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The
early days of Slim Pickins, the first working band I was in. Ok, I
was heavily into the Eagles "Desperado" thing, ok? Top row,
Keith Fuller and myself. Bottom row: Dave Weidman (our friend and
sound guy), Steve Harris and Greg Harris.
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Slim
Pickins later saw a change after a year with the departure of Steve
and Greg. Keith and I regrouped with TJ Paulos on pedal steel, guitar,
banjo and vocal and Doug Montgomery on drums and vocal. Slim Pickins
performed a unique blend of country, bluegrass, rock and even the
Beach Boys. The band had incredible vocal range as well with real
strength in harmonies.
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We
got this really cool gig with Guitar Player magazine. They featured
us for two years in their subscription tearout each month. Didn't
pay but we got a free subscription and great exposure.
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| One of the few photos I have of the very early days of Chanter. Gary Dunn on the left past away in the late eighties. A victim of cocaine addiction and depression, he took his own life. Just about everyone that knew Gary, loved him. He had a young heart and he is missed. That's Tom and Linda Kealy in the middle. Tom played with Juice Newton before we formed this band. His wife Linda sang with US Rain and The Young Folk prior to this. Later, we added drummer, Dennis Patterson. | Gary left to pursue interests in another band and was replaced by David Scheibner, an awesome, very technical guitarist. He added a crispness to Chanter. Chanter was a very vocal group sporting four voices upfront, three of which traded off on lead. Photographer and friend Dave Boudreau took this and several other photos of the bands I was in. He was the go-to photographer for several bands back in the day and for good reason. He as good! Photo by Dave Boudreau |
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David eventually left the band and was replaced by John LaGasse from the Gail Zyler band. John had a hard driving, very energetic style and he also added a fourth lead vocal to the group making us very versatile. Photo by Dave Boudreau |
Eventually, times got tough in the SF Bay Area for larger groups. John and I decided to make a go of it as a duo and so we left Chanter in 1980 and became LaGasse and Southard playing in small clubs around the South Bay. Photo by Dave Boudreau |
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We later were joined by singer, guitarist, basest Steve Bench and The Even Steven Band was formed. The harmonies that came of the stage with this band we're the best I can remember. We did some of the best CSN&Y copy of anybody I know. We also did a fair amount of our own material. Photo by Dave Boudreau |
I played with Steve and John for many years even after marrying Terry and they were great times. Steve now lives in Colorado and John lives in Medford, Oregon with his family Photo by Dave Boudreau |
Can
you guess who this is? Bet you can't. I just had to throw this in
here because ol' Kevin was a buddy and he came and did stand up comedy
routines during our breaks on many occasions. He kept the crowd entertained
both when I played with Chanter and with Even Steven. Ok, if you haven't
guessed by now, it's Kevin Pollak of movie fame. A Few Good Men, The
Whole Nine Yards, Grumpy Old Men to name a few of about 45 movies
he's been in. He got his start right here in the Bay Area doing comedy and he was
obviously good at it too!
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One of the things I loved the most was the Fourth of July concerts at Oak Meadow Park in Los Gatos. Most of the major bands performed at this event. It was a great opportunity to see people you used to play with and watch them perform with their new bands. It might be the first time to do this because you were too busy playing too. That's the Gail Zyler Band above. She used to play with John and is now known as Kacey Jones. http://www.kaceyjones.com/ I used to play with both David and Keith above in Chanter and Slim Pickins These concerts were so much fun and it's a shame because I don't think they do them anymore. Gail has since moved to Nashville and started a successful recording and producing career. |
A
classic Keith Fuller expression. Brings back such good memories. Keith
moved to Oregon and lives there with his lovely wife Brandy. He still
plays in country bands. He's also a DJ now for a country station up
there .
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David
moved to Nashville and is making a living writing music and doing
some producing. He devides his time between Nashville and L.A.
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