An Interview With John Piper
60s: How did you first get interested in music?
John Piper (JP): When I was in fourth grade, my elementary school’s band teacher, Joe Matthews, asked me to play trumpet. He walked around the classroom one day and checked out everyone’s mouth and teeth. Apparently, mine looked good so he picked me. I think it also helped that my older brother had played the trumpet so Joe knew I had a trumpet available to play.
60s: Was Drusalee & The Dead your first band?
JP: The first band I played in was Joe Matthew’s dance band. I don’t recall the band’s name, but it was made up of a bunch of, what appeared to me as a fifth grader, “Old Guys.” We played dance band standards at primarily private parties and community events. I played with them for about a year when I became more interested in playing piano. Then in the seventh grade, 1961-1962, my friends and I were having dance parties at our homes. A few of us got together and formed a trio—piano, guitar, and drums. We had no clue what we were doing. We just learned the songs off the records. Once we had a few songs in our repertoire, we played at our school. That was it for me. I was totally hooked on playing and performing. At this point I began taking piano lessons, but quickly became bored with the scales and the music my teacher insisted I play. I quit the lessons and taught myself by listening to all the new rock music being played on the radio. I became a better musician and played with two-three bands made up of my closest friends, but not necessarily the best musicians.
When I was a high school freshman, I heard Jimmy Smith’s ‘Walk On The Wild Side.’ I didn’t know what kind of organ he was playing, but I knew I wanted that sound. My dad loaned me the money to buy a used B3 ($2,000) and Leslie speaker. The salesman told me it had been Brother Jack McDuff’s organ. It was delivered to my house in Yuba City in a few days and from that point on I dedicated myself to that instrument. I practiced pretty much everyday for hours, learning by listening to every Jimmy Smith record I could put my hands on. It was from these records that I learned to improvise. It was really the B3 sound that got me the opportunity to play with Drew’s band. I think Drew liked the look of my B3 as much as the sound. It was black so it really fit with The Dead mystique.
60s: Where and when was Drusalee & The Dead formed?
JP: The first band was Drusalle & The Vampires. It was formed in 1963 or 1964 by Drew (Sallee) and Ernie Apodaca I believe. They were a very popular cover band in the Yuba City area, always drawing big crowds at the local teen dances. What was so unusual about the band was that they wore all black clothing except for white gloves and they painted their faces with white pancake makeup. When they started their first set, all the house lights were turned off and black lights were turned on, so all you saw were hands and faces glowing and moving in the dark.
I don’t remember exactly when it happened, but the band I was playing with shared the bill with Drew & The Vampires. When they heared me play the B3, Drew loved the sound and he asked me to play with his band. My decision to leave the band with my friends was a difficult one, but The Vampires was a real band and each member was a good musician. So this was a huge move up for me.
After I joined in 1964, the band decided to change the name to Drusalle & The Dead because we thought it sounded better.
The band consisted of: Drew Sallee, vocals and sax; Ernie Apodaca, guitar; Bob Covic, drums; Bob Rathbun, bass; Gordon McCollum, sax; and John Piper, Hammond organ.
60s: How large a part did the horror motif play a part in the band's act and/or image?
JP: It wasn’t that the band was preoccupied or consumed with horror. We were just looking to be different. The makeup, black outfits, Drew’s vampire cape, Drew emerging from the coffin, our band photos taken in a cemetery and driving around in hearses, were theatrical elements of our music performance. With the exception of my opening a few shows with a weird gothic style organ solo while Drew came out of the coffin, our music was basically covering the soul and rhythm & blues artists who were making hits in the mid-to-late sixties. At first some people came to see us because we were a little strange, but eventually they came because we were a very tight band highlighted by Drew’s voice, the B3 and an outstanding horn section.
When we started playing with all the recording artists coming to the area, we kept our name, but dropped the horror-related stuff.
60s: Where did the band typically play?
JP: We played a lot at both a local teen club and auditorium in Marysville. Bands from all over played at these two facilities. One was a metal Quonset hut across from Marysville High School. The second one was the Marysville Auditorium on E Street. They were both very popular, but the Auditorium was bigger so as better-known groups started coming to town it was the preferred venue.
We also opened for and backed up many of the “British Invasion” bands touring Northern California. I don’t remember us playing at school dances or private parties.
60s: How would you describe the band's sound? What bands influenced you?
JP: We were a ‘60’s band and played just about everything that was being played on the radio at that time. Because Drew and Gordon were great sax players, we all loved playing anything with horns. I can’t remember our play list, and there were so many groups coming out in 1964-1965 it’s hard to say who influenced us. If I had to pick one artist it would probably be James Brown.
60s: Did Drusalee & The Dead participate in any battle of the bands?
JP: I don’t remember The Dead ever playing in a battle of the bands.
60s: How far was the band's "touring" territory?
JP: We played most of Northern California and into southern Oregon. Our largest venues included the Cow Palace, Sac Auditorium, and the Reno Convention Center.
60s: Did the band have a manager?
JP: I don’t remember the details of how we got together, but at some point a guy named George Martin became our manager and helped us secure the recording studio we used to record ‘Lily’ and ‘Exodus.’ I believe he was a college student studying business and marketing at the time. I heard later he became a lawyer in Sacramento. I believe he also got us the biggest tour we did with Sonny & Cher, The Beach Boys, The Kinks and others.
