BlueBeats “…Of all the bands that have ever backed us up - you're the WORST!” - The Four Tops   Although BlueBeats member Lance Drake agrees with the legendary Motown group’s assessment of his ‘60’s rock and roll combo, one listen to the band’s catchy Beatle-esque single Extra Girl easily dispels such a notion.  Drake left The BlueBeats prior to the reformation as The #1, but during his tenure the band played with many national acts, and recorded a couple of solid 45s.  The BlueBeats in Hartford, Connecticut An Interview With Lance Drake 60sgaragebands.com (60s): How did you first get interested in music? Lance Drake (LD): Thanks to those wonderful school music programs of yesteryear, I took up alto sax in fifth grade and got a guitar when I was 12.  It was a $27 Kay acoustic with strings about 1/2" off the neck - but it was lots of fun to learn how to play the various chords.  There was a DJ on WICC who played Mel-Bay style oddball guitar chords while he read the weather and chatted; that was inspiring.  I even bought some Mel-Bay-Method books but only serious jazz musicians ever use those things. 60s: Prior to The BlueBeats, I believe you were in a band named The Cobras. LD: In Sarasota, Florida, 'The Cobras' was an excuse to make noise at several high school dances.  Neil Larson (keyboards) and his brother Kent (guitar) were in there with Dennis Elek on drums.  We drove halfway across the state to play at a TED MACK AMATEUR HOUR audition and they asked us to stop after half of one song.  On the way back we took the wrong road and ended up at a place that was both a laundromat and fast-food joint named Dog-'n-Suds.  We pulled out gear out of the van and played a few tunes until somebody from a nearby funeral parlor complained and we shut down. 60s: So The Cobras were completely unrelated to The BlueBeats? LD: The BlueBeats didn't happen until I moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut and met up with Bruce Boege.  We tried to get something going and got Peter Robbins, a year ahead of us in school, to see about playing bass.  Another Ridgefield HS buddy, Andy Gaeta, jumped in on drums and we got to play at a couple of dances at the school.  Then came the talent show where we got prepared by going to New York City and finding some cheap suits that looked 'Beatle-ish'.  We found the black, high-heeled boots, located something resembling wigs and put it all together with three Beatles’ songs.  The result at that show is that no sound had ever been heard like that in the school and I am guessing has never been heard again.  The kids went BERSERK.  Of course, they were really cheering for The Beatles who had been on Ed Sullivan just eight weeks prior - and not us - but it was fun making the moment happen. The Cobras at Ridgefield High School 60s: That group formed the original BlueBeats… LD: As best I can remember, the original BlueBeats was Bruce Boege, Lance Drake, Peter Robbins and Kit Miller.  Later, Jack Lee would replace Bruce Boege and Louis Mazza would replace Kit Miller.  Those personnel things in bands are always difficult and everyone who ever was in the group was an additive factor.  But then, personalities and other factors cause folks to come and go - eventually, even me. 60s: Where did The BlueBeats typically play? LD: For openers we did some Wilton Grange Hall, Danbury High School dances, and played at St. Anthony's Hall, a Catholic church in Danbury that rented out a long, narrow room with a low ceiling.  We were hired by local promoters to do these gigs, which we could see were jammed with people, and decided to try and hire the hall ourselves.  Eventually, we did 'every Wednesday' at the Elk's Hall.  It became the dance of the week and other promoters died on other nights - even Friday - because everyone would come to our gigs.  It was a cool venue: big hall, large, well-lit stage, curtain, and backstage dressing rooms. We were 18 year old kids each making $300 tax-free cash every week (in 1965 when $300 was a lot of money).  Then we started playing six nights a week at The Gold Room  - an adjunct to a bowling alley named The Brewster Lanes.  More money, lots of practice and lots of on-stage time got the whole band-thing working very well. 60s: Did you play any of the local teen clubs?  LD: Every once in a while we'd get a gig in Waterbury or Hartford.  It was always weird - like we had gone to some parallel universe.  We never knew what to expect - but were most always pretty well received.  We played college parties at frat houses in Southbury, the Kof C in Southington, and even did one set at The Roadhouse in Fairfield, where Bobby Lindsay and The Checkmates - featuring Linc Chamberlain - were playing.  They were the best bar-band I ever heard. 60s: The BlueBeats won a Battle of the Bands that led to an appearance at the 1964 World's Fair.  LD: It's always a bizarre, somehow non-musical, thing to be playing rock in the daylight. We were on at 4:00PM.  We played for a half hour.  Some old guy with a cowboy hat and cigar in his mouth decided to perform an extemporaneous version of The Twist in front of the bandstand.  We had won the appearance slot by winning a Battle Of The Bands At Darien High School.  Thinking back, we won every single Battle Of The Bands we ever entered.  This was probably due more to being really good on two or three tunes than having an overall great lineup of well-rehearsed songs.  We would get on stage, with only 12-15 minutes to do our thing, and would do our three-crowd-pleasers - then win - and nobody ever seemed to find out that we were so shallow in material.  