After adding coffee house entertainer Ron Krause to their fold, The Starlites from Barrington, New Jersey changed names to The Bucaneer’s (the unusual spelling was required to prevent copyright infringement). The group took some of Krauses’ poetry, recorded it “Bucaneer-style”, and recreated the classic Amigo Records 45, ‘I’m A Fool’ b/w ‘You’re Never Gonna Love Me Anymore.’ While they’re best remembered for that single, The Bucaneer’s were incredibly popular throughout 1965-1967, during which time they opened/toured with several national acts and made multiple TV appearances. Lead Guitarist Don Bevers is planning a new Bucaneer’s CD in 2011, and a reunion show is planned for 2012.
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| The Bucaneer's "Come Alive" with Pepsi: George Falcone, Ron Krause, Ken Loftis and Don Bevers |
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An Interview With Don Bevers
60sgaragebands.com: How did you first get interested in music?
Don Bevers (BD): I got a ukelele for Christmas at seven years old. My family played various stringed instruments. I began to learn chords and rhythm, advancing to guitar at age eight.
60s: Was The Bucaneer’s your first band?
DB: At age 13 I was a student at the Haddonfield Conservatory of Music, in New Jersey. One day an accordion player, George Falcone, came into class (at Woodland Middle School) and entertained from class to class with an impressive performance. Afterward, I introduced myself and the idea of getting together for some music studies. From that The Starlites were formed later adding drummer Ken Loftis, also a music student and classmate. The Starlites played many weddings and events in the Philadelphia and Jersey Shore area.
The Starlites added rock to the setlist, and then eventually became The Bucaneer’s in 1964. In 1965 we auditioned a guitarist/songwriter, Ron Krause who played the two original songs for us that we eventually arranged and recorded.
The band consisted of Don Bevers, lead guitar, vocals, and arranger; George Falcone, keyboards, keyboard bass, and vocals; Ken Loftis, drums, percussion, and vocals; and Ron Krause, rhythm guitar, writer, vocals, and lead guitar on ‘You're Never Gonna Love Me Anymore.’
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| The Bucaneer's (note the odd spelling): Ron Krause and George Falcone (in back) and Ken Loftis and Don Bevers (sitting in front) |
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60s: Kind of curious here...why was the band's name listed in promotional photos and on the 45 as "The Bucaneer's" (with the apostrophe and the missing "c")?
DB: The unusual spelling of the name was a management decision to circumvent a copyright infringement issue.
60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?
DB: You could say, Nowhere Man meets The Yardbirds and saw a Wolly Bully. We had tight vocal harmony, so not much was out of reach musically. We covered everything from Beatles to Ray Charles, to Philly Doo Wop.
60s: What was the Barrington rock and roll scene like in the '60s?
DB: Not much was happening in Barrington musically except us. We lived in a Levittown inspired development from post World War II and literally no place to go to hear live music.
60s: Where did The Bucaneer’s typically play?
DB: We obtained special ABC permits enabling us as minors to play in establishments serving alcohol (with a chaperone), so our scope of venues was almost unlimited. We were very popular with schools, colleges, caterers, and wedding receptions and we played at the 1964 World's Fair in New York, in Hershey Park, Pennsylvania, in Clementon Lake Park, New Jersey, at several night clubs at the Jersey Shore, and at private clubs in Philadelphia. Teen dances, typically in a church basement or gymnasium were very popular and we played many of them for years.
60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?
DB: Our tours took us throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Virginia.
60s: Did The Bucaneer’s participate in any battle of the bands?
DB: I don't recall any actual competitions that we participated in. We toured and were featured with many great bands like The Tymes, The Sidekicks, James and Bobby Purify, Len Barry, and The Dave Clark Five—to mention a few.
60s: Did The Bucaneer’s have a manager?
DB: We had a business manager, road manager, and a production company. We were introduced to them through music contacts in Philadelphia.
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| 'I'm A Fool' on Amigo Records |
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| 'You're Never Gonna Love Me Anymore' on Amigo Records |
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60s: What were the circumstances leading to the band's opportunity to record your 45 ('You're Never Gonna Love Me Anymore' / 'I'm A Fool' on Amigo)?
DB: The newest (1965) Bucaneer, Ron Krause, was primarily a coffee house entertainer with a talent for writing poetry. We chose the songs that we recorded and arranged them into our "style." In 1966, we rented a studio in Philadelphia and rehearsed for the session.
60s: Where did The Bucaneer’s record the songs?
DB: The studio was in a converted basement under a shoe store in the Philadelphia Northeast. They had never recorded a rock band and wouldn't allow me to use a fuzztone as an accent to one of my guitar solos. The Stones’ ‘Satisfaction’ was released just months before and I obtained one of, if not, the first Gibson Maestro Fuzztone units on the East Coast. We only needed three takes for ‘I'm A Fool’ and four for ‘You're Never Gonna Love Me Anymore.’ The vocals were double tracked.
60s: Are there any other Bucaneers' recordings? Are there any vintage live recordings, or other unreleased tracks?
DB: I recently found a cassette tape of a radio show we played in Philadelphia in 1965 (as a trio with a guest vocalist) while we were working for Pepsi Cola as the featured band on a promotion called "Come Alive Party." It's vintage pre-record release Bucaneer’s and live radio at it's best. I recall we only had one rehearsal with Nick. (Note: The playlist included 'Money,' 'Time Won't Let Me,' 'Do You Love Me.' 'Boys,' 'Money' [again], 'Peppermint Twist' and a closing instrumental.) Soon after this show, we invited Ron Krause into the band.
One of our publicity shots with Ron was done for Pepsi. We were still under contract in '66. We were later sponsored by Ampeg, who supplied amps for us to use on our gigs and on tour.
I wrote and we recorded ‘Ship Of Fire,’ unreleased. Ron wrote ‘Repulsion’ recorded, but unreleased. I doubt if the master tapes are still intact anywhere.
60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances?
DB: Our record promotion tour included many TV appearances throughout the Philadelphia area: Hy Lit, Jerry Blavat, Super Lou, Paul Norton, and Joe Niagra all had teen dance TV programs that we appeared on. There might be a tape of one Hy Lit show that we were featured on, but we haven't been able to locate it. Video recording devises with sound were not very common at that time.
60s: What year and why did the band break up?
DB: The Bucaneer’s had a contract to play one weekend per month and New Year’s Eve at Fort Lee Virginia in 1967. We would also play promotions and concerts while we were in the area. While driving to the home we were staying at in Dinwiddie, Virginia after a concert in Petersburg, our drummer, Ken Loftis, and I were hit head on by a Lincoln on a dark stretch of a highway that was under construction. We were in a sports car. Both seriously injured, we spent a month in a local hospital, and many months of rehab once we were released. Our keyboardist joined another working band while Ron Krause left the band to return to college.
60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with The Bucaneer’s?
DB: Ron Krause died of cancer in 2001. Kenny and I have always been, and are still actively involved in music and in April, this year, plan to record a new Bucaneer's CD to be released in summer 2011 (CDBaby) with our newest member, guitarist Pete Rugg. I have written new songs for the CD, all with a ‘60s feel and redoing the tracks we left in the studio back in '66. George will be moving to Nashville next year where we plan to have our next Bucaneer’s reunion show. Thanks for your interest in a very wonderful time in our lives, experiencing and sharing the gift of music.
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| The Bucaneer's: George Falcone, Ron Krause, Don Bevers and Ken Loftis |
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