60s: How popular locally did Drusalee & The Dead become?
JP: We were very popular. I can’t remember a show where we played that wasn’t packed. Drew was a popular guy in the Yuba City-Marysville area. He was known to be very creative and a kind of “out there” guy. But he didn’t see himself as a star. He had a great sense of humor so everyone liked him. I think that added to the band’s popularity. But, again, the band was very tight and each member more than held their own as musicians. We became local celebs when ‘Lily’ was released. The local radio station gave it a lot of airtime.
60s: What were the circumstances leading to the Vardan 45?
JP: As I recall, George Martin came to us and said he had arranged for us to go to the Bay Area to record. We had only one or two days to come up with an original song and Drew came through. He walked into band practice and announced he had dreamt this song about some girl named Lily. We learned the song that day and decided to put Exodus on the B-side because it featured Ernie’s guitar playing.
60s: Rumor has it that "Lily" was written about Lily Munster…
JP: No. I don’t think Lily Munster was around when we recorded the song.
60s: Where were the songs recorded?
JP: I believe it was called Golden Gate Studios. I wasn’t familiar with the Bay Area, but it was either in San Francisco or Oakland. We drove there during the night. We recorded around midnight or later because the studio had cheaper rates at that time.
Once we arrived at the studio, I thought I was in heaven. Here we were, a bunch of high school kids, making a record in a professional recording studio. I remember the engineer helping us make the recording sound better. He had Bob Rathbun use a quarter or 50 cent piece as a pick to get a more distinctive sound.
60s: Who was the band's primary songwriter?
JP: The sad truth is that ‘Lily’ was our only original. I don’t think any of us liked the song much, but we weren’t giving enough time to come up with anything else. I hated my organ solo. It just wasn’t my style. We did a few tours after we recorded it, but we broke up before doing anymore original songs. Drew wrote ‘Lily’ and I would say was the band’s creative force, especially when it came to the theatrics.
60s: Do any (other) '60's Drusalee & The Dead recordings exist? Are there any vintage live recordings, or unreleased tracks?
JP: No - Not that I’m aware of.
60s: Did the band make any local TV appearances? Does any home movie film footage exist of the band?
JP: No.
60s: What year and why did the band break up?
JP: The timing of the break up is a blur to me. It had to be sometime in 1966. I wasn’t ready for the break up, but I think Gordon McCollum or possibly Bob Covic decided to quit. I can’t remember what Drew did after the break up, but Ernie, Bob Rathbun and I continued to play in bands. I stopped playing and sold my B3 in 1972 because I had gotten married and had a son.
60s: What bands did you play in after Drusalee & The Dead?
JP: There were a few; some didn’t last long enough to have a name, but The Good Ship Lollipop (I hated that name) was one that included Bob Rathbun and Ernie Apodaca from The Dead. The drummer, Larry Sandage was an old school buddy of mine and the other members were from Beale Air Force Base. This band played all over Northern California and was pretty popular. We had two really good vocalists. Like The Dead, it was a cover band playing all the hits of the later ‘60s and early ‘70s.
60s: Do you play at all today?
JP: My biggest regret. After I sold my B3, I stopped playing. I even stopped going to live performances. I had a family and felt that if I went to hear live bands I would be drawn back into playing and that just didn’t work with having a family. In 1999 my second wife and I divorced. One of the first things I did was go out and buy a Hammond XK2 keyboard and a Roland digital piano. I’ve been playing a little at home, but not with any bands until this past August when I hooked up with Drew and Ernie at my 40th high school reunion. It had been about 35 years since I had last talked to or seen them. They were playing under the name Drusalle & The Dead. I sat in and improvised a 12-bar blues using some of my old Jimmy Smith style licks. It was the first time I had played with a band since 1972 and it felt like I had never stopped playing. Both Drew and Ernie sounded great. Drew called me a week or so later and paid me a huge compliment by saying “John, you kicked the shit out of those keyboards.” It turned out to be pretty emotional for me.
I’ve been in the real estate industry since 1976 and now own a real estate company in San Jose. But looking back I wish I had stayed with my music. I finished college and graduate school, but my degrees were in subjects that I chose more by default. If I had studied music in college and continued playing who knows what I’d be doing now. Maybe I wouldn’t have made the money I have in real estate, but I have no doubt I’d be happier. I have a 13-year-old son who is becoming a very accomplished guitar player and plays in a band. I constantly tell him to do what he loves…don’t go for the money!
60s: How do you best summarize your experiences with Drusalee & The Dead?
JP: I look back on those times as the best time of my life. Everyone in the band, except for Bob Rathbun, was older than me and I looked up to each one of them. They were all talented musicians and in Drew’s case always pushing the creative envelope. (He’s currently teaching Art at Sutter High School.) High school is a formative time for everyone. We all are searching for ourselves. I was lucky enough that I found my passion in music and was able to take it to a level most people never get to experience, all because of Drusalle & The Dead. The mid-‘60s was a revolutionary time for music and being an integral part of it was extraordinary for me. I’ll never forget it.
|