But HEY... for those three songs - we were good! Performing at the World's Fair 60s: The BlueBeats once opened for The Byrds.  What other national acts did you perform with? LD: The Four Tops told us in Newburgh, New York (The Tradewinds), "We've been all around the world - and of all the bands that have ever backed us up - you're the WORST!"  We were.  When we backed up Little Eva in Waterbury at the Soupy Sales appearance, Kit, the drummer, was really nervous, so he started the Locomotion song at about twice the expected speed and Little Eva was trying to sing and keep up with the frantic pace - until she stopped and made us start over…at the right speed.  The same night we backed up Gary U.S. Bonds and The Angels.  The BlueBeats appeared with Herman's Hermits at the Bushnell in Hartford and with The Hollies at the Hartford Armory.  We also did several appearances in New York City at various clubs and shared billing with Billy Vera somewhere outside New York.  It's hard to remember.  I'm sure there was other stuff. The BlueBeats at a Byrds show 60s: Was that “Soupy Sales Rock & Roll Show” a television special? LD: No…just live concert.  He was there with his two sons in a trailer.  He sang about two songs and told some jokes, but was the 'name' that helped sell the show.  Gary Bonds was the best act that night. 60s: You had some high profile gigs…especially considering the comments The Four Tops threw your way!  Did you have a Manager to assist with band promotion? LD: No comment. 60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory? LD: We went to Sarasota at one point, but Pete Robbins came down with appendicitis and we couldn’t play any gigs or make any money so had to gimp back to Connecticut. 60s: How would you describe the band's sound?  What band's influenced you? LD: The music scene at that time was the focus of anyone with artistic energy.  There was lots to be influenced by; the deal with The BlueBeats is that we favored being able to hear the vocals and trying to do vocal arrangements, ala Beatles, versus having one magnetic front-guy, ala Stones.  We spent way more attention to having good mics and PA system than big guitar amps - which worked out perfectly.  We compared well to other groups that did not have such a focus on vocals.  Maybe we weren't actually “better” - but we sounded better. 60s: How popular locally did The BlueBeats become? LD: Local popularity wasn't an issue; we knew we needed to make records.  Getting what people seemed to like in our live sound onto vinyl was the hard part.  We wrote a couple of tunes - it's always harder than you imagine - and the more you write, the better you get and the more stuff you have to throw up against the wall with the chance that something will stick.  The problem with being a bunch of 19 year-old musicians in 1966 is that, when you went to the music-recording studio, you were going in the record "the hit record".  There was a lot of pressure to club that one target into submission.  Our recordings have none of the energy or zap that we had as a live group.  Instead of being in a bar with sweaty dancers all around, you're alone - out in a large, cold studio with hardwood floors, a set of headphones and people you cannot hear looking at you and talking about you from behind the control room glass.  Whereas, today, you record 14 songs in your garage and listen to then for a few months to decide what to do next. 60s: Where did The BlueBeats record your singles? LD: The Columbia Sessions were done at, like, midnight to 4:00AM sessions on two occasions.  The whole experience was so alien.  The room was cold, the lighting was awful, they wouldn't turn up the headphones so I could actually hear what I was singing with and they used Take 1 and Double-Track-Take1 and that was it.  I never got warmed up.  It was like I felt I was just running it down for practice and when we finished they said, "Okay - that's the take". 60s: Fuzz Acid & Flowers lists a Beatle Beat LP as being recorded by a group named The BlueBeats in 1964…  LD: I never heard of this. 60s: Bob Wyld and Art Polhemus produced the Columbia singles.  What are your recollections of them? LD: No comment. 60s: How did The BlueBeats get hooked up with Columbia Records in the first place? LD: I’m not sure.  At that time, they were signing up street vendors that sold hotdogs and the record company must have swept us up in their unfiltered enthusiasm. 60s: Are you aware of any unreleased songs/demos by The BlueBeats - or any vintage live recordings?  Do any of Mike Fast's recordings possibly exist? LD: Mike Fast was really a great guy and an excellent audio engineer.  We would hire him to record our live performances.  He had an Ampex 15 ips reel-to-reel deck with 10" reels and an 8-channel mixer.  He would send us back to the house we lived in with four 7" reels of half-track stereo recording from our performance.  These tapes - often awful - helped us hear how we were not as good as we thought and would help the band find the time and determination to do lots more practicing. 60s: Who did you consider the band's primary songwriter - or was it a collaborative effort? LD: Everyone tried his hand.  Jack Lee and Peter Robbins worked at it all the time. 60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances? LD: Oh Lordy.  THE BRAD DAVIS SHOW in Hartford was one TV gig I remember. This is back in the days when local TV was all B&W.  I'm sure nobody saw the show - but it was a fun experience. 60s: What do you recall about the 8mm film that The BlueBeats reportedly appeared in? LD: CATCH IT AND PAINT IT GREEN.  