands of the time. About half way through that time our drummer Tom Stewart left the band due to reasons I don’t remember, other then some misunderstandings with one or two of the other guy’s. Tom played the drums on “Little Black Egg” “He Stole My Love” “Mama Said” and “Talk To Me Girl”. That was when John Kruck joined for the duration of the band. John Played drums on “Sunny Sunny Feeling” “Whats That Melody” and all the songs on the acetates. Come the spring of ’69, Con our manager was settled in New York, Paul our producer was in Virginia and Steve Thomas our guitar player was heavily into med school. Gordy Wayne Olski the bass player and I were trying to keep the whole thing together while waiting for the release of “Sunny Sunny Feeling”. We held onto the bands farm house as long as we could but the money started to disappear. I can remember calling Steve Wax at Jubilee Records practically every day. When the record was finally released we found there was very little distribution and the radio stations only played it for a short time. Gordy and I jumped into another band and went to Charleston South Carolina to play at the Army Navy Club where we were introduced to playing 6 nights a week and 6 sets a night. After 3 weeks or so I left that band, jumped on an airplane and went back to Milwaukee where the realization of the demise of the Next Five became a reality.

TT: Do you feel the band accomplished everything it could and just ran its course or was there unfinished business? As a follow-up to that, was a studio album a possibility for the group?

EO: I think anybody in any band always feels that there was unfinished business in the end. Most bands didn’t get the opportunity of having someone like Con Merten for a manager and Paul Christy as a producer to guide them in the right direction. And yes, we kept bugging Paul about doing an album and he kept bugging us to keep writing.

TT: What did the other band members do after the Next Five that you know of? Do you keep in contact with any of them?

EO: After the band broke up Steve Thomas (guitar) went on to Med school and retired a few years ago, he now travels around the world, mostly to Caribbean and resides in Texas when he’s back in the states. I’ve had emails with him periodically just to reminisce about the old day’s and to catch up on what we’ve been up to. Gordy Wayne Olski (bass) went on to play in numerous bands and is still playing and resides in Wisconsin. I last talked to him a few years ago. Tom “Ashbolt” Stewart “1st drummer” also went on playing in different bands and he too is still playing and resides in Oregon. I have communication with him on Facebook. John Kruck (2nd drummer) went on to be a psychologist and is retired and living in Wisconsin. I talked to him a few years back.

Mark "Hastings" Buscaglia on the Hammond organ during a recording session
Mark “Hastings” Buscaglia on the Hammond organ during a Next Five recording session
Some years ago I was heart broken to hear from the cousin of Mark “Hastings” Buscaglia (keyboards), he had passed away back in 2005. The last time I saw Mark was in the late 70’s out here in Los Angeles where he went from being a keyboard player to playing drums in a progressive rock band.

The roster would not be complete without our road manager Randy “Spider” Schneider, who was as much a part of the band as the members. He drove the truck, hauled the Hammond organ and those Eros amps and set up all the gear to precision, not to mention the fact he was our protector. He is doing well and living in Wisconsin. I’ve been living in Los Angeles since 1977, I moved out here to go to work for the Robb’s at Cherokee Recording Studio’s in Hollywood where Con Merten was the General Manager. I’ve been playing with bands since I left Cherokee in 1980, and still playing now with a great bunch of guy’s around L.A.

TT: I have a copy of the Springdale ’73 album. Could you provide some background on the project and how it was released years later?

EO: Springdale was the name of the apartment complex in Waukesha Wisconsin where I was living back in 1973, and for no reason other then place and time I named that project “Springdale’73”. There was a time, 1972 when there was no such thing as affordable home recording. Springdale ’73 is an example of early affordable home recording using the newest technology of the time, the Teac 3340s and the SR-55 drum machine. For example, the Beatles recorded Sgt. Peppers on a Studer 4 track 1 inch tape machine, nearly the price of a house at the time. The Teac 3340s was a 4 track quarter inch tape machine, perhaps the price of a good used car. Every teenage band in the 60’s knew how hard it was to get a song recorded. You needed an established band, a producer, a manager, a recording studio and engineer, a good song, and lots of money, just to get 7 or 8 parts recorded together into a song. There was an actual turning point from the 60’s to now, and that was in 1973 when the Teac 3340S entered the commercial market. At an affordable price, the Teac gave you the same multi-track capabilities as those four track studios of the 60’s. Another new technology of the time was the Univox SR55 drum machine. Together, the Teac and drum machine started the home recording revolution – the complete self containment for songwriters of which is the norm today. In a nutshell, “Springdale ’73” isn’t about the songs anymore as much as it’s about one of the earliest (maybe the earliest) example of home recording using the Teac 3340s to it’s fullest extent.