Bill Eyler and the Naismith brothers decided to shoot a film on Main Street in downtown Westport.  The only problem:  No permit, and the Police had no idea.  They were running up and down the sidewalks chasing a girl actress and trying to slap green paint on her.  It all came to an end when we ran into a drug store - with cameras, paint and all - and the cops were called. 60s: Is it correct that you left the group prior to their 1967 name change to The #1? LD: I left before the #1 thing happened.  Chris Covell replaced me.  I did get to see them play one night in Danbury.  They were very good.  The reason I left was that I felt things had changed to the point that what the people wanted to hear was not what I wanted to play.  The last thing you want to do is be in a band where it's not 'fun' - because there's too much hassle and not enough money to make it a worthwhile pursuit if there's no fun. 60s: Are you by chance familiar at all with a group named The All Night Workers? It's been documented that they recorded a version of The Collector that apparently sounds exactly like the version by The #1.  Can you shed any light on this? LD: I have no knowledge of this... 60s: How long did The #1 continue on without you?  LD: You should ask Peter Robbins.  He was actually there. 60s: Did you join or form any bands after you left The BlueBeats? LD: Kevin Javillonar (drums), Joe Koch (piano/cello/violin) and I were together for a couple of gigs as The Grand Poobahs and won a Battle Of The Bands.  Again…we only knew three songs.  It was that night at that last Battle that I met ABC-AM radio announcer Charlie Greer who answered my question about the secret to his success with the idea that is was the ability to deliver motivating radio commercials.  With that in mind, I soon got into radio announcing and tried to do for radio commercials what I had done for vocals in the BlueBeats.  The radio thing lasted about 15 years. 60s: What about today?  What keeps you busy? LD: Since 1988 I've been an Apple Macintosh developer and over the last 10 years have been working as an independent contractor.  Back in the late ‘80s I played at local open-mic gigs sponsored by The SouthBay Songwriters. 60s: Looking back, how do you best summarize your experiences with The BlueBeats? LD: In some ways, it was better than I ever imagined it would be.  In other ways it was, sadly, a lost opportunity.  The worst day for the BlueBeats was when we lost Jack Lee. His Dad wanted him to leave the band and go to college.  We had a terrible argument backstage at a gig on a Sunday afternoon.  That was it.  It was over.  He was gone the next day. Columbia Records 45 picture sleeve Postscript, February 2009: Thank very much for your interest in The BlueBeats.  These days there is a band of the same name that plays reggae--in Long Island, New York and New York City--as best I know.  I have kept up with Peter Robbins, in Keane, New Hampshire and Jack Lee, in Los Angeles, California.  Peter continues to play with various groups in that area.  He still writes songs and is still the great easy-going good friend he always was.  Jack Lee owns and operates a recording studio, Jack’sTrax, and does wonderful work with various artists creating CDs, recording demos for songwriters, and all of the unusual things one does when that’s your business.  It would be interesting to hear his take on this same story. Recently I’ve moved into independent film production as my avocation.  I still make a living performing contract programming for various electronics manufacturers.  The film scene in Santa Fe, New Mexico is rather extensive and there’s a huge pool of local talent to do anything and everything.  However, there’s no denying that egos play an impossibly large part in how people relate to other people.  It’s the most difficult aspect of trying to pull a project together.   Several tapes of BlueBeat performances came to my attention a couple of years ago.  It was a huge surprise to hear the group again after all these years; but a not so pleasant surprise. To listen to them now is to hear thin, forced, immature, unfocused energy.   Sometimes I wonder how we garnered all that whoopdeedoo but then events have to be considered as existing within some context; what we were was 'good by comparison.' If The BlueBeats did anything well, it was to seek inspiration from all sorts of music, try our best to be prepared by practicing as much as possible, make sure our equipment was capable of presenting our sound and vocal arrangements and then, at the performance, push out as much as we could to the audience.  We were always exhausted after every appearance.  Lots of bands fulfill that very same recipe and they too are embraced and rewarded for their efforts.   When asked, it’s my opinion the world’s best musical sequence ever performed is the saxophone solo played by Paul Desmond in the middle of 'Far More Blue' from the album Time Further Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet (originally released in 1961, then re-released in 1996 on Columbia CD ASIN: B000002AAL). I’ve been listening to that piece for almost 50 years and it just gets better and better.  One last ‘Blue’ note:  Looking back on our brush with fame, being a musician, and trying to find a place on the ladder of accomplishment in that field is kind of like writing a book and checking your ratings in the Amazon best-seller list.  It’s a humbling experience to see your life’s work ranking at #274,517 on the complete list.  It’s amazing (and gratifying)  anyone might still be interested in our musical journey.   - Lance Drake