TT: From what I read, you recorded 30 songs during this time. Will there a “Volume 2” to Springdale in the future?

EO: There were actually more like 40 songs that were recorded in a very short period of time back in ’73 and into ’74 using the electric drummer, but there isn’t any reason to release any more of those dated songs because it’s more about the technology and the technique of early home recording. At the time it was about making demo’s, now it’s simply about the tech part. I stopped using the electric drummer sometime in ’75 but used the Teac well into the 90’s. In 1980 I started writing for my band that was new wave. I set up a drum set in my house and I played drums on my recordings. Recently my publisher released 12 songs of mine on YouTube, one of those songs was from my 1980 recordings where it’s just drums, guitar and vocals, that was the way I would present the feel of the songs to the band.

TT: Do you recall any bands you recorded?

EO: I recorded at Cherokee with my band in 1980, I was never a studio musician there, most of their clients were the heavy’s, Rod Stewart, Neil Diamond, Barbara Streisand, Journey, Tom Petty, Cars, with producers like George Martin, Tom Dowd, and Roy Thomas Baker. I did do some 2nd engineering and worked in different capacities on sessions with War, Rod Stewart, Bill Quateman and others. My favorite was doing a 3 day session with the Beach Boys and their wives who were putting vocals on old Beach Boy reject songs just for the fun of it. It was like a family party they were having and they were all there including their kids, Mike Love was the only one who wasn’t there. When I started working at Cherokee they were in the middle of building studio 2 so I helped with that and then a remodel of studio 3. I can only think of 2 times I actually recorded with a client and that was clapping with Burton Cummings (Guess Who) on one of his songs and singing some back up thing with Livingston Taylor, James Taylor’s brother.

TT: When did you first notice the Next Five’s songs were being featured on compilation albums as notable as Pebbles and Mindrocker? Where you surprised the group was receiving that much coverage?

EO: I was living in Burbank in ’81 when a friend called and said another mutual friend in Chicago had just bought an album called Pebbles Vol 10 and “Talk To Me Girl” was first cut side A. I had another friend that was coming over to my house that day and I asked him if he could stop at Tower Records on Sunset to see if it was being sold there, well it was and he bought 2 of the albums and kept one, I still have the other one. That told me it was probably being sold in New York as well, I had no idea it was being sold all over the world. I didn’t know about the Mindrocker album with “He Stole My Love” on it for years, and I didn’t know the scope of the whole thing until the internet. In the last few years I found 5 of our recordings on 11 different comp albums, some legal and some bootlegged. Yes, it was a surprise. I did think we were long forgotten.

TT: Has anyone ever approached you with releasing a retrospective album that would compile all the Next Five’s recordings?

EO: No I haven’t heard from any record company about doing that, sounds like fun though. A lot of people don’t know this but you have to bake the tapes first or dehydrate them. I think I baked the Springdale ’73 tapes at 135 degrees for about or 4 hours. There are different ways of doing it and it takes the stickiness out of the old tape.

Closing statement by Eric Olson:

Tyler, on behalf of the Next Five and everyone affiliated with it, I would like to thank you, your magazine and your readers for taking interest in our experiences of 50 years ago, it was truly a magical time for us. We all went on to play in many other successful bands throughout the years and most of us are still at it today, but there was nothing like being a teenager in the 60’s and having those experiences. As of today, which is 8/12/16, I’m enjoying playing in a band for the last 2 years in Los Angeles with people who have had similar experiences, W. Michael Lewis on keyboards has been with groups such as Spirit, Mark Lindsay, Quicksilver Messenger Service and was on the Disco charts for 4 years, Terry Rangno on bass who had been a child actor and has been with the We Five for over 43 years, Glenn Stacey on sax and Tim Shea on drums, both have been pro musicians in Los Angeles for decades. We have a lot of fun taking long breaks at rehearsals and sitting around telling stories of days gone by.

Eric Robert Olson